Download PDF | James Wilson - Medieval Syria and the Onset of the Crusades_ The Political World of Bilad Al-Sham 1050-1128-Edinburgh University Press (2023).
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Introduction: Defining and Exploring the Political World of Bilad al-sham
Throughout 442-522/1050-1128, bilad al-sham (Syria) was subjected to a series of military incursions from the east and west by the nomadic Seljuq Turks and European Crusaders. These invasions complicated the power dynamics in a frontier zone already beset by multiple conflicts fought along several ethno-cultural and religious contours. Most historical studies of this period place special emphasis on the unprecedented arrival of the Frankish Crusaders from 490/1097 onwards. Rather than adopting the traditional approach of western historiography, namely, of analysing this era through the lens of the Crusades, this book seeks to place the First Crusade and the formation of the Latin east within the broader framework of Syrian history.
It does so by reinterpreting the broad strategic picture in late fifth/ eleventh- and early sixth/twelfth-century Syria; contending that the urban centres of Damascus and Aleppo should be seen as politically diverse, and subject to local dynastic forces that cut across wider Byzantine, Fatimid and Seljuq polities. This new model is then used to contextualise the initial reactions of Syria’s ruling elite to the foundation of the Crusader states.
The Arabic term bilad al-sham is most commonly translated as ‘Syria’. Yet for most Arabic chroniclers writing between the fifth and seventh centuries (eleventh and thirteenth centuries), al-sham’s geographical delineations were far more extensive. The definitions provided by the fourth/tenth-century geographers Ibn Hawaal (d. after 367/978) and al-Mugqaddasi (d. 381/991) were adopted in most of the surviving chronicles.’ Ibn Hawgqal provided the clearest textual (and cartographical, see the cover image) representation of the physical boundaries of al-sham during this period: on the west is the babr al-rum [Mediterranean Sea], on the east the desert from Ailah to the Euphrates, and along this river to bilad al-rum [country of the Romans, meaning Byzantium or Anatolia] the northern frontier (al-thugur) is bilad al-rum, and the southern frontier is Egypt.’
This description provides the definition of bilad al-sham used in this book, with particular emphasis placed on northern al-sham and the environs of Aleppo. In addition to bilad al-sham, various other geographical labels can be found in the medieval Arabic source materials. These include appellations such as bilad al-rum (the country of the Romans or Byzantines), generally used to refer to Anatolia, bilad antaktya (the country of Antioch) and, most pertinently, bilad halab (the country of Aleppo).* Although the meaning of these terms could fluctuate depending upon the context in which they were used, they typically refer to major settlements and the attendant rural areas that had traditionally fallen under the dominion of specific city-states or empires.*
Bilad al-sham encompassed an extensive and diverse territorial area, inhabited by a polyglot population drawn from a broad range of ethno-cultural and confessionally diverse backgrounds. This included Arab, Armenian and Syriac peoples of varying devotional beliefs, comprising Sunni Muslims, Syrian Orthodox and Melkite Christians, Jewish communities, and Shi‘i groups such as the Twelver Shi‘ inhabitants of Aleppo and the Nizari Isma‘ili sect often labelled the ‘Assassins’.
Between the second/eighth and fifth/eleventh centuries, Syria had experienced a prolonged period of neglect following the demise of the Umayyad dynasty and the relocation of the Sunni Abbasid Caliphate from Damascus to Baghdad in 132/750.° As a consequence, Iraq enjoyed centuries of financial prosperity while Syria’s influence dwindled.° This was perhaps best represented by the absence of any newly constructed notable Muslim monuments in the region between 132 and 483/750 and 1090, indicative of a pronounced regional decline which had clear political ramifications.
The subsequent disintegration of Abbasid authority in the first half of the fourth/tenth century resulted in the development of the ‘Muslim Commonwealth’ throughout the Islamic Near East.” In northern Syria, the Abbasid power vacuum was initially filled by the northern Syrian branch of the Shi‘i Arab Hamdanid dynasty (r. Aleppo 336-94/948-1003). The catastrophic sack of Aleppo by Byzantine forces in 351/962 is viewed as the starting point of an extended period of regional ‘anarchy’ and decline, which marked the nadir of Aleppan autonomy.* Afterwards, the Hamdanids and their successors in Aleppo, the Mirdasids (from 415/1024), were reduced to minor players in the larger struggle between Byzantium to the north and west, and the emerging Fatimid Caliphate to the south, who captured much of Palestine and southern Syria in a series of successful military campaigns in the late fourth/tenth century.”
