Was the Futūwa an Oriental Form of Chivalry?

Author(s): Gerard Salinger

Source: Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 94, No. 5 (Oct. 19, 1950), pp. 481
-493
Published by: American Philosophical Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3143614
Accessed: 16-01-2016 08:56 UTC

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/
info/about/policies/terms.jsp

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content
in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.
For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

American Philosophical Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Proceedings of the
American Philosophical Society.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 130.240.43.43 on Sat, 16 Jan 2016 08:56:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 WAS THE FUTUWA AN ORIENTAL FORM OF CHIVALRY?'
GERARD SALINGER

IN spite of a few very brilliantpioneerbooks It is not our intentionto give a detailed ac-
and articles,Moslem society has been the most count of the discussionwhichdeveloped,mostly
neglected field of modern Oriental research. in Germany, on the problem of futuiwa. We
Whatever the reasons for this deficiency,and intend to treat principallythat aspect of the
many good reasons can be found to explain it, futtwwa which has been compared to European
thereremainsthe task of doing forthe Moslem chivalry. The followingis above all a critical
worldwhat has been done forWesternsocietyby study of the data collected and the opinions
mans well-trained scholars. This enterprise expressed by Thorning,Kahle, Taeschner, and
requires the collaborationand fruitfulcriticism Wittek, to whom we feel greatlyindebted even
of social historians and social scientists who, when we cannot accept theirconclusions.
whilenot specialistsin Islamic languages,possess It would be difficultto give a definitionof
a widerknowledge of social phenomena than the futliwa capable of covering the significanceof
average Oriental scholar. Few, if any, will this termin every milieuand in every period in
challenge the claim that in our century Carl which it has been used. The etymologyof the
Heinrich Becker has done the most significant worddoes not throwmuchlighton the question.
historicalresearchon Moslem society. Becker's It is sometimesused in its originalsenseofyouth,
work, in turn, owes much to the fact that he the age of the young man; but here we are con-
enjoyed an extremelyfruitfulexchange of ideas cernedonlywithits technicalsense as a complex
with such men as Max Weber, Ernst Troeltsch, of moralvirtues,comprisingcourage,generosity,
and Eberhard Gothein. But to make collabora- liberality, hospitality, unselfishness,and the
tion with non-Islamists worth while both for spirit of sacrifice,generally tied up with an
them and forus, we must avoid applyingterms elaborate ceremonial observed in certain as-
commonlyused to phenomenawhichtheydo not sociations. According to the differentmilieus
rightlydescribe. whereit was used in the Moslem world,some of
A specialistin European chivalry,convincedof the nuances of the word prevail over others.
the usefulnessof a comparative study for an Finallytheworddesignatesvariousorganizations
exact comprehensionof problemsencounteredin which,at different epochs, claimed to cultivate
his special field and seeking to learn whether thefutftwa virtuesand the ceremonialconnected
chivalryexistedin the mediaeval Moslem world, with them; and on the other hand it designates
mightfinda valuable and interestingcontribu- the quality of the followerof thefuttawaideal or
tion to social historyin two articles by Franz memberof such a group. Such a man was affata
Taeschner, " Islamisches Ordensrittertumzur (plural: fitydnor fitya),a term which has been
Zeit der Kreuzztige"and "Das Futuwwa-Ritter- frequently translated by "Ritter," "knight,"
tum des islamischen Mittelalters." But the "chevalier."
concrete data contained in these articles raise One does not get the impressionthat in pre-
strongdoubts as to whetherthe concept "chiv- Islamic times when the Arab tribes, mostly
alry" or "orderof chivalry"applies to morethan Bedouins, still lived on the arid soil of their
very superficialaspects of the realityexamined. peninsula,the termfat&(the abstractfutiiwahas
In this paper we shall endeavor to clarifythis not as yet been found in ancient Arab poetry)
point. designated a memberof a special group, sepa-
1 Thisstudyis partofa surveyoffeudaltrendsin Islamic rated by a particulargoal or an initiationritual
society,undertaken in connectionwitha comparativein- fromthe rest of the membersof the tribe. In
vestigation ofOrientalinstitutionsby Dr. K. A. Wittfogel, this very little differentiated
society,where the
Director, Chinese History Project (sponsoredby the individual was above all the representativeof
University of Washington, Seattle, and Columbia Uni-
versity), and was carried out with the aid of a grant from the social group
to which he belongedby birth,
the American Philosophical Society. there was no place for any kind of separation,
PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, VOL. 94, NO. 5, OCTOBER, 1950
481

This content downloaded from 130.240.43.43 on Sat, 16 Jan 2016 08:56:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
482 GERARD SALINGER [PROC. AMER. PHIL. SOC.

except by renouncingthe protectionaffordedby needs. Consequentlythe sedentarypopulation

thecommunityand theacceptanceofthehazard- kept theideal ofthefatd,whileintegratingit into
ous lifeofan exile. So thefata in ancientArabia formsof lifewhich the people of the desert had
is the man who personifiesin the most perfect neverknown.
mannerthe qualities which the tribeasks of its The historyof the futiiwa in the Near East
sons-a high degree of solidarity to secure from pre-Islamic times up to the recent past,
cohesion, courage in war to insure adequate when it still survived in the craft guilds, has
defence,and hospitalityto maintain the tribal been treated in many articlesby Franz Taesch-
reputationamong the neighboringgroups. On ner, who besides presentinghis own materials
the other hand, liberalityand open-handedness and conclusions brought together the results
permit the individual to enhance his personal of work done by other scholars. In using
status whileaiding his fellowmen. This ancient the term "history" in this connection,we must
ideal of thefatdwas invokedeven afterthe Arabs remain aware of the limitationsof our historic
swept over the ancient provincesof the Byzan- comprehensionin dealing with this rather in-
tine and Sassanid Empires. According to a tricatesubject. Generallyspeaking,our knowl-
saving attributedto the Caliph Mu'awiya (661- edge of Moslem social and even political history
680), "the futftwaconsistsin the distributionof is still not up to the standards of modern
food and strikingheads." In accordance with historical research. Much important source
the lack of strongreligiousfeelingamong pre- material is still unpublished,and much of what
Islamic Arabs, thefutziwa(we may use the term has been published has not been subjected to
although it seems to have been created only sufficient criticalexamination.
later) had no religiousconnotationamong them There are many gaps in our institutional
at least in the sense whichwe normallyattach knowledge. The Moslem authors who have
to the word "religion." writtenon constitutionallaw expressedan ideal,
After the Moslem conquest of the cultured elaborated by them on the basis of the Koran
nationsof the Near East, the termfatdis applied and tradition, rather than the real situation.
almost exclusivelyto membersof associations, The details of daily life, which are of prime
each of which sought to implementthe futziwa importanceto the social historian,are mostlyto
idea in its own way. How is this fact to be be foundin literaryworksof all kinds,and often
understood? in places whereone would not expect to discover
Arabic had become the instrumentof expres- them. Thus in many cases we still lack a
sion of sedentarypeople,manyof theminhabit- truly reliable frame of referencewithin which
ants of cities and towns. The society of these to integratethe scantyinformation we have on a
highly differentiatedagricultural and urban given social phenomenon; and the time for a
civilizations,differedstrikinglyfromthe simple detailed synthesis has not yet arrived. The
tribalcommunitiesthat prevailedin Arabia. In Culturgeschichte des Orientsunterden Chalifenby
the new domains,tribe,family,and nation were Alfredv. Kremeris antiquated in manyrespects,
not the only framewithinwhich the individual and A. Mez' splendidDie Renaissancedes Islamns
could develop his activities. For a long time is only the firststep to a more comprehensive
therehad flourishedin the lands of the Roman pictureof all sides of cultural and social life in
EmpireI numerousassociationsdedicatedto vari- one century,the fourthcenturyof Hegira (tenth
ous aims, fromthose of craftsmenor old soldiers centuryof the Christianera).
to youth, gymnastic,religious,or purely social Beforeexaminingthefutftwa associationof the
organizations. This oldersociety,towhichmany Caliph Ndsir (1180-1225) to which the term
sedentaryArabs were now added, accepted the chivalryhas been especiallyapplied by European
new religion as well as the poetical literature scholars we must take a look at the warlike
broughtby the newcomersand adopted many futuwa associations in existencebeforehis time.
ideals of ancient Arab culture because of the This formof thefutuwaassociation was already
prestigeof the new masters,while at the same apparent in the ninthcenturyamong groups of
time it transformedthese ideals to fit its own voluntaryfightersof the Holy War, especially
2 See Taeschner, 1937: 43, n. 2; 1934: 9 ff.; 1944a: 343-
in Transoxiana and Khorasan. It is essentialto
345. our purpose to point out that there the futfiwa
3 Ziebarth, 1896; Taeschner 1944a: 346. was the basis of associationsof armed men oper-

