In the early years of the Islamic conquests, the Umayyads drew their forces from the Arabian peninsula, where a harsh nomadic existence had fortified its newly converted inhabitants into natural warriors. But, as Islam spread into the agricultural regions of Mesopotamia and the Nile Valley, the peasant-farmer inhabitants proved unsuitable soldier material.
The rapid expansion of Islam resulted in inevitable shortages of manpower. The Umayyad's successors, the Abbasids, solved this problem with the mamluk system whereby slaves from areas such as the Caucasus and Asia Minor provided hardened conscripts who would be trained from boys into highly effective troops known as mamluks. Thus the momentum of Islamic expansion was maintained for centuries.
So what if the mamluk system never existed? How successful could Islam have been if it had to rely on masses of conscripted peasants like their European counterparts? Would the Crusades have been more successful? Would Venice have prospered without Islam's constant demand for slaves?The slaves that paid for the valuable spices which were the foundation of the Venetian commercial empire.
The rapid expansion of Islam resulted in inevitable shortages of manpower. The Umayyad's successors, the Abbasids, solved this problem with the mamluk system whereby slaves from areas such as the Caucasus and Asia Minor provided hardened conscripts who would be trained from boys into highly effective troops known as mamluks. Thus the momentum of Islamic expansion was maintained for centuries.
So what if the mamluk system never existed? How successful could Islam have been if it had to rely on masses of conscripted peasants like their European counterparts? Would the Crusades have been more successful? Would Venice have prospered without Islam's constant demand for slaves?The slaves that paid for the valuable spices which were the foundation of the Venetian commercial empire.