Was there ever a slave who became rich / powerful without running away from his position as a slave?

by [deleted]

In a sort of "Rising through the ranks" way.

Lost_city

Baybars was a Mamluk in Egypt who rose to be commander of the Mamluks and Sultan of Egpyt. Mamluks were slave militias that fought in Muslim armies. But they were a bit unusual as slaves since they could acquire quite a bit of wealth and power.