From Eunuchs to Corsairs: The World of Islamic Slavery

Subject to Change

Fourteen centuries of enslavement, from the Prophet Muhammad's day to modern Mauritania. Justin Marozzi's fascinating book "Captives and Companions" unveils the extraordinarily complex history of slavery across the Islamic world, challenging simplistic narratives and revealing uncomfortable truths about power, race, and religion.
Our conversation delves into how Islam didn't invent slavery but incorporated existing practices while encouraging manumission. We explore the astonishing diversity of enslaved experiences—from the devastating Zanj Rebellion where half a million died when East African slaves revolted in Iraq, to the paradoxical power of Mamluk slave-soldiers who became sultans while technically remaining slaves. Marozzi vividly describes the glittering yet cruel world of royal concubines who composed poetry and accumulated wealth, alongside the horrific castration practices that created eunuchs to guard them.
The racial dimensions prove particularly revealing. Primary sources from Islam's greatest medieval intellectuals expose deeply racist attitudes toward Black Africans, while white Circassian slaves commanded premium prices. The Barbary Corsairs upend simple religious narratives, as European Christians frequently "turned Turk" to join Muslim pirates enslaving fellow Christians across the Mediterranean.
When we reach abolition, Marozzi offers nuanced analysis of how external Western pressure, not internal Islamic reform, primarily drove formal emancipation. Most powerfully, his fieldwork in Mali and Mauritania documents hereditary slavery continuing today, with heart-wrenching stories of those fighting for freedom in the 21st century.
Have we truly reckoned with this history? Listen and decide for yourself.

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Chapters

1. Introduction to Islamic Slavery (00:00:00)

2. Slavery in Early Islam (00:09:55)

3. The Zanj Rebellion (00:22:14)

4. Slave Soldiers and Mamluks (00:35:34)

5. Concubines in the Islamic Courts (00:49:40)

6. Eunuchs: Creation and Purpose (01:00:23)