Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Aqtai
Finally were would Salaheddin have got all these Arab soldiers from? A 12th century Muslim ruler would not have considered the urban population of Cairo or Damascus or the fellahin of the countryside soldierly material. These cities did have a military class of Turkish and Kurdish origin whose family business had been soldiering for several generations. Salaheddin himself was one of these. His father Ayyub, his uncle Shirkuh, his brothers Abu-bakr and Turan-Shah were all soldiers. If Salaheddin had not become Sultan, doubtless his children would also have soldiers.
|
Most of the Ummayads armies were from syria, since Muawiya's time. All the troops that beseiged constantinople in Muawiya's reign were from damascus. There certainly were some bedouin tribes left to make up an army. Most of the ummayad expansion armies came from the yemeni arabs, the qaysiya, and these tribes also were stationed in the hammad (syrian desert) and in large numbers during saladin's time, waiting to be recruited for another great fight!