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

WhatIsa

MilitarySlave?

11

GovernmentSlaves

Aruler

mayusehishousehold

slavesas

politicalagents;

they

thensharethe

high

standing

of

militaryslavesbutarenot

sol-

diers.Governmentslaves

acquirepoliticalpowerifarulerneeds

trusted

agents,forashisdomestic

slaves

they

are

totallyunder

hiscontroland

servehimwith

greatloyalty.

Lackinganypower

baseother thanhis

favor,suchmen are

idealtoolsfor

their

master;andshouldhewishto

retireto

pleasanterpursuits,

they

cantakeover

the

responsibilities

of

statewithout

threatening

his

position

asruler.

Governmentslavesare

foundalloverthe

world.In

Europe,

theservi

Caesarisinthe

Roman

Empire

arethe

mostrenowned

andthebest

studied;

1

but

theyarefarfrom

unique.Onefinds

governmentslaves,for

example,intheEast

Gothic,Vandal,and

Burgundiankingdoms;

they

werecalled

ministerialesin

medieval

Germany;andin

Muscovy,

they

dominatedboth

thecentraland

provincial

governments

forseveral

centuriesuntilabout

1550.1’

10.

The

following

aresomeof

the

full-length

studiesonthe

useof

gov-

ernmental

slavesintheRoman

Empire:G.Boulvert,

Domestique

etfonctionnaire

sousle

Haut-Empireromain;idem,LesEsclaves

etles

affranchis

impkriaux(Naples,

1970);H.Chantraine,

FreigelasseneundSklavenim

Dienstderr’bmischenKaiser

(Wiesbaden,1967);LHalkin,Les

Esclaves

publics

chezles

Romans;H.Lemonnier,

Etude

historiquesurlacondition

privke

des

affranchis

auxtrois

premierssibclesdel’empire

romain

(Paris, 1887);K.Wachtel,

FreigelasseneundSkdaveninder

staatlichen

Finanzverwaltung

der(inischen

Kaiserzeit

(Berlin,1966);P.R.C.Weaver,

Familia

Caesaris:ASocial

Study

of

the

Emperors’

Freedmenand

Slaves

(Cambridge,1972);

M.

Wolf,

Untersuchungen Stellungderkaiserlichen

FreigelassenenundSklavenin

Italienund

denWestprovinzen

(Miinster,1965).

Somescholars,drunkonthe

excessesofRomanslaves

(andignorantofIslami-

cate

history),havemade

preposterousclaimsontheirbehalf:

"imperialfreed-

men

gained

an

ascendancyinthe[Roman]

Empirethelikeofwhichhas

neverin

anothernationfallen

toaseriesoflow-born

upstarts TheRoman

Empire

enjoysanunenviable

distinction.She

possesses

the

longestlistofmenials

who

roseto

guidethedestiniesofa

state"(Duff,Freedmeninthe

EarlyRoman

Empire,p.

174).

T.P.

Ionmakesanevenmore

astonishing

comparisonwithIslamdom:

"TheslavesintheIslamic
countriesnever
playeda
prominentpart,

either

inso-

cialorstateaffairs,
being
exclusively

usedfor

domesticservice.Onthe

contrary,

the
slavesinRome...were
notonlyservants,but
teachers,educators,and
above

all,soldiers."RomanLawand
Mohammedan
Jurisprudence(n.p.,n.d.),
pp.

26-27.

11.

FortheEastGothic,Vandal,

and

Burgundiankingdoms,seeD.Rotia-

enh6fer,
Untersuchungen

zurSklaverei

in den

ostgermanischenNachfolgestaaten