This content downloaded from 130.240.43.43 on Sat, 16 Jan 2016 08:56:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
VOL. 94, NO. 5, 19501 WAS FUTUWA AN ORIENTAL FORM OF CHIVALRY? 483

ating in the Holy War, but not belongingto the essential to our purpose, we add a quotation
regular army. It is still more important to from Mez concerning these warriors for the
remember that futftwanever seems to have faith:
formedthe basis of a regulararmyof the state.4 The obligationto the Holy War continuedto be
The existenceof large troopscomposedof volun- taken very seriously. Many pious men endeavored
teers forthe defenceof the frontiersof the Dar to gain heaven by "the way of God." The warriors
al-Islam is found frequentlyduring the Middle for the faith were gathered from all directions in
Ages. These troops, unlike the regular armies Tarsus, the base for attack against the Greeks, the
of the state, were placed undertheirown leaders hereditaryenemy,as were also the pious offeringsof
and could affordto defy the authorityof the those who could not personallyjoin in the Holy War.
state whennot pleased withtheirmaterialcondi- From Sijistan to the Maghrib there was no town of
tions. We findthemon the eastern frontiersof any importancewhichdid not have in Tarsus its own
the caliphate, in Khorasan, and in Transoxiana quarter (ddr), where the town's warriors took up
their residences. Much money and many gifts
as early as the ninthcentury. W. Bartholdhas reached themfromhome,besides what was bestowed
given some indicationsof the revoltsstirredup on them by the governments. Each notable person
by themand of the rolewhichtheyplayed in the gave for this purpose a countryestate or other rev-
establishmentof the dynasty of the Saffdaridesenues as an endowment. The inhabitants of the
whose founderwas one of theirchiefs.5 Perhaps border fortresseswere so well received in Baghdad
Barthold is right in using the term "warrior that the philologist,al-Qdli [d. 356-A.D. 967] is said
guilds." In any case there is no resemblance to have alleged that he was a native of Qdliqald in
whatsoeverto "knights."6 As thisstatementis Armenia. . . . In Egypt the border places were
occupied by soldiers and volunteers. . . . The coun-
4Taeschner (1938: 388, n. 12) indicates that the omey- try second in rank of importance for the war was
yade caliph 'Abdalmalik (685-705) formed a special Transoxiana, the inhabitants of which showed the
militarybody fromcertain slaves and that the latter, ac- most developed spirit of sacrificeamong the Mos-
cording to a witness of the eighth century,were "named lems. . . . In 355 [A.D. 966] about twentythousand
fityan up to now." If these were fityanin the technical
sense, we have here the case of a warriorfutiiwa asso-
warriorsforthe faithappeared on the eastern border
ciation created by the initiative of the ruler, which, of the Bayide Empire in the north with elephants.
however, was not necessarilya part of the regular army. But, according to the sayings of the commander of
But it seems likely that fcta has here the sense of "slave," the frontiertheir behavior was not that of holy
as it appears in the Koran (12, 30; 12, 36 etc.; see warriorsand theyhad no commonsupremechief,the
Fares, Futuwwa). Dozy gives from the dictionary of people of each single town having their own chief.
Pedro de Alcala the sense of "serviteur novice (siervo The Vizier hoped to satisfy them with the things
bogal)." But this indication in itselfdoes not warrantthe usually given to the warriorsfor the faith,but they
sense of "slave" in general; moreoverit states only a use of asked for the whole land tax of the country. . . . In
Spanish Arabic in the sixteenth century. However, our
the morningthey attacked the Vizier's house. ...
suggestion,if proved exact, would fitwell with the context
of the eighth-centurytestimony: The soldiers concerned Finally they were overpowered and the danger
were then "named slaves up to now" because of their averted.7
servile background.
5 Barthold, 1928: 214; Taeschner 1944a: 347 ff. From the above it clearly appears that these
6 We must remember that chivalry in Europe at its voluntaryarmieswhichescaped the close control
peak was not an accidental feature of social life which of the constitutedauthoritiesof the state had
could be removed without jeopardizing the underlying
institutionalstructure,but that on the contrary it was a
degenerated into a catch-all for all manner of
basic part of the society. In the East as well as in the dubious elementswho sought in the Holy War8
West horsemen(Ritter,chevaliersin the etymologicalsense) to satisfy their desire for looting. While it
formedthe core of the armies down to the end of the Middle would be unjust to attributesuch motivesto all
Ages, but their social standing differedgreatly. C. H.
Becker and others after him have shown that, while the fightersin the Holy War, referencesto dis-
feudalism had grown in the West on the basis of a rather orderscreated by these bands are too numerous
less developed formof economy in which the relative rarity to permitmany illusionson the generalcorrect-
of money,especially of gold (fora carefulevaluation of the
question see Bloch 1933), did not allow the establishment
ness of theirbehavior. Nevertheless,the role of
of a standing army, Moslem economy permittedthe state these warriorsforthe faithwas sometimesdeci-
to maintain a standing army and to pay it in money. In
the Near East it was the growingdisorderof administration semblance to the system of feudal tenure used in the
which from the tenth century on obliged the rulers more European Middle Ages.
and more to leave the collection of land taxes directly to 7 Mez, 1922: 303-305.

the soldiers themselves. This created a superficial re- 8 Macdonald, Djihad.

This content downloaded from 130.240.43.43 on Sat, 16 Jan 2016 08:56:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
484 GERARD SALINGER
sive in the political expansion of Islam. For
instance, Malimid of Ghazna used twentv
thousand Ghazis (i.e., warriors for the faith)
fromplaces near and far in Transoxiana.9 De-
spite the unholyfeaturesof theirbehavior,it is
not astonishingthat the combatantsof the Holy
War should have oftensubmittedto the rules of
a mysticaland ascetic life.
Consequentlywe must directour attentionto
another field of activity in which the futitwa
played an equally importantrole,that of mystic
religion. It should be rememberedthat our
firstinformationon mysticfuttiwacomes from
Khorasan, as does that on warriorfutftwa,and
that both appear in the ninthcentury. Typical
forthe mysticfutftwa is this sayingof AbfiHafs
'Umar an-Nisdbfirial-Hadddd (died after H.
260-A.D. 873):
The man worthyof the name of thefutfiwais one who
unites in his own person all the virtuesof the proph-
ets and the saints, but who neverthelessholds him-
self in poor esteem and considersall that as nothing
and does not imagine himself as having attained
anything, but rather sees his own defects and the
shortcomingsof his actions,and in any case considers
his fellowmenas his superiors.10
It is doubtful whether the mystic fatd was
always a member of a futftwaorganization.
Nevertheless,we know the case of a fatd named
Nab who was certainlyat the same time a safi
and the head of the tydnof Nishapar.21 Be-
cause he is qualifiedas an 'ayyar,his association
was perhaps a group of the above-mentioned
warriorsof the Holy War.12 In Khorasan itself
(Ntik was an inhabitantof Nishapar) therewere
seventeen fortifiedhouses of warriors for the
faith. The inhabitantsof these ribdtsindulged
not only in militarybut in religiouspractices.1"
However this may be, since the tenth century
I Barthold, 1928: 287 and n. 2. We need a series of
detailed monographson the composition and organization
of the Moslem armies of all timesand countries. Excellent
remarkson Moslem militaryorganizationin the Near East
at the time of the Crusades can be found in Gibb, 1932:
32-40.
10Taeschner, 1937: 63, 64.
'1al-Hujwiri, 1911: 183; 'Attar, 1905-1907 I: 334;
Hartmann, 1918: 190-191; idem, 1918a: 197; Taeschner,
1937: 51; Hartmann, 1914: 47.
12 On 'ayyaru-nin this sense see Kdprdld 1937: 102n.
When 'ayydrhas the sense of "scoundrel,"" bandit," it is
sometimes difficultto decide whether it is more than an
abusive epithet launched by foes (Hartmann, 1918a: 195).
13Ribd(, quoting Ibn Khallikdn, translated by de Slane,
1: 159, n. 3.
This content downloaded from 130.240.43.43 on Sat, 16 Jan 2016 08:56:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
[PROC. AMER. PHIL. SOC.
there have appeared books onfutziwa, written by
mystics, where this word has a purely ascetic and
mystic connotation unrelated to any question of
organization. Taeschner has given an analysis
of some books of this kind,14and we need not
deal with this problem here. In any case mystic
siifis continued to play a role in associations, not
primarily mystic; and we know that the Caliph
Nasir was initiated into the futtiwa by a sfti
ascetic.
While for Taeschner the warrior-associations
constitute what he terms "niederes Grenzkamp-
fertum," the "hdfische Ritterbund," or "Ordens-
rittertum" would be represented by the associa-
tion headed by the Caliph an-Nasir li-Din-Allah
(reigned 1180-1225).
The Arab historian, Ibn al-Athir, makes the
following statement about Nasir:
And he gave his most carefulattentionto shooting
with the crossbow, the carrier pigeons, and the
futitwatrousers (sarawilat al-futuwa). So he abol-
ished the futitwain the whole country except for
those who donned the trousersbestowed by him and
who referredto him. And many kings put on the
futftwatrousers bestowed by him. And he also
forbadeothers[to have] carrierpigeons,exceptfor
thecarrierpigeonswhichhe gave. He also forbade
anyonewhodid not referto himto shootwiththe
crossbow. People in 'Iraq and elsewhereobeyed
him in this withthe exceptionof one man whose
name was Ibn as-Siftof Baghdad,forthisone fled
from'Iraq and reached Syria [ash-Sha'm,other
possibletranslation"Damascus"]. Then he [Na-
sir] senthima messageto arousehisgreedforgreat
richesin orderthathe mightshootin his nameand
referto himin shooting. But he [the man] did not
do it. I was told that a friendof his disapproved
of him because of his refusalto accept the riches.
formy glorythat
But he replied,'It is sufficient
exceptforme thereis nobodyin the worldto shoot-
exceptin thenameofthecaliph."15
The question of the bestowal of the futftwa
trouserson the princeswill be dealt with later.
Here we shall discuss a futfiwabook writtenfor
use in Nasir's association.
The analyses of certainpassages of thisfutuwa
book writtenby-Ibn al-'Ammarforthe organiza-
tion of Nasir (the Arab text has never been
printed)do not suggestthat the ideas and rules
set forth therein were especially designed for
warriors. The Arab author explains that the
curiosity which everyone shows concerninga
1-1
Taeschner, 1937: 47 ff.
15 Ibn al-Athir,1851-1876, 12: 286-287.
VOL. 94, NO. 5, 1950] WAS FUTUWA AN ORIENTAL FORM OF CHIVALRY? 485

