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

136

Origins

nextyear

mawlas

again

took

part

as

troops,

and

oneleda

regi-

mentofathousandsoldiers.

19

Amawl

amral-mu’minncom-

mandedso

manytroopsagainst

Ibrfihimb.cAbdallfihthathe

established

hisown

militarycamp.

96

Anothermilitarycamp

in-

cludedBlacks,though

itisnotclearthattheyfought

orthat

they

wereslaves?

97

TheBfihili

Arabiansandtheirmawlasalsofought

fortheAbbasidsagainst

Ibrfihim.

19s

Shortly

afterthe

building

of

Baghdad

in 148/765,

the

gov-

ernor

in

al-Qinnasrin

controlledsomany

mawlasthat

Caliph

al-Mans.fir

fearedhis

strength?

9

AnAbbasidgeneral

returned

from

fighting

Khrijisin

151/768

accompanied

byanenormous

escortoftribal

kinsmenandhisuncle’smawlas;

presumably

the

mawlashadfought

withhim.

z

Twoofthethreeleaders

who

joined

Csfib.Mfisfi’s

expedition

toKhurasanin153/1770were

mawlas.

TM

Two

years

lateramawlz

amral-mu’mininledanAb-

basid

expeditionagainst

rebelsin

Farghana.

2

Whenfacedwith

unrest

in158/775,

al-Mans.ar

had,

among

others,

mawlas

pre-

pare

foraction.

3

Mawlasled

troops

against

a.s-.S’ifa

in

157/

774;

against

arebelin

Khurasanin161/778;and

against

rebels

in

Gurgan

a

year

later,

z4

Twoofthe

generalscommanding

Ab-

basid

troops

against

a

Khfiriji

revoltin

168/785weremawlas;

oneofthem,Harthamab.Ayan,wentonto

becometheout-

standing

Abbasid

general.

He

led

importantcampaigns

until

hisdeathat

al-Ma’mfin’shandsin200/816;his

military

activities

and

governmental

positions

overthis

thirty-yearperiod

were

too

numeroustomentionhere. Hisunusuallylong-lasting

career

195.Troops:

Khalifa,

pp.

649,651.Leda

regiment:

T,3:218.

196.

FB,

p.294.

197.

T,

3:305.

198.Ibid.

199.

TYa%

2:383.

200.TYa%2:385.

201.

T,3:371.Harthamab.Ayanamawla:seethe

lastsectionin

Pipes,

"Mawlas."

202.TYa

,

2:387.

203.T,2:429.

204.

as.-S.fi’ifa:

T,

3:380.Khurasan:T,3:484.

Gurgan:

T,3:493.

205.

TMaw,

p.

252.

206.C.Pellat,"Harthamab.Ayan, inEI

mentionssome.