LEITUNG: FRITZ STEPPAT, BERLIN
SOME ASPECTS OF SOCIAL LIFE IN ANDALUSIA
DURING THE TIME OF THE ALMORAVIDES
IN THE LIGHT OF TUE NAWÄZIL OF IBN RUSHD*
By Ihsan Abbas, Beirut
Ibn Rushd' the Grandfather, so called to distinguish him from his grandson
Averroes, the weh-known phUosopher, belonged to a Cordovan famUy. Like the ma¬
jority of Andalusians he grew up as a MälikT. Later, he specialized and became well- versed in Mälikl fiqh. His personal qualities of modesty, piety , integrity and absten¬
tion from idle talk, together with his learning were very highly praised and are
said to have earned him much respect among the local population. He was fortu¬
nate in his heritage for, although Cordova had lost its political preeminence follow¬
ing the collapse of Umayyad rule, it continued to be a major center of learning;
"'■amal Ahl Qurtuba", or the "legal practice" of its learned men, was considered essential to Islamic jurisprudence by MälUcI scholars.
Ibn Rushd spent half of this life under the rule of the Petty Kings. At the age of
twelve (462/1092), Cordova was seized by the Aobadids of Seville, bringing the
dynasty of the Jahwarids to an end. In 484/1092, when Ibn Rushd was 35 years
old, Abbadid rule was overrun by the Almoravides. Up to that date we hardly
know anything of his activities, and it was late in the Ahnoravid era that he attained
high rank: in 511/1118 he was appointed High Judge {QädT al-qudat) in Cordova.
However, some of the dates in his book of legal opinions, the Nawäzil, lead us to
believe that his fame as a scholar had already been established some years earlier^ .
* Two MSS of the Nawäzil are available: (I) the Rabat MS in 315 pages with no date because the last page is missing; and (2) the Paris MS, No. 1702, which contains 1 76 folios, and was copied in 732/1331. Both were compiled by Ibn al-Wazzän (543/1148) but they differ in arrangement. Some specimens of these nawäzil were published inal-Abhath (American Uni¬
versity of Beirut) 22/3-4 (December 1969), 3-63. In this article reference is made to the pages of the Rabat MS.
1 For the biography of Ibn Rushd see: Ibn Bashkuwäl, al-Silah. Cairo 1955, 546; al-Nubähl, al-Marqaba al-^ulya. Cairo 1948, 99, ; ai-liihhT. Bughyat al-Multamis, Madrid 1884, 40; Ibn al-Qattän, Nazm al-Juman (ed. M. Makki, Rabat). 217, 232; Ibn I arhün, al-DTbäj al-Mudh- hab, Cairo 1351, 278; al-MaqqarT, Azhar al-Riväd, Cairo, 1939-1942', 111, 21S;Mafäkhir al- Barbar, Rabat 1934, 53; and Ibn al-KhatTb,fl/-//ifl?fl (ed. M. A. '•"inän, Cairo), 1, 114.
2 The earliest question in the Nawäzil goes back to 508/1114; but many questions are not dated.
Some Aspects of Social Life in Andalusia 155
'^AIT b. Yüsuf thought highly of him^, and this was not only due to his learning,
but also, apparently, because he was closely attached to the Almoravides' cause,
and strongly believed that the Almoravides were the defenders of Islam and the
carriers of the banner of Jihäd" . When '^Ali himself asked Ibn Rushd once if, at
certain times, Jihäd were more important to Andalusians than phgrimage, he did
not hesitate to answer in the affirmative, because phgrimage was in those days very risky; he added that he personahy believed, even in the absence of travel dangers,
Jihäd was more pressing and urgent a matter than phgrimage, not for the Andalu¬
sians alone, but also for the people of Maghrib' .
However, for certain reasons, some of which shall be pointed out in this paper,
not ah the inhabitants of Cordova shared Ibn Rushd's opinion about the Almora¬
vides. In 512/1122, for example, during the rule of Ibn Rawwäd (or Rawwädah),
the conflict between the Almoravides and the people of Cordova broke out in the
form of a riot. Nothing is mentioned in the sources about the direct cause of the
insurrection; but the Almoravides' houses and palaces were plundered*. ''All b.
