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Saqaliba (Arabic
Arabic language

Arabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages languages such as Hebrew language and Aramaic language....
: ??????, sg. Siqlabi) refers to the Slavs
Slavic peoples

The Slavic Peoples are a linguistic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in eastern Europe. From the early 6th century they spread from their original homeland to inhabit most of eastern Central Europe, Eastern Europe and the Balkans....
, particularly Slavic slaves
Slavery

Slavery is a form of forced labor where a person is compelled to Labor for another . Slaves are held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase, or birth, and are deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to receive Remuneration in return for their labor....
 and mercenaries
Mercenary

A mercenary is a person who takes part in an armed conflict, who is not a national or a party to the conflict, and is "motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or p...
 in the medieval Arab world
Arab world

The Arab World refers to Arabic-speaking countries stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean in the southeast....
, in the Middle East
Middle East

File:GreaterMiddleEast1.pngThe Middle East is a region that spans southwestern Asia, western Asia, and northeastern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East....
, North Africa
North Africa

North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa.Geopolitically, the United Nations subregion of Northern Africa includes the following seven countries or territories:...
, Sicily
History of Islam in southern Italy

The Muslim conquests and rule of Sicily, Malta, and parts of southern Italy was a process whose origin can be traced back through the Spread of Islam from the seventh century onwards....
 and Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus

Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to the parts of the Iberian Peninsula governed by Arab Muslims, at various times in the period between 711 and 1492....
. The Arabic term is a Byzantine
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
 loanword
Loanword

A loanword is a word directly taken into one language from another with little or no translation. By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept whereby it is the Meaning or idiom that is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself....
: saqlab, siklab, saqlabi etc. is a corruption of Greek Sklavinoi for "Slavs".

The Arab chronicler Ibn al-Faqih
Ibn al-Faqih

Ibn al-Faqih al-Hamadhani was a 10th century Persian Empire historian and geographer, famous for his Mukhtasar Kitab al-Buldan ....
 wrote that there were two types of saqaliba: those with swarthy skin and dark hair that live by the sea and those with fair skin and light hair that live farther inland.

There were several major routes of the trade of Slav slaves into the Muslim world
Muslim world

.The term Muslim world has several meanings. In a Culture sense it refers to the worldwide community of Muslims, adherents of Islam. This community Islam by country, roughly one-fifth of the world population....
: through Central Asia (Mongols
Mongols

The name Mongol specifies one or several ethnic groups, now mainly located in Mongolia, China, and Russia....
, Tatars
Tatars

Tatars , sometimes spelled Tartars, refers to a Turkic people ethnic group mainly inhabiting Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Bulgaria, Romania, Lithuania, and Poland....
, Khazars
Khazars

The Khazars were a semi-nomadic Turkic people who dominated the Pontic steppe and the North Caucasus from the 7th to the 10th century CE. The name 'Khazar' seems to be tied to a Turkic languages verb form meaning "wandering"....
, etc.), through the Mediterranean (Byzantium
Byzantium

Byzantium was an Ancient Greece city, which was founded by Greeks colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas or Byzantas ....
), through Central
Central Europe

Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern Europe and Western Europe Europe. In addition, Northern Europe, Southern Europe and Southeastern Europe may variously delimit or overlap into Central Europe....
 and Western Europe
Western Europe

Western Europe refers to the countries in the western most half of Europe. This concept has had different meanings, political and cultural as well as geographical issues have influenced the area....
 to Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus

Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to the parts of the Iberian Peninsula governed by Arab Muslims, at various times in the period between 711 and 1492....
 and further to North Africa (Morocco, Egypt).






