Muslim Sicily
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Muslim Sicily صِقِلِّيَة ( Arabic) | |||||||||
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| 831–1091 | |||||||||
 Italy in 1000. The Emirate of Sicily is in light green. | |||||||||
| Status |
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| Capital | Judeo-Arabic | ||||||||
| Religion |
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| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||
• Established | 831 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 1091 | ||||||||
| Currency | Tarì, dirham | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Italy Malta | ||||||||
| Historical Arab states and dynasties |
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The island of Sicily[note 1] was under Islamic rule from the late ninth to late eleventh centuries.[1] It became a prosperous and influential commercial power in the Mediterranean,[2] with its capital of Palermo[note 2] serving as a major cultural and political center of the Muslim world.[3]
Sicily was peripheral part of the
Under Muslim rule, Sicily became
Beginning in the early eleventh century, political authority began to fracture from internal strife and dynastic disputes. Christian
As the first Count of Sicily, Roger maintained a relative degree of tolerance and multiculturalism; Sicilian Muslims remained citizens of the County and the subsequent Kingdom of Sicily. Until the late twelfth century, and probably as late as the 1220s, Muslims formed a majority of the island's population, and even occupied positions in the royal court. But by the mid thirteenth century, Muslims who had not already left or converted to Christianity were expelled, ending roughly four hundred years of Islamic presence in Sicily.
Over two centuries of Islamic rule has left some traces in modern Sicily.[4] Minor Arabic influence remains in the Sicilian language and in local place names; a much larger influence is in the Maltese language that derives from Siculo-Arabic. Other cultural remnants can be found in the island's agricultural methods and crops, cuisine, and architecture.[5]
History
Early Muslim attacks on Sicily
In 535,
By the end of the seventh century, with the
Around 700, the island of
The first true attempt at conquest was launched in 740; in that year the Muslim prince Habib, who had participated in the 728 attack, successfully captured
Muslim conquest
In 826,
Asad subsequently conquered the southern shore of the island and laid siege to Syracuse. After year-long siege, and an attempted mutiny, his troops were able to defeat a large army sent from Palermo, backed by a Venetian fleet led by Doge Giustiniano Participazio. A sudden outbreak of plague killed many of the Muslim troops, as well as Asad himself, forcing the Muslims to retreat to the castle Mineo. They later renewed their offensive, but failed to conquer Castrogiovanni (modern Enna) where Euphemius was killed, forcing them to retreat back to their stronghold at Mazara.
In 830, the remaining Muslims of Sicily received a strong reinforcement of 30,000 Ifriqiyan and Andalusi troops. The Iberian Muslims defeated the Byzantine commander Teodotus between July and August of that year, but again a plague forced them to return to Mazara and later Ifriqiya. However, Ifriqiyan units sent to besiege the Sicilian capital of Palermo managed to capture it after a year long siege in September 831.[7] Palermo was made the Muslim capital of Sicily, renamed al-Madinah ("The City"),[8] and it became the base for further conquests on the island.[9][10]
The conquest was an incremental, see-saw affair. With considerable resistance and many internal struggles, it took over a century for Byzantine Sicily to be fully conquered.[1] Messina was besieged and captured in 842 or 843, possibly with the support of some Neapolitans, and became a base for subsequent campaigns into the Italian mainland.[11][12][13] Syracuse was captured in 878.[14] The conquest of the island was not fully completed until 902, when Taormina was conquered.[14][15] Even after this, however, some patches of local Byzantine/Christian resistance continued until 967, after the end of the Aghlabid period.[16][17]
Muslim rule
In succession, Sicily was ruled by the
In 948, the Fatimid caliph
Throughout this period, Sunni Muslims formed the majority of the Muslim community in Sicily,[23] with most (if not all) of the people of Palermo being Sunni,[24] leading to their hostility to the Shia Kalbids.[25] The Sunni population of the island was replenished following sectarian rebellions across north Africa from 943–947 against the Fatimids' harsh religious policies, leading to several waves of refugees fleeing to Sicily in an attempt to escape Fatimid retaliation.[26] The Byzantines took advantage of temporary discord to occupy the eastern end of the island for several years.
