We can come to an estimate of how many Islamic slaves existed in ONE YEAR of Islam just by choosing something random. Let’s take 1650, the apogee of Islamic power:
OTTOMAN EMPIRE
By the year 1650, in Istanbul, it is estimated that approximately 20-25% were slaves, with Istanbul’s population being around 750,000. 175,000 were slaves.
In the Crimean Khanate, by 1650, 500,000 people existed altogether. More than two thirds to three quarters of those were slaves primarily from Ruthenia, Poland and the Don Basin, meaning 375,000 were slaves. This is a figure from an Ottoman observer!
In 1650, the population of Algiers was around 100,000, with 30,000 slaves, the result of a thriving privateering trade primarily targeting Spanish transport.
15% of Aleppo’s population were enslaved. 150,000 people were resident in Aleppo around 1650, 22,500 were slaves.
Slaves comprised 20% of Damascus population. 200,000 people were living in Damascus around 1650, 40,000 were slaves. Damascus was an important hub of slavery, regarded as an intermediate zone between Europe and Africa.
15% of Cairo’s population were slaves. 300,000 people lived in Cairo in 1650, 60,000 were slaves.
SAFAVID IRAN
Other than the already slave-dealing cities of Mesopotamia such as Basrah that were captured by the Safavids, Iran had a smaller-scale slave trade, but traded many slaves from Armenia, Circassia, Central Asia, India and the FInno-Ugric peoples of Siberia.
Through Oman, black slaves were transported from Zanzibar and other areas on the East African coastline.
One unique element of Iranian slavery among Muslims was how many Iranians were sold as slaves themselves, often to Arabs and other Muslim groups.
In 1650, 400,000 people lived in the Persian capital of Ishafan, 10% were enslaved.
Baghdad had a population of 150,000 in 1650. Around 20% were slaves.
The population of Qazvin was 70,000 in 1650.
Around 1650, 100,000 people lived in Basra, while 25% were enslaved.
MUGHAL INDIA
20% percent of Delhi’s population were slaves. 400,000 people lived in Delhi in 1650, 80,000 slaves existed there.
15% of Agra’s population were slaves. 600,000 people lived in Agra in 1650. 90,000 slaves existed there.
Lahore’s population was 350,000. 10% of the population were slaves.
Ahmedabad’s population was 250,000 in 1650.
In 1650, 15% of Dhaka’s population were enslaved. Dhaka’s population was 200,000 in 1650.
Hyderabad’s population was 150,000. Many slaves in Hyderabad worked as artisans or labour. 15% of the population were slaves.
As the major marine hub of the empire, Surat’s population was 200,000 in 1650. 15% were enslaved.
Kabul was an important hub for slave trading. 20% of Kabul’s population were slaves. 150,000 people lived in Kabul in 1650.
Murshidabad’s population in 1650 was 100,000, 15% were slaves.
WE ARE ALREADY HITTING TWO TO THREE MILLION PEOPLE IN JUST ONE YEAR, FROM MAJOR URBAN CENTERS AND NOT COUNTING NORTH AFRICA, INDONESIA, ETC.
IMAGINE HOW MANY SOULS WENT THROUGH 1,400 YEARS OF ISLAMIC SLAVERY!!!
SOURCES:
The World of Labour in Mughal India (c.1500–1750), Cambridge Core
The Mughal Empire, Britannica
The ‘Great Firm’ Theory of the Decline of the Mughal Empire, JSTOR
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