Chapter One
What Is a
Military Slave?
The
purpose
oftheir
purchase
isnottoenslavethembuttointen-
sify
theirzealand
solidarity
and
strengthen
their
prowess.
--IbnKhaldfan
Ihavedefineda
military
slaveasa
person
ofslave
origins
who
is
acquired
ina
systematicway,
trainedfor
military
service,and
spendsmost
ofhislife
asa
professional
soldier.
The
twomost
common
questionsconcerning
himare:what
distinguishes
him
fromotherslaves,andishea"true"slave
(in
thestandardEn-
glish
senseoftheword)?
I
usetheEnglishterm
"military
slave"becauseitismoreuni-
versal,
precise,
andflexiblethanthe
equivalents
in
Islamicate
vernaculars.
Although
somewordshavecometomean
military
slave(notablyfat(,ghulZzm,kul,
and
mamlftk),
each
ofthemhas
onlylimited
usage
andnone
universallyacquired
the
meaning
of
"militaryslave."
In
otherwords,besideslimitationsintimeand
place,
eachof
these
words
also
has
othermeanings;notoneof
themrefers
exclusively
to
military
slaves.Thislackof
specificity
might
resultfromthefactthatMuslimshavenever
recognized
slavesoldiersasadistinct
type
ofslave
(seep.13).
Oftheseseveral
terms,
mamlfkhas
gained
thewidest
usagein
orientalistliterature,thankstoits
propagationby
David
Ayalon
inhis
many
worksonthis
subject
andtotherelativefameofthe
Mamluk
dynasty
inEgypt.Yetthisisthemost
ambiguous
ofall
thevernacularwords.
Maml(tk
meansnot
onlymilitary
slave,but
(1)any
slave,
(2)any
whiteslave,
(3)
therulersof
Egypt
from
648/1250to922/1517,and
(4)
the
ruling
elitein
Egypt
between
1.Clbar,5:371.Forfull
quote
intranslation,see
Appendix
2.