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

WhatIsa

MilitarySlave?

23

ment

andaretoo

deeplyinvolvedinits

politics

and

society

to

rebel

against itor to

establish their own

government. And

whereas

mercenaries

might deserttheir

employer

to return

home,

militaryslaveshave

nowhereto

go.Theycannot

leave,

for

theyhave

become

indigenous;theyare

part

of

the

rulingelite,

nor

justitspaid

employees.Unlike

mercenaries,

they

can

neither

plunder

nor

leave.

Instead,

they

usurp

the

government

from

within.Sometimes

they

control

theruler from

behind the

scenes witlaout

lro

claiming

their

power;atother

times

they

take

overinnametoo.

Menofslave

origins

directed

Islamicate

governmentsmore

than

fiftytimesand

womenofslave

origins,

twice.

9

Although

the

"slave-king"phenomenon

puzzlestherestofthe

world,it

repre-

sentsthe

logicalculminationof

military

slavery(ifnotitsin-

tended

result)andmarksthe

final

step

inthe

transformationof

the

military

slave

fromtrue

slavetomaster.

The

military

slave

thusdiffersfrom

otherslaves

innumerous

ways:

he

aloneis

carefullyselected,

purposelyacquiredas a

youth,

trainedand

indoctrinated,then

employed

asa

profes-

sionalsoldier.He

joinsthe

rulingeliteand

belongstoa

corps

of

soldierswhichcan

seize

powerunderthe

rightcircumstances.

Yet,

despite

these

many

differences

betweenhim and

other

kinds

ofslaves, he

remainsatrueslave

as

long

ashis

master

controls
him.Onemustnot
dismisshis
slavery

as

a

formality

or

as
legal

fiction.

Hisdistinct

qualitiesdelineated

andhis

slavery

established,wecan
moveontothe

question:

whenand

where

didthe
military

slave

exist?

29.Thetwo

femalerulersofslave

originsweretheMamluk

ShajaradoDurr

andthe
NajahidCAlam.