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Saqaliba (Arabic
Arabic language

Arabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages languages such as Hebrew language and Aramaic language....
: ??????, sg. Siqlabi) refers to the Slavs
Slavic peoples

The Slavic Peoples are a linguistic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in eastern Europe. From the early 6th century they spread from their original homeland to inhabit most of eastern Central Europe, Eastern Europe and the Balkans....
, particularly Slavic slaves
Slavery

Slavery is a form of forced labor where a person is compelled to Labor for another . Slaves are held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase, or birth, and are deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to receive Remuneration in return for their labor....
 and mercenaries
Mercenary

A mercenary is a person who takes part in an armed conflict, who is not a national or a party to the conflict, and is "motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or p...
 in the medieval Arab world
Arab world

The Arab World refers to Arabic-speaking countries stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean in the southeast....
, in the Middle East
Middle East

File:GreaterMiddleEast1.pngThe Middle East is a region that spans southwestern Asia, western Asia, and northeastern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East....
, North Africa
North Africa

North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa.Geopolitically, the United Nations subregion of Northern Africa includes the following seven countries or territories:...
, Sicily
History of Islam in southern Italy

The Muslim conquests and rule of Sicily, Malta, and parts of southern Italy was a process whose origin can be traced back through the Spread of Islam from the seventh century onwards....
 and Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus

Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to the parts of the Iberian Peninsula governed by Arab Muslims, at various times in the period between 711 and 1492....
. The Arabic term is a Byzantine
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
 loanword
Loanword

A loanword is a word directly taken into one language from another with little or no translation. By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept whereby it is the Meaning or idiom that is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself....
: saqlab, siklab, saqlabi etc. is a corruption of Greek Sklavinoi for "Slavs".

The Arab chronicler Ibn al-Faqih
Ibn al-Faqih

Ibn al-Faqih al-Hamadhani was a 10th century Persian Empire historian and geographer, famous for his Mukhtasar Kitab al-Buldan ....
 wrote that there were two types of saqaliba: those with swarthy skin and dark hair that live by the sea and those with fair skin and light hair that live farther inland.

There were several major routes of the trade of Slav slaves into the Muslim world
Muslim world

.The term Muslim world has several meanings. In a Culture sense it refers to the worldwide community of Muslims, adherents of Islam. This community Islam by country, roughly one-fifth of the world population....
: through Central Asia (Mongols
Mongols

The name Mongol specifies one or several ethnic groups, now mainly located in Mongolia, China, and Russia....
, Tatars
Tatars

Tatars , sometimes spelled Tartars, refers to a Turkic people ethnic group mainly inhabiting Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Bulgaria, Romania, Lithuania, and Poland....
, Khazars
Khazars

The Khazars were a semi-nomadic Turkic people who dominated the Pontic steppe and the North Caucasus from the 7th to the 10th century CE. The name 'Khazar' seems to be tied to a Turkic languages verb form meaning "wandering"....
, etc.), through the Mediterranean (Byzantium
Byzantium

Byzantium was an Ancient Greece city, which was founded by Greeks colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas or Byzantas ....
), through Central
Central Europe

Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern Europe and Western Europe Europe. In addition, Northern Europe, Southern Europe and Southeastern Europe may variously delimit or overlap into Central Europe....
 and Western Europe
Western Europe

Western Europe refers to the countries in the western most half of Europe. This concept has had different meanings, political and cultural as well as geographical issues have influenced the area....
 to Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus

Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to the parts of the Iberian Peninsula governed by Arab Muslims, at various times in the period between 711 and 1492....
 and further to North Africa (Morocco, Egypt). The Volga trade route
Volga trade route

In the Middle Ages, the Volga trade route connected Northern Europe and Northwestern Russia with the Caspian Sea, via the Volga River. The Rus' used this route to trade with Muslim history#Early Caliphate on the southern shores of the Caspian Sea, sometimes penetrating as far as Baghdad....
 and other Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
an routes, according to Ibrahim ibn Jakub, were serviced by Radanites, Jew
Jew

A Jew is a member of the Jewish people, an ethnoreligious group that traces its ancestry to the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East....
ish merchants. Theophanes
Theophanes

Theophanes may refer to:* St. Theophanes, the name of several saints, including:**Theophan the Recluse **Theodorus and Theophanes , called the Grapti, remembered as proponents of the veneration of images during the second Iconoclastic controversy...
 mentions that the Umayyad caliph Muawiyah I
Muawiyah I

Muawiyah I was a Sahaba of the Prophets of Islam, Muhammad and later the Umayyad Caliphate in Damascus. He engaged in a First Fitna against the fourth and final Rashidun , Ali and met with considerable military success, including the seizure of Egypt....
 settled a whole army of 5,000 Slavic mercenaries in Syria
Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is an Arab-majority country in Southwest Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Israel to the southwest, Jordan to the south, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north....
 in the 660s.