Yüsuf, who used to launch holy war now and then against his northern enemies,
found himself compelled to march against Cordova and to lay siege to it. Through
the negotiations that took place between him and the Cordovan representatives, '-All agreed to accept financial compensation for what the Almoravides' community had lost. The resignation of Ibn Rushd from his post as QärlTal-jamä^a is connected with this incident' .
It is true that some sources talk about Ibn Rushd's preference for writing and
teaching over qadä', but this seems to be a conclusion rather than a reasonable ex¬
planation. He actually spent much of his efforts in finishing a voluminous legal
work {al-Bayän wa-l-tahsil) and in teaching his students. Indeed, the last five years of his life were distinguished by his activity in the field of learning* , and only Rumero's attack on Andalusia temporarily stopped these efforts.
After the departure of Rumero from Arnizoul in 520/1126, Ibn Rushd travelled
to Marrlkush to meet '^AIT b. Yüsuf to discuss matters of mutual concern. On the
eve of his departure he gave his students a general ijaza (i.e. a permission to transmit what he had studied, taught or written) and extended that ijäza to all living Mushms
of his time' . In Marräkush his mission was two-fold. As Rumero's devastating
attack had been encouraged by the Andalusian Christians {al-Mu'^ähida), who by
doing so broke the pledge they had made to their Muslhn protectors as c/Zi/m/w«, Ibn
Rushd recommended that measures be taken against them. During the talks, it was
suggested that the most extreme and appropriate measure which could be taken was
3 Dmj. 279.
4 Nawäzil, 207.
5 Nawäzil, 220. Two questions are connected here; one of them is dated 515/1121.
6 Anon., al-Hulal al-Mawshiyya , Rabat 1936, 70-71; Ibn "^IdhärT, al-Bayän al-Mughrib, Beirut 1967, IV, 66.
7 Dibäj, 279: "And then he resigned in 515 after the riots of the common people (of Cor¬
dova)."
% al-Bayän w-al-tahß constituted UO facsimiles. The compiler of the Nawazil (313) states that Ibn Rushd started teaching it on the first of Muharram 518.
9 Nawäzil, 314.
forced emigration. This was agreed to and the Mu^ähida were brought to settle in
Marräkush. The second recommendation made by Ibn Rushd was that towns in
Andalusia should be fortified with walls. This recommendation, lUce the first one, was seconded by the AmTr al-Mmlimin, and subsequently implemented.
One source hints at a third purpose of this visit to Marräkush, substantiated by the theory holding Ibn Rushd responsible for the deposition of the Almoravides'
governor-general of Andalusia, Abü Tähir TamTm b. Yüsuf, the brother of '-AIT,
which indeed took place not long after this visit" . The policies of Abü Tähir in An¬
dalusia had proven a faUure, and knowing, as we do, that the buhding of the walls
was not started until TamTm was called to Marräkush, we may conclude that TamTm
stood against the faqih's proposition, and that the faqih may have insinuated he
should be dismissed from office.
On Ibn Rushd's return, he resumed his teaching responsibhities, but his health
failed him shortly thereafter and four and a half months later, on Sunday night, the 1 1 th of Dhü 1 -Qa'^da 520/1126, he died'^ .
Although Ibn Rushd was considered one of greatest MälUcT faqihs, his work
consisted mainly of either expounding or abridging important MälikT books. His col¬
lection of legal opinions, Nawäzil, is the most noteworthy among these works, es¬
peciaUy for the scholars interested in Andalusian history. It was compUed by one of
his students who read it to Ibn Rushd in successive years, one case after the other,
whUe his mentor corrected the evolving text. The problems which the Nawäzil
cover deal with different aspects of community life, and most of them are related
to actual incidents. They include cases brought before him from a wide cross-section
of Andalusian society and are exhaustively comprehensive in content. However,
their particular nature does not allow them to give a fuh picture of Andalusian social life. In fact, no book can; but they are invaluable in providing us with a host of new detaUs about the period, in confirming known ones, and in revealing hithertofore
unseen sides of the region's history. Nowhere in avaUable sources, for example,
can one find details about the rebel Sa'^Td b. Ahmad b. Zayfal. However, in the
Nawäzil we are informed that this man rose in revolt in Shaqüra (Segura), ruled in
that town and the adjacent territories for many years, collected huge sums of money through taxation and other means, and invested his wealth in buying houses and land in Jaen. The document that refers to this incident is dated 492, a fact which tehs us that the ringleader might have seized his opportunity during the disorder which pre- vaUed in the period of transition from the rule of the Petty Kings to that of the Al¬
moravides" .
