Book Description

While the institution of slavery, which prevailed throughtout the Islamic area over many centuries, is one of the distinguishing features of Islamic civilization, it has received little scholarly attention until now. In this important work, specialists in Middle Eastern and African studies examine slave elites and the practice of slavery in different regions from a comparative perspective, dealing with key issues such as the development of the slave soldier system, the legal status and economy of slave elites, the linguistic and cultural identity of slave elites in their societies of origin and residence, and the relation of slave elite systms to Islamic civilization as a whole. The volume hightlights the transregionality and commonality of slave elites and Islam and show the complexities underlying an institution of great historic interest.

MIURA TORU is a professor at Ochanomizu University, Japan, and the coeditor of Islamic Urban Studies (London: Kegan Paul International, 1994)

JOHN EDWARD PHILIPS is an associate professor at Hirosaki University, Japan. He received his Ph.D. degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and his most recent book is on the history of the Hausa language.