Book Reviews
Memini: Travaux et documents, 2023
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Bulletin critique des Annales islamologiques, 2023
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Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā, 2022
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Ulrich Haarmann Memorial Lecture 16, 2019
This paper is an attempt to clarify the development, function, and conceptualization of various s... more This paper is an attempt to clarify the development, function, and conceptualization of various shared‐revenue arrangements concluded between Franks and Muslims. I first catalogue truces that established partitions while assessing their defining characteristics. Concentrations of such arrangements existed in the decades immediately following the First Crusade and continued to exist up to the time of ʿImād al‐Dīn Zengi’s reign (523–541/1129–1146). They became common once again in the Anjouin‐Ayyubid period (late sixth/twelfth century), and appear to reach a zenith, in terms of quantity and complexity, in the second half of the seventh/thirteenth century. They then disappeared abruptly along with the last Frankish outposts of the Latin Kingdom. In the second part of this paper, I analyze how Frankish and Muslim conceptualizations of property and territory may have informed two slightly different but reconcilable notions of partition agreements. The Arabic munāṣafāt, relatable to the commercial realm, and the specific stipulations attached to partitions in the extant Arabic truces of the Mamluk period (1250–1517), emphasize the importance of sources of revenue and their fair division as the basic underlying concept, whereas the Latin sources, related to ecclesiastical and royal conventions of property ownership, emphasize, accordingly, rights to property within which sources of revenue were located. These slightly differing conceptualizations may have had an impact on the Franks’ or Muslims’ understanding of their responsibilities in territories “held” in common, and therefore may have affected their commitment to the upkeep of these lands. Based on an analysis of these conceptualizations of ownership and territory, I argue that Frankish‐Muslim partition truces were never characterized by the division of sovereignty as is the case for modern condominium treaties. Rather, the only basis for partition truces in the medieval Frankish‐Muslim context was a division of revenue that resembled tributary status since the partition territory invariably remained under the rule of the weaker party.
https://www.ebv-berlin.de/epages/15494902.sf/en_GB/?ViewObjectPath=%2FShops%2F15494902%2FProducts%2F%22ISBN%3A%20978-3-86893-288-1%22
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Arabic Textual Sources for the Crusades, 2024
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Minorities in Contact in the Medieval Mediterranean , 2020
In recent years, archaeological research has uncovered a vast network of sites identified as Fran... more In recent years, archaeological research has uncovered a vast network of sites identified as Frankish- or crusader-built, some of which were located far from the main fortified and urban centres associated with the Latin East. In terms of rural settlement, the current consensus suggests that the Franks inhabited regions with a predominantly Eastern Christian population. However, evidence attesting to the distribution of local Jewish or Muslim communities can be found in charters, chronicles, travel accounts, and other textual sources. This essay begins with an overview of evidence for Muslims living under Frankish rule in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, contextualized using a set of chronological markers that reflect changes in the political situation. An analysis of the collected archaeological and textual evidence follows, which demonstrates that pre‐crusade pilgrimage sites, agricultural land use, and strategic considerations all factored into decisions made by Franks on selecting settlement sites throughout the sixth century AH/twelfth century AD. These three factors arguably precluded segregation from the local non‐Christian population. Finally, this essay explores the possibility of mapping recorded encounters between Franks and local Muslims onto the demographic landscape. The conclusions reached in this synthesis provide new material for the debate on “Frankish society”.
Book Link:
http://www.brepols.net/Pages/ShowProduct.aspx?prod_id=IS-9782503587936-1
Map Link:
https://brepols.figshare.com/articles/figure/Reassessment_of_Frankish_Settlement_Patterns_-_Maps/13227689
*I would like to add a note of gratitude to the late Professor Ronnie Ellenblum for his inspiring work and generosity in sharing his knowledge early on in my thought process.
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Syria in Crusader Times: Conflict and Co-Existence, 2019
https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-syria-in-crusader-times-hb.html
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Articles
Les mots de la paix, 2023
Cet article traite l’évolution de la langue latine de l’époque romaine jusqu’au Moyen Âge. Cette ... more Cet article traite l’évolution de la langue latine de l’époque romaine jusqu’au Moyen Âge. Cette phase a été le témoin non seulement de changements dans des éléments de syntaxe, mais aussi dans l’écriture, le lexique et maints aspects de la langue, y compris dans l’oralité. En outre, dès la fin de l’Antiquité et au début du Moyen Âge, de nombreuses langues dérivées du latin apparurent, comme le catalan, l’occitan, le florentin, le frioulan, le romain…).
