Notes on the Ahl al-Diwan: the Arab-Egyptian army of the seventh through the ninth centuries C.E.(Report)

In his foundational study of caliphal armies, Hugh Kennedy provided a thorough, interpretative framework for the profuse evidence relating to the early Islamic military establishment. (1) Repeatedly, however, he necessarily emphasized the tentative nature of the sources in general, but particularly those pertaining to Egypt, which are in several respects inconclusive, sparse, or demonstrative of idiosyncratic tendencies. Here the intent is to refine the discussion relating to the Egyptian army by contextualizing the Ahl al-Diwan, the chief Arab military force in the province from the late seventh through the early ninth centuries C.E. (2)

Generally, when referring to soldiers, early Arabic sources employ the generic term muqatila, but jund and 'askar are also used. Specific regiments are further identified through a number of constructions that focus on either the geographical origin of the troops (e.g., Ahl al-Sham) or the name of the commanding general (e.g., al-Hafsiyya). (3) Egyptian sources, particularly al-Kindi's Kitab al-Wulat, frequently reference regional troops that are identified as the Ahl al-Diwan (4) (also called Ahl Misr). (5) Typically, the Ahl al-Diwan designation is lacking in the works of non-Egyptian authors such as Yaqut and al-Tabari, who fail to document many of the pivotal events that enable an historical assessment of this martial force. (6)

ORIGINS AND GROWTH OF THE ARAB-EGYPTIAN ARMY

As the narrative sources would have it, 'Amr ibn al-'As founded the Egyptian diwan shortly after the conquest of the province on the model established by the caliph 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (634-644 C.E.). (7) At that early juncture, the diwan was multifunctional. On the one hand, it functioned as a revenue-sharing system; thus, the immovable spoils of the conquered territories (i.e., the annual tax revenue of the province) would be distributed among the conquerors and their progeny. On the other hand, it was the means through which regular soldiers were paid. Initially, the diwan appears to have been a simple roster composed of names and a corresponding payment. (8) The original size of the diwan is difficult to ascertain. Numbers are certainly not difficult to come by, but they are problematic and thus at best, mere estimates. (9) What can be noted with confidence is the ever-expanding size of the Egyptian "register." (10) Subsequent to its inauguration, Arabic sources highlight four official editions of the rosters in the first century of Islamic rule. (11)

Enumerating the diwan editions, however, may be deceptive. It would lead one to envision distinct periods of growth while the evidence suggests a constant state of flux as the Arab population increased in Egypt by official and unofficial means. One such factor was procreation. During the seventh century C.E., when the diwan still functioned as a revenue-sharing system, a census-taker was assigned to register births and incorporate the newly born into the diwan. (12) Often cited, this tradition demonstrates that inclusion in the early diwan did not require an official government edict or actual military service. (13)

A second means of expansion--seldom documented in the narrative sources--was through the pietistic "emigration" of Arabs to the province. Throughout the first Islamic century, the Arabs of the Peninsula were encouraged to emigrate--to make a hijra--to any of the amsar (military garrisons) of the caliphate. (14) A majority answered this call and became known as al-muhajirun or "emigrants"--the same designation earlier applied to the Mec-can supporters of the Prophet Muhammad who accompanied him to Medina. The esteem held for these later muhajirun was proportional to the distance they had traveled. The farther the garrison to which they emigrated, the more pious and devout they were believed to have been--traits that were financially rewarded by the hierarchical diwan system. Conversely, those who did not leave the Peninsula, the a 'rab, were discriminated against as uncultured and uncivilized. (15)

In Egypt, these muhajirun (the [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII.] of seventh-and early eight-century papyri) flocked to the two main garrison towns of al-Fustat and Alexandria. Some joined the muqatila and reinforced the amsar (garrisons), while others served as soldiers on the ships of the annual cursus against the Byzantines. (16) In time, entire clans would relocate to Egypt. Most notably, scores of Judham and a third of the Quda'a tribe emigrated to the province soon after the conquest. (17) Typically, most early immigrants settled in the Delta. (18)