Markets in Tenth-Century al-Andalus and Volga Bulghāria: Contrasting Views of Trade in Muslim Europe

There is a conspicuous absence of interest in markets and commercial activities in recent studies of al-Andalus. A similar problem existed in the Marxist historiography of commercial relations in Eastern Europe during the early Middle Ages. Although Soviet scholars initially downplayed trade in favour of agriculture and crafts, the explosion of archaeological research in key Bulghar centres, as well as the discovery of a number of sites that may be defined as emporia have dramatically changed both the terms of the discussion and the role of trade in studies of urbanisation and state formation. This may in turn provide inspiration for the study of trade in contemporary al-Andalus. Moreover, the recent emphasis on hydraulic archaeology and its role in explaining the extraordinary wealth of al-Andalus in the tenth and early eleventh centuries provides a useful background for a re-assessment of the question of trade in the westernmost region of medieval Islam.     

Judicial Authority and Qāḍīs' Autonomy under the ʿAbbāsids

As Joseph Schacht argued in the 1950s, the office of qā?ī began in the Umayyad period as that of a “legal secretary” to provincial governors. Documentary evidence from Egypt confirms that governors were indeed regarded as the highest judicial authority in early Islam, and that their legal powers far surpassed that of any other judge. In large cities, governors appointed and dismissed qā?īs at will; decisions taken by qā?īs could be swiftly overruled by political authorities.

Although the ?Abbāsids reformed and centralised the judiciary in the second half of second/eighth century, qā?īs were still subordinate to reigning rulers and unable to impose judgements that displeased the caliph or his main representatives. The increasing political and social influence of scholars and the development of classical schools of law eventually changed this situation. Relying on a body of both narrative and legal literature, this article addresses the qā?īs' attempts to resist political rulers' interference with the judiciary by asserting themselves as true representatives of the sharī?a. It argues that ?anafī legal literature, dating from the third/ninth and fourth/tenth centuries, gradually elaborated a theory on the relationship between the qā?ī and the ruler. This theory was instrumental in doing away with political infringement on the judicial prerogative and was soon incorporated into adab literature, whose stories of rulers entirely subjugated to the rule of law became a new political model.     

Narrative Construction,Ideal Rule,and Emotional Discourse in the Biographies of Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn and Louis IX by Bahāʾ al-Dīn b. Shaddād and Jean Sire de Joinville

Bahā? al-Dīn b. Shaddād and Jean Sire de Joinville wrote two unrelated but remarkably similar biographies of the rulers they once served, ?alā? al-Dīn and Louis IX. Especially striking are two anecdotes in which both Ibn Shaddād and Joinville rebuke the ruler for excessive crying upon receiving the news of a close relative’s death. This essay explores the narrative logic that drove these authors to write their texts and these anecdotes in particular in such a similar way. By embedding their discourse on emotional restraint in the wider discursive matrix of advice literature circulating in the period, Ibn Shaddād and Joinville actively participated in narrative discussions on ideal rule. In this they did not only stress the importance of emotional restraint for a ruler, but also the necessity of employing good advisors, ideally exemplified by themselves.     

Caliphal Imperialism and Ḥijāzī elites in the second/eighth Century

ABSTRACT

This article contributes to the debate over the effectiveness with which late Umayyad and early ?Abbāsid caliphs negotiated their respective rights and duties with provincial elites during the second/eighth century. The focus is on the relationships that evolved between the caliphs and those elite families residing in the ?ijāz whose ancestors had helped to establish the Muslim community and the early caliphal empire in the mid-first/seventh century. The article's analysis centres on a series of four revolts in the ?ijāz over the second/eighth century and examines developments in the enthusiasm with which local elites either supported or opposed those revolts. This discussion demonstrates that, aside from a brief period during the first decades of ?Abbāsid rule, Umayyad and ?Abbāsid caliphs during the second/eighth century were actually quite successful at inspiring loyalty among the local elites of the ?ijāz.     

Kinship,Camaraderie and Contestation: Fāṭimid Relations with the Ashrāf in the Fourth/Tenth Century.

The founding of the Fā?imid caliphate across the southern Mediterranean, and then in Egypt, Syria and the ?ijāz at the turn of the fourth/tenth century, necessitated its negotiation with the ashrāf, those who claimed lineal descent from the Prophet Mu?ammad, and who by this time had gained significant influence as a social class based on their charismatic descent. While other dynastic powers fostered relationships with various members of the ashrāf, the Fā?imid–ashrāf dynamics were distinctive in that the Fā?imids legitimised their rule as Ismā?īlī Shī?ī imām-caliphs, based on their claim of descent from the Prophet Mu?ammad, and as the sole successors to his authority and leadership over the Islamic world. Consequently, Fā?imid–ashrāf relations were permeated by fraternal camaraderie as well as by competing contestations based on their shared claim to Prophetic lineage.     