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Transmediterranean History, 2022
This article analyses a treaty which was negotiated by the Mamlūk sultan al-Ašraf Ḫalīl (r. 689–6... more This article analyses a treaty which was negotiated by the Mamlūk sultan al-Ašraf Ḫalīl (r. 689–693/1290–1293) and King James II of Aragon (r. 1291–1327) in 1293. It begins with a discussion of the treaty’s authorship and provenance and then describes the context in which the treaty emerged. Here, special attention is paid to the convergence of commercial and political interests relating to both the Crown of Aragon and the Mamlūk Sultanate of Cairo. The article closes with a cursory analysis of the treaty’s clauses and reflects on their implications for transmediterranean relations.
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The Medieval Globe, 2017
Usama ibn Munqidh (488–584/1095–1188) was a distinguished poet, warrior, and nobleman born just m... more Usama ibn Munqidh (488–584/1095–1188) was a distinguished poet, warrior, and nobleman born just months before Pope Urban II preached the First Crusade. He lived in what is now western Syria and witnessed the consolidation of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, the County of Tripoli, and the Principality of Antioch and their subsequent decline at the hands of the Zangids and Ayyubids. This article is a survey and analysis of Usama’s exposure to the language of the Franks in his capacity as a diplomat. In the first part, I introduce Usama and his socio-cultural background and career in order to establish a context for his encounters with the Franks and the “Frankish”’ language. I then analyse his second language (L2) acquisition, focusing on his unique Frankish vocabulary as well as the representations of orality of Frankish speech preserved in his work. Finally, I compare his acquisition of Frankish to other cases of L2 learning from the sixth century AH/twelfth century CE. My primary aim is not to determine his exact level of fluency, but rather to understand the circumstances in which L2 learning and exchange could occur.
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The Muslim World, 2018
In 551 AH/1156 AD the Ḥanbalī shaykh Aḥmad ibn Qudāma (491–558/1098–1163) emigrated from the Fran... more In 551 AH/1156 AD the Ḥanbalī shaykh Aḥmad ibn Qudāma (491–558/1098–1163) emigrated from the Frankish‐ruled region of Samaria. He reached Damascus and advised his relatives to follow suit, thus initiating the two‐decade exodus of the Banū Qudāma from the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. The migration story survives in a tenth/sixteenth century chronicle and is attributed to Aḥmad's grandson, Ḍiyā’ al‐Dīn (569–643/1173–1245). According to Ḍiyā’ al‐Dīn, the cause of the emigration was the extreme oppression of the local Frankish lord, Baldwin of Ibelin (d. c. 582/1186), and Aḥmad ibn Qudāma's inability to practice his religion. But scholars have also attributed the emigration to wider ideological and political developments under the reign of Nūr al‐Dīn ibn Zengi (541–569/1146–1174), namely the counter‐crusade and the institutionalization of jihad propaganda. Here I explore the context of the emigration in greater detail while focusing primarily on legal theory. In most cases, a historian can determine the circumstances that led to the issuance of certain legal opinions but in the case of the Ḥanbalī emigration we have an event without an accompanying legal opinion. Accordingly, the emigration must be analyzed in light of developments in Ḥanbalī legal thought prior to and during the crusades and in consideration of how members of the Banū Qudāma perceived their role prior to and during the emigration. Aḥmad's role as a charismatic shaykh and spiritual leader became ever more critical and contentious at a time when political tensions between Franks and Muslims were escalating. Furthermore, the heightened religiosity of the Muslims of Greater Syria inspired other members of the Qudāma family to leave the Frankish domains even though their lives were not in danger. This chapter thus aims to complement Steven Gertz's analysis of legal opinions on the obligation to emigrate (The Muslim World, vol. 103) by providing a grounded example of how such opinions could be enacted.
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Al-Masāq: Islam and the Medieval Mediterranean, 2012
This article analyses political and diplomatic relations between the Franks and the Nizārī Ismāʿī... more This article analyses political and diplomatic relations between the Franks and the Nizārī Ismāʿīlīs from 500/1106 to 570/1174. In the first part, I examine four Frankish-Nizārī encounters based on a close reading of Arabic and Latin primary texts. I argue that the Franks and the Nizārī Ismāʿīlīs did not form political alliances before 544/1149. The Nizārīs became a powerful player on the Syrian political map after they founded a permanent “state” in the 530s/1140s in the Jabal Bahrāʾ. The Nizārī polity then posed a greater threat to the Franks, and by implication, could offer greater military support as an ally. In the second part of the article, I argue that European descriptions of the Nizārī Ismāʿīlīs developed as a result of diplomatic and political encounters in the mid- to late-sixth/twelfth century. Furthermore, the earliest Frankish descriptions of the “Assessini” indicate a genuine interest on the part of their authors in obtaining accurate information on the Nizārī Ismāʿīlīs.