The Nawäzil also indirectly point up the social and economic results of this great
10 Ibn «^IdhärT, IV, 72.
11 al-Hulal, 79; cf. Ibn «^Idhäfl, 73.
12 All sources agree on this date; cf. Nawäzil, 315, and Ibn ^IdhärT, IV, 74 - except Ibn al- Qattän, Nazm al-jumän where he states that Ibn Rushd crossed the Strait to the Maghrib in 522.
M Nawazil, 64; al-Abhäth, op. cit., 16. His name in A'^mäl al-A'^läm (ed. Levi-Proven9al), Beirut 1956, 209, is "Ibn Zanfal al-JumänT". The last word must be read "al-JayyahT' (i.e.
from Jaen).
Some Aspects of Social Life in Andalusia 157
change. Many a fatwä refers to individual cases in which a grievance belonging to the Abbadid period was brought before Ibn Rushd at a later time, and many complaints
were also raised against new deeds of injustice. The Almoravides formed a new and
dominant community in Andalusia,enjoyingvariousprivUeges, either legally ascribed
to their position as ruling authorities or illegally extorted by them. The Almora¬
vides, who were initially received as saviours, thus became the cause for strong re¬
sistance in subsequent years. The fields of rivalry and conflict were numerous; I
have mentioned the rising of the Cordovans in 515/1122 and the resignation of Ibn
Rushd which followed it. It seems that such a phenomenon did not occur in a
vacuum, but developed gradually out of numerous individual frictions. Ah facts in¬
dicate that the people of Cordova were only trying to defend themselves against the
repeated transgressions of their MaghribT neighbours. Ibn '-Abdün, in his treatise on Hisba, reveals his own real tendencies when he states that certain offices should
be shared by both Almoravides and Andalusians. The staff of the assistants to the
qädi, he says, should number ten in a town of the size of SeviUe, four from among
the Almoravides and six from among the Andalusians. The offices of Ü\e qädT, the
chief of pohce, the manager of inheritance (sähib al-mawarith), the muhtasib and
the ruler should be open only to the Andalusians because "they are better acquainted
with the people and the social statuses of different (Andalusian) individuals, and
because they are more just and of better standing than others"'" .
The veil, which was a distinctive feature of the Almoravides, and henceforth an
insignium of sovereignty, was a source of serious trouble. Again, if we refer to Ibn
'^Abdün, we find that he insists on excluding the slaves of the Almoravides from
using the veU because they might be mistaken for their masters, and people would
then hasten to receive them with courtesy and favour them with special respect".
The Nawäzil confirm this fact in a rather sly way. A certain man asks Ibn Rushd if
the Almoravides were religiously bound to stick to the veU and if it was right for
a pious Almoravid individual to keep it. Uninterested in the hidden intentions
of the petitioner, the faqth took the question at its face value and replied, "The
veil is the 'uniform' which the Almoravides have chosen for themselves, have been
brought up with and have been traditionally accustomed to . .." From the religious
point of view, they are not blamed for wearing it. Nay, it is commendable for them
to stick to it, because it has been their distinctive characteristic ever since they started their holy mission in defending Islam. If they stick to it to show their ene¬
mies as well as their brethren how numerous they are, such a deed enhances the
feeling of glory in the hearts of believers and infuriation in the hearts of unbe¬
lievers. However, it is better for a man of devotion to renounce it, because he
might be accused of trying to make his piety a center of attraction'* . Avoiding
the real purpose of the question, Ibn Rushd's answer shows how deeply he was
attached to the Almoravides' cause.
Judging from other cases of this period, one can conclude that the new com¬
munity chose to settle in private quarters (or mahallas), acquiring Andalusian
14 Levi-Proven9al, Thaläth Rasä'il fTal-Hisbah, C airo 1955, 16.
15 Levi-Provenyal, op. cif.. 28.
16 Nawazil, 207.
ways of life without being wholly integrated into it. At least in mUitary service, it is certain that the Almoravides' troops were distinct from the Andalusian ranks.
