Saracen Slaves in Tenth and Early Eleventh-Century Catalonia

Sporadic records testify to the existence of Muslim slaves in Catalonia as early as in the mid-tenth century. Called "Saracens" in the documents, members of this group served in the court of the Count of Barcelona and on the estates of the Bishop of Urgell, as well as in a private orchard near the capital. The slaves were captured from Al-Andalus at a time when the Catalan counties were still militarily inferior to their Muslim neighbours. We can identify two warriors as possible slave raiders, who apparently conducted cross-border razzias at the head of small units of mounted troops. They sold the people they captured at the local market. The Saracens could also be exchanged for Christian captives or sent back to Al-Andalus for ransom at a price customary in the whole Islamic world.