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Apa fo fae daing fo the rpc of esearch opiate stay. o icin, fe rcviews as pried under the Copyrigh, Dep apd Paton Act. 1985 po pat of this Pallicaon may be repraduced, toned er tanamited in any fora ot by aty ane without the foe permision in wring of the publaker or i accordance withthe ts of photocopying [eon ied by the Copyright Licensing Agency othe Copyright Clearance Cote and thet crprtaton atthe by the Publer ie Cinatnr opmapaplic eprodocion igi ‘Microfilm The our saab on meron (16mm oe 3mm) oe rosea moi fom dhe Sil Acgustons Deparnen Bell & Howell lformation and Lerting, yo Nor Zeeb Real, Ann bot ML 106, USA. ad Advertising For dts contact Andy Putra, Whestcat Hows, Woalpt Heth Bory St Bdmande Soff Pyo tN, UK Tek (ots 242175; Fa al) 99 24287 “Typeset by Joss Asoeites Led, Oxford ned in Great Britain by Alden Press, Oxf BSN onso-sert “This our printed onside paperMilitary pay and the economy of the early Islamic state* Hugh Kennedy Univesity of St. Andrews Abstract "This article examines the system of military payment inthe early Islamic sate (650 00 A.D.) and its efect on the economy. Its argued that early Islamic armies were paid in cash slates, rather than land grants of kind. This meant chat 2 massive mount of coinage was put into circulation and spent by the soldiers in the markees ‘of the developing towns ofthe Middle East. The system of military payment played ‘an important par in creating che urban, cash based market economy ofthe early Islamic world which contrasts so sharply with th land and kind based economies of the contemporary Byzantine empire and Latin West. ‘The economic life of the Middle Eastin the early slamic period (650-900) presents a marked contrast with economic life in contemporary Western Europe or in the Byzantine empire Two fearures especially are noteworthy for this discussion. The fist is the high degree of urbanization in the carly Islamic period? The Muslim conquerors of Iraq and Iran mostly seeled in * Mach ofthe rescach for this ance wa underaken when Iw the tate older of Bish Acalemy Research Rexdersip fom 1998 eo 2000 foe projet on the stary and soit in the ‘ety lami stat The wider ress ofthis projet can Be found in HL Kennedy, The Arm of the ali (203): would keto record my grate othe Acer for ging ne his oppor “Theor wero of thi arte was pected atthe Angl-Ancican Conference of Heras she ste of Historical Reseach, Lotion in Joly 2000 aed am mos grate to Prfeoe David ‘Cnn for inviting mt peak there waldo ike oes hanks to Chis Wikia for charaetisicallywide-agiug and scolaly commons on this paper " Wat cea he ecoorse hitery ofthe aly mse oid hes bea sareyed in genera spleen See E Aor, Hie ds Ps dt Sleds Oren Mate Pr 196) and ‘i, Salad nei Hit ofthe Now a the Mile Ager (st M. Lomb, The C Age of lan, eas | Spencer (Ameri, 197) 2 pons mre On Hage ML ‘Movony, Hap fer the Mule Congct (rinecton, NJ. 984) On Syria and Paleo ce dhe cect review by A. Walmley, redaction, change and regional me i the Manic Eat Molicraoea old race mow sytem, i The Lang fh Cosy Prdaien, Dito ed mased LL. Hana and ©. Wicks Lde, 200) p s-345, Foran ont of comin el stuctars in th contemporary Byatin pit sc Halon, Prodan, debt cd dean inthe Bann: worl conten nen ond Wickham, p.235-S4 ood tanging survey of al the Gmer Reman trier, © Wickham ‘Over podction Aurbcon so demand in Hanan ad Wickham pp 343-77 There i vt Ieerstare onthe anie City On the degrs of ubaizion inthe ar of cent ing ace McC. Ada, The Land Behind Bale (Loon sd Cig 999.9. 95- ‘whee tc vlc ofthe vas cites of Baghdod and Samaras ote. Se bo he comments ‘aired by cr eho 8 Cony ond Onn On; und 58 Man Sea EER155. Military pay and the economy of the early slamic state cities. Sometimes these were new foundations: Kuf,’ Basta immediately after the conguests, Wasit and Mosult in the Umayyad petiod and Baghdad and Samarra under the ‘Abbasids* One study has estimated that the inhabited area of Baghdad (7,000 hectares) was some five times that of Constantinople in the tenth century and suggested that a conservative estimate of the population would be 280,000, but a figure of 300,000 is probably more realistic* If Basra contained anything like the 8o,oo0 fighting men siid to hhave been in the dui (pay register) in carly Umayyad times, then the total population can hardly have been much under 400,000” The more modest Islamic new town at Mosul may have had a popdlation of some 50,000 at the end of the Umayyad period” It has been estimated that the population of Nishapur in north-east Iran may have grown from around 1,700-3,500 before the coming of [slam to 110,000-230,000 by the year 1000” Isfahan may have increased from 15,000 t© 200,000." Sometimes the Muslim settlement represented major extensions to existing cities, as at Rayy (neat modern Teheran) and Merv in Khurasan In Egype the new city of Fustat vas the fist major urban settlement in the area which later became Cairo" ‘These cities may have stated as garrison setlements for the early Muslim conquerors, but in all cases they soon became commercial centres as well, supporting merchants and manufacturers and providing foci for long- distance trade.” in, Lame, The Toppy of Baghad i he Ey Mille Age (Deri, Mich, 1970}. pp. 160-8 wie the andor dices the hue se of Baghlad compared eh hitesnd. On the rid goth of ces in ean che cay amie perod, see R Bali, ee he Pw fom the Ee (Se eri 199) pe. 67-70 On Kula ace H Dia Al-Kuf Naan dee Vile Mami (Pat, 1986). * On he carly baton of Mona ae CF Rabson, mpi an a afr he Mai Coun he ‘Trunjoraion of Nether Menpaana (Carb, soo pr. 63-86 On Bagdad, se G Le Stange, Bagel daring the baad Caliph (1905), aod Lacon Samarra, sce the casi acount. Herald, Gavi der Sat Sonar (iambare, 1948 abd KCA.C Crewe Eth Minin duces vole, Oxford 952-4 M Roger Sumas solid towa planing in The mae Ci AH. Harn and SM. Sec (On 1979) Dp No-ste fora more recent apps, ee Malic Appt Samar « he Centoy lac Cig ed. C.F Robinson (Cnn, 200) Last. pp 57-60 * ALBaidhr, ab a: Ashe pe 6d M,Sclosinger rule, 170}. 