On the “Guile” of Slaves: Thirteen Recommendations of Samawʾal b. Yaḥyā al-Maghribī (d. 570/1175) on the Purchase of Male and Female Slaves
Introduction There is a large corpus of premodern Arabic literature dealing with sexual matters, from a variety of perspectives.[1] The Nuzhat al-aṣḥāb fī muʿāsharat al-aḥbāb (A Friends’ Jaunt in Coitus Between Lovers, hereafter Nuzhat) of Samawʾal b. Yaḥyā al-Maghribī is an interesting example of such a text. The author, a well-known physician of the 6th/12th century, discusses eroticism with particular attention to its medical aspects. The first part of the text deals extensively with ghilmān (young boys) and jawārī (maidens). Both terms were sometimes used in premodern literature…