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1250: A Letter from the Regional Ruler al-Azraq to the Queen of Aragon (view source)
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[§25] In the broader context of political developments in the western Mediterranean, the first large-scale uprising of the Mudejars in the Kingdom of Valencia under the leadership of al-Azraq can be seen as a regional symptom of larger developments that affected other regions of the southern Iberian Peninsula as well: the first half of the thirteenth century had been marked by massive territorial gains on the part of the Kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, which were pushing into the southern parts of the peninsula at that time. The decades that followed saw repeated revolts by a Muslim population subjected to Christian rule. These uprisings were not confined to the Kingdom of Valencia (1247-1258, 1275-1277), but also shook the Castilian Kingdom of Múrcia (1263-1266). They were a cause for serious concern, especially due to the almost omnipresent rivalry between Castile and Aragon. This rivalry was a fact well known to Muslim leaders like al-Azraq, who frequently tried to play off both great powers against each other to their own advantage.<ref name="ftn38">In Múrcia, the rebel leaders also tried to play the kings of Aragon and Castile off against each other and even sought diplomatic understanding with the Papal Curia. Eventually, however, James I launched a military expedition in support of his son-in-law, Alfonso X, in the course of which the rebellions were put down by force. On these events, see the recent study by Maser, ''Convivencia''.</ref> After the suppression of the Muslim uprisings, the respective Christian monarchs considerably intensified their efforts to consolidate their rule over the subjugated territories, so that, by the end of the century, the balance of power had been clearly established in favour of Christian rule. | [§25] In the broader context of political developments in the western Mediterranean, the first large-scale uprising of the Mudejars in the Kingdom of Valencia under the leadership of al-Azraq can be seen as a regional symptom of larger developments that affected other regions of the southern Iberian Peninsula as well: the first half of the thirteenth century had been marked by massive territorial gains on the part of the Kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, which were pushing into the southern parts of the peninsula at that time. The decades that followed saw repeated revolts by a Muslim population subjected to Christian rule. These uprisings were not confined to the Kingdom of Valencia (1247-1258, 1275-1277), but also shook the Castilian Kingdom of Múrcia (1263-1266). They were a cause for serious concern, especially due to the almost omnipresent rivalry between Castile and Aragon. This rivalry was a fact well known to Muslim leaders like al-Azraq, who frequently tried to play off both great powers against each other to their own advantage.<ref name="ftn38">In Múrcia, the rebel leaders also tried to play the kings of Aragon and Castile off against each other and even sought diplomatic understanding with the Papal Curia. Eventually, however, James I launched a military expedition in support of his son-in-law, Alfonso X, in the course of which the rebellions were put down by force. On these events, see the recent study by Maser, ''Convivencia''.</ref> After the suppression of the Muslim uprisings, the respective Christian monarchs considerably intensified their efforts to consolidate their rule over the subjugated territories, so that, by the end of the century, the balance of power had been clearly established in favour of Christian rule. | ||
[§26] For the Kingdom of Valencia as the youngest realm of the Crown of Aragon, the rebellion of al-Azraq can be considered largely under control from 1250 onwards. Nevertheless, al-Azraq’s opposition continued to challenge the Crown. The stubborn resistance of a petty rebel leader, who had been outmaneuvered militarily but could not be defeated entirely, threatened to become a problem in foreign relations: King James I, who liked to present himself as a successful “conqueror” (Catalan/Aragonese: ''Conqueridor'', Castilian: ''Conquistador'') and champion of Latin Christendom in his relations with the Papacy and the great rulers of Latin Europe, risked losing his credibility if he seemed unable to keep his conquests under control. At a time when the Mongols were emerging as a hitherto unknown and threatening power on the eastern borders of the Euromediterranean, and imposing rulers such as Frederick II or Louis IX maintained intensive diplomatic and military relations with the Islamic sphere, the “international” prestige of the king of Aragon had to be preserved.<ref name="ftn39">On the foreign relations of the Crown of Aragon under James I, see the classic synthesis by Engels, ''König Jakob I.''