90 obioaon Emp ond Els *R Baller Medieval Nubspar a topographic and demographic ecomsrto’ Sis Hani, (usghh tok sce L Galombek, ‘Urban parm in pe Saiid Ia, Hanan Sai, (igh sous and Bali blimp 7 "The hinrcltpography of Ray bas Ben ile suid abd the site has now been psy ‘allowed pin ee urban spe of south Tete: fr be infomation sce ail Tay in nlp am. New ino P.] Bearma ad thet os Leben. 199); On Mere HL Kesinedy,"Meticel Mer’, in G. Hern, Monument of Men: Triton Buin of the ‘ara (995), 924-44 "Om the ety development of Fast ce W, Kubiak, Abt it Bwmdtn ad Early Ura Descent Wars, 298: Caio, 1987}, for archaolgial evidence fr markets ad comintcil developmen in Stan cits, se ‘Walmsley, Production, exchange ab regional wadeMilitary pay and the economy of the early lamic state 157 ‘The second noteworthy feature of this society was the highly monetarized nature of the economy. soldies and officials were paid cash salaries and taxes ‘were collected in coined money." The impression given by the numerous references to cash payments in the waitten sourees is reinforced by the large surviving numbers of gold and silver coins from this period, In contrast, both ‘Western Europe' and the Byzantine lands" (with the exception of the city of Constantinople itself) present as largely rural communities where rewards sre gamed in landed property aud the economy fan on exchange aod barter” OF course the contrast can be exaggerated there were trading towns in Christendom, coins were minted and luxury goods were imported and exchanged. However, without being able to quantify it, there seems no reasonable doubt that both urbanization and the cash economy were much more highly developed in early Islamic lands ‘There were several reasons for this. In many ways the urban centres and ‘monetary economy of the early Muslim world were an inheritance from the great Byzantine and Sasanian empires which had previously dominated the Midile East The lands conquered by the Muslims contained many of the ‘most important cities of the late antique world, Even after the disruptions of the late sixth and early seventh centuries, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Damascus and Antioch, along with other places, still maintained a gentinely urban environment which the Muslim conquerors took over and developed. This aspect should not, however, be overstated. Many of the urban centres, Antioch being a classic example, had been in steep decline throughout the sixth century, both in terms of population and of the urban fabric." The ‘Muslims may have inherited cities but there is litle evidence that they inherited thriving and expanding cities Furthermore, most of the centres which saw the most impressive urban growth were not ancient cities continued but new foundations, Continuity alone will not explain this urbanization. ‘The Muslims also conquered an area in which there was a developed monetary economy, although i is diffcule to be certain how far this extended into rural areas. Here again, though, continuity will not provide "For denon of the exesve bat laa uncle evidence fo hi, ee Kennedy, Ami, Ror pte dconios of money inthe xy meal Wes Spin Money on Ui in Melia Eps (Combe, 19) pp. 7-2 M. Blackburn, Money td cong in The Nav Cambie Medical Hisar, 0-95 - Meters (Cambri, 2999p 3 "Oa which sce Halon atom the th Cm the Tran of Cla (Cambie, 1g) pp. 147-2 with ret an om, "Prodecrion,dsebution and demand ara general Jaci of early maieal economies in the Wer sx j Moreland, Conceps of ‘he early matical conomy’ in Hstcn std Wika, Pp. 1-34 "For Antioch, se G Downey, Hy of Anta Sy fom Secs the Arsh Cong (Princ, NJ 98): FL Kenedy, "Aniocs om Bye oa ad back gunn The Cy fa Lae Amity) Rick (092) pp. Seok For the cites of Syria more generally ceH Renney rom pol madman change ia te anague and eay limi ys, Put € Prat, co (9983) 4-276 Fes, Spin in anion, AD. s50-7scan achaslogiel appre, Dunbar Oak Papo I (097) 89-300 and Wel, redaction, exchange and regina ade’158 Military pay and the economy of the early slamic state a complete explanation: copper coinage certainly circulated in the Byzantine tersitory but no cons had been minted in the lands taken by the Muslims for almost a century” and it was not until che reign of the Umayyad caliph ‘Abd al-Malik (685-705) that coinage was once again produced in these arcas™ There was, in fact, no tradition of money-making for the Muslims to continue. The position was rather different in the ex-Sasanian lands to the cast, where there had been a massive ‘minting of silver coinage during the reign of Khustaw I (591-628)." Minting continued under his short-lived secesors, and the earliest Islamic coins continued the Sasanian model with ‘only minor modifications. Here there was certainly a continuity of money- making lacking in the ex-Byzantine lands, but the practice would not bave ‘been continued on any significant scale unless it was useful and there was a continuing and massive demand for coin. Perhaps the most important inheritance ofthe early Muslim state from the Byzantine and Sasanian" past was the concept and mechanisms of public raxation, notably che land tax” The development of taxation systems in the