26
TheIslamicateContext
tionofthemilitary
abilitiesofslavesandtheirfearof
mutiny.
Indeed,ordinary
slaves
suddenly
thrustintobattlewithoutany
preparationgenerally
didmakeindifferentsoldiers.
6
Lacking
military
skills,
they
could
provide
only
limited
help.Exceptions
tothis
pattern
occurredontherareoccasions
whenaslave’sin-
natetalentsoutweighed
the
handicap
of
being
untrained.
CAn-
tara,thelegendary
heroof
Jahili
Arabia,
began
hiscareeras
a
slave
shepherd
andbecamea
great
warrior
through
hisown
per-
severance andabilities.A slave
joined
arebellion
against
the
Umayyads
in
Syria
about70/689,
andwhenitfailedhereturned
tohismaster.The
caliph
heardofthisslave’s
exploits
in
there-
bellionand,after
procuring
hismanumission,assigned
himto
commanda
regiment
of
troops.
Onoccasion,
evenmasslevies
ofslaves
fought
well.Thisiswhat
happened
when
al-Junayd,
the
Umayyadgovernor
of
Khurasan,fought
theTurksin
112/730:
A1-Junaydproclaimed:
"Theslavewhofightsisfree,"sothe
slaves
fought
hardandthepeoplewereastonishedby
them
Seeing
theirhardiness,thepeople
were
delighted.
The
enemy
retreated
andthepeoplepersevered
until
victory.Uponconcluding,
Mt]si
b.
an-Naghr
saidtothe
people:"Rejoice
inwhat
you
haveseen
the
slavesdo."
Themaster’sfearofaslave
mutiny
wasthemostimportant
deterrentto
using
hisslavesinbattle.
9
The
slaveowner
rarely
"The
proposition
tomakesoldiersofourslavesisthemost
pernicious
idea
thathasbeensuggested
sincethewar
began
Youcannotmakesoldiersof
slaves,
norslavesofsoldiers Youcan’t
keep
whiteandblacktroopstogether
and
you
can’ttrust
negroesby
themselves Thedayyou
makesoldiersof
themisthe
beginning
oftheendoftherevolution.
Ifslaveswillmake
good
sol-
diersour
whole
theory
of
slavery
is
wrong--butthey
won’tmakesoldiers"(ibid.,
p.1009).
"Somesay
that
[arming
slaves]willbe
givingup
the
questio
n
What,givingup
the
question
to
grip
itthe
tighter?Givingupslavery
tohaveslaves
defendit?To
havethemshootdowntheenemiesofslavery?Strangenotion,
indeed!"
(ibid.,p.
1010).
Legal
prohibition:
Justinian
Corpusjuris
civilisix.12.10,
dating
from 468 c.E.
6.Rome:
Barrow,
p.
146.
Muscovy:
notethe
quote
on
pp.
36-37.
7.FB,
pp.
160-61.Foratranslationanddiscussion,see
p.
189.
8.T,2:1543.
9.Rome:Barrow,
p.
146.Venezuela:Lombardi,p.
38.BritishWestIndies:
Buckley,p.38;Pares,p.
252.U.S.:
Hay,p.
48.