The Earthly Landscape of the Heavenly City: A New Framework for the Examination of the Urban Development of Frankish Jerusalem

This article introduces a new methodological framework for the examination of Frankish Jerusalem's urban development, based on a database encompassing documents relating to Jerusalem from the first half of the twelfth century. The deconstruction of documents according to their primary elements provides a new framework for their use in the study of the socio-economic mechanisms that propelled the transformation of Jerusalem's cityscape, hitherto commonly perceived as restricted to monumental construction. This supplements the panoramic view of the city, obtained from contemporary narrative sources and archaeological evidence, with an analytical depiction of the evolving urban environment. Such an analytical approach unveils previously undetected facets of Jerusalem's urban development, such as the early emergence and spatial distribution of residential areas, crystallisation of notions of property ownership and shifting patterns of economic conduct. It sheds new light on the periodisation and scope of urban change in Jerusalem and its correlation to wider socio-economic processes.     

Islam,Jews and Eastern Christianity in Late Medieval Pilgrims’ Guidebooks: Some Examples from the Franciscan Convent of Mount Sion

The Holy Land was described, not just in the accounts of the pilgrims who visited the most sacred land of Christianity, but also in several compilations and collections of texts conceived as guidebooks for clerics and pilgrims. From the fourteenth century onwards, many of these collections are clearly linked to the Franciscan Convent of Mount Sion. These assemblages often include texts on customs and religious beliefs of the peoples of the Near East and on the history of the Holy Land. One of the aims of the compilers seems to have been to prepare the reader to meet unorthodox practices and beliefs, emphasising the contrast between Latin Christianity and Eastern Christianity or Islam.     

Fāṭimids,Crusaders and the Fall of Islamic Jerusalem: Foes or Allies?

The fall of Islamic Jerusalem to the crusaders during the first Crusade created a sense of agitation and anger amongst Muslims as Islamic Jerusalem had been under their rule for centuries before. A considerable number of scholars have pointed at the Fā?imids as the main cause of the fall of Islamic Jerusalem, claiming that the region would not have fallen had it not been for the alliance and collaboration between the Fā?imids and the crusaders. This article is an attempt to present a critical analysis of the historical narratives of Muslim and non-Muslim historians who have continued to accuse the Fā?imids of collaborating with the crusaders and depict them as the main cause of the fall of Islamic Jerusalem during the first Crusade. It also tries to answer the following two questions. Did the Fā?imids really invite the crusaders to invade al-Sham? And is it true that the Fā?imids misunderstood the crusaders’ aims and targets?     

Coptic Language and Identity in Ayyūbid Egypt1

Abstract

In the late Fā?imid and Ayyūbid periods of Egyptian history, Coptic Christians finally addressed the reality that most of their community no longer understood the Coptic language but were, in fact, losing their communal identity and “figures of memory” to Arabisation and even Islamisation. A Coptic-Arabic “Renaissance” ensued whereby Coptic liturgy, theology and history were translated into Arabic, the lingua franca by this time of the Coptic populace. This creative energy extended into the artistic realm – such as iconography and painting – and ultimately strengthened the identity of the Coptic community as their situation became increasingly more restricted.     

Medicine and surgery in the Livre des Assises de la Cour des Bourgeois de Jérusalem

The Livre des Assises, written in the thirteenth century in Acre, not only provides insights into the practice of medicine and surgery in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, but also suggests that the licensing and regulation of doctors reflected contemporary Islamic practice.     

Michaud,Montrond, Mazloum and the First History of the Crusades in Arabic

This short notice provides a novel and preliminary analysis of the source for the first Arabic history of the crusades, and contributes to the understanding of the penetration of the crusades as a distinct phenomenon into the Islamic world. The Arabic history, Min Ta?rīkh al-?urūb al-muqaddasa fī l-mashriq al-mad?ūwa ?arb al-?alīb was published in Jerusalem in 1865 under the authorship of the (late) Melkite patriarch, Maximos III Mazloum (d. 1855). The book was a modified translation of the French Les Guerres saintes d’Outre-Mer, ou tableau des croisades, retracé d’après les chroniques contemporaines, published in 1840 by Maxime de Montrond, who was heavily inspired by Michaud's Histoire des croisades. Though created in a Christian Francophile milieu, it seems clear that the Arabic translation was intended not only for a Christian audience, but also for a Muslim readership, as evidenced by examples, provided here, of the modifications of the French original.     

Frederick II: Tyrant or Benefactor of the Latin East?