Quoting Ibn al-Yasa'-, the anonymous author of al-Hulal al-Mawshiyya states that
an Ahnoravid cavalier received five dinars per month together with fodder for
his horse and a third item which he called expenses. If he distinguished himself
through brave deeds he was given an estate". The Nawäzil brings forward new
evidence when it states that the salary of the Ahnoravid soldier was "more
stable" than that of the Andalusian, and that a testimony (barä'a) was issued to
each Almoravid soldier entitling him to receive a certain amount of grain; these
testimonies were sometimes sold to the natives in exchange for cash'*.
The foUowing incident might have been a mere individual case; nevertheless, it
is very suggestive. An Arab, in his charge against an Ahnoravid amTr, stated that
one of the amTr's men borrowed money from him and did not pay it back because
he was pennUess. The indebted man had offered the amu- a certain present and
was waiting for some reward in return. He was ready to pay his debt when he re¬
ceived that reward. The Arab approached the amTr himself and the latter promised
to divide the reward equally between the two. But the indebted man died and the
Arab approached the amTr again to get his share, whereupon the amTr certified that
ah the reward had already been given to the deceased" .
Other consequences relating to the economy accompanied the settling of the
Almoravides in Andalusia. According to the Nawäzil, three kinds of dTnär became
current: the ^Abbädid dTnär, whose basic gold material was mixed with silver,
the Eastern dinär, which contained some copper, and the Almoravides' dTnär, wluch
was made of pure gold" . Different kinds of dirhams were also in use: the YüsufT
qarärTt, the Thulthiyyah dirhams and the Thumniyyah dirhams, thus successively
arranged according to the ratio of sUver in each, the first kind being the richest in the metaP" . Abü al-Hasan a\-H-diäm, the author of al-Dawhaal-Mushtabika, mentions
what was cahed the Cordovan dTnär, which contained only 36 habbas — that is, half
the YüsufT dTnär in value — but the Nawäzil do not refer to it^' . Different mints
were established in Andalusian towns, and one of them was in Murcia, according to
the Nawäzil^^ .
The variation in the kinds of currency was confusing to the people in matters
relating to market dealings and religious duties. Someone asks in the Nawäzil
whether he was expected to pay Zakät when he had twenty mithqäls (dTnärs) of
eastern gold. It is well known in fiqh that Zakät on gold starts when one owns
twenty pure dTnärs only and the Eastern dTnär was not pure. Was one allowed to
find out the general value of gold therein and to pay the Zakät on the estimated
value? Was he to wait untU he got a number of Eastern dTnärs equal to twenty
17 Hulat, 67.
18 Nawäzil, 296.
19 Nawäzil, 280.
20 Nawazil, 25,40.
21 al-HakTm,a/ Dawha alMushtabika (ed. H. Mu'nis), Madrid 1960, 87.
22 Nawäzil, 90: marsä al-darb wa-l-jawäz. For al-jawäz, seeal-Dawha, 73.
23 Nawäzil, 16. '
Some Aspeets of Social Life in Andalusia 159
Almoravid dinars, or was he in this case totally exempted from Zakät"!^^ Others were frequently asking if they could change the Thumniyyah dirhams for Thulthiyya dirhams through mere weight^" . Such questions suggest the dread pious people had of indulging in usury (ribä), but they also imply that usury was not totally absent
from Andalusian society. Ibn Abdün, who has already been quoted more than
once, advised that people of each town should stick to their own currency in their
dealings^' . However, it is quite clear that this restriction was not practical.
The matter became more comphcated because the value of the dTnär was ex¬
posed to fluctuation caused either by war, crop failure or some other local incident.
The A'awäziV depict the range of fluctuation between 12.5 and 20 dirhams for the
dTnär^ , and this used to cause much confusion about contracts at each increase
or decrease. In other cases, the confusion was due to the cancehing of certain kinds of currency.
It is easy to imagine how the incessant wars between the Almoravides and the
"Northern Powers" deeply affected Andalusian society. Evacuation of towns by their inhabitants, burning of crops, devastation, captivity, enslavement of free men
and women, and other calamities were the general features of the day. These ma¬
jor happenings are not dwelt upon in the Nawäzil ; it is rather the minor and more
particular incidents that are recorded. One cannot cite all these small events, but,
as a whole, they tend to show how even the dahy life of the citizens was far from
normal. Some people, for instance, used to earn their living by renting hotels and
mhls. During periods of panic such hotels and mills were not frequented for lack of
safety and the tenants were exposed to loss. In the Nawäzil one finds them asking
the faqih whether, under these circumstances, they can defray part of the rent^'.