carly Islamic period is complex and controversial However, by the beginning of the eighth century, if not before, we can be reasonably confident that most sorts of agricultural land were obliged to pay land tax (which became known as khard)) and that certain categories of the population {people ofthe book) were obliged to pay a poll ex For the purpose of this attile, i is sulliient to note that publie taxation continued to be the fiseal ‘mainstay of early Islamic government, as it had of late Roman and Sasanian government, long after it had disappeared in the West. The decision that che Maslim armies should subsist on the proceeds of public taxation meant that the system of taxation had to be maintained. If the members of the conquering armies had been assigned agricultural lands, as were the © A. Waly, Cin gece nh nd 7h entry Pane a Arb oil and ecm npiation a Bem ad Sa Hi of te Ort 935 =i cxmcngy donors a MDa ley gegen in the cea an age Rome Sat de Naim ef) 25-42, On seaman cage ie 1 GO Seen Nima Bec, 96°) 2 Facer rather diflcar vw ofthe bt Senin acl spac oe} Howe Johto, “The co pt foe in eas compar n Te Ba cn Mt Mr es Rove on Amino Camere (nso Ni ps) fp sys and Ra ‘Ether Annakin Catnaon pp. 27-97 Bath sao bowen aps on perener the and fn tLe Sun poked Se cn Menon ps psi ero compte fle Senin ed ety Iino fem ee hi oe pn se hon Wiha he ces tants om the ncn wed to tle Pt & Pen gta Weta Sipe tt snag he sure fr heel pb nator we the ft that te Goma SO Ee rate ol teeta rete cen yee ori by gr of ‘ker tan ley wich aude te land eh rlundn ad wns "Foreman doco ofa amie stone Dene, Cain ad he Pl Ta sn Bay on (Cambridge Mas fsa) FLaegur, Hame Teuton te Casal Pod (Copenlagen 953) Morinncy TF Adasen: Ep the Bay os Prd foxkee trip B Sino, Sub se Gene nl ely Deepen of te Capel Teste Span (Capen 8Miltary pay and the economy of the earl Islamic state 159) Germanie military of sith-century western Europe, then the system would sorely have fillen into desuecude Cultural explanations have also been advanced for this precocious ‘economic development. In a famous essay, S. D. Goitein argued that Muslim religions and social atieudes were basically friendly to commerce2™ ‘There was none of the aristocratic disdain for commercial activity typical of the West. On the contrary, merchants were highly respected members of the ‘community, after all, the Prophet Muhammad himself had been a merchant, and many of the leading religious figures were drawn from commercial backgrounds. This may indeed have been the case, bu it is likely that this businessfriendly cultural climate was as much a product of the commercial More recently, Bullict has argued that the process of conversion to Islam led many new Muslims to leave their native rural environments, where they ‘might have found themselves ostracized or even persecuted, and to move 10 an urban environment where they eould find other Muslims and practise their new faith freely Ie will be the argument of this article that the development of a monetary and urban economy can be attributed, at least in part, t0 the administrative mechanisms set in motion in the century after the carly Muslim conquests, and in particular to the establishment of a military system based on regular cash payments to a large body of soldies. In the early caliphate, the payment of the military was by far the largest charge on government financial resources. We would expect this, as military expendiare, in whatever form, was almost always the main drain on the revenues of governments before the twentieth century. Two sets of figures from the early Islamic period, however, lend substance to this The frst isan account of the revenues and expenditure of the government of Basra, one of the new towns founded by the Muslims in souther Iraq, in about 6702” We are told thatthe total revenues collected amounted to some 60,000,000 dirhams per annum, OF this sum, 36,000,000 was spent directly on the salaries of the troops and 16,000;000 on allowances for their families. OF the remainder, 2}000,000 was spent on the expenses of government, 2,000,000 was kept in reserve and 4,000,000 was forwarded t0 the caliphs capital at Damascus, Clearly these figures are rounded, and probably schematic, bu che picture they show is nonetheless interesting: of the revenue of 60,000,000, $2,000,000, oF some eighty-six per cent, went on military salaries and allowances. ‘We have a second account from some two centuries later which makes very much the same point. Ths is an account of the budget of the ‘Abbasid ‘caliphate in 892," in which daily expenditure is recorded in gold dirs. The >. Goin, There of he sear caste bourgeoisie mond i (1956-7) Bali, om. pp. 67-7. % AlBalidhart sa sep pp 89-3 His ab-i, sbifcet ed “ARD Swede Abad Fury (Cairo, 1958) pp German otto ith een HBr, Da tng det hen AM yes}, De em li (67) 1-36 ea vi,160 Military pay and the economy of the early slamic state total daily expenditure amounted to 7.915 dinirs of this, 5.121 dinirs was diece expenditure on military salaries, and a farther 1,943 was spent on stables, riding beasts and so on, which could be both military and non- nilitary but are more likely to have been the former. Only 831 diniss was spent on the bureaucracy, the harem, pious donations and other clearly non- nltary items. Expenditure on che stables was eee times as much as that on the harem (‘he caliph of the time, al-Mu'tadid (802-902), was a keen horseman), Once again, the proportion of total revenue devoted to the army was probably more chan eighty percent. Like all figures from the early riddle ages, chese must be ereated with caution