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

126

Origins

Mughith,

andMfishimself.

Tarif,

aBerber

nawlaofMfisfi’s,

began

the

conquest

in

90/709

byleading

400 or1,000soldiersto

anislandoff
Spain,

capturing

it.Onehundredofthosetroops

wereonhorseback.111

.Tfiriq

b.

Ziyd

wasthe

great

Muslimheroofthe

conquest

of

Spain.

Heis

variously

said

tohavebeenaBerber,tohave

come

from

S.adaf,

a

village

near

Qayrawan,

ortohavehadan

Iranian

background.

112

Allthesources

agree

onhisbeing

amawlaof

Mfisb.Nus.ayr.

Hecrossedoverinto

Spain

atthe

headof7,000

soldiers

andthen received 5,000 more.

13

His

troops

"were

mostly

Berbersandmawlas,with

only

afew

Arabians.

’’a14

One

account

specifiestwenty-seven

Arabiansin

his

troops

andadds

that

they

went

along

"toteachtheBerbers

aboutthe

Qur’n.

’q15

After

many

victoriesovertheGoths,.Tfiriq

is

reputed

tohave

told his

patron,

Mfisfi:

"This is

yourconquest

forIam

your

mawla."ll

Mughith

wasnotthemawlaofMfisfi

b.

Nus.ayr

butratherof

the

caliph;

his

patron

is

variously

named

ascAbdal-Malik,al-

WafiI,andSulaymfin?

7

Mughith

iscalledaRfimighulfim,

a

Rfimicaptive

ofArabian

origins

anda

mawla,

ls

.Triq

senthim

attheheadof 700 horsemen

andno

infantry

toattackCordova,

whichhe

captured

andlootedwith

great

success,

aa9

Finally

Mfisfib.

Nus.ayr

himselfjoined

theattack,

bringing

withhim hisArabianand

mawlacommandersand

troops?

2

Envious

of

.Tfiriq,

Mfisfi

jailedhim..Tfiriq

askedMughith

totell

Caliph

al-WalidIofhis

plight,offeringMughith

onehundred

111.ABerber

mawlaofMfis’s:NT,1:141,

159.

Conquest:

AM,

p.

6;NT,

1:159.

112.AM,p.6;NT,

1:148,159.

113.AM,p.

7;BM,2:6;NT,1:142.

114.AM,p.

6;NT,1:142,159.

115.

ar-Raqiq,pp.

69-70,74.

116.

ar-Raq,p.

78;FM,p.

207.

117.cAbdal-Malik:

BM,2:9.al-WalidI:FM,p.

207;AM,

p.

10;ar-Risfila,

p.

204;NT,2:8.Sulaymn:

NT,2.8.

118. Rfimi:FM,
     pp.

207,210.Arabian:

NT,

2:6.

Mawla:BM,

2:9;AM,

p.

10.

119.AM,

p.

10.

120.FM,

p.

207;

NT,l:144;Irnma,2:87.