Another example comes from Madrid: a certain person employed another and
agreed to pay him in kind - in grain. Before the workman got the wages due him,
Madrid feh into foreign hands. The two men met afterwards in Cordova, and the
employee asked for what he considered due payment. The price of grain in Cordova
was double its price in Madrid, and it was natural for the employer to prefer paying
in cash according to the value of grain in the Madrid market whereas the workman
insisted on getting the fuU quantity of grain as it had been agreed upon before¬
hand".
In spite of the mutual antagorüsm between the Christian states and Muslim
Spain, the economic relations between them were normally carried on in times of
peace. One case in the Nawäzil talks about a group of traders from Toledo who
arrived in Cordova to seh and buy. Unfortunately, some people of Cordova re¬
cognized their own possessions among the goods of the Toledans: they had been
plundered by Toledan raiders on a previous occasion. It was an awkward situation,
because these raiders had violated a truce. The general ruler of Andalusia, Abu
Tähir TamTm, himself asked the great QädT for his legal opinion on the case. The
24 Nawazil, 40.
25 Thaläth Rasä'il, 58.
26 Nawäzil, 89.
27 Nawazil. 124.
28 Nawäzil, 197.
QädT thought that, since the Toledan raiders had violated a truce, the merchants
could no longer operate safely because the safety pledge (^ahd) had been broken.
The merchandise and the traders, it was judged, did not have to be released untU
the Muslim captives in Toledo were sent back^' .
Up to this point, 1 have tried to classify, by using material from (he Nawäzil,
some of the things that were directly affected either by the settlement of the Al¬
moravides in Andalusia or by the principle of Jihäd which was an ideological base
of many of the organizations in Almoravid society. But the Nawäzil carry us even
closer to Andalusian society. There is much to say, among other things, about mar¬
kets and prices, about different types of partnership, about agriculture and land
tenure, about mosques, about the general religious spirit and about the status of
women. However, these topics cover a scope too wide for the present paper, and 1
shah, therefore, limit my present study to the last two topics, i.e. the religious spirit and the status of women.
1. THE RELIGIOUS SPIRIT:
There is no need to mention that the Almoravid state was rehgious in its ahn
and structure and one is tempted to find that sort of religious adherence, reaching
sometimes the point of fanaticism, in the Nawäzil. But the Nawäzil show the other
side of the coin as well: there are references to usury, bribery, extortion and op¬
pression. In addition, although the Nawäzil cannot, by their very nature, deal with
the many abuses which Ibn ''Abdün mentioned, or worried about, in his treatise on
Hisbah, they reveal a certain amount of unrestricted irresponsibhity in some reli¬
gious and non-religious matters. A man nicknamed al-Kalabus, for example, is re¬
ported to have blasphemed against God ; a policeman is said to have sworn against
the prophet; and a third to have talked irrespectfuUy about revelation^". None of
these cases, of course, can be compared either in caliber or in results to the his¬
torical case of Abü al-Khayr who was sentenced to death during the rule of the
Umayyad caliph al-Hakam al-Mustansir (4th/10th century) and against whom 44
witnesses testified that he abused Abü Bakr and ''Umar, that he publicly declared
wine was permissible and, most heinous of all, that he was propagating the cause
of the Shl^ite Fatimids^' .
Anyhow, we must not be so misled to think that Andalusian society was a pro¬
per field for cultivating heresies. The adherence not only to general religious beliefs, but to a single religious school, the MälikT, was an important concern of Andalusian
leaders, and that is why the MälUcT school remained predominant. The authority of
the religious scholars was unchallenged not only because they were very influential in the state, but because the slightest schism was more dangerous in Andalusia than
it would have been, say in Baghdäd or in Qayrawän. This is why in the Nawäzil an¬
xiety about the spread of the Ash'^arite doctrine in the Maghrib surfaces from time
29 Nawäzil, 289.
30 Nawäzil. 100, 142.
31 Hawliyyät al-Jämif^ah al-Tünisiyyah, 1,61 seq.
Some Aspects of Social Life in Andalusia 161
to time, although in each case Ibn Rushd asserts that the Ash'-arites are good Mus¬
lims. Even the irresponsible behaviour to which I referred above reflects the re¬
action of the great majority of people who looked with horror and loathing at
those who did not uphold the sanctity of Islam to the fullest extent.