Raids into Southern Italy continued under the Kalbids into the 11th century, and in 982 a German army under
Decline and "Taifa" period
By the 11th century, mainland southern Italian powers were hiring
The Emirate of Sicily began to fragment amid intra-dynastic quarrels.
The Zirids of North Africa sent an army to Sicily led by Ali and Ayyub ibn Tamin, and these troops progressively brought the qadits under their control, killing al-Hawwàs and effectively making Ayyub emir of Muslim Sicily. However, they lost two decisive battles against the Normans. The Sicilians and North Africans were defeated in 1063 by a small Norman force at the Battle of Cerami, cementing Norman control over the north-east of the island. The sizeable Christian population rose up against the ruling Muslims. Then in 1068, Roger and his men defeated Ayyub at the Battle of Misilmeri, and the Zirids returned to North Africa, leaving Sicily in disarray. Catania fell to the Normans in 1071. Palermo, ruled since the Zirid withdrawal by Ibn al-Ba'ba, a man apparently of Spanish Jewish descent from the city's merchant class who led the city with the support of its sheikhs, would in turn fall on 10 January 1072 after a five-month siege.[31][32] Trapani capitulated the same year.
The loss of the main port cities dealt a severe blow to Muslim power on the island. The last pocket of active resistance was Syracuse governed by Ibn Abbad (known as Benavert in western chronicles). He defeated Jordan, son of Roger of Sicily in 1075, and occupied Catania again in 1081 and raided Calabria shortly after. However, Roger besieged Syracuse in 1086, and Ibn Abbad tried to break the siege with naval battle, in which he died accidentally. Syracuse surrendered after this defeat. His wife and son fled to Noto and Butera. Meanwhile, the city of Qas'r Ianni (Castrogiovanni, modern Enna) was ruled by a Hammud, who surrendered and converted to Christianity only in 1087. After his conversion, Hammud subsequently became part of the Christian nobility and retired with his family to an estate in
Society
The new Arab rulers
Around 1330, Palermo's population stood at 51,000.[36]Arab traveler, geographer, and poet
The capital is endowed with two gifts, splendor and wealth. It contains all the real and imagined beauty that anyone could wish. Splendor and grace adorn the piazzas and the countryside; the streets and highways are wide, and the eye is dazzled by the beauty of its situation. It is a city full of marvels, with buildings similar to those of Córdoba, built of limestone. A permanent stream of water from four springs runs through the city. There are so many mosques that they are impossible to count. Most of them also serve as schools. The eye is dazzled by all this splendor.
Throughout this reign, revolts by Byzantine Sicilians occurred, especially in the east, and part of the lands were even re-occupied before being quashed.[28]
The local population conquered by the Muslims were Greek-speaking and Latin-speaking Byzantine Christians,[37] but there were also a significant number of Jews.[38] The Orthodox and Catholic populations were members of one Church until the events of 1054 began to separate them, the sack of 1204 being the last straw as far as the Byzantine "Orthodox" were concerned.
Christians and Jews were tolerated under Muslim rule as
Government
Seated in what is now the Royal Palace in Palermo, the emir held authority over most affairs of state, including the army, administration, justice, and the treasury. He appointed the governors of major cities, high ranking judges (qāḍī), and arbitrators for minor disputes between individuals (hakam). An assembly of notables called giamà'a played a consultative role, albeit sometimes making important decisions in lieu of the emir. It is also very likely that the authorities operated a tiraz, an official workshop that produced valuable fabrics such as silk, which were granted as a sign of appreciation to their subject or as a gift to foreign dignitaries.
Muslim sovereignty was never absolute across the island, and the creation of three subdivisions served to distinguish different approaches to government. Western Sicily was more
The fighters or junud in conquering the lands obtained four-fifths as booty (fai) and one fifth was reserved for the state or the local governor (the khums), following the rules of Islamic law. However, this rule was not always respected and in many areas such as that of Agrigento the new owners would not have had the right. But it must be said that this distribution of the lands brought about the end of the large estates and the possibility of better exploitation of the lands. New crops were thus introduced where only wheat had been grown for centuries. Sugarcane, vegetables, citrus fruits, dates and mulberry trees appeared and mining exploitation began.[39]
Coinage
The coin introduced by the Arabs was the dinar, in gold and weighing 4.25 grams. The dirhem was silver and weighed 2.97 grams. The Aghlabites introduced the solidus in gold and the follis in copper. While following the conquest of Palermo in 886 the kharruba was coined which was worth 1/6 of a dirhem.