The Castle and Lordship of Ḥārim and the Frankish-Muslim Frontier of Northern Syria in the Twelfth Century

The castle of ?ārim in Northern Syria was a site of intense military and political scrutiny during the twelfth century. Whether under the control of the Frankish principality of Antioch or of Muslim-held Aleppo, it acted as the battleground for control of the frontier between these two powers. This article therefore seeks to examine how both sides adapted to the demands of this frontier. First, it will show how central this castle was to the balance of power in the region, a reality historians have so far often overlooked; second, it will demonstrate, through an examination of ?ārim's Frankish lordship, particularly the inheritance rights of its Latin lords, that diverse customs and relationships of power emerged to meet the challenges of defending and governing the frontier.     

Usāma Ibn Munqidh's Lubāb al-Ādāb (The Kernels of Refinement): Autobiographical and Historical Excerpts

Usāma ibn Munqidh (d. 584/1188) is best known for his “memoirs” entitled Kitāb al-i?ibār, which provides a personal and detailed window into the world of an aristocratic Syrian Muslim in the period of the Crusades. But scholars have almost completely ignored a lesser-known work by Usāma called Lubāb al-ādāb or The Kernels of Refinement. This anthology consists mostly of poetic excerpts relating to adab, the ideal conduct of the male courtier, but, scattered throughout, it also contains a handful of narrative anecdotes about Usāma and his times very much akin to the material found in his “memoirs”: tales of admirable behaviour, of encounters with the Franks, of Usāma's family, and the daily life of the elites of his day. This article presents these narrative extracts translated into English for the first time, with commentary, and with the intention that The Kernels of Refinement will attract the attention it deserves from both Arabists and non-Arabists.     

New Zealand’s Waitangi Day divided? Support for national Day predicts in-group and out-group warmth for Pākehā but only in-group warmth for Māori

Waitangi Day, New Zealand’s official national day, is often claimed as contentious by commentators and academics. However, research analysing the wider population’s opinions about Waitangi Day are lacking. We address this with two studies using national probability data from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study. Most participants supported (51%), rather than opposed (8%), Waitangi Day as a national celebration of biculturalism. Study one indicated that, on average, Pākehā (N = 12390) who opposed Waitangi Day as a bicultural celebration expressed warmer attitudes towards Pākehā but colder attitudes towards Māori. Conversely, support for Waitangi Day as a bicultural celebration among Māori (N = 1928) was, on average, related to warmth towards Māori but uncorrelated with warmth towards Pākehā. Study two assessed whether socio-political attitudes changed in the weeks leading up to, during, and immediately following Waitangi Day in 2015. Contrary to narratives of divisiveness, we failed to detect reliable change in the attitudes of Māori (N = 556) and Pākehā (N = 3203) around Waitangi Day. These findings are inconsistent with anecdotal claims that Waitangi Day may be divisive.     

Challenging Authority: Al-Balādhurī and al-Ṭabarī on Khārijism during the Reign of Muʿāwiya b. Abī Sufyān1

ABSTRACT

Khārijite resistance to Umayyad authority during the caliphate of Mu?āwiya b. Abī Sufyān (r. 661–680) is represented in detail in the works of the early Muslim scholars A?mad b. Ya?yā al-Balādhurī (d. c. 892) and Mu?ammad b. Jarīr al-?abarī (d. 923). While the Khārijites are overwhelmingly depicted by both authors as religious fanatics whose excessive piety caused widespread bloodshed and who thus should be condemned, a closer look reveals that Khārijites serve specific and distinct narrative purposes: al-Balādhurī uses them mainly to illustrate Umayyad tyranny, while al-?abarī addresses the consequences of Khārijite revolts for communal and imperial stability. The latter's work is also marked by a dichotomy between activist and quietist Khārijism, implying that al-?abarī is not so much opposed to Khārijism as a set of “heretic” religious ideas, but rather to its violent expression of politico-religious opposition.     