Other cases indicate the existence of a lack of respect for Arabic, a language
which was considered firmly related to religion. A man was heard on two occa¬
sions saying, "To Hell with Arabic," and "1 read Sürat Yüsuf m Latin"". Even a muhaddith is reported to have said, "The language of the Arabs is not necessary for me"^' . Ibn Rushd was shocked by the latter, but could not suggest a legal punish¬
ment for such a "misdeed", and thus advised the sinful muhaddith to repent. He
added, however, that if it could be shown that the words disguised some wicked
intention, then it would be the duty of the ruler to punish the sayer in the appro¬
priate way.
2. THE STATUS OF WOMEN:
The cases that deal with the matters of marriage, dowries, divorce, support of
wives, alimony and the like are so typical that they need not engage much of our
attention here. A single case of "limited contractual marriage" {zawäj al-mufah)
is mentioned''" . A man from Badajoz married a woman to whom he paid only half
a Yüsuß dirham for a limited period of time without witnesses and without the
presence of a senior male relation. On being asked why he did it, he confessed that
he knew mut^ah was not legal, but that some former jurists had not been strictly
against it. He had fallen in love with the woman but could not resort to legally
recognized marriage because he was aware that she was not suitable for him as a
"permanent" wife and that his father would have interfered to stop the marriage;
so he thought that mut^ah would be a more acceptable way out than adultery'' .
Although this case does not pay much respect to the woman involved, the other
fatwäs give a rather different picture. The Andalusian woman was not always the
weaker partner. She received her full rights in inheritance, and we find only one
case in the Nawäzil where a woman sues her brother in this connection'* . In another case, a husband, eager to save his two freed wives, Surriyya and Hanä' al-'-Aysh, from the troubles they might fall into after his death, bequeaths all his property in a cer¬
tain vUlage to them. Many women were free to appoint agents, to own estates,
to sell and buy their property, and to deal independently with many matters''.
Thus we read, "Idläl, the freed wife of (x), bought from '^Ä'isha, daughter of (y),
the house which hes in such and such a place in Valencia, together with the garden
outside the town in a place cahed . . . Another contract runs as fohows "Fätima,
32 Nawäzil. 290.
33 Nawäzil, 145.
34 Nawäzil. 25.
35 NawSzil, 18.
36 Nawazil, 25.
37 Nawazil, 89.
38 Nawazil, 229.
the daugther of Hishäm, the son of al-MantaqütT, and the wife of the vizier Abii '^Abd
al-Malik al-KhawlänT until his death, bears witness that her daughter Zaynab, the
wife of Abü al-Qäsim b. Marwän, had given her a loan of 400 '^AhbääidTnärs for the
duration of 20 years" .
In marriage, a man could offer land instead of money as a dowry, and this was
called ''siyäqa". In some areas, especiahy in Shves, the offering of land was the rule''*'. In return, the father was expected to provide his daughter with "shawrä", that is, ah the bride needed for herselfand her new home, with the stipulation that the shawrä should be equal in value to the siyäqa. In certain cases, the husband was
required to guarantee the wife's shawrä against mishandling or loss. It seems this
was necessary when the husband had not been able to offer an adequate siyäqa of
a value equal to the value of the shawra^^ .
One tends to think that Andalusian women became freer and more independent
during the Almoravides' rule. As Levi-Provenqal has pointed out, the Ahnoravides
belonged to a matriarchal society in which their women enjoyed a dominant role
in family hfe. It seems that this characteristic was reflected, to a certain extent, in the life of the Andalusian famhy.
