The Forgotten Slave Trade: The White European Slaves of Islam

by (Historian) Simon Webb

The continued demand in the Muslim world for large numbers of European slaves was to cause enormous problems on more than one occasion for the countries to which they were exported. Not one but two dynasties of slaves emerged in the Middle East which both toppled their supposed owners from their position of power and actually ended up dominating Egypt and the area which we know today as Iraq. The story of these powerful groups of slaves is a fascinating one and shows the dangers of relying too heavily upon men who are at the very bottom of the social order and have little or nothing to lose. We shall examine these strange societies, which grew to be very powerful in the Muslim world, in the next chapter. First though, let us consider a point which has already been briefly touched upon; the enormous influence which the trade in European slaves in North Africa had upon the subsequent history of the world.