Aftermath
The Norman
However, the island's Muslims were faced with the choice of voluntary departure or subjection to Christian rule. Many Muslims chose to leave, provided they had the means to do so. "The transformation of Sicily into a Christian island", remarks Abulafia, "was also, paradoxically, the work of those whose culture was under threat". "Lombard"
However, Frederick II, no longer a child, responded by launching a series of campaigns against the Muslim rebels in 1221. The Hohenstaufen forces rooted out the defenders of Jato, Entella, and the other fortresses. Rather than exterminate the Muslims. who numbered about 60,000, in 1223, Frederick II began deporting them to Lucera in Apulia.[58] A year later, expeditions were sent against Malta and Djerba, to establish royal control and prevent their Muslim populations from helping the rebels.[56] Paradoxically, Saracen archers remained a common component of these "Christian" armies and the presence of Muslim contingents in the imperial army remained a reality even under Manfred and Conradin.[59]
The
List of rulers
Kalbids
- al-Hasan al-Kalbi(948–953)
- Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Kalbi (954–969)
- Ya'ish (969–970), usurper
- Abu'l-Qasim Ali ibn al-Hasan al-Kalbi (970–982)
- Jabir al-Kalbi (982–983)
- Ja'far al-Kalbi (983–985)
- Abdallah al-Kalbi (985–990)
- Yusuf al-Kalbi (990–998)
- Ja'far al-Kalbi (998–1019)
- al-Akhal (1019–1037)
- Abdallah (1037–1040), Ziridusurper
- Hasan as-Samsam (1040–1053)
Taifa period
- Abdallah ibn Mankut – Trapani and Mazara (1053–?)
- Ibn al-Maklatí – Catania (1053–?)
- Muhammed ibn Ibrahim (Ibn Thumna) – Syracuse (1053–1062) and in later years Catania and Trapani/Mazara
- Alí ibn Nima (Ibn al-Hawwàs) – Agrigento and Castrogiovanni (1053–about 1065), all Taifas from 1062
- Ayyub ibn Tamim (Zirid) (about 1065–1068)
- Ibn al-Ba'ba, Palermo (1068–1072)
- Hammad – Agrigento and Castrogiovanni (1068–1087)
- Ibn Abbad (Benavert) – Syracuse and Catania (1071–1086)
See also
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Brief history of Sicily" (PDF). Archaeology.Stanford.edu. 7 October 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 9, 2007.
Arab period 827/902-1060/1093; The Arab and Norman conquests of Sicily were drawn-out affairs. The dates given above represent the first arrival of the new rulers and the fall of the last stronghold resisting them. It's important also to bear in mind that these dates reflect military/political transitions; culturally, the transitions were much slower.
- ^ William Dalrymple on Sicily’s Islamic past. Financial Times (Jan. 9, 2021). "The prosperity this generated led to Sicily, and especially Palermo, becoming a rich hub in the trading networks of the Mediterranean, the meeting place for merchants from the Middle East, north Africa and the young Italian trading republics."
- ISBN 978-88-365-3403-6.
- ^ Mattozzi, Savin. "'Sicilians have affinity for the Islamic world in their DNA'". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
- ISBN 978-1-5017-1259-3.
- ^ ISBN 0-7011-1347-2.
- Previte-Orton(1971), vol. 1, pg. 370
- ^ Islam in Sicily Archived 2011-07-14 at the Wayback Machine, by Alwi Alatas
- ISBN 978-1-5017-1258-6.
- ISBN 978-90-04-35566-8.
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- ^ ISBN 978-1-5017-1258-6.
- ISBN 9004100563.
- ^ ISSN 1873-9830.
- ISBN 978-90-04-30770-4.
- ISBN 9781474421522.
- ^ OCLC 758278456.
- ISBN 9781474421522.