bar, along with many other pieces of ancedotal and circumstantial evidence, they surely point to the fact that military expenditure was overwhelmingly the most important call on government Funds and chat the way in which the military was paid was the determining factor in the fiscal structure of the state Tesccms that this expenditure was almost entirely made in coined money. "The early Islamic state operated a tri-metallic currency.” In the ex-Byzantine provinces of Syria and Egype major expenditure, including salaries, was made in gold dinis, based originally on Byzantine models. Inthe ex-Sasanian East, and increasingly throughout the Islamic world, the unit of eurreney was the silver dirham, which evolved direcly from Sasanian coins. The precious metal coins were supplemented, especially in the gold-curtency areas, by a variety ‘of copper ful (Sing. fl) The relative value of the dinar and the dtham varied considerably but was probably about 12:1 in the eatly eighth century and ‘more like 20:1 in the tenth, Even when expenditure was quoted in dinars (a, in the accounts from al-Mu'tadid’s reign mentioned above), it is likely that most of the payments were actually made in dirhams ‘Other forms of reward for the military ae recorded, Inthe early days after the conquests, soldiers were sometimes given rations in kind (12g, pl. ar2ig) In descriptions of Basra in Umayyad times, and also in Egyptian adminis- trative papyri ofthe same period, its shown that local officials were ordered to prepare supplics of grain and oil forthe season when the armics set out. However, it is also clear that these payments were a supplement to the cash salaries, nota substitute. Furthermore, they were gradually phased out as the armies beeame more professonalized and specialized. By the beginning of the ninch century, the term rizq had come to mean cash payments and was synonymous with ‘ai’ (the usual word for a salary)" ‘We also hear of soldiers being given grants of land, usually known as ata (pl gata), These grants were made to troops who were being encouraged to settle in new garrisons away fiom their previous homes, The sures make fete cient he dition of sme of din or diame to the slr. of coune, jt pone dat thee were encies payment in Kd scone i cb gunlet but sohing In the evidence giver any sappr fo hse Fo gs feb payments ce Kémnedy, dems ch "Foran overview with efetences se Heidemana "The mage of rw carey sont ney ‘la an (1099, 08-1 oe the eden sce Kenedy, Arm, ch.Military pay and the economy of the early lamic state 161 fon the Byzantine frontier for example. Here we are told of soldiers in Tarsus in the Cilicizn plain being given ploss of 20 x 20 cubits (approximately 14°), hardly a landed estate Quid’ were given in large ‘numbers to troops from the eastern province of Khurasan who were settled in Baghdad after the foundation of the city in 768. These qatdi" were, however, simply plots of land on which to build houses: they were not intended to be sources of income: they did not include agricultaral lands and they were not in any way substitutes for cash salaries Land, in fact, was never given in exchange for military service. ‘The system of paying slates had evolved in the immediate aftermath of the great Muslim conquests and in response to the problems and opportun- itis which had resulted from these. We know most about the proces in Iraq, which is better documented than other provinces, and where developments ‘may have been more precocious than elsewhere. The establishment of the system is ascribed to the ealiph ‘Umar (634-44) According to the accounts in the Islamic sources, the caliph was concerned that the Muslims would disperse among the indigenous peoples that they had conquered and lose thei identity, and pethaps thei religion itself. He therefore decreed that they should setde in certain garrison cities, most notably Kufa and Basta in southern Irag, rather than spreading out and taking possession of the Land ‘The new setters were thus deprived of their old livelihoods, since they were no longer nomads and could not continue traditional patters of animal Inusbandry. They needed an alternative source of income. The caliph decided thatthe sctlers should be paid regular sums from the taxation collected from. the subject populations” These payments were known as ‘at’, a word whose primary meaning is gift For administrative purposes it was necessary t0 ‘maintain lists of those who were entitled to payments and such a list was Known as a dian. If man's name appeared in the didn it meant that he was entitled to payment. The level of payment differed sharply and was dependent on the time at which the individual had joined the Muslim armies: those who had joined very ealy, inthe lifetime of the Prophet, were entitled to much large? payments than those who had joined at che time of the conquests, while those who had arrived from Arabia after the great victories had been won were entitled to very modest sums: 200 dirhams per annum is said to have been the minimum." Whether these arrangements ‘were, in fact, established by the caliph ‘Uma is difficult to tell. The fact that they were ascribed to him gave them a canonical validity since, at least for Sunni Muslims, ‘Umar was the most important regulator after the Prophet himself. Whatever their origin, there can be litle doubt that this system of = ABulr, uh -Buln, cd MJ. de Goce Leiden, 186), pp 160-70 2 The senlement of Baghdad ir dered in Lance °* Tor fall dscsion of the dtm Moshi account ofthe sing ap ofthe dai, wits suporing texts ace G-R. Pin, Der Dist wn ‘Uma Ib la (Boat 17). PAL Taba Taihu wa-ma