In the Muslim world, Saqaliba served in a multitude of ways: servants, harem
Harem

Harem refers to the sphere of women in a usually polygyny household and their quarters which is enclosed and forbidden to men. It originated in the Near East and came to the Western world via the Ottoman Empire....
 girls, eunuch
Eunuch

A eunuch is a castrated man, in particular one castrated early enough to have major hormonal consequences; the term usually refers to those castrated in order to perform a specific social function, as was common in many societies of the past....
s, craftsmen, soldiers, and even as Caliph
Caliph

The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the leader of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah....
's guards. Many of them became prominent, and unlike millions of nameless slaves, their fate is generally known. In Iberia
Iberian Peninsula

The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes modern-day Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar and a very small area of France....
, Morocco
Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 34 million and an area just under 447,000 km2....
, Damascus
Damascus

Damascus is the capital and largest city of Syria. It is List of oldest continuously inhabited cities and its current population is estimated at about 4,000,000....
 and Sicily
Sicily

Sicily is an Autonomous regions with special statute of Italy. Of all the regions of Italy, Sicily covers the largest land area at 25,708 km? and currently has just over five million inhabitants....
 their role may be compared with that of mamluk
Mamluk

A mamluk was a slavery soldier who converted to Islam and served the Muslim caliphs and the Ayyubid sultans from the 9th to the 13th centuries....
s in the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299?1923. It was Treaty of Lausanne by the Republic of Turkey, which was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923....
. Some Saqaliba even became rulers of taifa
Taifa

In the history of Iberian Peninsula, a taifa was an independent Muslim-ruled principality, an emirate or petty kingdom, of which a number formed in the Al-Andalus after the final collapse of the Umayyad Caliph of Cordoba in 1031....
s (principalities) in Iberia
Iberian Peninsula

The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes modern-day Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar and a very small area of France....
 after the collapse of the Caliphate of Cordoba
Caliphate of Córdoba

The Caliphate of C?rdoba ruled the Iberian peninsula and North Africa from the city of C?rdoba, Spain, from 929 to 1031. This period was characterized by remarkable success in trade and culture; many of the masterpieces of Islamic Iberia were constructed in this period, including the famous Mezquita....
.

It is possible that in some old texts "Saqaliba" may refer to other peoples of Eastern Europe. In particular, Ibn Fadlan referred to the ruler of the Volga Bulgaria
Volga Bulgaria

Volga Bulgaria or Volga-Kama Bolghar, is an historic Bulgarian state that existed between the seventh and thirteenth centuries around the confluence of the Volga River and Kama River rivers in what is now Russia....
, Almis
Almis

Almis ilt?b?r was the first Muslim ruler of Volga Bulgaria.Almas was a son of Silki . He was a ruler of one of Bulgarian duchies, probably, Bolghar Duchy....
, as "King of the Saqaliba
Elteber

In the hierarchy of the G?kt?rk and Khazar empires, an Elteber was the client king of an autonomous but tributary tribe or polity.In the case of the Khazar Khaganate, the rulers of such vassal peoples as the Volga Bulgars, Burtas and North Caucasian Huns were titled elteber or some variant such as Ilutwer, Ilutver , ...
"; however, this may have been because many Slavs, both slaves and ordinary settlers, lived in his domain at that time.

See also

  • Arab slave trade
    Arab slave trade

    The Arab slave trade was the practice of slavery in Southwest Asia, North Africa, East Africa, and certain parts of Europe during their period of domination by Arab leaders....


External links