- ^ ISBN 9780748696482.
- ISBN 9781474421522.
- ISBN 978-0-374-71205-1.
- ISBN 978-88-7125-102-8.
- ISBN 978-0-300-13542-8.
- ISBN 978-0-7391-2994-4.
- ISBN 978-0-521-41411-1.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7818-0909-2.
- ^ Alex Metcalf, The Muslims of Medieval Italy, Edinburgh:Edinburgh University Press, 2009, pp. 84-85
- ^ Metcalf, The Muslims of Medieval Italy, pp. 94-95
- ^ Metcalf, The Muslims of Medieval Italy, pp. 97-98
- ISBN 978-0-19-159181-5.
- ^ "Chronological - Historical Table Of Sicily". In Italy Magazine. 7 October 2007. Archived from the original on 9 April 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2008.
- ISBN 978-1-5128-1864-2.
- ISBN 978-90-04-17519-8.
- S2CID 13961320
- ISBN 978-0-6157-9694-9.
Until the arrival of the Arabs, the most widely spoken language in Sicily was a medieval dialect of Greek. Under the Arabs, Sicily became a polyglot community; some localities were more Greek-speaking while others were predominantly Arabic-speaking." pages 141-142 "Mosques were constructed, often with the help of Byzantine craftsmen, and in Sicily the Church, formally under the Patriarchate of Constantinople from 732, remained solidly Greek Orthodox into the early years of Norman rule, when the beginnings of Latinization took place.
- ISBN 88-8492-404-9.
- ^ Costantino, Alberto (2021-04-05). "Gli arabi in Sicilia / Alberto Costantino". opac.sbn.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-04-12.
- ^ Roger II - Encyclopædia Britannica Archived 2007-05-23 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Inturrisi, Louis (April 26, 1987). "Tracing the Norman Rulers of Sicily". The New York Times.
- ISBN 978-977-424-372-1.
- ^ Charles Dalli, From Islam to Christianity: the Case of Sicily, p. 159 (archived link)
- ^ Abulafia, The end of Muslim Sicily cit., p. 109
- ^ Charles Dalli, From Islam to Christianity: the Case of Sicily, p. 159 (archived link)
- ^ J. Johns, The Greek church and the conversion of Muslims in Norman Sicily?, "Byzantinische Forschungen", 21, 1995; for Greek Christianity in Sicily see also V. von Falkenhausen, "Il monachesimo greco in Sicilia", in C.D. Fonseca (ed.), La Sicilia rupestre nel contesto delle civiltà mediterranee, vol. 1, Lecce 1986.
- ^ Charles Dalli, From Islam to Christianity: the Case of Sicily, p. 160 (archived link)
- ISBN 978-0-7486-2008-1.
- ^ Michele Amari (1854). Storia dei musulmani di Sicilia. F. Le Monnier. p. 302 Vol III.
- ISBN 978-1-317-74402-3.
- ISBN 978-90-04-12541-4.
- ISBN 978-1-139-44019-6.
- ^ Metcalfe (2009), pp. 34–36, 40
- ISBN 978-0-521-25551-6.
At the end of the twelfth century ... While in Apulia Greeks were in a majority–and indeed present in any numbers at all–only in the Salento peninsula in the extreme south, at the time of the conquest they had an overwhelming preponderance in Lucaina and central and southern Calabria, as well as comprising anything up to a third of the population of Sicily, concentrated especially in the north-east of the island, the Val Demone.
- ^ Charles Dalli, From Islam to Christianity: the Case of Sicily, p. 160-161 (archived link)
- ^ a b Charles Dalli, From Islam to Christianity: the Case of Sicily, p. 161 (archived link)
- ^ Aubé, Pierre (2001). Roger Ii De Sicile - Un Normand En Méditerranée. Payot.
- ^ A.Lowe: The Barrier and the bridge, op cit;p.92.
- ^ "Saracen Archers in Southern Italy". 2007-11-28. Archived from the original on 2007-11-28. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
- ^ Abulafia, David (1988). Frederick II: A Medieval Emperor. London: Allen Lane.
Sources
- Previte-Orton, C. W. (1971). The Shorter Cambridge Medieval History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.