Editing Kingdom of Jerusalem (section)

=== Slavery ===
An unknown number of Muslim [[slavery in medieval Europe|slaves]] lived in the Kingdom. There was a very large slave market in Acre that functioned throughout the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Italian merchants were sometimes accused of selling Southeastern European Christians as slaves along with Muslim slaves.<ref>[[Jonathan Riley-Smith]], The Feudal Nobility, pp. 62–63.</ref> Slavery was less common than ransom, especially for prisoners of war; the large numbers of prisoners taken during raids and battles every year ensured that ransom money flowed freely between the Christian and Muslim states.<ref>Yvonne Friedman, ''Encounter between Enemies: Captivity and Ransom in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem''. Brill, 2002, throughout.</ref> Escape for prisoners and slaves was probably not difficult, as the inhabitants of the countryside were majority Muslim, and fugitive slaves were always a problem. The only legal means of manumission was conversion to (Catholic) Christianity. No Christian, whether Western or Eastern, was permitted by law to be sold into slavery.<ref>Prawer, Crusader Institutions, pg. 209.</ref>

The [[assizes of Jerusalem]] provided a legal framework for slavery in the Kingdom. The document stipulated that {{qi|[[villeins]], animals or some other chattel}} could be traded. "Villeins" were rural semi-free laborers akin to [[serfs]]. There were also multiple ways to become chattel slaves. People could be slaves by birth, enslaved by being captured in a raid, or as a penalty for debt or for helping a runaway slave.<ref>{{harvnb|Verlinden|1970|pp=81–82}}</ref>

The nomadic [[Bedouin tribes]] were considered to be the property of the king and under his protection. They could be sold or alienated just like any other property, and later in the 12th century, they were often under the protection of a lesser noble or one of the military orders.<ref>Prawer, Crusader Institutions, pg. 214.</ref>