The ensuing collapse of Byzantine and Fatimid influence and their ties to local rulers of Arab, Armenian and Syriac descent from the mid-fifth/ eleventh century produced a fissiparous political environment in bilad alsham. From 453/1062 onwards, Syria was ruled by a patchwork of small city-states and lordships with varying allegiances to the assorted ethno-religious groups and factions who held strategic interests in the region. The following fifty years saw successive invasions by the nomadic Seljuq Turks and the Frankish Crusaders insert a series of new military elites into this complex frontier zone.
In recent decades, this final, destabilising series of events and the complex power dynamics they provoked have proved to be a compelling subject for historical enquiry. This book provides a reinterpretation of the underlying political situation in bilad al-sham during one of the most turbulent periods in the region’s history.
Historiographical Overview
Crusader studies do not exist in isolation, and there is a wealth of excellent historical research on the political situation in Syria and Palestine between 442 and 522/1050 and 1128. Aside from Crusade historiography, there are several perspectives from which historians have traditionally approached the political world of bilad al-sham during this time frame. Chief among them are the fields of Islamic history, Byzantine history and the study of native Christian and Jewish communities of the Near East. One of the main challenges of writing this book has been uniting these diverse historiographical branches.
The main foundation for any research in the area remains the scholarship of Claude Cahen, especially his seminal 1940 study of northern Syria at the time of the Crusades." The comprehensive nature of the work — covering Arabic and Latin source material, topography, archaeology and secular society, in addition to providing an analysis of the social and political history of the region from the late fifth/eleventh century to the end of the seventh/thirteenth century — has ensured it retains an important place in modern scholarship. Cahen also stressed the need to place the Crusades within their regional context, a determination central to this book’s approach."
Aside from Cahen, the most recent study of northern Syria during this period is that of Taef El-Azhari.'* El-Azhari provided a detailed historical narrative of events between 463 and 549/1070 and 1154, while also outlining why members of the Seljuq dynasty failed to retain control of Aleppo and Damascus. Suhayl Zakkar’s The Emirate of Aleppo, published in 1971, provides the most comprehensive account of fifth/eleventh century-Aleppan political history. Similar to El-Azhari, Zakkar placed emphasis on reconstructing a thorough chronology of events.’
Another way historians have approached the subject is through crosscultural diplomacy. Michael KGhler’s detailed treatment of regional diplomatic contacts during the sixth/twelfth century is perhaps the most significant of these works.'* The central thesis of Kohler’s work is that the fractured political environment provoked by the arrival of Seljuq rulers in Syria from 463/1071, which was then compounded between 485 and 488/1092 and 1095 by a protracted Seljugq succession crisis, enabled the newly established Frankish polities to quickly assimilate themselves into the regional alliance system.
Carole Hillenbrand’s influential research on the Islamic perspectives of the Crusades is also hugely significant, providing a comprehensive overview of the diverse Islamic experiences of the Crusades in the eastern Mediterranean.’ Hillenbrand dated the period of crisis which struck the Islamic Near East to a series of untimely deaths among the Fatimid and Seljuq ruling elite between 485 and 487/1092 and 1094, but largely agreed with Kohler’s argument for the swift integration of Frankish potentates into the political world of bilad al-sham."* The extent to which KGhler, Hillenbrand and El-Azhari were able to demonstrate the importance of developments in the fifth/eleventh century to the early Crusader period has influenced how this book is structured.
Major urban settlements in Syria have also been the focus of detailed historical enquiry. Damascus is extremely popular in this regard, with no less than three separate modern studies of this period by Thierry Bianquis, Mariam Yared-Riachi and Jean-Michel Mouton.” Aside from Zakkar’s work, Aleppo has also received attention from Ross Burns, who has published a broad history of the city, whilst Jean Sauvaget, Nikita Elisséeff, Eugen Gaube and Heinz Wirth have also published work focusing on the northern Syrian metropolis."* Stefan Heidemann has examined the urban and economic development of Ragga and Harran.”
