Slavery in the Middle East - Essay Example

Order 425221 Topic: Slavery in the Middle East (9th-10th centuries) Bernard Lewis writes, “The institution of slavery had indeed been practiced from time immemorial. It existed in all the ancient civilizations of Asia, Africa, Europe and pre-Colombian America. It had been accepted and even endorsed by Judaism, Christianity and Islam, as well as other religions of the world.” (Lewis 1992 p.3) One finds it difficult to believe that some centuries ago, slave markets existed comparable to the vegetables markets of today; slaves were bought and sold after hard bargaining! In the 9th and 10th centuries, elaborate networks of slave trade had developed. The procedure of slave trade was worst from beginning to end. Once the slaves were forcibly captured, their fate as for living a normal life as human beings, was sealed. Women and children were sold as slaves for labor. Men were sold to Europeans. Mostly, the selling was through auctions, the most humiliation procedure one can think of. In Middle East, slavery was an integral part of various societies. Slavery as depicted in the tale of King Shahriyar and his brother and other stories, are mostly governed by Islamic legal terms. In this context slavery means, one person gets ownership over another person on every count, like labor, property and sexuality. Slaves freedoms are severely restricted. But there is a strange paradox. In socio-cultural yardsticks, slavery means high social status, and political power. In such systems, one finds male slaves in the military and bureaucracy, known as Mamluks and kuls, and female slaves in prestigious harems. In every event, slavery is an important channel of recruitment. Introduction of military salves into the Abbasid Caliphate was prevalent in the ninth century. The kul system refereed to the military-administrative servitude in the Ottoman Empire. The system of domestic and agricultural slaves was also prevalent. The highlight of the kul system was, it was nourished though levies of the unmarried, able-bodied, male children of the sultans Orthodox Christian subjects. The child levy, mostly applicable to the Balkans, was known as the devsirme. The children were meant to be trained as slaves, converted to Islam and rigorous training on Islamic lines was provided to them in the palace schools. They became experts in many types of government roles and enjoyed elite status. 1. Tale of king Shahriyar and his brother: The theme of slavery dominates the story “Tale of king Shahriyar and his brother.” Though the happenings in the story may not be applicable, as a general rule, to the social and economic conditions of the slaves of the era, it nevertheless indicates, the level of freedom enjoyed by some selective slaves, on account of their physical prowess and attraction. N. J. Dawood cites two examples thus: “It so happened, however, that at midnight he remembered a present which he (Shahriyar) had left at his palace. He returned for it unheralded, and entering his private chambers found his wife lying on a couch in the arms of a black slave. At this the world darkened before his eyes; and the thought: “If this can happen when I am scarcely out of my city, how will this foul woman act when I am far away? He then drew his sword and killed them both as they lay on the couch.”(Dawood 1973 p.15-16) In the other example, about the sexual boldness of a negro slave, he writes, “ While Shahzaman sat at one of the windows overlooking the Kings garden, he saw a door open in the palace through which came twenty-slave girls and twenty Negroes. In their midst was his brothers queen, a woman of surpassing beauty. They made their way to the fountain, where they all undressed and sat on the grass. The Kings wife then called out: “Come Massood! And there promptly came to her a black slave, who mounted her after smothering her with embraces and kisses. So also did the Negroes with the slave-girls, reveling together till the approach of night.”(Dawood, 1973 p.17) These two examples indicate that though slavery, as a system prevailed, the slaves enjoyed immense personal clout, once they were in the good-books of their masters. In the present cases, they are no less personalities than the queens of the kingdom. The other story, “The tale of the enchanted king,” also makes prominent mention, how the slaves were entrenched in the important/confidential positions in the Kingdom and knew the secret goings-on about the top personalities, in this particulate case the queen. Describing the sequence of events, Jack David Zipes writes, “Then I requested two maidens (slave girls) to fan my face, one sitting by my head and the other at my feet...” The conversation amongst them was interesting.....How I pity our poor master! His youth is being wasted, and it is all on account of our mistress, that cursed whore, whos betraying him!” The other slave girl replied, “Yes, youre right. May Allah curse all faithless women. Our talented master deserves something better than this harlot who sleeps with someone else every-night.”