<nowiki>; Smith</nowiki>'', Jaime I''<nowiki>; Ferrer i Mallol, </nowiki>''Panorama''<nowiki>; and Vela Aulesa, </nowiki>''Jaume I''.</ref> | [§26] For the Kingdom of Valencia as the youngest realm of the Crown of Aragon, the rebellion of al-Azraq can be considered largely under control from 1250 onwards. Nevertheless, al-Azraq’s opposition continued to challenge the Crown. The stubborn resistance of a petty rebel leader, who had been outmaneuvered militarily but could not be defeated entirely, threatened to become a problem in foreign relations: King James I, who liked to present himself as a successful “conqueror” (Catalan/Aragonese: ''Conqueridor'', Castilian: ''Conquistador'') and champion of Latin Christendom in his relations with the Papacy and the great rulers of Latin Europe, risked losing his credibility if he seemed unable to keep his conquests under control. At a time when the Mongols were emerging as a hitherto unknown and threatening power on the eastern borders of the Euromediterranean, and imposing rulers such as Frederick II (regn. 1198-1250) or Louis IX (regn. 1226-1270) maintained intensive diplomatic and military relations with the Islamic sphere, the “international” prestige of the king of Aragon had to be preserved.<ref name="ftn39">On the foreign relations of the Crown of Aragon under James I, see the classic synthesis by Engels, ''König Jakob I.''<nowiki>; Smith</nowiki>'', Jaime I''<nowiki>; Ferrer i Mallol, </nowiki>''Panorama''<nowiki>; and Vela Aulesa, </nowiki>''Jaume I''.</ref> | ||
[§27] The events surrounding the Muslim uprising led by al-Azraq, which gave birth to the letter of 647/1250, thus fell into a period in which Christian rule over large parts of the Iberian south had been established, but not yet stabilised. Here as in other Mediterranean regions affected by European-Christian expansion, Muslims began to oppose a hitherto successful expansionist movement by military and diplomatic means.|6=María del Carmen Barceló Torres (ed.): Documentos árabes de Al-Azrāq (1245-1250), in: ''Saitabi. Revista de la Facultat de Geografia i Història'' 32 (1982), pp. 40-41, URL: https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=1034238 [recto only]. | [§27] The events surrounding the Muslim uprising led by al-Azraq, which gave birth to the letter of 647/1250, thus fell into a period in which Christian rule over large parts of the Iberian south had been established, but not yet stabilised. Here as in other Mediterranean regions affected by European-Christian expansion, Muslims began to oppose a hitherto successful expansionist movement by military and diplomatic means.|6=María del Carmen Barceló Torres (ed.): Documentos árabes de Al-Azrāq (1245-1250), in: ''Saitabi. Revista de la Facultat de Geografia i Història'' 32 (1982), pp. 40-41, URL: https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=1034238 [recto only]. | ||
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Maser, Matthias: Convivencia in der Krise: Reconquista und Repoblación im kastilischen Königreich Murcia unter Alfons X., in: Lukas Clemens, Michael Matheus (eds.): ''Christen und Muslime in der Capitanata im 13. Jahrhundert. Archäologie und Geschichte'', Trier: Kliomedia, 2018, pp. 43-62. | Maser, Matthias: Convivencia in der Krise: Reconquista und Repoblación im kastilischen Königreich Murcia unter Alfons X., in: Lukas Clemens, Michael Matheus (eds.): ''Christen und Muslime in der Capitanata im 13. Jahrhundert. Archäologie und Geschichte'', Trier: Kliomedia, 2018, pp. 43-62. | ||
al-Mazāwda, Muḥammad ʿĀlī, Ṯawrāt Muḥammad b. Huḏayl al-Azraq fī mamlaka balansiya 641–675 h 1244–1277 m, in: ''Muʾtat li-l-buhūṯ wa-l-dirāsāt, silsilat al-ʿulūm al-insāniya wa-iǧtimāʿiya'' 34/1 (2019), pp. 109–130, URL: https://ejournal.mutah.edu.jo/index.php/hsss/article/view/1990. | |||
Paula Momblanch y Gonzálbez, Francisco de: ''Al-Azraq, capitán de Moros. Aportación a la historia del reino de Valencia en el siglo XIII,'' Valencia: Caja de Ahorros, 1977. | Paula Momblanch y Gonzálbez, Francisco de: ''Al-Azraq, capitán de Moros. Aportación a la historia del reino de Valencia en el siglo XIII,'' Valencia: Caja de Ahorros, 1977. | ||
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Vela Aulesa, Carles: Jaume I I el Magrib, una relació mes enllá del comerc, in: María Teresa Ferrer i Mallol (ed.): ''Jaume I. Commemoració de VIII centenari del naixement de Jaume I'', 2 vols., Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis Catalans, 2011-2013, vol. 1, pp. 471-508. | Vela Aulesa, Carles: Jaume I I el Magrib, una relació mes enllá del comerc, in: María Teresa Ferrer i Mallol (ed.): ''Jaume I. Commemoració de VIII centenari del naixement de Jaume I'', 2 vols., Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis Catalans, 2011-2013, vol. 1, pp. 471-508. | ||
