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Unfree Lives illuminates Yemenâs forgotten history of slavery, as well as the transregional dimensions of slave trading in the Red Sea and wider Indian Ocean world. By analyzing Arabic narrative and administrative sources, Magdalena Moorthy Kloss reconstructs the lives of women and men who were trafficked to Yemen as children and then placed in various subaltern positions â from domestic servant to royal concubine, from quarryman to army commander.
In this first in-depth study of unfree lives in Yemen, Moorthy Kloss argues that slaves and former slaves made significant contributions to social, economic and political processes in the medieval period. She highlights the gendered nature of slavery through a nuanced examination of the social identities of eunuchs and concubines. Unfree Lives also includes detailed information on slave trading between the Horn of Africa and Yemen in the 13th century, as well as an account of the little-known Najahid dynasty that was founded by Ethiopian slaves.
Finalist for the 2025 Paul E. Lovejoy Prize.
In this first in-depth study of unfree lives in Yemen, Moorthy Kloss argues that slaves and former slaves made significant contributions to social, economic and political processes in the medieval period. She highlights the gendered nature of slavery through a nuanced examination of the social identities of eunuchs and concubines. Unfree Lives also includes detailed information on slave trading between the Horn of Africa and Yemen in the 13th century, as well as an account of the little-known Najahid dynasty that was founded by Ethiopian slaves.
Finalist for the 2025 Paul E. Lovejoy Prize.
Magdalena Moorthy Kloss is an FWF Erwin Schrödinger Fellow at the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (Berlin) and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University. Her research examines slavery, dependency and social hierarchies in Yemen through an interdisciplinary lens. She has published articles in the journals History and Anthropology and Der Islam, and a chapter in The Palgrave Handbook of Global Slavery throughout History (2023).
Acknowledgements
Preliminary Remarks
List of Maps
Introduction
1 Historical Context and Sources
â1âThe Najahids â a Dynasty of (Former) Slaves
â2âThe Rasulids
2 The Medieval Slave Trade to Yemen
â1âOverview
â2âThe Unknown Origins of Slave Soldiers in Medieval Yemen
â3âTrade Procedures to Rasulid Yemen
â4âImport Taxes
â5âTransport Charges and Travel Provisions
â6âTrade Procedures in Yemen
â7âConclusion
3 Eunuchs
â1âEunuchs in Islamic Foundational Texts
â2âThe Eunuch Institution in the First Islamic Centuries
â3âTerminology
â4âEarly Lives
â5âDigression: Slave Names and the Loss of Origins
â6âBeginnings in Yemen
â7âEunuchs in the Rasulid Military and Political Administration
â8âAmirs
â9âGovernors and Representatives
â10âOwners of Revenue Estates
â11âEnvoys
â12âTreasurers and Paymasters
â13âSupervisors of Mamluks
â14âEunuchs and Rasulid Women
â15âEunuchs as Educators of Royal Children
â16âScholarly and Religious Activities
â17âPatronage of Pious Endowments
â18âConclusion
4 Female Slaves
â1âTypes of Female Slave Labour in Medieval Yemen
â2âConcubinesâ Biographies in al-ḤakamÄ«âs Chronicle
â3âRasulid Case Studies
â4âConclusion
5 Low-Ranking Slaves
â1âNÅ«r al-maÊ¿Ärif as Unique Source of Information on Low-Ranking Slaves
â2âKitchen Service
â3âEmployment in Palace Storage Facilities
â4âProtective Services
â5âStable Duties
â6âCraftsmanship and Other Specialized Work
â7âAgriculture
â8âMining
â9âConclusion
Conclusions
Bibliography
Preliminary Remarks
List of Maps
Introduction
1 Historical Context and Sources
â1âThe Najahids â a Dynasty of (Former) Slaves
â2âThe Rasulids
2 The Medieval Slave Trade to Yemen
â1âOverview
â2âThe Unknown Origins of Slave Soldiers in Medieval Yemen
â3âTrade Procedures to Rasulid Yemen
â4âImport Taxes
â5âTransport Charges and Travel Provisions
â6âTrade Procedures in Yemen
â7âConclusion
3 Eunuchs
â1âEunuchs in Islamic Foundational Texts
â2âThe Eunuch Institution in the First Islamic Centuries
â3âTerminology
â4âEarly Lives
â5âDigression: Slave Names and the Loss of Origins
â6âBeginnings in Yemen
â7âEunuchs in the Rasulid Military and Political Administration
â8âAmirs
â9âGovernors and Representatives
â10âOwners of Revenue Estates
â11âEnvoys
â12âTreasurers and Paymasters
â13âSupervisors of Mamluks
â14âEunuchs and Rasulid Women
â15âEunuchs as Educators of Royal Children
â16âScholarly and Religious Activities
â17âPatronage of Pious Endowments
â18âConclusion
4 Female Slaves
â1âTypes of Female Slave Labour in Medieval Yemen
â2âConcubinesâ Biographies in al-ḤakamÄ«âs Chronicle
â3âRasulid Case Studies
â4âConclusion
5 Low-Ranking Slaves
â1âNÅ«r al-maÊ¿Ärif as Unique Source of Information on Low-Ranking Slaves
â2âKitchen Service
â3âEmployment in Palace Storage Facilities
â4âProtective Services
â5âStable Duties
â6âCraftsmanship and Other Specialized Work
â7âAgriculture
â8âMining
â9âConclusion
Conclusions
Bibliography
Readers interested in:
- Slavery as social/legal institution, slave trading
- Yemen / Arabian Peninsula
- Red Sea region / Indian Ocean World
- African diasporas
- Gender, social, racial hierarchies in MENA
- Slavery as social/legal institution, slave trading
- Yemen / Arabian Peninsula
- Red Sea region / Indian Ocean World
- African diasporas
- Gender, social, racial hierarchies in MENA