moreexact idea of thefutftwa has inducedhim to assemblies. In addition he directs judicial in-
write his book. The futiwa, he says, has been quiries and administers punishment. The
muchtalked about, especiallysince its revivalby master of ceremonies is the naqib (chief); he
Ndsir. Everyonetriedto followthe caliph, and delivers the formal welcome (khutba) in the
the Arab author, because of his desire to serve initiationceremony.'9
the caliph,decided to gathertogetherthe rulesof Receptioninto thefutuwafallsinto two parts:
the futiiwaand of the muriiwa16 ("manliness," (1) the relationof the neophytetowardshiskabir
"virtue,"-a quality frequentlyfound in con- is established by the shadd ceremony,where he
nectionwithand almost synonymoustofutftwa). is girdled with cloth and given a cup of salted
The membersare known as fitydnand give water to drink,this last being called shurb; (2)
each otherthe name of raftq(friend,companion, afterservinga novitiatehe is fullyreceivedinto
comrade, associate). The firstfatd had been the futzwa by the ceremony of "perfection"
lbrdhim (i.e., the patriarchAbraham), and the (takmil) and the donningof the trousers(sard-
most important representativesof the futfiwa Wil).20 Weaponswereat timessubstituted for
were Muhammad and 'All. As the association the trousers.21
assumes the exercise of virtue and hospitality There is an interestingdifference betweenthe
no sinnersor infamouspersonscan be toleratedin futuwabook of Ibn al-'Ammar (anotherbook of
its midst."7 Jewsand Christianscan be received the Ndsir circlewrittenby a certainal-Kharta-
provisionallyamong the fitydn,but they can be birti" shows the same features)concerningthe
regular members only after conversion to receptionof commonersinto thefutuwaand the
Islam."8 reports of the historians which stress the in-
The fatd must be a male in full possessionof duction by Ndsir of some princes of Mesopo-
his mentalpowers('dqil) and a Moslem. He can tamia, NorthernSyria, Asia Minor, and even
be human or a jinn, a free man or a slave, a Ghazna into the futfiwa.23 Later the Mamlouk
eunuch, a weaver, a barber-surgeon, a sweeper, Sultans of Egypt up to the fourteenthcentury
etc. But he cannot be a drunkard, a wine occasionallygave thefutftwa trousersto emirsor
merchant, a tax-gatherer,customs collector, native notables.24
fortune-teller,or a licentious person, an actor, It is above all this bestowal of the futiiwa
dancer, gambler, magician, henchman of a ty- trousers on the princes which has led to the
rant,etc. The futuwaof a man becomesinvalid opinion that the futfiwato some degree (lesser:
when he commitsa great sin or perseveresin a Taeschner; greater: Wittek) is related to Euro-
small one. The killingof a companionor an act pean chivalry,the equation restingparticularly
of violence against him is a great sin. Great on an identification of Westernhomage and the
sinners are received into the futiwa only after tie betweena rafiq and his kabir. Our analysis
repentanceand with the endorsementof a guar- of the characterof the futiwa has been greatly
antor. The fitydnare organized into different influencedby the recordingof Ibn as-Sa'i, a
corporations, each of which is named bayt chroniclerwho lived in Baghdad in the thirteenth
(house). The baytis divided intoseveralgroups century. The ninth volume of his great work
(4izb-plural: ahzdb). An establishedfatd (ka- containsan importantdecree issued by Nasir on
bTr-great,elder) acts as sponsorforthe neophyte the ninth of Safar H 604-September 4, 1207.
and performstheshaddceremonyto welcomehim The author tells us firstof the events which led
into the groupand receiveshis pledgesoffutiiwa Nasir to issue his decree:
('aqd). The new rafiq must obey his kabirand In this Xear the old futfiwawas abolished and the
honor him like a father. The kabir's kabir is Commander of the Faithful, An-Nasir li-din-Allah
called djadd (grandfather)by the noviceand also (May God be content with him) was made the
stands in close relation(nisba) to the newcomer. qibla25 thereinand the one who is to be referredto.
This nisba also operates between two rafiqs at- '9 Thorning, 1913: 194 ff.
tached to the same kabir. The wakil (manda- 20
Taeschner, 1944a: 366.
tory) is charged by thefityanwith the manage- 21 Thorning, 1913: 204, 217.
22 Taeschner, 1932: 294-297.
ment of the baytand with the directionof the 23Thorning, 1913: 209, note 1, 1. 210, note
24Poliak,1939: 15.
16Kahle, 1932: 113 ff. 25 The direction of Mekka, towards which the Moslem
17Thorning, 1913: 49. turnsin his fivedaily prayers,is here used in the figurative
I8Thorning, 1913: 188. sense of "center of attraction."

