Military Slaves: A Uniquely Muslim Phenomenon

Submitted by Matthew Simon (United States), Aug 20, 2012 at 01:13

I forgot to add some additional, clarifying comments, which I do now.

Most commentary about slaves, is focused upon the later centuries in the Christian world. I am most interested in the period STARTING circa 1096 (end of the Firtst Crusade. The point of departure is the crusades, less as a religious phenomena, rather as colonialism. This viewpoint focuses upon the Genoese in Syria, Byzantium, Cyprus, etc. pursued by the well known historian Charles Verlinden. Verlinden centers upon the Christian countries. However, slaves from the Black Sea area were used in sugar plantations in Syria and Palestine, spreading to the West (along with sugar plantations) during this earlier period. These were mostly "white" slaves. "Miscegenation" resulted in "griffons"! Thus, what other designations were used when dealing with slaves. The children of slaves and free Islamic owners must have existed, and these children having a legal status, requiring a system of names. What names for different classes of slaves were there?

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