Recent historians have suggested that the involvement of the western emperor, Frederick II, in the kingdom of Jerusalem during the 1220s was regarded with concern by the Latin Christian inhabitants of the Holy Land. However, this study seeks to review the evidence pertaining specifically to that decade and to suggest that our understanding of the Franks' image of the emperor at that time has been largely coloured by hostile assessments made by contemporaries after the crusade of 1228–1229. First, Philip of Novara's account of the emperor trying to leave Acre secretly, but being spotted and ldquo;pelted... with tripe and with bits of meat”, has created an enduring impression of Frankish animosity towards Frederick. This has been compounded by patriarch Gerold of Jerusalem's vitriolic condemnation of Frederick made after the conclusion of the Treaty of Jaffa in February 1229. The effect of these attacks has been to skew modern perceptions of Frederick's reception in the Holy Land in 1228. However, an examination of the evidence for relations between the Latin East and the western empire before Frederick's arrival in the Holy Land suggests that such a negative interpretation of the Franks' attitude towards Frederick needs to be dramatically revised. The traditional view of Frederick's marriage to the heiress of the kingdom of Jerusalem, Isabella, is that it was a western initiative foisted on the Latins in the East to encourage the emperor's fulfilment of his crusade vow and that the Frankish barons then had to endure imperial attempts to assert alien rights and privileges in their territories. In other words, he was deeply unwelcome. However, it is plain that a significant body of the Franks strenuously sought to encourage Frederick's active participation in the politics of the Latin East during the 1220s in the interests of the survival of the kingdom of Jerusalem. The Frankish leaders then established a unique relationship with the western emperor. Even during the fraught period of Frederick's stay in the Latin East, a number of the Syrian barons continued to recognise the emperor's authority and supported his rule in the kingdom.     

Heirs and Spares: Elite Fathers and Their Sons in the Literary Sources of Umayyad Iberia

ABSTRACT

In the medieval Islamic world, elite men were the benchmark of hegemonic masculinity and social power. A presumption of masculine authority within the household shaped the way early medieval rulers were described by chroniclers, and how medieval fathers related to their sons. The formal and informal ways in which they interacted with lower status men – whether their clients, their courtiers, or their sons – were hedged about with the symbolic language of gender. The article focuses on the ways in which certain Andalusī literary sources talk about relations of fathers and their sons with the ruling Umayyad family, to offer an additional dimension to our picture of how the dynasty conceptualised and legitimised its power.     

The .(H)ajj as Justifiable Self-Exile: Şehzade Korkud's Wasīlat al-a.(h)bāb (915–916/1509–1510)1

In the spring of 915/1509 an Ottoman prince named Korkud (ca. 1468–1513) abandoned his Antalya post and headed by sea to Mamlūk Egypt. Since such princes were absolutely not allowed to leave their assigned postings, by his actions Korkud risked provoking a civil war and opened himself up to allegations of betrayal. In an attempt to counter such accusations, Korkud sent his father Bayezid (886–918/1481–1512) an autobiographical treatise presented as an individual testimony to the religious significance of the .(h)ajj ritual and a comprehensive defence of his actions. However, as Korkud was the main royal backer of several sea ghāzī captains, there is reason to believe that his motivation for leaving Antalya extended beyond personal piety. Whatever his real intentions, Korkud's insistence on a believer's right to embark on the pilgrimage provided a powerful argument to justify his 14-month self-exile at a personally and politically sensitive time.     

Behind the Curve: Bulliet and Conversion to Islam in al-Andalus Revisited

This article seeks primarily to call for a reappraisal of Richard Bulliet's well-known “curve of conversion” and of its interpretation, for it has been largely misinterpreted. It is argued, with particular reference to the Christian experience in al-Andalus, that reading the data as Bulliet intended could have a significant effect on how we view the historical process of conversion in the early Islamic world. Thus, since Bulliet's data do not support the prevailing view regarding Christianity's survival under Muslim rule in the Iberian Peninsula, it is proposed that the evidence available in the particularly weak historical record for this period and place is enough to warrant reconsideration of the nature and length of that survival.     

Music,Tradition, and Cultural Adaptation among the Maronites of Lebanon: The Reform of the Funeral Liturgy

The Maronite Church is a branch of the Syro-Antiochean Church and one of the oldest among the Eastern churches. Modernisation, globalisation, emigration, civil war and other factors have together influenced many aspects of local religious expression, but the Maronite Church has succeeded in adapting to the social changes and the spiritual needs of its followers without losing its identity. This is reflected in the Maronite funeral liturgy, which is here examined. I aim to show how the role of music and poetry is perpetuating a sense of communal identity among the members of this religious group, and is creating boundaries with other ethnic and religious groups.     

Latins and Georgians and the Crusader Kingdom

Partly because the First Crusade had weakened the Seljuk Sultanate in 1097–1099, David III of Georgia was able to extend his power over much of the Caucasus. The rulers of the Crusader States who stood in need of Eastern Christian allies sought to co-operate with him. Yet although some Western knights served in his army, the practical difficulties of co-ordinating joint action against the Islamic powers of north Syria and Anatolia in the twelfth century proved insuperable. In the thirteenth century the Georgian crown offered an alliance to the leaders of the Fifth Crusade: their forces would attack the northern provinces of the Ayyūbid Empire while the crusaders were invading Egypt. This strategy was sound, but the rise of the Mongol Empire prevented it from being implemented. Nevertheless, the desire for military collaboration between Georgia and the Western powers persisted until the mid-fifteenth century.     