This content downloaded from 130.240.43.43 on Sat, 16 Jan 2016 08:56:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
486 GERARD
And he had honored 'Abd al-Jabbar by accepting
the futuwa from him and the latter was an ascetic
shaykh.26 Then all the people entered, nobles and
commoners,and the kings of the remote countries
asked forthefutuwa. So he sent to themmessengers
and men who were to invest them with the fuutiwa
trousersby way of delegation [of the caliph]. And
this spread throughBaghdad and the youngerones
received the futfiwa from the elder ones.27 I t
happened that the 'Alide al-Fakhir was a rafiq of
the Vizir Nasir ibn-Mahdi, and he himselfalso had
rafs. Then one of his raftqsquarreled with a
rafiq of 'Izz ad-Din Najab ash-Sharabi and a great
fightoccurred at Mahallat Quatufta with the result
that they foughtwith swords. And this was known
by the Imam an-Ndsir li-din-Allah (May God be
content with him) and he disapproved. And he
ordered the vizier to convoke the chiefs of groups
and to have a decree writtenon this matter, com-
pellingthemto maintainorderlybehaviorand accord
and prohibitingthem frommutual hatred. And the
decree was to be read in their presence and its con-
tents submitted to them before witnesses. And
those who disobeyed it would be deprived of their
trousers, their futtiwa would be abolished, and a
punishmentdeemed appropriatewould be applied to
them. Then the 'Alide al-Fakhir was brought in
and the vizier said to those present "Be witnesses
that I repudiate him." And the decree was read to
them by al-Makin Abu-l-Hasan Mubammad b.
Muhammad al Ghanami, the scribe of the Diwan
al-Inshd' who had worded it. And this is a copy
thereof:
"In the name of God, the merciful,the clement.
. . . And he [the caliph] . . . orders everyone
honored with thefutztwaas follows:
"If anyone's rafiq kills a soul whose killing has
been forbiddenby God and if he spills a drop of
blood which is under the protectionof the Law
he [the person to whom he belongs as raftq] must
repudiate him immediatelyin the assembly of the
falds as soon as he has knowledge thereofand has
verifiedit....
"Each fatd who gives shelter and conceals a
murdererand aids him in his affairsand offershim
hospitality must be repudiated by his kabir and
deprivedby himof his qualifyof rafiq. . . . If a fald
kills a fata of his group, his futiiwais invalid. It is
justifiedthat the law of retaliationbe applied to him.
. . . And if he kills a non-fatdor an aid [public
officer]or somebody belongingto the Diwan in the
country of our Master, the Imam who must be
obeyed by all human beings, an-Nasir li-din-Allah,
Commanderof the Faithfuland Lieutenant [Khalifa,
Caliph] of the Master of the Creatures,this murderer
26See above forthe mysticaldevelopmentof thefutfwa.
27
Kahle (1933: 54) translated "und es wurden zu Fata's
gemacht die JfingerenZU den Alteren," to which he adds
in note 7: "oder 'den Vornehmen'."
This content downloaded from 130.240.43.43 on Sat, 16 Jan 2016 08:56:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
SALINGER [PROC. AMER. PHIL. SOC.
is guilty of crime in the reserved territoryof the
Master of the group [the caliph]. Therefore,just
as if he had committeda crimeagainst his kabir,his
futuiwabecomes invalid for this clear reason. And
every truefatdis obliged to apply retaliationto him.
And the rdfiqsshall know that and act accordingly
and execute the order in such cases, according to
what has been ordered,and they shall keep to what
has been formulatedin this decree which must be
obeyed, and they shall accept it in obedience and
submission, if God wills it. Written the 9th of
Safar of the year 604 H. [September 4, 1207]."
Then to each chief of a group was deliveted a
decree in this form and the testimonial of thirty
witnesses was thereon. Under each decree was
written: "The slave [I] has accepted what this
order, which must be obeyed, contains, and he has
accepted it in due spirit of obedience, submission,
and conformity. It must be executed according to
Futuwa and Law. This is the correct behavior of
the accomplished fityan according to tradition.
And I take the obligation to adhere to the order
contained in this noble decree. And if there
happens to occur what is in contradiction to the
order given therein,I shall be held responsibleand
the punishmentwill be deserved, according to what
the Master of the group [the caliph] (May God
strengthenhis reignand exalt his word) deems just.
\Written by so-and-so on such-and-sucha date." 28
This document, published by order of the
caliph himself permits us to look behind the
screen of ritual formulas veiling the reality of
Ndsir's futtiwa. This reality has little in com-
mon with an "Ordensrittertum," nor is the
futftwa part of the ruler's regular political
machine. The caliph asserts his authority over
the futtwa as the leader of this organization
rather than as the head of the government. For
instance the decree reads, "Therefore, just as if
he had committed a crime against his kabir.
The question has been asked: \Whydid Ndsir
become the supreme head of the futftwa? Two
solutions have been proposed, one by Wittek and
another by Taeschner. Wittek, basing himself
on the fact that certain princes of Syria, Mesopo-
tamia, Asia Minor, and even Ghazna took the
futuiwa trousers from Ndsir, some by request,
believes that the caliph tried thus to organize a
front against the encroachments on Moslem
soil by the crusaders. Furthermore, he points
out that the Ghdzi, or volunteer, corporations in
Khorasan in the ninth and tenth centuries al-
ready followed the futiwa tradition (see above)
28 See the complete text of the decree in Ibn as-Sd5,
1934: 221-226 and Kahle, 1933: 52 ff.
VOL. 94, NO. 5, 1950] WAS FUTUWA AN ORIENTAL FORM OF CHIVALRY? 487

and he claims that Nasir intendedto unite the interestin the Holy War is quite clearly reflectedin
new fightersof the Holy War under his banner, a negative manner in the futfiwa-books,in which
giving at the same time a political importance thereis foundno word about the Holy War. There-
to the decayed dignityof the 'Abbasid Caliphate forewe have to state that here on Islamic soil, where
the idea of the Holy War was firmlyestablished,this
which it had lacked for centuries. He also
idea played no role on the only occasion when a
pointsout that the titleof Ghazi was assumed in knightlyorder [Ordensrittertum-sic!] in a higher
Ndsir's time by many princeswho, accordingto sense appeared, surpassing the stage of inferior
him, at least in Syria and Mesopotamia, raised borderwarriorship.31
the old Ghazi idea froma popular movementto
the princelycourts. However, the solution offered by Taeschner
seems equally unconvincing. Taeschner points
Les Ghazi's ne sontplus les aventuriers
redouteset out that Nasir, profitingin his ambitious enter-
meprisesqu'ils avaientetedansles tempsanterieurs; prise by the decay of the Saljfiqid power, tried
ils sont devenusde nobleschevaliers[italics ours] to restore the political importance of the 'Ab-
danslesrangsdesquelsdesprincesaimaient"aprendre
place.29 basid Caliphate lost since the tenth century.
On the other hand he endeavored to heal the
This is not enough. discord in the Moslem world, especially the age-
old feud between the Sunnites and the Shl'ites.
Lorsque le Caliph Nasir introduisitdans ces cor-
And both aims, according to Taeschner, he hoped
porationsde futuwwaune organisation a la tetede
laquelle lui-memeetait place, il ne peut avoir eu to achieve by strengthening the futuiwa.32
d'autreintention [italics ours] que de s'assurerdes In what sense could the futftwaaid the caliph
forcesmilitantes, lieespar un liennouveauet forta in restoringthe political prestige of the caliphate?
sa personne. Une telleforcemilitanteetaitassure- It is here that the confused notions on chivalry
ment la jeunesse des villes [fatd signifiesfirst which underlie these views become apparent.
"youngman"],et memel'artisanatdesvillespouvait
avoirde l'importance a cet egard. Mais sans doute For him the futftwawas a means for stressinghis
etaientvises en premierlieu les chefsd'armee,les authority in all the Islamic countries. This was
emirs. Or, ceux-ciformaientune classe bien dis- all the more necessarysince the real instrumentsof
tinctequi ne pouvaitpas entrerdansles corporations caliphal power were exceedinglyweak because of the
urbaines; il fallait bien qu'ils possedAssentune little territoryat his disposal over which his full
organisation 'a eux,de caracterechevaleresque. Ici temporal authority was much disputed. It is true
s'offrit
le mouvement Ghazi.30 that the caliph held an honoraryprimacy over the
princesof the Moslem world; however,this actually
As can be readilyseen, this claim is based on meant very little. Therefore, he tried to attach
no documentaryproof. Taeschner has shown [the princes] to his person by the obligation of
beyond doubt that Nasir completely disasso- vasselage [Gefolgschaftsverpflichtung]
resultingfrom
ciated himselffromthe Holy War of his time. their membershipin the futfiwaassociation.33 Like
the princes themselves,the broad mass of the plain
It was not the idea of a Holy War whichcaused
the caliph to occupy himselfwith thefutuiwa. 31 Taeschner,
1938: 402.
Taeschner, 1938: 403. " Zwei Ziele, deren innerer
32
Nasir's older contemporary, the great Saladin, at Zusammenhang ja ohne weitereseinleuchtetund zu deren
that timeconqueredfromthe crusadersin difficult Verwirklichungwohl die Grtindungeines sich uiber alle
strugglespositionafterpositionin Syriaand Pales- islamischen LInder erstreckenden Ritterordens als ein
tine. He also turnedtowardthe caliphforactive taugliches Mittel erscheinen mochte." On the role of
aid in the struggleagainst the infidel. But the 'Ali in the futfiwaideology and that played by 'Alides in
caliph,stayingin Baghdadveryfarfromthebattle- Ndsir'sfutfiwasee Taeschner, 1938: 398 and our notes 17,
field,did not interesthimselfin the eventsin the 49, and 53.
33 Toynbee (1940: 6: 212 n. 3) accepted this opinion at
westwherethebattleforthefaithwas fought, send- face value:". . . on the otherhand he [i.e., Ndsir] triedto
ingto Saladinbesidessomewordsofencouragement,rally the princesof Dar-al-Islam round his own person by
which cost nothing, only some troops, quite in- reorganizing the religious order of the Futuwwa into
sufficient in number. . . . The caliph's lack of somethinglike an order of knighthoodwith himselfas its
head."
29 Wittek, 1936: 306-307. The fact that the princes For Brockelmann (1939: 222) the futiiwa associations
concerned took the name of Ghdzi does not seem, in our which Nasir gathered around his own person were "Krie-
opinion, to warrant the opinion of Wittek and Sauvaget gerische Btinde" (warlike associations). This has become
(1941: 113, n. 349) that they adhered to the futfiwa in the English translation (page 243) "veterans' associa-
organizations of Ghazis. tions," the translator apparently having thought of
30 Wittek,1936: 307. "Kriegerverbdnde,""Kriegerbflnde,"or "Kriegervereine."

