Notes on the Ahl al-Diwan: The Arab-Egyptian Armyof the Seventh through the Ninth Centuries C.E.

摘要

In his foundational study of caliphal armies, Hugh Kennedy provided a thorough, interpreta-tive framework for the profuse evidence relating to the early Islamic military establishment.'Repeatedly, however, he necessarily emphasized the tentative nature of the sources in gen-eral, but particularly those pertaining to Egypt, which are in several respects inconclusive,sparse, or demonstrative of idiosyncratic tendencies. Here the intent is to refine the discus-sion relating to the Egyptian army by contextualizing the Ahl al-Diwan, the chief Arab mili-tary force in the province from the late seventh through the early ninth centuries c.E.2