WhatIsa
MilitarySlave?
7
military
slaveismuch
morelimitedthanthatof
ordinaryslaves.
While evena
poor person
can own an
ordinary
slave,
only
leading political
figures--the
ruler, his
officials,
provincial
leaders--can
own
military
slaves,for
they
represent military
power.
Most
militaryslaves,infact,
belong
to
therulerandthe
central
government (and
this
chapter concentrates on them
alone),
a
This
exclusive
ownership
meansthat
military
slavesal-
ways
breatherarefied
airand
keepcompany
with
the
powerful.
Whilethedecisionto
purchasean
ordinary
slavecomesdown
primarilytoa
question
ofeconomics
(canthemasteraffordhis
domestic
servicesordoeshe
gain
froma
slave’seconomicac-
tivities?),acquisition
ofa
military
slave
depends
on
military
con-
siderations.Asa
result,
the
tradein
military
slaves
hasadrive
and
rhythm
ofitsown.
From
themomentaruleror
notablepersondecidesto
acquire
militaryslaves,helavishes
exceptional
careon
selecting
recruits.
Specifically,
the
prospective
ownerseekstwo
qualities:
military
potential
and
malleability.
As
regards
the
first,
he
insistson
greater
capabilities
thanthose
requiredof
ordinaryslaves;while
any
misfit
can
carry
wateror
dig
for
salt,afuturesoldierhasto
bear
graver
responsibilities.
A
preference
for
youthsofnobleor-
igins
andthe
highpricespaidfor
outstanding
recruits
reflect
themaster’sinterestin
finding
the
most
highlyqualified
pros-
pects
as
military
slaves.
4
Inonewell-knowncase,
al-ManfirQla’fin
al-Alff,
aMamluk
sultan(r.
678-89/1280-90),
issaid
tohave
receivedthelast
part
ofhis
name
(a/f,
Arabicfor
"thousand")
fromhis
purchaseprice,
1,000dinars.
5
Selection
criteriaalso
determine
geographical sources of
militaryslaves, for some
regions
areknownto
produce
better
soldiersthanothers.
So,
while Indian slaves do not often
fight, Central Asian male
slavesalmostinvariablydo.
6
3.The
military
slaves
belonging
toother
personsexistlessoften,their
pat-
ternsimitatetherulers’,and
they
arelesswelldocumented.
4.Nizimal-Mulk,SiydaatnKmeh,
p.
104;D.Pal,"The
InfluenceoftheSlavesin
the
MuslimAdministrationofIndia,"IslamicCulture 18
(1944):410-11.
5.
al-Maqrfzf,
Kit(b
as-Sulk,1:663.Formanymore
examples
ofthis
type,see
Ayalon,L’Esclavage,pp.
6-7.
6.D.
Ayalon,"Aspects
oftheMamlk
Phenomenon,"
pp.
198-204.