This content downloaded from 130.240.43.43 on Sat, 16 Jan 2016 08:56:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
488 GERARD SALINGER 1PROC. AMER. PHIL. SOC.

armedmen [die breiteMasse der einfachengewap- mander of all the Faithful: he was the "master
pnetenMdnner],the knights,and manyothermen ofthegroup" who could ask hisrafis to maintain
were attached to the caliph's person by their peace in his territory. But the supreme com-
membershipin thefuttiwaassociation.34 manding power in the war against the infidels
We do not knowwhyTaeschner uses the term or the rulingof the Moslem worldcould not be a
"Gefolgschaftsverpflichtung"here. In the Islamic functionof the bestowerof thefutziwatrousers,
Orient there did not exist anything like the but only of the Commanderof the Faithful,the
homage of Western Europe. The armies were head of Muhammad's community. The as-
composed of mercenaries and bought slaves; sumption of the position of "master" of the
anythinglike "die bretteMasse der gewappneten futiiwawas certainlya measure of expediency;
Mdnner,die Ritter"did not exist there. It is we shall tryto show withinwhat limitsit served
truethat theredid existvolunteerwarriorguilds this purpose. Certainly it could never con-
on the frontiers,but these certainlycould not stitutein the eyes of the Moslem worldat large
constitute a serious point of support for an a legal and moral prestigeequal to that of the
efficientpower policy. The structure of the Caliphate.
caliphate had never been based on a feudal But we are now again facedwiththe question:
system involvingcontractual relations between Since no caliph had previously entered into
seigneursand vassals as was the case in medi- relationswith the futfiwa,why did Ndsir take
aeval Europe. The caliphate had always been steps to reorganizeit and even to become its
conceivedas theautocraticregimeof the Moslem head? Let us look first at Ibn al-'Ammdr's
community by the vicegerent of Allah, the evaluation of Ndsir's procedure. Says Ibn al-
caliph. Thereforethe princesof the practically 'Ammar,afterenumeratingeleven patronsof the
independentMoslem states neverceased to con- futuiwa,beginningwith a contemporaryof the
sider the powerlesscaliph as the Commanderof
Prophet,Salman al-FMrisi:
the Faithfulin theory;theythemselveswereonly
his lieutenants. True, the personalrelationship And so thefutftwa continuedto be transmitted
between seigneurand vassal in the firsthalf of down to our time, dividingitself into different
the European Middle Ages achieved political branches. . . such as the Rahhasiya and the
importance because the governmentwas ad- Shubayni1ya, the Khaliliya,the Maulidiyaand the
ministrativelyand militarily weak, and the Nabawiya (or Nubtiwiya).. . . As they did not
mediaeval caliphate externally resembled its make theirdecisionsaccordingto the rulesof the
Westerncounterpartin that it oftenwas defec- futtfwa and to thecustomsand methodsofactionot
the noble ancestors,the differences among them
tive and inefficient.34 But the institutionnever continuedto increase. ... And as this continued
lost its basic autocraticcharacter,howeverweak untilthe epochof our master,the Imdman-Ndsir
the personal position of most of the caliphs li-diln-Allah, the Commanderof the Faithful,
might have been fromthe second half of the he directedall hisattentionto a carefulexamination
ninthcenturyon. of the genealogy,3" and thenhe tookas his kabirin
We may concede that thefuttiwa bonds could the futiiwathe virtuousascetic and pious shaykh
perhaps furnishthe moral and ideological basis 'Abd al-Jabbdrb. Salih al-Baghdddi. . because
of a particulargroup and bind its membersto ofhisblamelesslifeand tariqa[mysticwayoflife].37
each other and to their chief, but the futtwa The caliphwas annoyedby thedeviationsfrom
could never furnisha strong basis for the re-
the venerable traditionof the futtwa ideal and
invigorationof the caliphate whichrestedon the the
corruptionof the ways of its memberswhich
idea of the universalcommunityof all Moslems
resulted in ever-increasingdifferencesbetween
under the command of Muhammad's successor.
the various corporations. As Ibn al-'Ammar
It is very significantthat thefutawa books of
tells us in his introduction:"And he gathered
Ibn al-'Ammar and al-Khartabirti, the first
what had been dispersed of its [the futftwa's]
written for the association of Nasir and the
second for the son of the caliph, do not sub- "That is, in order to establish the pure doctrine he
stantiateWittek'sor Taeschner'sinterpretations. examined the words and actions of any futiiwa chief,
In thefuttwa Nasir was not primarilythe Com- alleged to have transmittedthe futftwatradition fromone
generationto the next.
34Taeschner, 1938: 405. 37 As the Arab text has not been published, we use the

35See Nasir's decree, quoted above. translationgiven by Kahle, 1932: 113-114.