(Zipes 1991 p.64) The man with whom she was sleeping was a black slave! Slavery was slavery! The suffering of the slaves was always there at any given time of the history. Asserting that while slavery in the West was directed to the productive economy, in the Ottoman Empire it was a form of consumption, Ronald Segal criticizes both Christian and Muslim societies. He writes, “Yet for their own special purposes, Christian and Muslim societies long sanctioned the capture, sale, ownership, and use of men, women, and children from black Africa. We can never know the extent of human cost. It is certain that many millions lost their lives in the warfare and raiding that provided the captives for slavery.”(Segal 2002, p.3) The difference of suffering was in degrees only and depending upon the personal dispositions of the Kings, Queens and the slave owners. Bernard Lewis writes, “Slaves were excluded from religious functions or from any office involving jurisdiction over others. Their testimony was not admitted at judicial proceedings.....In what might be called civil matters, the salve was a chattel, with no legal powers, or rights whatsoever.....The master was forbidden to overwork his slave, and if he did so to the point of cruelty, he was liable to a penalty...”(Lewis 1992,p.7) In his book Richard Cobden makes a pointed reference to slavery in Ottoman Empire: “ With all this, I am not yet prepared to say whether the old Turk is really promoting the happiness or not of the million & a half of slaves that are subjected to his rule….The accounts I get from people here are quite opposite—some are of opinion that the condition of the fellahs was worse & some better under the Mamelukes than now—I fancy however they could not have been poorer than they now are.”(Cobden 2007,p81-82) As could be read in the stories of Arabian Nights the white supremacy was always hailed and blacks were depicted as slaves. But even amongst the slaves, there were different categories. Some, well-versed in the martial arts enjoyed better status! In Chapter 8, entitled "In Black and White", Lewis quotes the son of Ibrāhīm al-Mawsilī as saying, "They used not to train beautiful slave girls to sing, but they used only to train yellow and black girls. The first to teach valuable girls to sing was my father...The price of these girls...was very much higher."(Lewis 1992 p. 56). This quotation would appear to support Lewis claims of racism inherent in Muslim society. Speaking religion-wise, Islam did depend upon slavery to make conversions. But let me hasten to add that the doctrine of Islam is clearly anti-racist. The dogma of equality as propounded in this religion is unquestionable. But the conflict about any religion is its theory and practice. The condition of women was worst. Joan DelPlato describes it thus: “The Anti-Slavery Reporter, first published in 1840, repeatedly denounces the harem for its slave basis. The publication specifically condemns the harem of Egyptian Viceroy, Mohammed Ali, composed of three hundred inhabitants, and the proliferation of his offspring. He is accused of material and sexual extravagance, licentiousness and cruelty; his harem women are reportedly given away to officers or flogged for such minor offences as looking out of the windows.”(DelPlato 2002, p.60)Let me give one example to enable one to come to conclusion about the conditions of slaves in the 10th century in the Arab world. The death toll in the revolt by slaves in Southern Iraq, according to the historians, is nine hundred thousand slaves killed. It is perhaps the biggest slave revolt in history. It is worse than the modern day war-slaughters! Thinking of the overall level of the civilization of the era (9-10th century) slaves, except the hand-picked ones, others were at the reviving end, as they had always been until slavery was finally abolished. ***************** Bibliography Cobden, Richard, Howe Anthony and Bannerman, Gordon. The Letters of Richard Cobden: 1815-1847 - Google Books 2007 books.google.co.in/books?isbn=0199211957... Dawood N. J. Tales from the Thousand and one nights - Google Books, 1973. Result books.google.co.in/books?isbn=0140442898... DelPlato, Joan. Multiple wives, multiple pleasures: representing the harem, 1800-1875 - Google Books 2002 books.google.co.in/books?isbn=0838638805... Lewis,Bernard. Race and Slavery in the Middle East: An Historical Inquiry,Oxford University Press,USA,1992 Segal, Ronald. Islams Black Slaves: The Other Black Diaspora, Farrar, Straus and Giroux February 9, 2002 Zipes, Jack David and Burton, Sir Richard Francis.Arabian nights: the marvels and wonders of the Thousand and one nights - Google Books 1991 books.google.co.in/books?isbn=0451525426... Read More