Slave Soldiers and Islam_ The Genesis of a Military System - Daniel Pipes

82 TheIslamicateContext

up,

marginal

areasoldiersoftenwillingly

and

joyfully

reveledin

it.This

easy

lifeso

badly

underminedtheir

courage

andhardi-

nessthat

already

theirown

offspring

lackedtheir

power;

their

sons

fought

nobetterthanothermenborninthe

polity

and

theirgrandsonsmight

have

fought

evenlesswell.Thelossin

martialvirtueswasboth

rapid

and

permanent.Eventually,

"the

warrior

distinguishes

himselffromtheartisan

only

byhisin-

ability

towork;themenof

marginal

areas

differfromcivilized

men

only

intheir

clothing.

TM

IbnKhaldfin

devotes muchattention

tothe reasons forthe

decay

of

dynasties.

He

specifies

threeelementsinthis

process:

the love of

glory (which destroys "a4.atYya, group-feeling),

in-

dulgence

inluxuries

(whichdestroys

theeconomy),

andtran-

quillity(which

underminesthesoldiers’ martial

qualities).

He

makesthe

followingpoints

aboutthelossofmartial

qualities:

When people

become accustomed to

tranquillity

andrestand

adopt

themascharactertraits,

they

become

part

oftheirnature

Thenew

generationsgrowup

incomfortandtheeaseof

luxury

and

tranquillity.

Thetraitof

savagery(which

former

generations

had

possessed)undergoes

transformation.

Theyforget

thecustoms

ofdesertlifethatenabledthemtoachieve

royalauthority,

suchas

greatenergy,

thehabitof

rapacity,

andthe

ability

totravelinthe

wildernessandfindone’s

way

inwaste

regions.

Nodifferencere-

mainsbetweenthemandordinarycitydwellers,except

fortheir

(fighting)

skillandemblems.

Besides

lapsing

intocomfortableindolence,

grandsons

of

war-

riorslosttheother
advantages

ofthe

marginal

areas,their

good

health, strictcodes,
independentspirit,

andlackofalienation

fromthe
government.

As

they

becameidenticalto

government

areamen,

the

army

sufferedfrom

a

lossin

soldierlyqualities.

This
degeneration

of

marginalarea

soldiersforcedtherulerand

militaryleadership

toseekoutnewsourcesofsoldiers.

However,itwas

possible

for

marginal

areasoldiersto

keep

theirmartialskillsandavoiddeteriorationby
maintaining

their

61.Ibar,6:3.

62.Muq,1:341-42.