18
TheIslamicateContext
mangrand vizierswereslaves,subject
tothemerestwhimof
theirmasters,the
pdish{ths
(sultans).When
apdishh
sowished,
hecouldreducethe
grand
viziertoakitchenaideorhavehim
executed;
yet,
atthesametime, the
grand
vizierdirectedthe
government
ofaworld power. Aslongas he personally re-
mainedunder his master’scontrol,
nothing
else affectedhis
statusasatrueslave.
Insum,thefactthata
person
isatrueslavetellsusnothing
abouthis
power,
wealth,
orsocial
standing.
Tobe
sure,
most
slavesweredebasedand
poor;
but
they
didnothavetobe,and
notallwere.As
long
asaslavehadamasterwhocontrolledhim,
hecould
gainanyposition--short,
of
course,
of
sovereign,
since
the
rulerhadnomortalmaster.This
potential
ofthetrueslave
wasnowhereso
fullyexploited
asinIslamdom.
Leaving
Slavery
True
slavery
endswhena
personacquires
controloverhisown
vitaldecisions.This
change
canoccureitherwith
or
withoutthe
master’s consent. Manumission, a
legal
andsocial event an-
nouncing
thatamaster
voluntarilyrelinquishes
controloverhis
slave,is
thenormal
way
of
becoming
free.
Among
allbutmili-
tary
slaves,thisisthe
onlyway
of
shedding
themaster’scontrol
(short
of
rebelling
or
runningaway);they
needhisconsent.
Military
slaveshaveanother
way
of
gaining
controlovertheir
own
major
decisionswithout
permission.
As
professional
sol-
diersand
powerful
officials,
they
havetheirown
power
baseand
opportunities
far
beyond
thoseofotherslaves.Their
military
role
gives
themameansof
escapingslavery--andtheyregularly
exploitit. Militaryslaves
manumitthemselvesasamatterof
course.
Notermin
English
describesthis
process
ofself-manumission,
sinceitdoesnotoccurinWesterncivilization.Yet,becauseitisa
basicfeatureof
militaryslavery,
weneedanameforit.
By
ext6n-
sionfrom"manumission,"Ishallcallit
"ipsimission."
Andin
contrasttothetrueslave
(under
hismaster’s
control)
andthe
freedman
(legally
manumitted),Ishallassumethatthe"former
slave" freedhimself
throughipsimission.
In
other
words,
the
formerslaveneednotbemanumitted.