Among the outstanding Almoravid women in Andalusia we hear of al-Hurra
Maryam, Tammi's wife, who was eulogized by the poet Ibn Khafäja"^ . The Nawazil also mention the wife of'^AlTb. Yüsuf, who, although she did not reside in Andalu¬
sia, helped with her own money in the extension of the mosque of Murcia. The
name of Hawwä, the wife of STr b. AbT Bakr, Governor of Seville (484—507 A. H.),
is loudly echoed both in historical sources and in the Nawäzil'*^ . Before she married
STr, Hawwä, herself a poetess, had a sort of literary salon in Marräkush. Sevhle,
of course, was more suitable for her talent. The poets of that time, especially the
Blind Poet of Toledo"" , were apt to direct their laudatory odes to her rather than to her husband. When in the year 507 she went out in a great procession to celebrate
the wedding of her daugther Fätima to '^AlTb. Yüsuf, STr fell hi on the way and she
had to take him back to Seville, where he died. The Nawäzil add that she accom¬
panied his funeral procession, and when, after mourning at his graveside, someone
suggested to her that it was time to go home, she replied, "What home do you
mean?" The man answered, "The house in which you have been living all these
days." Upon hearing this Hawwä swore that, if she ever entered her house, one
third of her possessions were to be given away to the poor, she would fast for one
whole year and would free all her slaves. She added, "For where are the famUiar faces that I knew in that house?" But time, the great healer, soothed her grief and after some years we find her marrying TamTm, the governor-general of al-Andalus, and, although she did not forget the oath, she did finally return to live in her fore- saken dwelling.
39 NawSzil. 77.
W Nawäzil, 163.
41 Nawäzil, 288.
42 Ibn Khataja, DTwän (ed. Sayyid M. GhäzT). Alexandria 1960, 9.
43 Nawäzil, 123; in al-Ahhath, 22;c(. Ibn '-"Idbärl, op. cit., IV. 56. 57, 105.
44 Al-A'^mä al-TutllT, Drvvä« (ed. Ihsän Abbäs), Beirut 1963, 15, 16, 18.
THE GEORGIANS IN JERUSALEM IN THE MAMLUK PERIOD*
By Butrus Abu-Manneh, Haifa
The Georgians are scarcely remembered in Jerusalem in recent times, yet they
had once occupied an important place among the Christian communkies in the Ho¬
ly City next perhaps to the Greeks.
Their presence appears to have started in the early centuries of the Christian
era, a httle after they had been converted to Orthodox Christianity about the
beginning of the fourth century '. Their main residence for a long rime was the
"Monastery of the Holy Cross" (Dayr al-Musallaba) buUt about two km. to the
south west of the old city of Jerusalem, on the site where it was beheved the wood
of the Cross was cut^ .
Already from the early phase of the Mamluk sultanate the Georgian presence in
Jerusalem figured considerably in Mamlük-Georgian relations. Since the Mongol
invasion in the eady 1240's the Georgian kingdom feh under their tutelage and
observed allegiance to the Il-Khans of Persia'. Georgian units fought on the side of the Mongols against the Mamluks in Syria". Subsequently the Georgian presence in
Jerusalem was brought to an end. According to Ibn al-Wasiti, Sultan Baybars sus¬
pected the monks of the monastery of passing informafion to the Mongols about
the Mamlüks which they heard, it was claimed, from Coptic pilgrims to Jemsalem.
Thus Baybars executed the spies and ordered the turning of the monastery of the
Holy Cross to a mosque' .
But after the Mongol danger receded. Sultan an-Näsir Muhammad b. Qaläwün
(1293-1341) responded favourably, though after long negotiations, to the re¬
quest of a Georgian embassy, accompanied according to Maqrizi by delegates of
the Byzantine Emperor*, and ordered the restoration of the Monastery to the
* I wish to thank Father Christodholos of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem for his help in finding the source material for this paper.
My thanks are due also for the Alexander-von-Humboldt-Stiftung whose financial help made my stay in W. Germany and my participation in the Congress possible.
1 Dowling, The Georgian Church in Jerusalem, in Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly State¬
ment, 43 (1911), 181-187, see 181 f.
2 This monastery seems to have been founded by King Tatian in the fifth century; I'ftW. , 183 f.
3 Ibn Fadl Alläh al-'^Umari, al-Ta'^rtf bi-l-mustalah al-sharif, Cairo 1312/1894, 53 f.
4 P.M. Holt et al. (eds.). The Cambridge History of Islam I, Cambridge 1970, 212.
5 GhäzT Ibn al-WasitT, al-Radd <=alä al-Dhimmiyym, in JAOS, 21 (1921), 411-12.
6 See MaqrTzT, K. al-Sulük (ed. by M.M. Ziyadeh), Cairo 1941, II, 17 and n. 2 of the editor.
See also Ibn Fadl Alläh al-1lmarT, op.cit., 54. According to D.M. Lang, Georgia in the Reign of Giorgi the Brilliant (1314-1346), mBSOAS, XVII (1955), 74-91, it was king Wakhtang III of Georgia who sent the embassy; see 79.