This content downloaded from 130.240.43.43 on Sat, 16 Jan 2016 08:56:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
VOL. 94, NO. 5, 1950] WAS FUTUWA AN ORIENTAL
customs and reconstructedthose of its rules
whichhad deteriorated."38
The Rahhaslya mentionedby Ibn al-'Ammdr
have great importanceforus because thekabirof
Ndsir, the ascetic 'Abd al-Jabbdr,was a shaykh
of this associationwhose name was derivedfrom
a formerhead named 'Umar b. ar-Rahhds39
mentionedin the "futftwagenealogy" of Ndsir.
Therefore Ndsir can be considered as having
been attached to the Rahhslya in the beginning
of hisfutiiwacareer. The Maulidlya must have
derived theirname fromthe maulid or birthday
of Muhammad, the celebrationof whichplays a
great role in popular mysticreligionin Moslem
lands. The Nabawlya, or perhapsbetterNubfi-
wiya, shows also by its very name its special
attachmentto the Prophet. This organization
is mentionedin the travel book of Ibn Jubayras
leading a mercilessstruggleagainst the Shi'ltes
in Syriaat theend ofthetwelfthcentury.40 This
fact, moreover,refutesthe allegation of Mas-
signon concerningthe supposed Fatimid-Shl'ite
affiliationof the Nubfiwiya.41 This association
appears to be dedicated to the struggleagainst
Moslem heretics,but thereis no allusion to any
relationwith the Ghazis who engaged in a Holy
War against the non-Moslemson the frontiers of
the Moslem territory. Ibn al-Athir mentions
grave disorderswhich broke out in Baghdad in
979-982 under the leadershipof the fitydn,the
ayydrfin,and our Nubfiwlya.42 During these
eventsthe suburbof Karkh, inhabitedmostlyby
Shl'ites, was burnt. The disorders, says the
Arab historian,were caused by the numerous
warriorsof the Holy War gatheredat that mo-
ment in Baghdad. It is certain that on this
occasion the Nubfiwiyaseem to have been in
some contact with the volunteersof the Holy
War, but we learn no furtherdetails about the
natureof theirassociation.43 Ibn al-Athirgives
other facts that help in clarifyingthe role of
futitwaassociationsin internalstrugglesin Bagh-
dad.44 Later, in the beginningof A.D. 1053 and
in the same suburbof Karkh, grave disordersare
38 Thorning, 1913: 47, lines 9-10 of the Arab extract.
39 Massignon, 1948: 114; Taeschner, 1944a: 358.
40 Ibn Jubayr, 1907: 10 if.
41 Massignon, 1942: 215.
42Taeschner, 1938: 391.
43For Taeschner (1938: 387) the futiwa associations in
the central lands of Islam were "gewissermassen . . . die
Etappenform des Grenzkimpfertums." This hypothesis
is not borne out by the sources.
44 Taeschner, 1938: 391-393.
This content downloaded from 130.240.43.43 on Sat, 16 Jan 2016 08:56:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
FORM OF CHIVALRY? 489
reported.45They originated from dissensions
betweenSunnitesand ShiiiteswithTurkishmer-
cenaries participating. We approach the epoch
of Ndsir with the Baghdad disordersof 1135-
1144, caused also by the gatheringof fightersof
the Holy War.46
In August1137the terrorism of the 'ayydrfinunder
theleadershipofa certainIbn Bukranassumedsuch
proportionsthat the wali of Baghdad, the sherif
Abulkaram,had his nephewAbulqasimentertheir
associationby the girdling(shadd) and the donning
of thefutfiwatrouserswhichhe receivedfromIbn
Bukran. Only by the intervention of the Vizier
were the disturbancesstopped,and Ibn Bukran
perishedby the treacheryof the aforementioned
Abulqdsim.47
This move of the governorof Baghdad is a key
to the interesttaken laterby Ndsirhimselfin the
futfiwa. Despairing of the possibilityof rooting
out these organizations,the authoritiestried to
penetrate into them in order to transformor
destroythem fromthe inside. The true nature
of these Baghdad associations is not clear to us.
Massignon thinks the revolters of 1140 were
"une associationde voleurs,"a guild of thieves,48
but this explanation is not suggested by the
sources. Moreover,his translationof the term
futuwa by "chevalerie insurrectionnelle," "hero-
ismehorsla loi" is anotherexampleofa meaning-
less use of the term "chivalry." Perhaps the
futtiwa was sometimes used by distinguished
membersof Baghdad society to gather clients
around them. But any claim of this kind would
be prematurebeforewe know more about the
internalhistoryof Baghdad at this time. How-
ever,the role played by membersof the religious
nobilityof the 'Alids in Nasir's associationseems
to point in this direction.49 There were cer-
45Taeschner, 1938: 391-393.
46Ibn al-Athir,1851-1876: 16 ff.
47Taeschner, 1938: 391-392.
48 Massignon, 1929: 69, n. 1.
49Taeschner, 1938: 392. See also the Vizier and the
'AlIde mentioned in the statement of Ibn as-Sa'i quoted
above.
After reaching this conclusion, we happened upon the
statement of Sauvaget (1941: 97) concerning the futuiwa
associations (atdath) in Aleppo of the eleventhand twelfth
centuries: "Cet organisme representaitune force telle que
le gouvernementdevait compter avec lui: son chef etait
effectivementle maitre de la ville, tout-puissantdans les
pdriodes de desordre, sans la. collaboration de qui il etait
impossible a quiconque d'asseoir son autorite: c'est a ce
titre qu'on se disputait son appui a prix d'argent, a ce
titre aussi qu'il recevait du gouvernementune investiture
officielleconsacrant sa situation de fait: celle de 'chef de
490 GERARD
tainlyinfiltrationsfromthe camp of the Sifis-
such as the kabir of Nasir as shown by the
mysticalfeaturesof the twofutzswa books of the
Nasir circle. We have also seen that in Khora-
san an infiltrationof efifsinto the warrior
futiwa occurredas early as the ninthcentury.
Taeschner on the matterof the Baghdad dis-
orderswhichoccurredagain in the beginningof
the 1140's, referring to the statementof Ibn al-
Athirthat the 'ayydrfin on this occasion "plun-
dered,robbed,and killed" and that a part of the
populationseems to have sympathizedwith the
terrorists,puts forthan interestingsuggestion:
"It seemsconsequentlythat some idea appealing
to the plain people, perhaps in the socialist line,
underlaythe crimesof the 'ayydriin, such as the
intention to abolish in an unlawful way the
unequal distributionofriches."50 To strengthen
this opinion he quotes a communicationof A.
Zeki Velidi Togan, accordingto whom the word
'ayydr designated in Turkestan until a recent
epoch "'den edlen Rauber,' der zugunsteneines
auf legalemWege nichtzu erreichendensozialen
Ausgleiches und der nationalen Freiheit seines
Volkes (z. B. der Baschkirengegen die Russen)
sein Rauberhandwerk austibte!"51 Unfortu-
natelyour presentdata do not permitus to define
the exact relationbetweenthe 'ayydrfin of Bagh-
la ville' (rais al-madina, et, par abreviation: ar-rais). II
ne se recrutait point parmi la canaille, mais au contraire
parmi les families jouissant d'un prestige assez reconnu
pour s'imposer au respect de tous, y compris le souverain.
Ce que nous pressentonsconfusementderrierede pareilles
collusions des notables et de la populace, que l'ambition
personnellea certainementdictees pour une treslarge part,
c'est l'instaurationd'un regimede clientelefortcomparable
a celui qui, chez nous, devait donner naissance 'a la societe
feodale.
" II faut souhaiter que l'etat de notre information
permette un jour d'etudier au fond ces phenomenes qui
semblent avoir joue un role de premierplan dans l'evolu-
tion de la societe orientale au temps des Croisades."
(See also Gibb 1932: 26-27 on the ahddth.)
We findhere again the role played in thefutuiwaby men
of the higher circles. Nevertheless, European feudal
society could not have originated fromclientele relations
only; it was also necessary that regular land grants be
made by the suzerains to their vassals. It is interesting
to compare the officialfunctionsexercisedin Aleppo by the
futuiwachiefsto the similar role played by the Akhi chiefs,
rich merchants, in fourteenth-centuryAnatolia (see
Wittek, 1932: 349-351; Taeschner, 1929: 10-13). For a
fatwa issued against the futuiwain Aleppo in the 14th
century, see Goldziher, 1919. For other fatwa's against
thefutuiwasee Schacht, 1932.
50 Taeschner, 1938: 392. Perhaps it would be better to
avoid the term"socialist."
51 Taeschner, 1938: 392.
This content downloaded from 130.240.43.43 on Sat, 16 Jan 2016 08:56:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
SALINGER [PROC. AMER. PHIL. SOC.
dad in the twelfthcentury and those found
among the Bashkirsin moderntimes. Informa-
tion furnishedby Ibn al-Jauzi of Baghdad (d.
1200), a contemporaryof Nasir, is no more
conclusive when he states that the 'ayydrfin-
fitydn commitacts of robbery.52
What light do these earlier data throw on
Nasir's futiwa policy? It would seem that the
disorderswhich his decree tried to stop differed
little fromthose which had affectedthe futztwa
associations long before the time of Nasir.
Despite the scantinessof our data it seems safe
to suggest that Nasir's policy was primarilyan
attemptto gain controlover thefutztwaassocia-
tions. Particularlyin the limitsof Baghdad and
the 'Iraq, wherethe caliph was the actual ruler,
his leadershipin thefutfiwamightstrengthenthe
positionof the public authoritiesin dealing with
these groups.5
Perhaps we can draw an indirectargumentfor
our point of view fromthe chronologicaldata
foundin various sources. Nasir became caliph
in 1180. The date on which he received the
Jutftwatrousersfromthe ascetic 'Abd al-Jabbar
is given only by the Turkish bibliographer,
Ijajji Khalifa,who wrotein 1648.54 This author
does not indicatehis source,but places the event
in 1182/3.
When,it should be asked, did Nasir undertake
the reformof the fuuttwawhich made him the
center of this organizationand invalidated all
claims to membershipwhichwere not confirmed
by him or his delegates? Ibn as-Sad' says that
this reformtook place in the same year as the
publicationofthedecree: 1207. Both Taesch-
52 Taeschner, 1938: 392.
53When Ndsir in the introductionto his decree (Kahle,
1933: paragraph 6-9 of the decree; Ibn as-Sri 1934:
223, 1. 2-224, 1. 1) stresses the fact that the Caliph 'Ali
"in accordance with the perfectionof his futfiwaand the
abundance of his wisdom," applied the punishments
provided by the religiouslaw, he strikesat the fitydnwith
theirown weapons. This appeal to the 'All ideologyof the
futfiwa(see above, note 32) must not be understood as a
purely protocolar formula,but is intended to provide the
disciplinary measures of Ndsir with a justificatoryargu-
ment considered by him as able to produce a strong im-
pression on the minds of the futtiwamembers. In para-
graph 8 it is expressly stated that the "pious ancestors"
did not reproach 'All forhis application of the Law and in
paragraph9 the rightto act in accordance with the example
thus given by 'All is vindicated for the "heir of his rank,"
i.e., for Ndsir.
54Taeschner, 1938: 393, n. 2.
55 Kahle, 1933: 58.
VOL. 94, NO. 5, 1950] WAS FUTUWA AN ORIENTAL FORM OF CHIVALRY? 491

