Muslim Slave System in Medieval India c8.18

c8.18

In such a situation there was no sanctity of any letter of manumission either. Manumission was of great importance in law, polity and society of Islam. It is even asserted that no slave could ascend the throne unless he had obtained a letter of manumission (*khatt-i-azadi*) from his master. because a slave is no longer slave when he is manumitted by his master.²⁴ Sure enough, many of the slaves tried to obtain such letters; it provided legitimacy to their office. But many slaves whose star was in ascendance lived almost like kings without receiving or caring to receive any manumission letter. For example, as mentioned earlier, Alptigin in Khurasan had 500 villages of his own and an assemblage of 2000 slave troopers. As such as governor of Khurasan his position was not inferior to that of any sultan, although he had not been manumitted. But since the sword was the ultimate arbiter, even this moral prop was not that important. Most of the slave Maliks of Muizzuddin requested for letters of manumission from the Sultans successor, Mahmud, and did receive them. Tajuddin Yaldoz and Nasiruddin Qubacha received their letters of manumission on request,²⁵ but Qutbuddin Aibak received his letter of manumission more than one year after he had ascended the throne of Delhi.²⁶ It is not clear when Balban received his letter of freedom. At one place the contemporary chronicler, Ziyauddin Barani, says that Balban used to maintain the paraphernalia of royalty even when he was a khan,²⁷ at another that he ascended the throne after becoming free,²⁸ and yet at another that all the Forty Amirs (*Chahlgani*) had obtained freedom (buzurgi) at one and the same time so that no one considered himself inferior to any other.