20
TheIslamicateContext
us understand their
position.Typically,
a
purely
cash nexus
connectsthe
mercenary
tohisemployer,not
compulsion
or
loy-
alty.
The
military
slavewhoisstillatrueslave,
in
contrast,
istied
by
bondsof bothcontroland
loyalty
tohis
master;indeed,
his
interestsandhismaster’sare
nearlyinseparable.
Mercenaries
comeand
goaccording
tocircumstance,
but
military
slavesre-
quirelong-term
planning. Any
rulerwhodecidestocreatea
military
slave
corps
mustbe
prepared
towaitadecadebeforeit
becomesaneffective
fighting
force.When
they
aretrueslaves,
military
slavesresemblemercenaries
very
little.
The
superiority
of
military
slavesoverother
types
ofsoldiers
may
inducetherulertoincreasetheirnumbersandinfluence
too
rapidly
forthe
good
ofhis
dynasty.
As
theyreplace
other
troops
andinfiltratethe
upper
levelsofthe
army,
theruler
may
losecontroloverthem.Oncethebalance
betweenslaveandfree
forcesis
upset,
therulerno
longer
has otherforcestorestrain
theslaves.
When
military
slaves
acquirepower,
theyinevitablyuse
itfor
their
own
ends.Astherulercomes
torely
onthemtoo
heavily,
theyipsimit
themselvesand take
charge
in
very
un-slavelike
ways.Ipsimission
occurswhen
military
slavesrealizethat
they
no
longer
have to
obey
theirmaster. Note,however,thatnotall
military
slaves
ipsimit
themselves; Islamicate history
offers
numerous
examples
of
balance,
of
dynasties
inwhichtheslave
forcesdidnot
acquire
toomuch
power
butremainedtrueslaves
throughout.
The
timing
of
military
slaves’ self-assertionfollows aclear
pattern.
A
given
ruler
acquires
themintoo
greatquantities
and
relies
too
heavilyuponthem,
butstill
they
remain
subject
tohim.
Aweofhimand
personalloyalty
combineto
keep
theminhis
power.
Hissuccessor,evenhisson,oftenfindsthemno
longer
willing
to
obey.
26
Unableto
rally
otherforces
against
them,he
cando
nothing
to
prevent
their
ipsimission
and
eventually
falls
under their control. In this
manner,
the Turks
obeyed
al-
26.
P.G.Forand,"RelationoftheSlaveandtheClient,"
pp.
65-66.Ibn
Badrfin
(d.
608/1211)
explicitly
makesthis
point
foral-MuCtasimandhisson
al-Wfithiq(quoted
in
Appendix
3,17).