Muslim slave system in medieval India

Book Details:

• Publisher: ADITYA PRAKASHAN Indological Publishers & Booksellers

• Language: English

• Edition: New Delhi, 2016

• ISBN-13: 9788185689678

• ISBN-10: 8185689679

• Subject(s): History, Religion, Voice of India

About the Book:

This book explores the origins and evolution of slavery, beginning from its emergence during the age of savagery to its establishment as an institution in ancient civilizations. Slavery was prevalent in regions such as Babylon and Mesopotamia, and it played a significant role in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, centuries before the advent of Christ. In ancient India, although slavery existed, it was less harshly practiced, with foreign visitors like Megasthenes failing to notice the institution due to its mild treatment of slaves compared to other regions.

A significant turning point occurred with the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire, when slavery acquired a new dimension—a religious sanction. Christianity introduced the idea that God had endowed the earth and its wealth solely to the believers, asserting that infidels had no natural or human rights. This divine ordination allowed believers to treat non-believers however they wished, including enslaving them or denying them basic rights. Slavery thus evolved from a human instinct to dominate to a divinely justified institution.