I've been interested in the history of the Islamic world since taking an intro class in undergrad. I just listened to Dr. Urban's episode of Agnus and found it to be absolutely fascinating. An interesting counterpoint to how I think of slavery (in a knee jerk way) as a white American male. Also an important reminder that the role of women in history can be different than we assume. I don't have a lot of smart discussion at this time, but I am hoping that Dr. Urban might return in the future to illuminate further topics on the history of Islam. In fact, I'd love to hear her discuss the structure of the royal court of the Caliph in the Umayyad vs. the Abbassid dynasties or something similar. Anyone else have interesting topics from the history of Islam that might be good Agnus episodes?
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I might have missed something, but I don't see how her concluding thoughts were related to anything before it. A lady is a slave, and her child, which is likely conceived through rape, has a chance to become nobility, and that somehow gives women agency? And the debate over this issue is in between two men? Where does the agency for women come in? Whenever the topic of Islamic slavery comes up, there is a bit too much whataboutism. I've had discussions before about if dying from castration or on the boat over from Africa is worse. It's crazy. Islamic slavery was awful, American slavery was awful, Roman slavery was awful, Russian slavery was awful, Japanese slavery was awful, Viking slavery was awful. Why give a damn what form it takes! Sorry if I'm missing the point of the discussion. While I might disagree with her conclusions, I'll gleefully listen to any episode shes on in the future.
I'm glad you enjoyed this episode. Dr. Urban's book will be out later this year, so I do intend to have her back for a broader discussion. You may like Andrew Marsham's book The Ritual of Accession in Early Islam, which is a fascinating examination of the development of courtly ritual in early Islam. I'm also hoping to get Dr. Marsham on the show to talk about a recent article of his.