ner56and Kahle57 reject this date because the land grants ("fiefs"). And whateverdocumen-
decree presupposesthat the caliph was already taryevidencewe have shows that Ndsir's reform
the chief of the organization. However, it is did not aim at the creation of such an institu-
quite possiblethat he took both steps in the same tional order either. The question of whether
year. The caliph may have become a simple thereexistedin Moslem societyany trendtoward
member of the futtwa as early as 1182 and somethingcomparable to European feudal or-
avoided, as long as possible,takingdrasticmeas- ganizationis beyondthe purposeof thisarticle.61
ures that mightinvolve great risk. In 1207 he In any case thespiritpermeatingtheinstitutional
took action, perhaps because the extent of the structure of these two societies was not the
disorderspermittedno furtherhesitation. same.
We have a statementon Ndsir'sfutftwa by Ibn It is common knowledgethat in the Moslem
Khaldtin,the great Tunisian historianand soci- world of the Middle Ages brilliantexamples of
ologist (1332-1406). He tells us in his Kitab gallantryand chivalrousspiritare found.62 An
al-'Ibar: outstandingrepresentativeof these virtueswas
He [Ndsir] also occupiedhimselfvery muchwith a contemporaryof the great Saladin, Usamah b.
shootingthe crossbowand withthe carrierpigeon Munquidh. This nobleman of an old Arab
sportand he put on thefutiiwatrousersfollowing a family frequently met Christian princes and
customof the 'ayydrfnof the peopleof Baghdad. knightsbroughtby the Crusades to the shoresof
He availed himselfin thefutuiwa of the successive Syria and Palestine and highlyappreciatedtheir
ofits chiefswhichhe transmitted
traditions to those warlike qualities. Nevertheless,he frequently
on whomhe bestowedthe trousers. And all this had a strangefeelingof repulsionat the sightof
pointedto thedecayof thedynastyand to the end the customs of his European equals. He was
of thereignby thedestruction ofits foundations.58 struckin particularby the extraordinarilyhigh
Ibn Khaldtinsees in Nasir'sfutuwathe play of a positionwhich" horsemen"occupied in the social
dilettante, a member of a dynasty in full de- hierarchyand the scale of values among the
cadence. Taeschner,alludingto this text,mini- Franks. 63
mizes the author's opinion because he was As an index of the profounddifferences which
separated from Ndsir by two centuries.59 It separated the two types of societywe may con-
seems to us that Ibn Khaldtin could not have clude witha quotation fromUsamah's memoirs:
discussed the caliph's activitiesin such a way if
they involved the great political implications The Franks (May Allah reader them helpless!)
possessnoneof the virtuesof menexceptcourage,
with which Wittek and Taeschner endow them. considerno precedenceor highrankexceptthat of
True, the Arab author does not suggestour ex- theknightsand have nobodythatcountsexceptthe
planation, but his conclusionsseem more war- knights. These are the menon whosecounselthey
rantedthan the prevailing"chivalry" hypothesis rely,and the ones who make legal decisionsand
based on the caliph's bestowal of the trousersto judgments.64
princes. This latter action may be seen as a
"jeu de prince" withoutmuch significance. REFERENCES
Not havingto deal herewiththefutftwaof the
ARENDONK, C. VAN. Futuwa. Ency. of Islam.
craftguilds,60to which we are indebted for the 'ATTXR FARID AD-DIN. 1906-1907. Tadhkirat al-Aw-
transmissionof the two futfwa books of the liyd'. Ed. R. A. Nicholson. London, Luzac. (In
Nasir circle, we can now draw our conclusions Persian.)
about Ndsir's fuitiwa. Obviously, this social BARTHOLD, W. 1928. Turkestan down to the Mongol
Invasion, 2d ed. London, Luzac.
phenomenonhas nothingto do with the chivalry BECKER, CARL HEINRICH. 1915. Barthold's Studien
of the European Middle Ages, which, afterall, uber Kalif und Sultan. Der Islam 6: 350-412.
was essentiallybased on a regulated systemof Strassburg,Karl J. Trfibner.

56 Taeschner, 1938: 394, n. 3. 61See Becker, 1924 and notes 6 and 49.
57 Kahle, 1933: 58. 62 Hitti, 1942: 441-442.

58 Ibn Khaldfin, 1867: 535, line 18 ff. 63 Horseman (faris) is often incorrectly translated as

59 Taeschner, 1938: 395, n. 8. "knight," "chevalier,""Ritter." It is true that this term

60See Thorning, 1913; Taeschner, 1916, 1941, 1941a; is frequentlyemployed in a laudatory sense of "outstanding
Massignon, 1942; Massignon, Shadd; 5inf; Lewis, 1937. warrior," but this is not an institutionalterm comparable
We do not agree with the views of Massignon and Lewis to "knight."
on this subject. 64 Hitti,1929: 95.

