| Abstract | In all the historical research dedicated to the Arab-Muslim world, the study of slavery remains a little explored subject. Neither the violence of the trade nor the roles assigned to the multiple layers of the servile classes really seem to have stirred the interest of Arab historians. In fact, while the collection of data is aimed at reconstructing an object that happened in the past, the phenomenon proves to be neither truly distant in the past nor truly over, and the distinction between the levels of intelligibility of the discourse is difficult to grasp because of the contemporary echoes. In addition, the dominant representations form an obstacle to any distancing process propitious to the transformation of the phenomenon into an object of knowledge. The paucity of the sources adds to the ambiguities and inconsistencies. It obscures the prospects for understanding and explaining the forms that slavery has taken throughout history. In general, Arab sources are loathe to deal with the dull life of the amorphous and resigned serving masses. However, chroniclers do sometimes direct their attention to the despicable life of the plebeians, especially when it manifests itself dramatically in riots and revolts. It is in this way that the usurped history emerges from oblivion to take on meaning in the collective memory.
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