Slaves on Horses: The Evolution of the Islamic Polity [Paperback]

Patricia Crone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0521529409 | ISBN-13: 978-0521529402

Slave soldiers are a distinctively Muslim phenomenon. Though virtually unknown in the non-Muslim world, they have been a constant and pervasive feature of the Muslim Middle East from the ninth century AD into modern times. Why did Muslim rulers choose to place military and political power in the hands of imported slaves? It is this question which Dr Crone seeks to answer. Concentrating on the period from the rise of the Umayyads to the dissolution of the 'Abbasid empire (roughly AD 650-850), she documents the consequences of the fusion between religion and politics in Islam, which she sees as an essential forging characteristic of the Muslim social structure and state. Primarily addressed to specialists and advanced students of Arabic and Islamic history, the book will also appeal to comparative historians and social anthropologists.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

Concentrating on the period from the rise of the Umayyads to the dissolution of the 'Abbasid empire (roughly AD 650-850), she documents the consequences of the fusion between religion and politics in Islam, which she sees as an essential forging characteristic of the Muslim social structure and state.

Product Details

• Paperback: 316 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (October 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521529409
• ISBN-13: 978-0521529402
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,849,089 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The standard text on the emergence of Islam as an empire, January 5, 1999

By 

readersf (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Slaves on Horses: The Evolution of the Islamic Polity (Hardcover)

It is a pity this book is out of print, because no other work so clearly describes the challenges facing the early Caliphs (Khalifa) as they were compelled to turn their divinely inspired kingdom into a very earthly empire with something approaching a regular army. The early Islamic conquests were made by the entire mass of (male) believers, organized on tribal lines, responding to the call of the Khalifa...but such a force was unreliable and as likely to kill the Caliph as defend him.. Crone analyzes the alternatives pursued as the Caliphs moved from being successors to the Prophet to Kings in their own right. Brilliantly done-

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book by a brilliant author, January 31, 2008

By 

M. Kline "moeriscus" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Slaves on Horses: The Evolution of the Islamic Polity (Paperback)

Dr. Crone has acquired more knowledge than any human being should rightfully possess, and this becomes immediately apparent when one reads her book. Although Slaves on Horses is a 'scholarly' work, it is nevertheless accessible to any lay reader interested in early Islam. Her writing is smooth, succinct, and even passionate. My only grievance is that the work is rather short; appendices and endnotes take up nearly two thirds of the book. I sometimes wish she had elaborated on some of her more controversial statements within the text itself, rather than burying her justifications in the endnotes. Nonetheless, Slaves On Horses is still an exceptional book and well worth the read.

12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Roots of decline, December 14, 2004

By 

Seth J. Frantzman (Jerusalem, Israel) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Slaves on Horses: The Evolution of the Islamic Polity (Paperback)

Islam's relying on Slave soldiers to protect and defend its empire was the root of its decline. The slave soldier neither has the interest or the caring to defend his homeland, rather like a mercenary he fights for his life and runs away at the earliest possible moment when all seems lost. This book develops the scholarship on Islam's early use of slave soldiers, making the arguemtn that the weakness and distrust of the early Islamic rulers led them to adopt slaves, who had no kin, no tribe, and therefore would be apolitical. The fact that all four of the first Caliphs were assasinated certainly helped this idea on its way. The second major factor in choosing slaves is that the Bedouin soldiers and raiders who propelled Islam out of Arabia were not reliable soldiers and could not wage set piece battles, all though this military fact is overlooked this is a good study and goes half way to explaining the failure of Islamic Jihadist armies at Lepanto and Poiters.

Seth J. Frantzman