This content downloaded from 130.240.43.43 on Sat, 16 Jan 2016 08:56:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
492 GERARD SALINGER
1924. Islamstudien. Erster Band. Leipzig, Quelle
und Meyer.
BJbRKMAN, W. Sirwal. Ency. of Islam.
BLOCH, M. 1933. Le probleme de l'or au Moyen-Age.
A nnales d'historie economique et sociale 5: 1-34.
Paris, Librairie Armand Colin.
BROCKELMANN, CARL. 1939. Geschichte der islamischen
V6lker und Staaten. Munich and Berlin, R. Olden-
bourg. (English translation by Carmichael and
Perlmann, History of the Islamic Peoples. N. Y.,
Putnam, 1947.)
DENY, JEAN. 1920. Ftiiwwet-name et romans de
chevalerie turcs. Jour. Asiatique, ser. 11, 16: 182 f.
DozY, R. 1845. Dictionnaire detaille des noms des
vetementschez les Arabes. Amsterdam.
FARES, EDOUARD. 1932. L honneurchez les Arabes avant
l'Islam. Paris, G. P. Maisonneuve.
--. Futuwwa. Ency. of Islam, suppl. vol.
GANSHOF, F. L. 1947. Q'est-ce que la feodalite? 2d ed.
Neuchatel, Editions de la Baconniere.
GHALI, WACYF BOUTROS. 1919. La tradition cheval-
eresque des Arabes. Paris, Plon-Nourrit.
GIBB, H. A. R. 1932. The Damascus chronicle of the
Crusades. London, Luzac.
GIESE, FRIEDRICH. 1924. Das Problem der Enstehung
des osmanischen Reiches. Ztschr. fur Semitistik2:
246-271.
GOLDZIHER, IGNAZ. 1918. Eine Fetwa gegen die Fu-
tuwwa. Ztschr.derDeutschenmorgenlandischen Gesell-
schaft73: 127-128.
HAMMER-PURGSTALL, J. VON. 1849. Sur la chevalerie
des Arabes anterieure a celle de l'Europe et sur
l'influence de la premiere sur la seconde. Jour.
Asiatique 5: 5-14.
1855. Sur-les passages relatifsa la chevalerie dans
les historiens arabes. Jour. Asiatique, Aug.-Sept.
1855: 282-290.
HARTMANN, RICHARD. 1914. Al-Kuschairis Darstellung
des Sufitums. Berlin, Mayer und Muller.
1916. Zur Frage nach der Herkunft und den
Anfangendes Sufitums. Der Islam 6: 31-70.
- . 1918. As-Sulami's Risalat al Malamatija. Der
Islam 8: 157-203.
-. 1918a. Futuwwa und Malama. Ztschr.der Deut-
schen MorgenlandischenGesellschaft72: 193-198.
HITTI, PHILIP K. 1929. An Arab-Syriangentleman and
warrior in the period of the Crusades: Memoirs of
Usamah ibn-Munkidh. N. Y., Columbia Univ. Press.
1942. Chivalry, Arabic. Ency. of Social Sciences
3: 441-442. N. Y., Macmillan.
HORTEN, MAX. 1915. M6nchtum und Monchsleben im
Islam nach Scharani. Beitrdge zur Kenntnis des
Orients12: 64-129.
AL-HUJWIRI. 1911. The Kashf al-Mahjuib by . . . al-
Hujwiri. Tr. by R. A. Nicholdson. Leiden, Brill.
IBN AL-ATHIR. 1851-1876. Ibn al-Athir, Kitab al-
Kamil fi-t-tawarikh.Chronicon quod perfectissimum
inscribitur. Ed. C. J.Tornberg. 14 v. Leiden. (In
Arabic.)
IBN JUBAYR. 1907. Rihla. Ed. M. J. de Goeje.
Leiden, Brill. (In Arabic.)
IBN KHALDUJN. 1867. Kitab al-'Ibar. Ed. Bulaq 1284/
1867. Vol. 3. (In Arabic.)
IBN AS-SA I. 1934. Al-Jami' al-mukhta~ar 9. Ed.
Mustafa Jawad. Baghdad. (In Arabic.)
This content downloaded from 130.240.43.43 on Sat, 16 Jan 2016 08:56:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
[PROC. AMER. PHIL. SOC.
JUNKER, HEINRICH. 1930. Zeremonien der Bruder-
schaften im Islam. Leipzig. (Extract from Jahr-
buch 1928/1929 des Vereins deutscher Freimaurer,
Leipzig.)
KAHLE, PAUL. 1916. Zur Organisation der Derwischor-
den in Egypten. Der Islam 6: 149-169.
. 1932. Die Futuwwa-Buindnisse des Kalifen en-
Ndsir (d. 622/1225). FestschriftGeorg Jacob, 112-
127. Leipzig, Otto Harrassowitz.
-. 1933. Ein Futuwwa-Erlass des Kalifen en-Nasir
aus dem Jahre 604 (1207): Aus funf Jahrtausenden
morgenldndischer Kultur, Festschrift ffirMax Frei-
herrnvon Oppenheim zum 70. Geburtstage, gewid-
met von Freunden und Mitarbeitern: 52-58=Archiv
fur Orientforschung,Beiband I, Berlin, Ernst F.
Weidner.
K6PRtLt, MEHMET FUAT. 1937. Les origines de
l'Empire ottoman. Paris, E. de Boccard.
LEvY, REUBEN. 1929. A Baghdad Chronicle. Cam-
bridge, Univ. Press.
LEWIS, BERNARD. 1937. The Islamic Guilds. Econ.
Hist. Rev. 8: 20-37. London, A. & C. Black.
MACDONALD, D. 13. Djihad. Ency. of Islam.
MARUAIS, G. Ribat. Ency. of Islam.
MASSIGNON, LoUIS. 1920. Les corps de metiers et la
cite islamique. Revue Internationale de Sociologie,
28emeannee: 473-489. Paris, Marcel Girard.
-. 1929. Recueil de textes inedits concernant
l'histoire de la mystique en pays dIslam. Paris,
Paul Geuthner.
1934. Salman Pdk et les premices spirituelles
de lIslam iranien. Paris, G. P. Maisonneuve.
1942. Guilds, Islamic. Ency. Social Sciences 7:
214-216. N. Y., Macmillan.
. 1948. Cadis et naqibs baghdadiens. Wiener
Ztschr. ffirdie Kunde des AMlorgenlandes 51: 106-115.
Vienna.
Shadd. Ency. of Islam.
Sinf. Ency. of Islam.
MEZ, ADAM. 1922. Die Renaissance des Islams. Hei-
delberg, Carl Winter.
MITTEIS, HEINRICH. 1944. Der Staat des hohen Mit-
telalters. 2d ed. Weimar, H. Bohlaus Nachfolger.
POLIAK, A. N. 1939. Feudalism in Egypt, Syria,
Palestine, and the Lebanon, 1250-1900. London,
Royal Asiatic Soc.
QUATREMERE, ETIENNE. 1837. Histoire des Sultans
Mamlouks par Makrizi 1. Paris.
RITTER, H. 1920. Zur Futuwwa. Der Islam 10: 244-
250.
SAN NICOLO, M. 1913-1915. Aegyptisches Vereins-
wesen zur Zeit der Ptolemaeer und Roemer 1, 1913;
2, 1915. Munich, C. H. Beck.
SAUVAGET, JEAN. 1941. Alep. Essai sur le developpe-
mentd'une grande ville syrienne,des originesau XIXe
siecle, Texte. Paris, Paul Geuthner.
SCHACHT, JOSEPH. 1931. Einige kairiner Handschriften
fiberfurfisijaund futfiwa. Der Islam 19: 49-52.
-. 1932. Zwei neue Quellen zur Kenntnis der
Futuwwa, FestschriftGeorg Jacob, 276-287. Leipzig,
Otto Harrassowitz.
TAESCHNER, FRANZ. 1916. Aufnahme in eine Zunft,
dargestellt auf einer tuirkischen Miniatur. Der
Islam 6:169-172.
1928. Das Futuvvetname des Jahja b. Halil.
VOL. 94, NO. 5, 19501 WAS FUTUWA AN ORIENTAL
Orientalistische Literaturzeitung,1065-1068. J. C.
Hinrichs.
. 1929. Beitrage zur Geschichte der Achis in
Anatolien (14.-15. Jht.). Auf Grund neuer Quellen.
Islamicac4: 1-47.
. 1932. Futuwwa-Studien, die Futuwwabiinde in
der Tuirkeiund ihre Literatur. Islamica 5: 285-333.
. 1932a. Das Futuvvetkapitel in Gtilsehris altos-
manischer Bearbeitung von 'Attars Mantiq ut-tayr.
Sitzber.der Preuss. Akad. der Wissenschaften, Philos.-
Hist. Ki. Berlin.
. 1932b. Das Futuvvetname des persischen Dich-
ters Hatifi. Festschrift Georg Jacob, 302-316.
Leipzig, Otto Harrassowitz.
. 1934. Die islamischen Futuwwabulnde. Ztschr.
derDeuts. morgenlandischen Gesell.87: 6-49. (Resume
" Entstehung und Frufhgeschichteder Futuwwa" in
Ztschr.der Deuts. morgenlandischen Gesell.86: 16*-17*,
1933.)
. 1937. Der Anteil des Sufismus an der Formung
des Futuwwaideals. Der Islam 24: 43-74.
. 1938. Islamisches Ordenrittertumzur Zeit der
Kreuzziige. Die Welt als Geschichte 4: 382-407.
Stuttgart,W. Kohlhammer.
* 1941. Das Zunftwesen in der Tulrkei. Leipziger
Sudosteuropa5: 172-188. Leip-
Vierteljahrsschriftfiir
zig, Otto Harrassowitz.
. 1941a. Legendenbildung um Achi Evran, den
This content downloaded from 130.240.43.43 on Sat, 16 Jan 2016 08:56:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
FORM OF CHIVALRY? 493
Heiligen von Kiraehir. Die Welt des Islams, Sonder-
band: FestschriftfurFriedrichGiese, 61 ff. Berlin.
1944. Der anatolische Dichter Ndsiri (um 1300)
und sein Futuvvetname. Mit Beitragenvon Wilhelm
Schumacher. Leipzig, F. A. Brockhaus.
1944a. Das Futuwwa-Rittertum des islamischen
Mittelalters. Beitrage zur Arabistik, Semitistik und
Islamwissenschafthrsg. von Richard Hartmann und
Hellmuth Scheel: 340-385. Leipzig, Otto Har-
rassowitz.
* An-Nasir li-din-Allah. Ency. of Islam.
THORNING,HERMANN. 1913. Beitrage zur Kenntnis des
islamischenVereinswesensauf Grund von Bast Madad
et-Taufiq. Berlin, Mayer und Muller.
TOYNBEE, ARNOLD J. 1940. A study of history 6.
Oxford,Univ. Press, and London, Humphrey Milford.
TSCHUDI, R. 1926. Das Chalifat. Tuibingen,Mohr.
'USXMAH IBN-MUNKIDH, see Hitti.
WITTEK, PAUL. 1932. Zur Geschichte Angoras im
Mittelalter. Festschrift Georg Jacob, 329-352.
Leipzig, Otto Harrassowitz.
1936. Deux chapitres de l'histoire des Turcs de
Roum. I. Les traits essentiels de la periode seld-
joucide en Asie Mineure. II. Les Ghazis dans
l'histoireottomane. Byzantion 6: 285-319.
1938. The rise of the Ottoman empire. London,
Royal Asiatic Soc.
ZIEBARTH, ERICH. 1896. Das griechischeVereinswesen.
Leipzig, Hirzel.