In addition to individual cities, historical studies have also focused on the political and religious factions and groups operating within Syria and the surrounding areas. Research by Stefan Heidemann, John France and Nicholas Morton has looked to highlight the important role played by Arab dynasties during the fifth/eleventh and early sixth/twelfth centuries.” These important works have established the influence wielded by the Syrian-based Arab tribes prior to and following the First Crusade.
There is also a long historiographical tradition surrounding the Great Seljuq Sultanate.” Although Seljug history is currently undergoing a minor resurgence, best represented by Andrew Peacock’s The Great Seljuk Empire, the most recent scholarship focusing on the situation in Syria remains the work of El-Azhari mentioned above. Alexander Beihammer’s work on Anatolia during the late fifth/eleventh and early sixth/twelfth centuries, which also touched upon events in northern Syria, is another significant contribution to the field.”
There are additional historiographical branches centred upon other major factions and groups operating in the region. The Fatimid Caliphate, Byzantine Empire, Armenian Cilicia and the Nizari Isma‘ili Assassins have all been the subject of intense historical research.** With the exception of the work of Bianquis and Beihammer, developments in Syria remain a minority field of inquiry in Fatimid and Byzantine historiography, with most studies focusing on their respective power bases in Cairo and Constantinople.”
The Frankish polities founded at the end of the fifth/eleventh century, normally labelled the “Crusader states’, were the final political group active in the region during this period.” Perhaps the most popular of the subsidiary historiographical fields, historians of the Near Eastern Crusading movement have also relegated northern Syria to a peripheral role, with the majority of research concentrating on Jerusalem and Palestine. The work of Thomas Asbridge, particularly his study of the Principality of Antioch in the early sixth/twelfth century, provides insight into the Antiochene perspective.”
Since the publication of Hillenbrand’s hugely influential work, the Islamic perspectives of the Crusades have become integrated into the mainstream of Crusader historiography. Although there were attempts to analyse the conflict from Muslim viewpoints before Hillenbrand, particularly by Cahen, Sivan and Kéhler, it has become an increasingly popular research subject.”” There has also been extensive research on the history of the Crusader states in Arabic by scholars from the Arabophone world.” The final areas of historiographical discussion are frontiers in the Middle Ages, cross-cultural contacts in Sicily and Iberia, in addition to archaeological and topographical research on Syria and Palestine.”
The Primary Sources
This book relies upon source materials written in a diverse range of languages. Although the principal focus will be placed on Arabic literary sources dating from the fifth/eleventh to ninth/fifteenth centuries, translations of Greek, Syriac, Persian, Latin and Armenian sources will be utilised to supplement the Arabic texts.
Arabic Sources
Annalistic chronicles or universal histories, ta’7ikh in Arabic, are one of the most valuable sources of information for developments in bilad al-sham during this period. The customary format adopted in these chronicles was to provide yearly entries, usually dating from the foundation of Islam or the time of Creation.
The earliest Arabic source utilised in this book is that of Yahya b. Said al-Antaki. Yahya b. Said al-Antaki (d. 425/1034) was a Melikite Christian historian who was born around the year 370/980 and died shortly after his chronicle breaks offin 425/1034.* In the early part of his career he was attached to the Fatimid court, but was forced to flee Egypt following the persecution of Christian groups by the Caliph al-Hakim (r. 386-411/996-1021) in the early fifth/eleventh century. Thereafter, al-Antaki moved to Byzantine-held Antioch in 405/1014-15.*" His chronicle focuses on events in Syria, Egypt and the Byzantine Empire, and utilised Greek and local Christian sources in addition to works in Arabic.** This assimilation of material from different linguistic traditions, combined with al-Antaki’s presence in Antioch, grants the author unique insights into cross-cultural entanglements in northern Syria during the early fifth/eleventh century.
