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

HowMilitarySlaveryFirstOccurred 171

Muslimsoutsidethetribalnetworkwho
occupiedpositions

of

lowsocialstatus;all
experienced

dislocationandrelied

heavily

ontheir
patrons

foraccess

tothe

goodthings

inlife.

Despite

legaldifferences,fighting

mawlasofboth

types

hada

disjointed

andvulnerable
standing;they

had

givenup

tiestothesubject

population

without

acquiring

firmnewonesto

the

rulingcircles.

Lacking

an

independent

powerbase,

mawlas

dependedheavily

ontheirwarrior
patrons;

thebest

way

towinfavorwas

through

faithfulserviceinwar.

Thataslavemawlalosthisties tohisown

people

andhad

nonetothe

Arabians

except

through

his

patronrequires

noex-

planation,

sincethisalmost

alwayshappens

in

slavery.

But

why

wasitalsothecaseforfreemawlas?Because
theyvoluntarily

gaveup

their

independence

inreturnfor

specified

socialand

economicbenefits.Freemawlaswere

usuallypersons

fromthe

mosthumblesocial

origins

whohad

nothing

tolosewhen

they

wentovertoIslam.

52

They

foundthatmereconversioninitself

brought

themlittle;inordertogain

fromthis

act,

mawlashad

to

enter

military

service.Byattaching

themselves

to

the

society

of

therulers,indeed,they

hadmuch

togain.

Howeverlowtheir

position

within that

society, becoming

mawla to anArabian

soldier offered the

only

route of

escape

from the subject

population.

Free mawlas

gained

the

followingby entering

thecliental

relations

withanArabian:inreturnfor

givingupcommunity,

religion,

and

independence

ofaction,

they

madetheenormous

leap

from

subject

and

taxpayer

tosoldierand

tax-recipient.

3

Howeverfraught

with

risks,military

serviceofferedthe

only

path

foranon-Arabiantosharein

anyway

thebenefits

enjoyed

by

the

ruling

elite.

Thoughtheynormally

receivedless

pay

than

Arabians

54

and hadalmostno

independent

voicein

establishing

policy,

mawlasstill

gained

byjoiningthearmy.

The

freemawlaenteredservice

voluntarily,

butonce

in,

his

commitmentbecameirreversible; after

casting

hislotwithan

Arabian,hecouldnot

go

backonhisconversionnorabandonhis

52.Bulliet,

p.

41.

53.

Crone,

p.

102.

54.Forsomereferenceson

this,

see

Dixon,p.

48 n.

115;al-eAli,at-Tanzrrndt,

p.

66 n.2;Abfi

eUbayd,pp.

311,314.