ed M-de Goes ad others (5 6, Leiden, 1875-190)162. Miltary pay and the economy of the eary slamic state payment was more or less in operation in Iraq by the accession of the first Unayyad ealiph, Mu‘twiya, in 661. [At First chese payments were cleatly pensions, that is, they were rewards for past participation in fighting for the Muslim cause. They were not, at least explicitly, salaries paid for continuing service in the armies. However, this position was unsustainable in the long term, as the generation of the original conquerors passed away and the nascent Islamic state needed to be able to reward soldiers currently serving in its armies, rather than simply to pay pensions to the descendants of those who had participated in the past. ‘The struggle for control of the system was fought out in Iraq, mostly beeween the famous governor, al-Hijaj b. Yesuf (d. 714) and the leaders of the Kufan and Basta militias By che end ofthe reign of al-Wali Tin 715, if not before, che pensions had been converted into salaries, paid to a standing army on a regular bass, At first this was done annually, but from the mid cighth century payments were made on a “monly” basis (that is, a fiscal month which could be up t© 120 days long, depending on the status of the payee). In the budget of government expenditure of 82 mentioned above, lengthening or shortening the "moneh’” seems to have been a common way of rising or lowering salaries. ‘The armies of the Muslim world were salaried soldiers who depended on. their salaries for their livelihoods and who were obliged to buy viewals and all their other requirements in the market place. In order to Keep such a system going, vast sums of coined money were required. Once again, the sources lead us to propose totals which seem surprisingly large. In. Basta during the si-seventies there were said to be 80,000 men in receipt of a’ Even if they had only been paid at the minimum rate of 200 dirhams pet year {and many of them cleatly received much mote), this would require some 16,000,000 dirhams to allow the system to function. The same considerations ‘ust have applied to the 60,000 or so men who were paid in Kufa at the same time. By the end of the reign of Mu‘awiya (4 0) there ar said to have bbeen 40,000 men receiving ‘ttn Egypr, of whom 4,000 were receiving the highest allowance of 200 gold dinars pet year." Under the ‘Abbasid caliphs in the sevencfifies there may have been no more than 150,000 paid soldiers in the whole caliphate" but, again, if they were being paid at a rate of sixty dirhams a month, for which there is some evidence, this suggests vast sums of ‘money were in citeulation. % Soe Kenney, Army che 2,5 Al-Tabst Thi 435-g A Balirs Andi pt, 202 le shoul be nue ts bot thee eens cme fern ona where the sours fd en strat in tllng up the makers bt ‘whe they nigh be hgh they are analy co Be entiely ni. "ibm Abd al Haars, Fah Mir he Hse of he Cong of grt Nook Af nd Sp, (CC Tesny (New Have, Cm 1933) pp 20,36 Foe fll ection a the dno of Egy 8 this pried oe H Maite, ‘The dint ges of antec cynic yp in lene Ose: Homme & Clade Cabo, Cail ad ReGen Barer at Voc 2994) PP 353-65 oe thisenimate eH. Renny, The ary ABs alpha Pall Hi (981. 2.77%Miltary pay and the economy of the ear Islamic state 163 ‘The circulation of coin should be emphasized here. These men did not live off the land, or off rations distributed by the state, bu off purchases they ‘made in the communities in which they lived, It was only natural, eherefore, that communities in which large numbers of soldiers were stationed became centres of economic activity, as merchants flocked to cater for the needs of the salaried classes. The most conspicuous examples of commercial devel- ‘opment being attracted to garrison cities come from Baghdad and Samarra Baghdad," founded essentially as a new town in 768 by the ‘Abbasid caliph al-Mansar (754-75), was originally a walled citadel city designed to house the ruling elite and its military supporters, mostly Khurasanis from the norch- cast fonticrs of the caliphate. Within a generation it had expanded into 3 ‘major commercial centre. The matkets, which had originally been inside the citadel-city were moved out and commentators describe the vast areas of sugs which grew up to service che new capital Samarra, to the north of Baghdad, was founded by the caliph al-Mu'tasim (633-42), again to house the government apparatus and a new army, largely fecruited in Central Asia. Merchants were attracted by the spending power of the now city, extensive markets were established very rapidly and the elite, although not ehe rank and file of the army, made fortunes out of rapidly rising property values. In the event, Samarta did not enjoy the long-term success of Baghdad. This was partly because of problems with the water supply and other geographical factors, but largely beeause i ceased to be the capital after the accession of al-Ma'tadid in 802. Even before that, the bulk of the army scems to have been transferred from the city to southern Iraq to fight the Zanj rebels. With the loss of the garrison and its spending power, Samarra lost its commercial vitality. In Mosul, a mucleus of some 4,000 Maslim troops settled on the site in the reign of 'Uthman (644-56) provided the basis for the establishment of a city ‘which had grown to perhaps so,00o within a century. The city is described as 4 misr, chat is a centre for the payment of troops. It is pethaps worth speculating that even if these troops kad only been paid the minimum ‘a’ of 200 dirhams per year, their presence would have generated an annual turnover of 00,000 dirhams. As