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

An

Explanation

ofMilitary

Slavery

91

only

couldtheybepreventedfromearning

outside

income,

but

theycouldalso

be

kept

unmarried;

surely

therulercouldnot

compelanyone

buthisownslavenotto

marry.

Inreturnforre-

ceiving

theirentireincomein

salary

fromtheruler,theslaves

servedhimallyearroundasastandingarmy.

Military

slavesfellfarmore

completely

underthecultural

influenceofthe
polity

thantheirfreerivals.In

trainingthey

learned the customs,
religion,

culture, and

language

ofthe

dynasty;

this

proved

tobe of

greatimportance,

for

unlessthey

weremadetofeelpart

ofthe

dynasty,they

could

always

turn

against

it.

Military

slavesneverdidthis;

they

hadbecomeassimi-

latedtothe
dynasty

itself.

They

were

part

ofthe

ruling

elite,not

its
lackeys.

When

they

revolted,theydidnotattack

the

polity

as

suchbuttheindividualsin
charge;

ifsuccessful,theyusurped

the

government

fromwithin. Thisacculturation did not

prevent

them,however,from

preying

onthe

populace

ofthe

polity;they

engaged

inthis

pursuit,

asdidallmembersofthe

ruling

elite.

Butacculturationmadethem

part

ofthe

government,

so

they

couldnotattackthe
polity

itself,

though

its

populace

remained

theirvictims.

The

trainingprocess

wasthe

linchpin

in

the

whole

institution

of

militaryslavery.

Itestablishedaslave’scharacter

byinstilling

military

skills,

discipline,

andan

understanding

ofcommand

structures.The

years

of

trainingdistinguished

the

military

slave

anddeterminedhisfuture

career,

Heentered

training

a

young

andisolatedboyandemergedahighly

skilled,

disciplined,

and

well-connectedsoldier.Themercenary

or

ally,

not

compelled

to

undergotraining,usually

lackedthese

importantqualities.

Military slaves received training

firstin

the martial arts.

Whereasmercenariesandalliesshowed

impatience

withthein-

troductionofnew

techniques,

slaveswouldlearnnewmethods

of

fighting,

s

Theirservilestatusandtheir

youth

combinedto

forcethemto

accept

thesechanges. Marginalareasoldiersof-

tenarrivedinthe

politybrimming

with

independentspirit

and

unfamiliarwithchainsofcommand,

yetgovernments

couldnot

80. For

somedetailsonthis,seeH.Rabie,"TheTraining

oftheMamlfik

Firis."