Further details about Syria during this period are provided by the writings of Al-Mwayyad frl-Din al-Shirazi (d. 470/1078), a Persian Isma‘ili administrator who also served as a courtier at the Fatimid court in Cairo. Between 446 and 450/1054 and 1058, Al-Mu/ayyad frl-Din was dispatched to Aleppo on a diplomatic mission by the Fatimid Caliph al-Mustansir. Al-Mu’ayyad was tasked with persuading various Arab and Kurdish polities in Syria and Mesopotamia to form a coalition against the then nascent threat posed by the Seljugq Turks.*? Al-Mu’ayyad fl-Din, who died in 470/1078, provides the sole Fatimid perspective on events in Syria between 442 and 522/1050 and 1128. Another early Egyptian source is the History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria, a collection of Coptic and Arabic historiographical writing that reports on the lives of the Coptic patriarchs of Alexandria, and the information they received through their religious and political networks, from the first to the seventh/ thirteenth centuries.** Throughout the sections covering this time frame, the authors make repeated references to important events in Egypt, and occasionally in Syria.
Chronologically, the next literary source are the sermons of the Damascene scholar and preacher ‘Ali ibn Tahir al-Sulami (d. 500/1106), which were recorded in the kitab al-zihad.* Al-Sulami provides the earliest Syrian-based reaction to the arrival of the Franks, and although the work is a theoretical treatise on the concept of jihad, the date of composition and the focus of the work make it a valuable source.*°
Abu Yala Ibn al-Qalanisi’s (d. 555/1160) Dhayl ta’rikh Dimashg is one of the most important historical sources for this project. As Niall Christie has outlined, modern historians know relatively little about Ibn al-Qalanisi, aside from his reputation as a man of literature and political skill, having held the position of vas of Damascus on two occasions.” This political experience lends authority to his writing, whilst his occupation of such a high-ranking position meant that he would have had access to a wide variety of official source material relating to the history of the city.** Ibn al-Qalanisi provided ‘the oldest extant Arabic account of the First and Second Crusades’.*” This, combined with its relatively early translation into English and French, has ensured that Ibn al-Qalanisi’s chronicle is a vital source for historians of Syria during the first half of the sixth/twelfth century.*” However, there are several problematic aspects relating to the chronicle, namely, that Ibn al-Qalanisi does not quote his sources directly, and that he frequently displays a partiality for the Burid dynasty (ruled Damascus 497-549/1104—1154) in his writing.
Muhammad b. al-“Azimi (d. after 556/1161) wrote the earliest extant Aleppan chronicle for this time frame.*' Despite a partial French translation by Frédéric Monot of the years 518-38/1124—44, and a more recent English translation of the early Crusading period by Alex Mallett, the source is widely under-utilised in modern historiography.* Unfortunately, even less is known about al-“Azimi than Ibn al-Qalanisi. It is probable that he lived until after 556/1161, because extracts of his non-extant History of Aleppo have been found for this date in later sources, whilst al-“Azimi provided a birth date of 483/1090-1 for himself in his universal chronicle.* He taught in an Aleppan madrasa and was the son of a ra’is, having been born into the influential al-Tanukhi family of Aleppo.** The annual entries in his surviving work tend to be brief, whilst the lack of citation of the author’s sources is a further concern, necessitating careful handling. Despite the dearth of information about the author and concerns about the text, it is a vital source for historians of this period.
Ali Ibn al-Hasan Ibn “Asakir (d. 571/1176) belonged to the prominent Banu ‘Asakir family of Damascus, who produced a succession of Shafri scholars between 470 ad 660/1077 and 1261.* Ibn ‘Asakir spent some years travelling in the east and made a pilgrimage to Mecca, but spent the majority of his career in Damascus, where he entered the orbit of prominent figures such as Nur al-Din, and was present for Saladin’s entry into his home town in 570/1174.% Nur al-Din encouraged Ibn ‘Asakir to complete his great biographical dictionary, which records all the people of note who inhabited or visited Damascus, in addition to prominent individuals from Aleppo, Ba’albek and Ramla.