it was, itis likely that some were paid ‘more than the minimum wage and that eheir numbers were increased by further immigration. The requirement © pay these troops would have necessitated the establishment of an efficent, even ruthless system for the taxation of the surrounding agricultural areas" Similar evidence of the importance of the military for urban develop- ‘ment can be found in Merv. The city was an old Sasanian garrison town ‘whose massive mud-brick walls had provided base for Persian troops confronting, the Turks in the deserts and steppe lands to the norch-cat * On the fundtion and early developmen of Baghdad ce Le Strange ad Lain. “The grow of Mona and pores at txcoiscing cnte ace noted by Robinson, np sd lc, pp 7-H, but the pouble role of ly sles stan eine of ecamic sahey meteor—on 164 Miltary pay and the economy of the early Islamic state After the Arab conquest of the area from he six-fifties onwards, Merv became the administrative and military capital of Khurasan: it was here that the teasury, armoury and the diwin were kept; it was here that troops were sathered for the repeated campaigns to the east, where ‘ata’ was distributed and booty was sold, Naturally, merchants came 0 service the city. New markets were established, frst within the city walls by the west gate and very soon after, in a whole new, unwalled quarter to the west. The city sucked people in from all over Transoxania and there were streets for the people of Tukharistan (on the Upper Oxus), Bukhara and Soghdia!® As Ballict notes there is scant evidence of any deliberate transportation of non-Arab populations into the carly slamic ema. Their Howering or decline was more a function of prosperity and seracivenes to Arab warriors and non-Arab ciilans bent on catering to the ‘Arabe’ nceds than on a specific cliphal policy of building cities” ‘The way in which the presence of an army could generate urban development is graphically illustrated by the story of the short-lived city of al-Muwaffagiya. It was established in 880-1 in the marshes of southern Iraq as a base from which the ‘Abbasid general al-Muwaffag (hence the name) could attack the Zanj rebels, whose strongholds lay in the marshes farther south. The establishment of the city is deseribed in an account preserved in al-Tabar'’s Tarith. Knowing that the campaign was going to be a long one al-Mawaffag realied that he necded more barges and other equipment for siver fighting. He Gherfore sent agents to eller provision ad let them come by land and wate to his camp in the cry [mada) which he named al-Muwaffagiys, He wnote tothe provincial governors ordering them to bring money to his tesury inthe city. He seat a messenger eo Sia and Jona [ports the Iranian coast ofthe Gal about the building of murnerous barges which he needed to postion in places wher they ould cut of the supply of provisions to the trator [the leader ofthe Zan) rebel} He also wrote this provincal governors to send anyone Se and willing xo that they ‘ould he entered in his dian. Then he spent a manth or wo waiting Provisions ope arriving regulaely and merchane provided. diferent sons of goods and merchandise forthe city of al’Muwaffgiya. Matkets sprang wp im the cy and the number of merchants and conrctos fom every La grew in muinber. Aer ‘more than ton years of brigandage om the waterways by the Zany oats begat fo arvive agin «-»[Al-Muwvatfag) built a Friday manque and ordered the people ta ‘wonhip there. Then he established mints and sued divin and dirhams All sre of rescues and ameniin were concentrated in his new cy and ts fababitants lacked for nothing which could be found in large, wel xablised urban cettes [oma Money flowed in and pay (ait) was dsributed on time. Asche sition improved, people lived in comfort and everyone was eager to travel t0 the city of le Marwafiagiya and stay there © On these devlopnents se Kennedy ‘Mediral Mer’ pp. 2-9. “uli, mp7 “AL Tabu Tahith 988-9,— Mlitary pay and the economy of the eal sami state 165, ‘This account tells us much about the relationship between government, the military and urban life. The most obvious point is that the presence of the military is the immediate reason for the creating of a city ~ the word ‘madina makes it clear that this was not simply a military camp (ask), oF fortress (hon) or even a town (baad). The author of this account, Mubammad b. Hammad, a juris from Baghdad who was probably serving as qadf, o Jndge, in the army, also stresses that it developed all the civic amenities of ‘older ans. The term mis (pl. amar) is one that is used of the early garrison cites like Kufa, Basta and Fustat which went on to become major urban centres. OF couse there is an clement of hyperbole here but the author is, smaking a clear point. ‘The role of the government, in the person of al-Muwaffa, in the ereation of the city was limited and mostly indirect. He decreed that it should be the base of operations and ordered that supplis for the army be brought to it. He also founded a Friday mosque (masjid al-jami) for the people to pray in, another indication of the urban status of the community, and a mint. That seems to have been the limit of his direct involvement. The merchants eame ‘because there were economic opportunities and the markets sprang up, th ‘rere nt established o lid out by any authority. While the goverment may not have played a very active part, without the decision wo base the army there, and the creation of a mosque and a mint, there would have been no ciry. It was, though, the spending power of the military which created a genuinely urban environment. The city of