Solomon ben Joseph ha-Kohen on Fāṭimid Victory: A Hebrew Ode to al-Mustanṣir Billāh and Badr al-Jamālī Reconsidered

Abstract

This article presents a vocalised edition (on the basis of MS T.-S. Misc. 36.174, Cambridge University Library) and a revised translation of a Hebrew ode written on the occasion of the Fā?imid victory over the invading Saljūq army in Cairo in 469/1077. Elaborating on earlier research on the Cairo Genizah treasures starting with Julius H. Greenstone's 1906 paper, the article first of all aims to present whatever historical data can be obtained about the poet, Solomon ben Joseph ha-Kohen, and about the time period and the circumstances in which he must have written his poem, which is addressed to the Fā?imid caliph al-Mustan?ir Billāh and his vizier Badr al-Jamālī. Other major objectives of the article are the identification of other historical persons and events alluded to in the praise poem, a literary analysis of the ode within the conceptual framework of “martial poetry”, and an examination of its laudatory or propagandistic aspects.     

Fixing a Misbegotten Biography: Ziryāb in the Mediterranean World

The generally accepted biography of the famous Cordovan musician and composer, Alī b. Nāfi? Ziryāb (d. 242/857), contains evident problems of chronology and content and is based almost entirely upon one source, al-Maqqarī's Naf[hdot] al- ?īb min ghu?n al-Andalus al-ratīb, written in the eleventh/seventeenth century. Modern scholarship generally has overlooked the fifth/eleventh-century source for this late version of his biography and has not taken other, earlier, sources into account. The result is a misbegotten biography that distorts both its subject and the Mediterranean world in which Ziryāb lived. This article refines the biography of Ziryāb by using the earliest available Arabic sources, including works by Ibn ?Abd Rabbih (d. 328/940), Ibn al-Qūtiyya (d. 365/977), Ibn [Hdot]ayyān (d. 469/1076), A[hdot]mad al-Tīfāshī (d. 651/1253) and Ibn Khaldūn (d. 803/1402). By comparing these accounts and attempting to reconcile their inconsistencies, the paper proposes a more logical chronology for Ziryāb's career that not only resolves obvious problems with the standard biography, but also portrays this important artist in relation to the network of political and economic institutions that united the eastern and western ends of the Islamic Mediterranean world in the early third/ninth century.     

A Ṭā’ifa in Exile: Sayf al-Dawla and the Survival of the Banū Hūd

In 1145–1146, Sayf al-Dawla returned to al-Andalus to create an independent kingdom and return the Banū Hūd of Zaragoza to prominence. His task was a difficult one, not least because he’d spent a decade serving the Christian king Alfonso VII. After a year of campaigning, Sayf al-Dawla secured a base of support in Murcia. However, he died shortly after his coronation in a battle with Christian allies who were allegedly sent by Alfonso to help him. In addition to providing an explanation for the battle and his death, the article examines how Sayf al-Dawla promoted the legitimacy of his state through his coinage, adherence to Andalusī traditions, and a network of fellow exiles. It interprets the Zaragozan ?ā’ifa as a moveable faction rather than a fixed geographical entity and connects Sayf al-Dawla’s kingdom to later movements to demonstrate how his actions preserved the Banū Hūd’s prestige in Andalusī imaginations.     

The Origin of Language and its Link with Music according to the Theory of Jābir ibn [Hdot]ayyān

Jābir ibn [Hdot]ayyān took advantage of the vast translation enterprise of Greek scientific works into Arabic. He quotes from these sources, including several whose Greek originals are lost. His works can be likened to the encyclopedia of Ikhwān al-[Sdot]afā’, the most important transmission of Pythagorean tradition. In this Epistle on Music the Ikhwān followed Jābir's method, and perhaps were influenced by him, in analysing the relationship between language and music, together with the arithmetical speculations that were widely influential. In this article, I have attempted to collect Jābir's scattered ideas on the origin of language and music trying to assemble the major ones in a coherent exposition.     

A Possible Connection between the Philosophy of the Castilian king Alfonso X and the Risālat ayy ibn Yaqān by Ibn ufayl

This article explores the textual connections between two narratives: Ibn ufayl's (581/1185–6) Risālat ayy ibn Yaqān and a brief history of religions present in two works – the General Estoria and the Stenario – produced in the Castilian court of king Alfonso X (1221–1284). Both literary narratives deal with the intersection of philosophy and metaphysics. First, Alfonso X's cultural renaissance is contextualized. Under Arabic influence, Alfonso's collaborators created a cultural synthesis that was denounced by his son Sancho in the 1290s. Second, we compare Ibn ufayl's and Alfonso X's narratives. Ibn ufayl's model was probably adapted to justify a cultural programme that blended Christianity and Pagan inheritance. Unfortunately, there is no physical evidence to prove that Alfonso's circle was familiar with Ibn ufayl's work. Nevertheless, the analysis of a common genre – following A.W. Hughes's theory – allows us to contend that Alfonso X reproduced this type of text within a Christian context.