Kindness to Servants during the Mamluk Era

Abstract

Servants in the Mamluk era, as they were in all other ages, engaged in indispensable service activities. Therefore,there was a need to care for them, be kind to them and to treat them humanely.In return, those servants were obligated to perform their duties diligently and to be loyal to theirmasters, and maintain moral courtesy.Fairness and benevolence to this category of workers, and praise of those masters, who granted them adecent living in spite of political turmoil, are worthy research targets.A search in available Mamluk sources yields scattered relevant materials that can be collected andcontextually used, especially as more topics on social life in that era are needed to highlight this category ofworkers.The conditions of the Mamluk society and its various casts indicate that servants were treated kindlyby the Mamluk sultans; they have progressed through the ranks and even assumed senior positions. This pointwas detailed in my paper, al-Waẓyef Allati Taqaladuha al-Khadam fi Al ‘Asr al-Mamlūki (Positions Held byServants in the Mamluk Era) (1). However, this is not the immediate concern of this paper, which rather focuseson the humane treatment they received from their patrons, whether they were members of the ruling classsultansand their deputies, or from other classes of society.Using available historical resources, this research is divided into two parts: First, Kindness of sultansand their households to their servants; and Second, Kindness of senior princes, dignitaries and others to theirservants.