A Thirteenth-Century Scholar in the Eastern Mediterranean: Sirāj al-Dīn Urmavī, Jurist,Logician, Diplomat

This essay examines the career of the Shafi?ī jurist and logician Sirāj al-Dīn Urmavī (1198–1283), who combined his scholarly and judicial activities with ambassadorial appointments to Frederick II, King of Sicily and Holy Roman Emperor, and the Ilkhan Hülegü. Originally from Azerbaijan, Sirāj al-Dīn spent most of his professional life in Ayyūbid Cairo and, from 1257, in Seljuk Konya, where he spent the final decades of his life as chief qadi. Through a contextualised reading of the extant biographical information for Sirāj al-Dīn, the article draws particular attention to two aspects of his physical and professional trajectory. First, the essay situates Sirāj al-Dīn's career in the context of processes of cultural change in thirteenth-century Anatolia. It seeks to demonstrate both the transfer and adaptation to the Anatolian urban milieu of social–cultural patterns attested for the a?yān in neighbouring predominantly Muslim societies, and the shaping of the social and cultural functions of immigrant scholars to Anatolia by local conditions. Second, the article identifies Sirāj al-Dīn as a prominent participant in an intellectual community engaged in inter-cultural exchange across political and confessional boundaries in the thirteenth-century eastern Mediterranean.     

Nobility,women and historical narratives of the crusades and the latin east

Historical narratives of the crusades and Latin settlement in the Levant, like other medieval literature, provide slim details about women. In medieval society Latin literary education was dominated by a predominantly male and ecclesiastical hierarchy, which reflected the views of a patriarchal social system and marginalised the public role of women. Crusade narratives in particular have been criticised for their negative attitude towards women, mirroring a lack of ecclesiastical enthusiasm at their involvement in the crusade movement. Histories about crusading and events in the Latin East were often written for, and in some cases by, the lay nobility who took part in crusades and settled in the holy land. These texts were sometimes used as propaganda to encourage nobles to take the cross, and much of the imagery within them had didactic elements. In the case of women, they provided models for behaviour according to social and marital status. A consistently negative portrayal of women was doubtless impossible due to the number of important noblewomen who took the cross, and their value in cementing political alliances between western Europe and the Latin East through marriage. This article contends that it is the complex links between crusade narratives and the nobility, in terms of participation and patronage, audience, subject matter and values – crusade as a “noble” pursuit – which helps to explain the discrepancy between established ecclesiastical views and the portrayal of women in historical narratives about crusading and settlement in the East. In order to establish this idea effectively, several main themes must be addressed, including the role of crusade texts within the context of contemporary noble culture, and crusade narratives as source material for noble values concerning women. To begin, however, it is necessary to provide some background on attitudes towards women and crusade, as well as the concept of nobility and the noblewoman's place in medieval society.     

Cosmopolitan Trade Centre or Bone of Contention? Alexandria and the Crusades, 487–857/1095–1453

Abstract

This article examines the position of Alexandria during the crusading period (487–857/1095–1453), seeking to open up the question indicated in the title for discussion. Did Alexandria's importance as a trade centre have an impact on whether or not it became the target of military attacks by the Franks? What other forms of contention was it a focus for during the period? While not claiming to provide conclusive answers, we seek at least to provide a starting point for discussion of this complex issue.     

The Venetian Consul and the Cosmopolitan Mercantile Community of Alexandria at the Beginning of the Ninth/Fifteenth Century

Abstract

Three case studies (Veneto-Cretan shipping of Egyptian-Arab merchandise, Catalan-Venetian cooperation, and Venice acting on behalf of Latin pilgrims) around the activities of the Venetian consul inform an investigation of the cosmopolitan community formed by local groups and foreign nations, and the role of the Venetian consul in this wider community. It will be argued that the Venetian consul was not only a Venetian envoy but also a Mamlūk official and an informal head of the cosmopolitan business community in late medieval Alexandria.     

Alexandria in the Ninth/Fifteenth Century: A Mediterranean Port City and a Mamlūk Prison City

Abstract

While modern scholars, medieval European and anachronistic Arab sources paint a portrait of Mamlūk Alexandria as a bustling and thriving international port, contemporary Arabic writings of the second half of the ninth/fifteenth and the first quarter of the tenth/sixteenth centuries present quite a different image. This article analyses Arabic chronicles to demonstrate that, from the Cairene perspective, Alexandria was a frontier city that was utilised as a jail for banished political prisoners. In contrast to other parts of their realm, investment in Alexandria by the Mamlūk regime was largely limited to fortifying it against seaborne threats; the sultans did little to embellish the city for civilian or religious purposes. Thus, the city was marginalised, politically and socially, even while still maintaining its role as a gateway to Egypt.