Black eunuchs, slave soldiers and concubines in fātimid egypt

Abstract

Despite slavery being commonplace in medieval Muslim societies, this subject has not received the research attention it deserves. It is only recently that scholars have begun to focus on the subject of slavery in the Muslim world and began producing new academic monographs about it. In line with this trend, this paper attempts to elucidate on the perception and practice of slavery Fātimid Egypt. In particular, I argue that the po-sition of black African slaves in the Fātimid Empire goes beyond the simple dichotomy of free and slave, and also that of black servants and white masters. I also argue that despite the subordination experienced by black African slaves and the hardships they had to endure in the Fātimid Empire, they were able to establish new opportunities for themselves and advance into the highest positions of the Fātimid state structure. Black African slaves (eunuchs, commanders, and concubines) were not a marginal group, but rather a dominant force that played important roles in the political sphere throughout the history of the Fātimid state.