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

AnExplanation

ofMilitarySlavery

89

when a ruler

founded a

military

slave

corps in the second

generation

orsoof

thedynasty.

Control

Newly

recruitedsoldiersfrom

marginal

areasenteredastotal

aliensandoutsiders,withoutaffiliation

eithertothe

rulingpow-

ersortothe

members

of

the

polity.

Howcould

theirmasterbind

themtohimselfandhis

dynasty?Mercenariesorallies

retained

theirown

loyalties,culture,andmethodsofwarfare,but

slaves

were

subjectedtoreorientation; the

government

couldsecure

their

loyalty,imposecultural

changes,

andfit

their

military

skills

totheneedsof

the

army.

Mercenaries andallies

imposedtheir fickle

loyalties

onthe

ruler.

They

could

always

desertand

they

constantly

threatened

to

mutiny:

"an

ally

was

always

a

potential threatto

indepen-

dence

’’n

and

a

mercenary

even more so. Since

these

troops

oftenconstitutedthemost

powerfulforceinthe

kingdom,

little

could
prevent

themfrom

becoming

an

unmanageable

andde-

structive

element,indifferentto

anyallegiancethatblockedthe

way

to

booty.

If

dissatisfiedwiththeir

plunder

from

warfare,

theyreadily

attacked

theirown

employer

or

ally.Militaryslavery

provided

ameans

by

whichtocontrol

marginal

areasoldiers.

Unlike mercenaries andallies, slaves couldbe

compelled to

undergo changes

in

identity;

these

changes

were effected

through

the

complementaryprocessesofderacination,isolation,

andindoctrination. Deracination
exposedslavestoloneliness

andnew
relationships;

isolationfurtheredtheir

susceptibility;

andindoctrination
transformedtheir
personalities.

Unlike

mercenariesandallies,who

usually

arrivedin

tribal

unitsand
stayed

in

them,

retaining

theirold

loyalties, slaves

cameasindividualsandhadto
buildnewattachments.
Deprived

of
theirown
people,

thesesoldiershadto

acceptthenewaffilia-

tions
offeredthem.The
military

slave

corpsdevelopedintoa

substitutetribeand
replaced

thetrue

kinshipgroup

in

many

76.Smail,

p.

70.