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Marginalia: The Journal of the Medieval Reading Group, 2012
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Dissertation
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Notes
Al-ʿUsur al-Wusta, 2015
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The Osler Library Newsletter, 2014
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In this paper I present a letter attributed to ʿAbd al-Raḥīm “al-Qāḍī al-Fāḍil” (529-596/1135-120... more In this paper I present a letter attributed to ʿAbd al-Raḥīm “al-Qāḍī al-Fāḍil” (529-596/1135-1200), the chief secretary of the Ayyūbid sultan Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn (570-589/1174-1193), from the Cambridge University Library MS Qq. 232. The letter was addressed to the sultan’s nephew al-Malik al-Muẓaffar Taqī al-Dīn (d. 586/1191). The first part of this presentation provides a diplomatic commentary on the letter, focusing on al-Qāḍī al-Fāḍil’s epistolary style, his use of formulae and titles, and his rhetorical flourishes. In the second part, I propose a context for the letter by analyzing the individuals and events referenced and described therein. If my dating of the letter to the year 575/1179 is correct, then it contains crucial details for an obscure period in the history of Frankish-Muslim relations. In detail, the letter reveals several diplomatic initiatives undertaken by polities neighbouring the Ayyūbid confederacy at a time when the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem experienced political and military setbacks. Finally, I discuss the letter’s “afterlife” and propose possible reasons for its appearance in an Ottoman-era manuscript of selected chancery letters and fragments.
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Historians describe Usāma ibn Munqidh (488‐584 AH/1095‐1188 AD) as a “warrior-poet” and “Arab‐Syr... more Historians describe Usāma ibn Munqidh (488‐584 AH/1095‐1188 AD) as a “warrior-poet” and “Arab‐Syrian gentleman”. His sense of adab or genteel manners permeates his writing and informed his perceptions of the crusaders and their descendants, known collectively as the Franj or Franks. In this paper I focus on Usāma’s observations on the language barrier between Franks and Muslims in the decades following the First Crusade. Numerous diplomatic encounters took place in this period and Usāma himself served as a diplomat in the negotiations between the Būrid rulers of Damascus and the king of Jerusalem. However, it is unclear exactly how Usāma communicated with the Franks. I explore the language issues related to his encounters with Franks as well as his knowledge of Old French terms by examining his famous account, Kitāb al‐iʿtibār (The Book of Learning by Example). Also of importance in this paper are the circumstances in which Usāma learned and applied his knowledge of Old French, which requires a comprehensive assessment of his early contact with Franks and his later role as an intermediary and diplomat. Finally, I compare Usāma’s limited bilingualism to other cases found in the sixth/twelfth century sources. His knowledge of Old French is an indicator of close contact
between Franks and Muslims and provides a rare example of a local Muslim working as an interpreter.
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Conferences Organized
More about ISCAD: http://dante.medieval.utoronto.ca/
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https://www.ebv-berlin.de/epages/15494902.sf/en_GB/?ViewObjectPath=%2FShops%2F15494902%2FProducts%2F%22ISBN%3A%20978-3-86893-288-1%22
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Book Link:
http://www.brepols.net/Pages/ShowProduct.aspx?prod_id=IS-9782503587936-1
Map Link:
https://brepols.figshare.com/articles/figure/Reassessment_of_Frankish_Settlement_Patterns_-_Maps/13227689
*I would like to add a note of gratitude to the late Professor Ronnie Ellenblum for his inspiring work and generosity in sharing his knowledge early on in my thought process.
Articles
Dissertation
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Select Conference Presentations
between Franks and Muslims and provides a rare example of a local Muslim working as an interpreter.
Conferences Organized
https://www.ebv-berlin.de/epages/15494902.sf/en_GB/?ViewObjectPath=%2FShops%2F15494902%2FProducts%2F%22ISBN%3A%20978-3-86893-288-1%22
Book Link:
http://www.brepols.net/Pages/ShowProduct.aspx?prod_id=IS-9782503587936-1
Map Link:
https://brepols.figshare.com/articles/figure/Reassessment_of_Frankish_Settlement_Patterns_-_Maps/13227689
*I would like to add a note of gratitude to the late Professor Ronnie Ellenblum for his inspiring work and generosity in sharing his knowledge early on in my thought process.
between Franks and Muslims and provides a rare example of a local Muslim working as an interpreter.
I was part of a team of six graduate students who traveled to the Venetian State Archives to identify and transcribe late medieval cargo manifests in order to study the interdependent processes of trade and communication in the Mediterranean and create a collaborative digital project in ArcGIS and Storymaps. We received a Dean’s Fund Initiative award to collect information which became the basis of the above online portal.