AnExplanationofMilitarySlavery
67
caliphate
remained
politicallyobscureuntilitsdemise atthe
handsofthe
Mongols
in
656/1258.
Afterthat
only
a
very
at-
tenuated versionoftheofficecontinued toexist forseveral
centuriesbefore
disappearingaltogether.
Itsrevival
by
theOt-
tomanrulersinthelate 12th/18th
centurywasadoomedun-
dertaking.
The
caliphs
didfillthe
important
taskof
representing
thepolitical
power
ofIslamdomuntilthe
Buyidconquest;
from
thattime
on,Islamdomhasbeen
politicallyfragmented.
Thejihdwas
partially maintained;
from
theArabiancon-
quests
onward,Muslimshave
eagerlydefendedor
expanded
the
bordersofDfiral-Islfim.The
Byzantine,
Spanish,
andIndian
fronts saw
sporadicfightingover
eight
centuries,the Balkan
oversix;Muslims
respondedactivelytotheCrusaderandMon-
gol
invasions;
they
took
up
arms
sporadicallyagainstpagansin
sub-SaharanAfricaandontheInnerAsian
steppe;
and
inmod-
ern
times, they
resisted
encroachments
by
seaborneWestern
Europeans
andlandarmies
advancingfromRussiaandChina.
Yet,
though
Muslimscarriedoutthe
injunction
to
fightnon-
Muslims,
theyignored
the
prohibitionagainst
warfare
among
believers.
Indeed,Muslims
fought
oneanotherfarmoreoften
than
they
didthe
infidels;
truefihd
constituteda
pitifully
small
percentage
oftheirtotalwarfare,for
incontrasttothedistant
boundariesofDfiral-Islm,thoseof
neighboring
Muslim
gov-
ernments
were close by.
Disputes
with fellow-Muslimsarose
muchmoreoftenthan
withinfidels.Tobesure,whenMuslims
tbught
Muslims,eachsidearmeditselfwithdoctrinal
justifica-
tions;butthefactthatboth
parties
considered
themselvesMus-
limcould
neverbe
ignored
or
forgotten.
Umma,
caliphate,
and
jihdrepresent only
the summits
of
Islamic
publicideals;theShariCaalsoconcernsitself
withthe
detailsofmuch
else,generatingequallydeep
gulfs
betweenex-
pectations
and
reality
in such matters as
taxation and
legal
justice.
Islamic
public
idealshaveremained
permanentlyunat-
tainablesince
shortly
after
thetimeofMu
.hammad:
the
political
order
envisaged
inthe
Qur’n, Sunna, ShariCa, in the
legal
handbooksand
political
treaties,hasneverexisted.
5
- Kessler,
pp.
38-39.