Defense Expenditures. Given the large sizes of the armies maintained by West African states, a modern scholar might deduce that huge resources were expended on soldiers. In reality, however, the profits derived from invasions tended to offset the expense of the military action. Revenues from conquered territories supported defense expenditures and minimized the resources that the conquering state had to spend on its military. The victorious state typically imposed large tributes and heavy indemnities. Court fees and fines were important sources of revenues. Expenditures were also kept low by the practice of giving warriors shares in the booty.

Civil-Military Relations. In many cases, soldiers were not personal instruments of the rulers and thus could not be dispatched to do their personal bidding. The military was an organ of the state, which was not the private property of its ruler...