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transemacabre) wrote2013-12-21 01:05 am
transemacabre) wrote2013-12-21 01:05 am
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Slave women and concubines in Abbasid Baghdad
I'm reading through an interesting book, The Slave Girls of Baghdad: The Qiyan in the Early Abbasid Era, which is concerned with the slave trade in the 8th-13th century Abbasid empire (which spanned, as its height, from Tunisia to the borders of the Hindu Kush), specifically the lives of the slave women, or ama. I found it fascinating because there's really not been enough work done on the historical Arab slave trade. The cultural mores and expectations are really interesting to contrast with other massive slave empires, such as the Romans or even the Antebellum Deep South.
For example, the slave women most valued during the Abbasid period were the saqaliba -- what we know as Slavs-- but others were fancied depending on a man's taste. The caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan preferred Berber women to be the mothers of his children and Persians for their good behavior. Dananir, a poet, slave, and favorite of Harun al-Rashid, was black, as was Maknuna, who al-Mahdi bought for the sum of 100,000 dirhams; she became the mother of the poetess 'Ulayya by him. Ibn Butlan, an 11th century physician, left an auction catalogue of slaves that gives us an idea of what was expected of slave women in the bustling slave markets of Baghdad:
Indians: Good figures, very beautiful, dark complexion, tendency to age early, faithful and good-natured
Berbers: Most of dark complexion; obedient, faithful, and energetic
Abyssinians (Ethiopians): Slender, delicate, not talented at dancing or singing
Turks: Beautiful, white-skinned, small eyes, sullen
Byzantine Greeks: Light-colored hair, blue eyes, obedient and good-natured
Armenians: Very healthy, good-looking but for their legs (?!)
Zanj (a catch-all term for all black Africans): The darker, the less valuable
If a girl were especially pretty, or promising, she would be given an Arabic name, taught singing, dancing, the Quran, and the oud, and be bought and kept by a wealthy man, perhaps even the caliph himself. If she became the mother of a son by him, she would be an umm wallad and might even hope to be freed by him in time. Almost all the caliphs were born to slave mothers.
Al-Mansur, second caliph, son of Sallama, a Berber
Al-Hadi, fourth caliph, son of Khayzuran, a Greek
Harun al-Rashid, fifth caliph, son of Khayzuran, a Greek
Al-Ma'mun, seventh caliph, son of Marajil, an Afghan
Al-Mutasim, eighth caliph, son of Marida, a Turk
Al-Wathiq, ninth caliph, son of Qaratis, a Greek
Al-Mutawakkil, tenth caliph, son of Shuja, a Persian
Al-Muntasir, eleventh caliph, son of Habashiyya, an Abyssinian
Al-Musta'in, twelfth caliph, son of Mukhariq, a Slav
Al-Mu'tazz, thirteenth caliph, son of Qabiha, a Slav
Al-Muhtadi, fourteenth caliph, son of Qurb, a Greek
Al-Mu'tamid, fifteenth caliph, son of Fityan, a Persian
Al-Mu'tadid, sixteenth caliph, son of Dirar, a Greek
Al-Muktafi, seventeenth caliph, son of Jijak, a Turk
Al-Muqtadir, eighteenth caliph, son of Shaghib, a Greek
However, there is some evidence that pure-blooded Arabs looked down on their mixed blood kinsmen in this period; at least al-Nafs al-Zakariyyah, a descendant of Muhammad's uncle Abu Talib, could write to al-Mansur and boast, "I am not one of the sons of the divorced, nor one of the sons of the accursed, nor was I carried in the womb of slaves." The politian al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf likewise bragged to caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan that "in my lineage down from Adam there is no slave woman except for Hagar." The caliph dryly retorted, "Were it not for Hagar, you would be a cur among curs."
For example, the slave women most valued during the Abbasid period were the saqaliba -- what we know as Slavs-- but others were fancied depending on a man's taste. The caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan preferred Berber women to be the mothers of his children and Persians for their good behavior. Dananir, a poet, slave, and favorite of Harun al-Rashid, was black, as was Maknuna, who al-Mahdi bought for the sum of 100,000 dirhams; she became the mother of the poetess 'Ulayya by him. Ibn Butlan, an 11th century physician, left an auction catalogue of slaves that gives us an idea of what was expected of slave women in the bustling slave markets of Baghdad:
Indians: Good figures, very beautiful, dark complexion, tendency to age early, faithful and good-natured
Berbers: Most of dark complexion; obedient, faithful, and energetic
Abyssinians (Ethiopians): Slender, delicate, not talented at dancing or singing
Turks: Beautiful, white-skinned, small eyes, sullen
Byzantine Greeks: Light-colored hair, blue eyes, obedient and good-natured
Armenians: Very healthy, good-looking but for their legs (?!)
Zanj (a catch-all term for all black Africans): The darker, the less valuable
If a girl were especially pretty, or promising, she would be given an Arabic name, taught singing, dancing, the Quran, and the oud, and be bought and kept by a wealthy man, perhaps even the caliph himself. If she became the mother of a son by him, she would be an umm wallad and might even hope to be freed by him in time. Almost all the caliphs were born to slave mothers.
Al-Mansur, second caliph, son of Sallama, a Berber
Al-Hadi, fourth caliph, son of Khayzuran, a Greek
Harun al-Rashid, fifth caliph, son of Khayzuran, a Greek
Al-Ma'mun, seventh caliph, son of Marajil, an Afghan
Al-Mutasim, eighth caliph, son of Marida, a Turk
Al-Wathiq, ninth caliph, son of Qaratis, a Greek
Al-Mutawakkil, tenth caliph, son of Shuja, a Persian
Al-Muntasir, eleventh caliph, son of Habashiyya, an Abyssinian
Al-Musta'in, twelfth caliph, son of Mukhariq, a Slav
Al-Mu'tazz, thirteenth caliph, son of Qabiha, a Slav
Al-Muhtadi, fourteenth caliph, son of Qurb, a Greek
Al-Mu'tamid, fifteenth caliph, son of Fityan, a Persian
Al-Mu'tadid, sixteenth caliph, son of Dirar, a Greek
Al-Muktafi, seventeenth caliph, son of Jijak, a Turk
Al-Muqtadir, eighteenth caliph, son of Shaghib, a Greek
However, there is some evidence that pure-blooded Arabs looked down on their mixed blood kinsmen in this period; at least al-Nafs al-Zakariyyah, a descendant of Muhammad's uncle Abu Talib, could write to al-Mansur and boast, "I am not one of the sons of the divorced, nor one of the sons of the accursed, nor was I carried in the womb of slaves." The politian al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf likewise bragged to caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan that "in my lineage down from Adam there is no slave woman except for Hagar." The caliph dryly retorted, "Were it not for Hagar, you would be a cur among curs."