New Books in History Craig Perry, "Slavery and the Jews of Medieval Egypt: A History" (Princeton UP, 2026)
Mar 22, 2026
Craig Perry, an associate professor of medieval Middle Eastern and Jewish history, discusses slavery, law, and everyday life using the Cairo Geniza. He traces global slave networks and the intimate roles of enslaved people in kitchens and households. He examines legal categories, local markets and resale dynamics, manumission and integration, and how slavery shaped rituals like Passover.
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Cairo Geniza as a Window Into Everyday Medieval Life
- The Cairo Geniza is an unparalleled archive preserving 300,000 medieval Jewish documents that reveal everyday life in Cairo between the 11th and 13th centuries.
- Craig Perry uses letters, contracts, and responsa from the Geniza to reconstruct domestic slavery, trade, and legal practices in medieval Egypt.
Canaanite Slavery Was The Dominant Legal Category
- Medieval Jewish law distinguished Hebrew slaves (temporary) from Canaanite slaves (perpetual), with the latter dominating practice by the Middle Ages.
- Canaanite slaves' children inherited slave status, making this form of bondage effectively hereditary in Jewish legal discourse.
Islamic Law Created Different Incentives Around Enslavement
- Islamic law set key differences: enslaved women bearing a child to a Muslim became freeborn Muslims and gained protections, and Muslims were not supposed to be enslaved.
- These legal distinctions shaped owners' incentives and rare instances of conversion to escape bondage.
