ABSTRACT
Unlike other regions, such as North America, which employed large numbers of slaves in agricultural labor, Islamic slaves were primarily domestic servants who prepared meals, cleaned, and performed other household tasks. Many if not most domestic servants were female who were treated as concubines, and occasionally married if they were Muslim. Islamic slaves enjoyed full legal status and protection under Sharia, Islamic law. By and large, they were better off than slaves elsewhere. This was true of slaves within the Ottoman Empire as well, who could become soldiers, sailors, and artisans.
