Unfree Lives

Magdalena Moorthy Kloss is an FWF Erwin Schrödinger Fellow at the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (Berlin) and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University. Her research examines slavery, dependency and social hierarchies in Yemen through an interdisciplinary lens. She has published articles in the journals History and Anthropology and Der Islam, and a chapter in The Palgrave Handbook of Global Slavery throughout History (2023).

• AcknowledgementsPreliminary RemarksList of MapsIntroduction1 Historical Context and Sources1 The Najahids – a Dynasty of (Former) Slaves2 The Rasulids2 The Medieval Slave Trade to Yemen1 Overview2 The Unknown Origins of Slave Soldiers in Medieval Yemen3 Trade Procedures to Rasulid Yemen4 Import Taxes5 Transport Charges and Travel Provisions6 Trade Procedures in Yemen7 Conclusion3 Eunuchs1 Eunuchs in Islamic Foundational Texts2 The Eunuch Institution in the First Islamic Centuries3 Terminology4 Early Lives5 Digression: Slave Names and the Loss of Origins6 Beginnings in Yemen7 Eunuchs in the Rasulid Military and Political Administration8 Amirs9 Governors and Representatives10 Owners of Revenue Estates11 Envoys12 Treasurers and Paymasters13 Supervisors of Mamluks14 Eunuchs and Rasulid Women15 Eunuchs as Educators of Royal Children16 Scholarly and Religious Activities17 Patronage of Pious Endowments18 Conclusion4 Female Slaves1 Types of Female Slave Labour in Medieval Yemen2 Concubines’ Biographies in al-Ḥakamī’s Chronicle3 Rasulid Case Studies4 Conclusion5 Low-Ranking Slaves1 Nūr al-maʿārif as Unique Source of Information on Low-Ranking Slaves2 Kitchen Service3 Employment in Palace Storage Facilities4 Protective Services5 Stable Duties6 Craftsmanship and Other Specialized Work7 Agriculture8 Mining9 ConclusionConclusionsBibliography