al-Mowaflagiya did not survive the end of the campaign and the withdrawal ofthe army; later historians and geographers make no mention of it. Nonetheless it serves asa microcosm for the role of government and the military in the formation of cities ‘Although the evidence is scattered, it scems that Islamic armies did not normally move with a supply train. There were exceptions to this, particularly in al-Mu'asim’s campaigns of 835-7. in remote areas of upland Azerbayjan, where victuals could not readily be obtained locally, of in his celebrated campaign against Amorion (838), but their extraordinary nature is noted by the chroniclers*® Muslim armies expected to be able t0 bay supplies as they moved: that was, after all, one of the reasons why soldiers wore paid in cash before the expedition set out" On cecasion, they were also given a supplementary payment (ma‘ing) ifthe campaign proved oe a The presence of a large body of men with money to spend on victuals could also result in the generation of economic activity. An interesting Bid. pp 178-9. 199, 236 19 “ee H Rhatry, Choma de pape rae (Leiden, 1093, 9.90 pp 133-8 forthe psyment of oops it Egype in Unayyad ten before the Man a ph etn 0 he se In AlcTabr, Toth, i tons. te goverbor of lag is descending ost an expedioon fo lane San in os we at tld thatthe oop were pl hi in fl at were ey expected to buy thei own horses and equipment ge AL Taba Tah 735165. Miltary pay and the economy ofthe early Islamic state description of how this could happen comes from a non-Muslim source, the Clronicle of the monastery of Zugnin (near Diyarbakr, now in south-east ‘Turkey)* The chronicler describes a campaign by the ‘Abbasid armies in Easter Anatolia in 766. The expedition only merits owo lines in the Arab chronicles, partly no doubr because it was cleasy a fiasco, but the Zugnin chronicler, who was a contemporary and well-placed geographically to collect eye-witness accounts, describes it in such detail chat itis the best documented expedition in Arab-Byzantine warfare of the cighth century. “The Muslim army lived at fist on the fruits of the land, and the chronicler records with considerable schadenfele how many of the soldiers over- indulged and perished from dysentery. The Muslims then embarked on the siege of the remote fortress of Kamkh on the upper Euphrates” At the stare of the siege, the army had relied on grain brought up from the Syrian plains by the local peasants, but the latter soon found that the dangers of the Journey and the loss of pack animals made the expedition unprofitable Prices for grain soared. The commander of the expedition, an ‘Abbasid prince called alAbbis b. Mubammad, then sent out messengers in various directions t0 advertze the commercial possiblities of the situation: the entre people of Mesopotamia, che West and the incor of Armenia set out for the place. Each one brought what he could and soon there was an abundance of all sors of provisions: merehants innkeepers, grait-dealers and ether sors of traders sold wheat, Barley, flour and other neessiics of human hi AL‘Abbas had stated that he would maintain the siege for ten years if that ‘was necessary to reduce the fortress but, with winter coming om, he seems to have panicked and announced an immediate withdrawal, Mountains of grain remained unsold and abandoned through lack of pack animals. Before they departed, the Muslim army burned most of i to prevent ie from falling into Byzantine hands” Despite this disaster, the presence of he army had an important impact on the local economy: ‘The passage of this army was a source of great profit for all te North for it spread at [the Syriac term for dirhams), especially new ones, far and wide. Because of this, anyone who wanted to forge 2iz could do so with impunity, So new zz, above all forgeries multiplied’ ‘The Zugnin chronicler was a monk, and he told the story partly to demonstrate the folly of commercial greed, and of putting erst in princes. However, the story reveals much about the economic aspects of the progress of an army. The siege created a commercial environment, albeit a short-lived fone. Some of the traders who came from all directions were no doube Muslims, bue many of those from "the West” and Armenia, may well have * Trancigno Pench a Cone de Dene de Tl Ma: gine parte, by JB. Chub (Pars 1199) (erect Chip). "Qn Kah se Honignann, De Cnrens de Bann Rees Srl, 96) 9p. 6-8 sd Kemal Sana, Eas Try: Acta and Ahly vl 987-9) * Chrome, pp. tonMilitary pay and the economy of the early lami state 167, bbeen Christians. I is clear thatthe campaign brought a monetary economy to 8 poor and remote area, which had earlier probably been largely outside it. ‘The emphasis on the newness of the coins is also significant, as it implies that they had been suck pay the amy on hs campaign and sugges a dct, link between military campaigns and che minting of coins ‘There are other references to the ereation of markets to supply armies, even in remote and hostile areas; when the Muslims were campaigning in the harh lands of what is now southern Afghanistan in 684 and 68s, the ‘commanders set up markets in which they would buy food, although there were bitter complaints about high prices and profiteering" OF particular inverest i the campaign led by Hard son of the caliph al-Mahdt and later to be caliph himself under the name of al-Rashid as far as the sea of Marmara in 782. The Muslim forces were in danger of over-stretching themselves when a truce was arranged with the Empress Irene and the Muslim army began to retreat. There is no mention in the (admittedly briel) chronicle accounts