SlavesinWar:The
HistoricalRecord 33
burned
bridges
andcarried
flags
in
earlyIslam,
fought
initial
skirmishesbeforethefull-scalebattleinancient
India,protected
the
Byzantine
andMuscovite
baggage
trains,
patrolledthebor-
dersofthe
Roman
Empire,
andformedtheruler’s
bodyguard
in
Rome,insomeofits
successorstates,andin
seventeenth-century
Ethiopia.
44
If
theyjoined
the
regulararmy,
slavesstill
commonly
foundthemselvesnotinthemainhostbutin
auxiliarycorps.
Andwhen
they
did
jointhemain
army,they
stillwere
likely
to
dobattleintheless
important
contests.
4
Ordinary
slavesenteredbattlemostoften
as
personal
retain-
ers,
accompanying
theirmasterand
joining
himintheircom-
mondefense.
4n
Although
very
widespread,
thisroleexcitedlittle
attention;
thecommon
sight
ofa
slave
fightingby
hismaster’s
side
rarely
drewanobserver’s notice.
Onlywhenwe
possess
exactinformationonthecombatantscanweestimate
theirrole.
Thelistsofwarriorsatthe
mainbattlesbetween
Muh.
ammad
and
Quraysh
indicatethatslaves
andfreedmenformedasizable
proportion
ofthe
fighting
forcesofeach
side,andmostofthem
fought
withtheirmasters.
47
Iftheselistsare
accurate,
aMuslim
slave retainer
killed a
Qurashfcounterpart
at the Battle of
U.hud.
4a
The
following
anecdotefromancientGreecereveals
something
aboutboththe
extentoftrust
placed
inslaveretain-
ersandthe
generally
low
opinion
oftheir
military
abilities:
Iphicrates,
ashewas
campaigning against
the alliesofLace-
daemon,changedthedressof
his
men
during
thenight,putting
thesoldiers inretainer’s
clothing
and theretainersinsoldier’s
44.
Early
Islam:UH,
3:72;IH,2:78;T, 1:1939-40,3175,3203;2:1582,
1926.India:Chanana,
p.
41.
Byzantium:K6pstein,p.109.Muscovy:Hellie,Eno
serfment,pp.165, 290
n.
119, 368 n.167.Rome:Barrow,
p.
147.Rome’ssuccessor
states:
Rothenh6fer,pp.53,101.Ethiopia:M.Abir,"The
Ethiopian
SlaveTrade
andItsRelationtothe
IslamicWorld"(photostat),Conferenceon
Slavery
and
RelatedInstitutionsinIslamicAfrica
(Princeton,1977),
p.
5.
45.Rome:Duff,
p.
140;Rouland,
p. 22 n.5.U.S.:AR,pp.74-75.
Rouland,
p.9.
46.Greece:Sargent,
p.
204;Garlan,
pp.
46-47.Rome:Rouland,
pp.
28 ff.for
extensivedetails.SasanianIran:UA,1:149.
Early
Islam:UA,1:180;T,2:937,
1572;FB,p.424;IbnMuzihim 183 T,1:3266-67.Islamiclaw:as-Sarakhsf,
Sharh.,p.
919.
Muscovy:Heilie,
Enserfment,
p. 368 n.167.
47.IH,1:677-706.
48.IH,1:710.