Ahmad b. Yusuf Ibn al-Azraq al-Fariqi (d. after 572/1176-7) was employed in the service of Timurtash b. Il-ghazi, the second Artugid ruler of Mayyafarigin, and the Georgian King Dimitri.*” During his life he spent time in Amid, Mosul, Baghdad and Damascus. Whilst in the employ of these rulers, he would in all probability have had access to official records and chancery documents.* His Tarikh al-Mayyafarigin wa-Amid was written in two phases, the first in 560/1164—5 and the second before his death in $72/1176-7.”
Usama b. Murshid b. ‘Ali (d. 584/1188), better known as Usama b. Mungidh, was a member of the Banu Mungqidh family, who were based in the fortress of Shayzar in northern Syria during the late fifth/eleventh and early sixth/twelfth centuries. The strategic importance of Shayzar, with the castle controlling access to one of the few bridges that crossed the River Orontes, enabled the Banu Mungidh to play a significant role in northern Syrian politics, until an earthquake in 552/1157 destroyed the castle and killed the majority of the family.°° Usama b. Mungidh wrote two literary anthologies that are of particular importance to this book. The first was the Kitab al-I'tibar, or ‘book of contemplation’, and the second the Lubab al-Adab, or ‘gateway to literature’, in which he sporadically remarked upon important political events, such as the arrival of the First Crusaders.*! Like Ibn ‘Asakir, Usama b. Mungidh moved in exalted circles. During his career he entered into the service of Imad al-Din Zangi, his son Nur al-Din, the Burids of Damascus and the Fatimids in Egypt.** Although his work is valued for its insights into social interactions between Muslim and Frankish elites in the sixth/twelfth century, its importance to this book lies in the insight Usama provides into the Banu Mungidh and the culture of Near Eastern court life in general.
The Baghdadi scholar, teacher, preacher and historian Ibn al-Jawzi’s (d.597/1200) universal history, al-Muntazam fi ta’rikh al-muluk wa l-umam, is another important source.* Ibn al-Jawzi was a highly prominent Hanbali member of the twelfth-century ‘u/ama’ in Baghdad, who received the patronage of several caliphs and viziers. At the height of his power, he directed five madrasas and regularly provided sermons for several caliphs.** His universal history provided more detailed coverage of the deaths of scholars and preachers than political events, making it feel like a biographical dictionary.** Although his chronicle does not offer as broad an overview as that of his grandson Sibt b. al-Jawzi, it still occasionally grants insight into events in northern Syria, connecting them to events in Baghdad in a way that differentiates him from his contemporaries based in Syria and Mesopotamia.
Ibn al-Athir’s (d. 630/1233) universal chronicle, al-Kamil fil ta’rikh, is perhaps the best known and most widely utilised source for events in Middle East during the fifth/eleventh and sixth/twelfth centuries.*° This has been facilitated by two factors: the early and reliable translations of the text, and the widely acknowledged historical bona fides of the author. There was an early translation of sections of the chronicle covering the sixth/twelfth century into French in the Recueil des historiens des crotsades and a more recent translation into English by Donald Richards, which covers the entire time frame of this book.*’ Ibn al-Athir was born into a leading Mosuli family of scholars who were in service to the Zangid rulers of the town, but he also enjoyed good relations with the Ayyubids, participating in several diplomatic missions on their behalf.
Al-Kamil fil tarikh has a wide geographical focus, providing yearly updates from the time of Creation to 628/1230-1 for the whole of the dar al-tslam, encompassing Spain, Sicily, North Africa, Egypt, Palestine, Syria and Mesopotamia, providing a true Muslim global history. Carole Hillenbrand glowingly described Ibn al-Athir as possessing “the instincts of a true historian’ who was ‘capable of interpreting events as well as recording them’,” whilst his universal history has been described as ‘one of the most impressive achievements of pre-modern historiography in any culture’® and ‘the high point of Muslim annalistic historiography’.*' The only criticism of Ibn al-Athir’s methodology is that he often failed to cite the sources of his information.
Despite this high praise, his coverage of the events in bilad al-sham during the fifth/eleventh and early sixth/twelfth centuries is far from comprehensive. Additionally, Ibn al-Athir’s ‘analysis’ of the success of the First Crusade is heavily influenced by the reduced status of the Franks at the time he composed his work in the early seventh/thirteenth century. Ibn al-Athir’s exemplary history of the Zangids, al-Ta’rikh al-bahir fil-dawlat al-atabaktyya, is also of interest to this project.