of any Muslim supply train bu it is sated that Harn brought with him vast sums in coined money (194,450 dindrs and 21,414,800 dirhams to be precise)” One of the provisions of the truce with the Byzantine empire was thar they would provide markets so that the Muslims, presumably using this ‘money, could buy supplies on their way. The ninth-eentury Arab geographer ln Khurdidhbih remarks that Byzantine armies were not provided with ‘markets, implying chat Muslim ones sually were®* The account of the Kamkh campaign also raises the mote general issue of the relationship between minting and military activity. The circumstances and mechanisms by which coin entered the economy are far from clear. One ‘model suggests that coin was minted so that tax-payers could use it to pay the sate. Tax-payers would have to sell thei produce to buy money to make their payments. Governments could even insist that payment was made in certain sorts of coin and so manipalate the exchange rate beeween new coins fon the one hand and old coins and goods on the other. Coins of differene ages and geographical origin seem to have circulated together without dilficulty. A hoard discovered at the Bab Tuma in Damascus and dated by reference to the latest coin to around S19 was eighty per cent composed of Sasanian silver dtiams™ Putting aside the notion that this might have been the stock of some early ‘Abbasid antique dealer, we must conclude that Sasanian coins were stil in common commercial use two centuries afer the collapse ofthe empire and that there was no concerted effort to replace them. Systematic remnting, infact, was nota fiscal device used by the early caliphs and Umayyad dirhams circulated quite freely in ‘Abbasid times, * aleTabae Tenth it 552-3, 10360, 104: AbBaadhae, Ano Ashe. W. Abode 1 anomeric Chron (ig 83) 31717 S Alea ath so} © Ax moe in judo Ware, Sue ad Sayin he sain Wal 5-124 (9) 16, © For ei and ster ety aie hoard from Sa ad the Jar, see Gyn and Ral, ows Tose Moni ds Peer Tone de Fo (Pati, 1983)168 Miltary pay and the economy of the eary slamic state Minting practice changed frequently during the carly caliphate. In Umayyad times numerous mints were recorded throughout the caliphate tuntl the reign of Hishim, when minting of dirhams was concentrated in ‘Wasit, which was not only the seat of the governor of the whole of the eas, but abo the garrison city in which the Syrian troops who enforced Umayyad rule in Irag were stationed. In he political chaos which followed the end of the Umayyad caliphate, old mints seem to have been revived and this use of numerous different mints continued into the early ‘Abbasid period until minting was aguin concentrated, this time in Madinat al-Salam (Baghdad) and Rayy, the centre of ‘Abbasid administration in Iran. “More direct evidence of this can be seen in the minting of coins for a particular campaign: the examples of the mint at al-Muwaflagiya and the sw zitz which appeared at the time of the Kamkh campaign have already bbeen noted. Another example may be found in the distribution of booty after the Muslim capture of Paykand (Uzbekistan) in 706. One sousce tells us that the booty included “innumerable vessels of gold and silver and a huge golden. idol. Qutayba (b. Moslim, the Muslim commander) ordered that this be melted down and 150,000 dinirs were extracted from it.® Further citcum- stantial evidence for a possible connection between minting and military ‘campaigning can be found in the history of the ‘northern mint. Bates has shown that cis was one mine which moved around in the northera provinces of the caliphate during the later Umayyad times ~ the silver dirhams bear 3 variety of mint-names (Armenia, Azerbayjan and other cities in the Jazira and the Caucasus)* but it can be demonstrated that chese apparently different ‘mints never operated simultaneously. Furthermore, the locations ofthe mints can, in. many cases, be linked to the known dates of military campaigns. In carly ‘Abbasid times, the main mints at Baghdad, Mubammadiya (Rayy) and, slightly later, at ‘Abbisiya (in Tunisia) were also the places in which large numbers of troops were settled.” Ic seems that the payment of cash salaries to the military, and the fact that the military were obliged to feed and provide for themselves by buying, was a major force in creating the vibrant cash economy. which distinguishes early medieval Islamic society from its westem neighbours, and that this, in turn, seems to have led to the rapid expansion of towns and che development of urban life. If the Muslims had dispersed ehrough the territories as small landowners and farmers tilling the soi, they may well have paid some sort of taxation in money or kind, but they would not have created Kufs, Basta, Fustat, Merv or Baghdad, and Islamic society thn Atha, Kha ath M.A. Khas othr (vols Hydetabad,19675) vi 22 “The pull scoone in Al Tabs Teil c18h, while spccing om the general pct i le specie about the production of eine 'M Bates “The diham mine ofthe sorter provinces ofthe Umayyad clipe, Armen Nunn or 19 2 (4389) "On dete importance of det 'Abbasid mis se T.S, Noonan, sly "ABs mine ‘op, Jour Em and Sie Hi ofthe Ono se (986) 115-75‘Miltary pay and the economy of the ealy Islamic state 169, ‘would certainly have evolved on very different lines. The preservation of a system of public taxation, now sanctioned by religious law, and the apparatus 0 collect it, goes far to explain how many features of ‘late antique’ sare and society continued in the Islamic lands long after they had disappeared in the West and even in Byzantium:* Ae noted by C. Wickham, ‘Onesie p. 38-9.