When we think of slavery, most of us imagine overcrowded Atlantic ships hauling human cargo to a cruel plantation economy.
The Atlantic slave trade began in the 15th century and was abolished in the United States in 1865. But slavery was practiced in the Muslim world for much longer. It dates back to the 7th century, and endured openly until late in the 20th century.
Hereditary slavery still exists in Mali and Mauritania, and the Arab states have the highest prevalence of forced labour in the world today.
Why do we know so little about this? And what forms did it take?
Today’s guest set out to answer these questions — and more — in a compelling new book that traces the extraordinary variety of slavery in the Islamic world and brings life to voices of enslaved people, from 8th century concubines to 20th century pearl divers.
Justin Marozzi is the author of Captives and Companions: A History of Slavery and the Slave Trade in the Islamic World, Tamerlane: Sword of Islam, Conqueror of the World, and Islamic Empires: Fifteen Cities That Define a Civilization. He is a regular contributor to the Financial Times, Spectator, Guardian, Standpoint and Prospect.
You can read more about him on his website and follow him on X.
We spoke about courtesans and slave soldiers, the trans-Saharan slave trade, and how the Quran addressed slavery.
These are the books we mentioned in the podcast:
This is Justin’s second appearance on Personal Landscapes. We spoke about Tamerlane and Samarkand in Episode 38.
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