Abstract
This paper is a study of slaves and their descriptions during the Mamluk period, based on the following three sources: Alf Layla wa Layla, a large volume of anonymous stories well-known in Middle Eastern society (also known as the Arabian Nighs and the thousnad and One Nights); the travel journal known as Rihla Ibn Battuta; and the chronicle al-Ta'liq (meaning miscellaneous remarks). Throughout the history of Middle Eastern society, little has been known about slaves other than military slaves. Scarce attention has been paid to the topic of other slaves. But Middle Eastern society had many slaves, not only military but also domestic slaves. We need a comprehensive study of all kinds of slaves to understand the role of slaves. I present the following conclusions. The three sources under study reveal both similarities and differences with regard to the character of slaves. They found a variety of slaves in terms of their origin, work, and social relations, which caused ambiguities of each term differing in the sources. Second, the relationship between master and slave was very strong, which is reflected clearly in Alf Layla wa Layla, Rihla and also in al-Ta'liq, a chronicle. Third, the slaves, as un-differentiated and borderless, could play an important role in such a society.
