A History of Agriculture in India v2.c59.s3: Society, Ruling Class and Slaves
A History of Agriculture in India v2.c59.s3
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Society, Ruling Class and Slaves
v2.c59.s3.1
Turks were the ruling class. The officers of the highest rank were called *khans*, then the *maliks*, then the *amirs*, then the *isfahsalars* (generals), and lastly the officers (*jand*). Then there were *kazis*, and learned men, *shaikhs* and *fakirs*. There were also merchants who also carried on diverse trades.
v2.c59.s3.2
The ruling class was served by male and female slaves. They were of two types, viz. those imported from Turkistan, and those who belonged to India. Male slaves kept in the harems were castrated at an early age. Brisk trade in eunuchs, as they are called, was carried on in Bengal. Female slaves were of two types, viz. those kept for domestic work and those for the pleasure of their company as concubines.
v2.c59.s3.3
War against the Hindus was the chief source of slaves. Those who escaped being killed in the war were captured and sold as slaves. Shahabuddin (1297-1348 A.D.), an Arab scholar, states, ‘The Sultan never ceases to show the greatest zeal in making war upon the infidels. Every day thousands of slaves are sold at a very low price, so great is the number of prisoners. According to the unanimous statements of the travellers I have cited, the value, at Dehli, of a young slave girl, for domestic service, does not exceed eight *tankas*. Those who are deemed fit to fill the parts of domestic and concubine sell for about fifteen *tankas*. In other cities the prices are still lower. Abu-s-Safa Umar bin Is’hak Shabali assured me that he bought a young slave in the flower of his youth for four *dirhams*. The rest may be understood from this. But still, in spite of the low price of slaves, 20,000 *tankas*, and even more, are paid for young Indian girls. I inquired the reason—and was told that these young girls are remarkable for their beauty, and the grace of their manners.’⁵
v2.c59.s3.4
⁵ Shahab-ud-Din Abu-l'Abbas Ahmad. *Masaliku-l Absar fi Mamaliku-l Amsar*, in Elliot and Dowson, *The History of India...*, Vol. III, 580, 581