I thought that I might tell you all a little bit about where I got the idea for the group known as ‘The Kalarthri’.
The Kalarthri are drawn from the second born children of the Suene Empire and are used as an indentured ‘slave’ workforce for a period of thirty years. After that, the Kalarthri are pensioned off by the state. The exception to this rule is the Hatar Kalarthri, because of the Krytal procedure that they have to undergo, they are in servitude for the rest of their lives or until they are too old to serve anymore and are retired.
I originally got the idea for the Kalarthri from reading about the Mamluk Sultanate. The original Mamluks started life as children who had been captured or bought by the Egyptian sultan. They were trained from a young age to be the sultan’s personal bodyguard. Over time, their status changed. While Mamluks were purchased, their status was above ordinary slaves, who were not allowed to carry weapons or perform certain tasks. Mamluks were considered to be “true lords”, with social status above citizens of Egypt (The Kalarthri do not have this privilege…aren’t I mean?).
The mamluk was an “owned slave”, distinguished from the garyaand ghulam, or household slaves. After thorough training in various fields such as martial arts, court etiquette and Islamic sciences, these slaves were freed. However, they were still expected to remain loyal to their master and serve his household. Mamluks had formed a part of the state or military apparatus in Syria and Egypt since at least the 9th century, during the Tulunid period. Mamluk regiments constituted the backbone of Egypt’s military under Ayyubid rule in the late 12th and early 13th centuries, beginning with Sultan Saladin who replaced the Fatimid’s African infantry with mamluks. Each Ayyubid sultan and high-ranking emir had a private mamluk corps.
Credit: Cavalry Charge from ‘Nihayat al-Sul’ (‘A Manual of Horsemanship and Military Practice’), 1371, Persian literary text ©British Library, London, UK/ © British Library Board. All Rights Reserved/ The Bridgeman Art Library
Sorry about the abrupt history lesson…I just wanted to share with you the real-life circumstances that birthed my idea for the Kalarthri – an idea that had been growing since 1998!
Peace, Love and Cheesecake
-HMC