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

How

MilitarySlavery

FirstOccurred

161

sleptlong

intheshadowsof

peace

and

plenty.Eventuallytheygrew

accustomedtocivilizationandlostthedesert

legacy

aswellasthose

qualities

whichhad

madethemrulers

Therulerrefusedtosharehis

glory

orhis

lineage

with

anyone.

He

suppressed

the

pride

of

rebels,tribes,

and

tribalchiefswho

challenged

him.To

quell

theirstubborn

ambition,

he

replaced

them

with

mawlas,non-Arabians,andcreaturesofthe

dynasty.

These

grew

innumberuntil

theytookprecedenceoverArabians,

thefoundersofthe

dynasty,supportersof

the

faith,andmaintain-

ersofthe

caliphate

Arabianslostthe

power

tobindanduntie,tocontractandre-

pudiate;mawlasandothercreaturesofthe

dynasty

wonitandre-

solvedtorenouncethe

caliph

and

acquirethe

kingship

themselves.

They

seatedthemselveson thethroneand

acquired

dictatorial

powers.

10

Pre-|slamic

Antecedents

Itisnever

simple

tounraveltheinfluencesofearlier

civilizations

onalaterone,andthis
process

is

especially

difficultforIslam.

Yet,ofthe
many

ancientculturesthatcontributedtothesud-

den,
new,

and

original

Islamicate

synthesis,only

threehadinflu-

ence on Islam’s
military

institutions:

Rome-Byzantium,

Iran,

andArabia.

Rome-Byzantium

Thelate
republic

andthe

earlyempireemployedmany

slavesin

their armies; the
frequent

and

important

functionsofthese

slaveshavebeen
extensively

collectedand

studied,sothereisno

reasontorecountthemhere.

la

Historians

agree

that

thesewere

ordinary

slaves. "The

employment

ofslavesfor

militarypur-

poses

islimited

toemergencies;

it

wasneverundertakenasa

normal
part

oftherecruitmentofsoldiers It

isacrisiswhich

explains

and

legitimizes

the use of slaves for

military

pur-

10.elbar,6:2-3.

11.Themain

studyisRouland’sLesEsclavesromainsen

temps

de

guerre.

Seealso

Barrow,
Duff,K/ihne,

and

Treggiari.