Sibt b. al-Jawzi’s (d. 654/1256) Mrrat al-zaman fi ta’rikh al-a‘yan is another key source for this period, mainly due the detailed reports it provides about developments in fifth/eleventh-century bilad al-sham.® Sibt b. al-Jawzi’s chronicle is modelled on the work of his maternal grandfather Ibn al-Jawzi, following the same formula of delivering long accounts about the careers of deceased intellectuals, in addition to an annual overview of political events. In a style comparable with his grandfather, Sibt b. al-Jawzi offered insight into how events in Syria were linked to developments in Baghdad and vice versa. Sibt b. al-Jawzi was born in Baghdad around 582/1186, and remained there until he moved to Damascus following his grandfather’s death in 597/1201.% Renowned during his lifetime for his rhetorical skills, Sibt b. al-Jawzi held the title waz al-sham (the [best] preacher in al-sham), and held teaching positions at various madrasas.® Sibt b. al-Jawzi also participated in diplomatic missions for various Ayyubid rulers of Damascus to Aleppo, went on several pilgrimages to Mecca, and visited scholars in Mosul and Jerusalem.“
His Mirat al-zaman fi ta’rikh al-a‘yan has a complicated manuscript history, which Cahen attributed to the author’s failure to produce a definitive copy of his notes prior to his death. One set of manuscripts contained large gaps between accounts, whilst a second, more comprehensive, group of manuscripts created by Qutb al-Din al-Yunini at the beginning of the eighth/fourteenth century includes additions made by al-Yunini himself.°’ This has meant that until Kamil S. Al-Jabouri produced the new edition cited above, historians of this period had to rely either on one of the problematic manuscript groups, or the partial editions from Ali Sevim, who selected events about the Seljugs and covering the years 448-80/1056-88, or that of James R. Jewett, who relied on a faulty manuscript and covered the years 495-654/1101-1256.% The existence of a new comprehensive edition, affords us a greater insight into a truly vital source for this period of Syrian history.
Yet another vital basis of information for this project are Ibn al-“Adim’s (d. 660/1262) biographical dictionary and chronicle.” Born in 588/1192 into the powerful Banu Abi Jarada family of Aleppo, Ibn al-“Adim never occupied the prominent political positions of gadi or vizier. He was appointed in 616/1220 to various madrasas in Aleppo, and later founded a madrasa in Aleppo in 639/1241.” However, his real political influence lay in the diplomatic missions that he undertook between 634 and 657/1236 and 1259 on behalf of various Ayyubid rulers of Aleppo and Damascus to ‘Ayntab, Anatolia, Jazira, Egypt and Baghdad, whilst he enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle due to his family’s possession of various landed estates and properties in the purlieus of Aleppo.”!
Ibn al-‘Adim’s biographical dictionary, Bughyat al-talab fi ta’rikh halab, originally consisted of forty volumes, of which just ten survive. The first volume includes a geographical description of Aleppo and the surrounding area. The subsequent volumes are dedicated to individuals, providing a list of their achievements, usually academic for the “/ama’ and military for political figures, in addition to their family background and anecdotes when possible. Ibn al-‘Adim regularly named his sources in the Bughyat. Through an analysis of citations in his work, Anne-Marie Eddé has concluded that he consulted ‘more than 500 books, not counting those with unknown titles’ in addition to a ‘large number of contemporary oral testimonies’.”
The rigour and care taken by Ibn al-‘Adim whilst compiling the Bughyat al-talab fi ta’rikh halab underlines its value to historians in the field. His chronicle of Aleppo, Zubdat al-halab min ta’rikh halab, is an equally vital source for this project, although it lacks the clear citation of sources present in the Bughyat. Eddé has argued that Ibn al-“Adim used the sources from his biographical dictionary to write his chronicle and suggested it is possible to correlate the sources used in Zubdat with those in Bughyat through careful reading of both sources.”