Zaman, Muhammad Qasim; Bianquis, Thierry; Eddé, Anne-Marie; Carmona, A.; Lambton, Ann Katharine Swynford; İnalcik, Halil: Wazīr, in: ''Encyclopaedia of Islam 2'', vol. 11, Leiden: Brill, 2002, pp. 185-197, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_1346.|8=al-Andalus, diplomacy, embassy, envoy, interpreter, letter, Mudejars, Mudéjares, Muslims under Christian rule, negotiation, protocol, rebellion, uprising, war}} | Zaman, Muhammad Qasim; Bianquis, Thierry; Eddé, Anne-Marie; Carmona, A.; Lambton, Ann Katharine Swynford; İnalcik, Halil: Wazīr, in: ''Encyclopaedia of Islam 2'', vol. 11, Leiden: Brill, 2002, pp. 185-197, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_1346.|8=al-Andalus, diplomacy, embassy, envoy, interpreter, letter, Mudejars, Mudéjares, Muslims under Christian rule, negotiation, protocol, rebellion, uprising, war|4a=[recto] | ||
In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. God bless His honourable prophet Muḥammad.|4e=Peace be upon your exalted Majesty, and the mercy of God and His blessings. Written on the fourth [day] of the month Ḏū [l-]Ḥiǧǧa in the year 647 [10 March 1250].|4d=We have set in motion the sending [of envoys] to you according to what is good therein, God willing. We send to you our confidant [and] relative, the son of our maternal aunt, Abū l-Ḥasan bin Huḏayl, the most exalted, honourable, supreme, perfect and virtuous commander (''qāʾid'') Abū l-Qāsim bin Hilāl as well as the commander Abū ʿAmr ʿUṯma[n] bin Sahl, may God honour them. The subordinate asks you [to ensure] that they may be honoured and heard<ref name="ftn1">The expression ''malḥūẓīn'' may also be understood in the sense of “giving official recognition” to the al-Azraq’s envoys, but this is merely conjectural. </ref> by you and be under your protection in your lands when they come and return, so that God may fulfil what is good, God willing. I have instructed our confidant, the commander Abū l-Qāsim, to take your hand in our stead and kiss it. We have instructed him with what he tells you verbally, so trust in him, for I speak through him, and what he says to you I say to you. May God the Exalted give good things, God willing. That is what you need to know.|4c=This letter [is sent] to you from the fortress of al-Qalāʿa, may God the Exalted protect it. Among the things about which the subordinate (''al-ʿabd'') must inform you is that your confidant and servant Dūn Ǧuwān ḏī Mūrah has reached your subordinate and servant (''ʿabdikum wa-ḫadīmikum''), bearing a letter from our lord the ruler (''al-sulṭān''), may God sustain him. We have read it and understood what it contains in terms of sincerity, care, protection, patronage, and the command to send [an embassy in return] to you.|4b=[To] My Lady, the honourable, supported [by God], victorious, all-embracing, blessed ruler (''sulṭāna''), the ''reina Dona'' (''al-rīna duna'') of our lord, supported [by God], victorious ruler (''sulṭān''), King of Christendom (''malik al-rūmiyya'') and King of the ''Šarq al-Andalus''. [A letter] from your subordinate and servant (''min ʿabdikum wa-ḫadīmikum'') who kisses your blessed and noble hands, Muḥammad bin Huḏayl, known as al-Azraq. An honourable, sincere, amicable and blessed greeting to your venerable Majesty. The mercy of God the Exalted and His blessings [be upon you].|3d=فاخذنا في الحركة والارسال اليكم فيما يكون فيه خيراً ان شا الله فوجهنا اليكم ثقتنا قريبنا وابن خالتنا ابي الحسن بن هذيل والقايد الاجل الاكرم الارفع الاكمل الأفضل ابي القاسم بن هلال والقايد ابي عمر عثم[ن] بن سهل اكرمهما الله فيرغب العبد منكم ان يكون مكرومين ملحوظين عندكم وفي بلادكم تحت كنفكم سائرين واردين حتى يقضي الله ما فيه الخير ان شا الله وقد وصيت ثقتِنا القايد ابي القاسم اليكم ان يأخذ يدكم عنا ويقبله وقد وصيناه ما يقول لكم من الكلام فاعتمد عليه فانا أقوله وما يخاطبكم به انا اخاطبوه فالله تعلى يقدم الخيارة ان شا الله فهذا ما وجب به تعرفكم|3f=[verso] | |||
مولاتِي السلطانة المويدة المنصورة الرينة دنة مولانا السلطان أراغون حامه الله(…)|3e=والسلام على مقامكم العليَّ ورحمة الله وبركاته كتب في رابع لشهر ذي حجة عام سبع وأربعين وستمائة.|3c=اما بعد فالكتاب اليكم من حصن القلاعه حماه الله تع[لى] فالذين وجب به على العبد تعرفكم انه وصل الى عبدكم وخديمكم ثقتكم وخديمكم دون جوان ذي موره بـ[ـمـ]كتوبٍ من عندي مولانا السلطان ايده الله فقرئيناها وعلمنا ما فيها من البر والرعائة والحفظ والعناية وامر ارسالنا اليكم|3b=مولاتِي السلطانة الكريمة المويدة المنصورة العميمة المباركة الرينة دنة مولانا السلطان المويد المنصور ملك الرومية وملك شرق الأندلس من عبدكم وخديمكم ومقبل يديكم المباركة الكريمة محمد بن هذيل الشاهر بالأزرق سلام كريمٌ برٌ طيبٌ مبارك على مقامكم الشريفة ورحمة الله تعلى وبركاته|3a=[recto] | |||
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم صلّى الله على محمد نبيه الكريم|4f=[verso] | |||
[To] My Lady, the victorious ruler supported by [God], the ''reina Dona ''of our lord the ruler of Aragon (''Arāġūn''), God save him (…).}} | |||
[[de:1250: Der Regionalherrscher al-Azraq schreibt an die Königin von Aragón]] | |||