Indeed, Zakkar has shown it is possible to discern at least some of the nonextant fifth/eleventh- and sixth/twelfth-century sources that Ibn al-“Adim used for the Bughyat and the Zubdat.”* The non-extant fifth/eleventh-century Arabic sources include Abu Ghalib Hammam al-Muhadhdhad, who lived during the reigns of the Mirdasid rulers Thimal b. Salih, ‘Atiyya b. Salih and Mahmud b. Nasr;” Abu’l Khayr al-Mubarak, a Christian physician who departed Aleppo for Antioch during the reign of Ridwan b. Tutush; and Mansur b. Tamim al-Zankal, a poet from Sarmin who passed judgement on the final Mirdasid ruler of Aleppo, Sabiq b. Mahmud.” For the sixth/twelfth century, Ibn al-“Adim used the work of Hamdan b. ‘Abd al-Rahim al-Atharibi (d. 541/1147),” a physician, poet, administrator and diplomat who held land on the frontier between Antioch and Aleppo, although Paul Cobb has raised doubts about the notion that Hamdan al-Atharibi was a Frankish ‘vassal’.’”8 Historians in this field have long lamented the loss of Hamdan’s chronicle.”
Ibn al-“Adim’s Zubdat is ordered chronologically, and focuses almost exclusively on Aleppo and the outlying areas. This means that events in other important power-centres such as Baghdad, Damascus and Jerusalem are often overlooked, contributing to the Zubdat being labelled ‘concise’.*” Yet Ibn al-“Adim often provides far greater detail and insight than other historians on events in and around Aleppo, particularly during the fifth/eleventh century.
Ibn Muyassar (d. 677/1278), was an Egyptian historian of Tunisian origin whose ancestor had served as an amir for the Fatimids.*! His chronicle covered the years 439-522/1047-1128, and provides a great deal of original information on the Fatimids, due to Ibn Muyassar’s access to official documents relating to them. Aside from Ibn Muyassar, arguably the most important Egyptian source for this period is that of Taqi al-Din al-Maqrizi (d. 845/1442). His [tt7az al-hunafa’ bt-akhbar al-a’imma al-fatimiyyin al-khulafa’ is the only separate history of the Fatimids written by a Sunni writer, and includes material from non-extant sources.** During his lifetime al-Maqrizi held various positions in the academic, theological and legal fields.*? The major problem with this work is the date of composition, which was completed nearly 250 years after the starting point of this book.
Other important later sources include the universal histories of Ibn Kathir (d.774/1373)* and Ibn Taghribirdi (d. 874/1470).* Ibn Kathir held various administrative and academic positions in several mosques and madrasas under the Bahri Mamluk dynasty in Damascus.* Ibn Taghribirdi was a high-ranking member of the ninth/fifteenth-century Mamluk court, who rose to the rank of commander in chief of the Egyptian armies and viceroy of Damascus.”
Konrad Hirschler and Michael Brett have outlined three separate regional Arabic historiographical traditions in Syria, Mesopotamia and Egypt.** While it is clear that many of the later chroniclers utilised the work of those who came before them, access to different sources of localised information meant that certain authors provided more detailed accounts of events than earlier writers. For example, it would be difficult to write a comprehensive history of the Fatimid activities in Syria in the fifth/eleventh century without consulting the seventh/thirteenth-century work of Ibn Muyassar.
One of the main methodological issues with this book is that, with the exception of the History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria, there are no extant Arabic chronicles written between 432 and 534/1040 and 1140. The value of Arabic primary source material to research on the Crusades and the wider Islamic Near East has long been a subject of contention. In his formative study on the Crusades, Steven Runciman disputed the value of Arabic texts for the First Crusade and the early Crusading period.* Although the work of Carole Hillenbrand has ensured that Arabic source material remain in the mainstream of the field, criticisms of the source base persist.
Omar Safi and Julie Meisami have questioned the objectivity of Arabic and Persian source material in this period. Meisami claimed that “the medieval historian’s primary interest lay less in recording the “facts” of history than in the construction of meaningful narratives’.” Safi has demonstrated how the Seljuqs shaped historical writing to meet certain requirements to legitimise their rule, while Hirschler has established how an author’s individual ‘agency’ could shape the narrative of their accounts.”!
Ironically, the potential impact of these practices may be slightly reduced by the space of years between when the events took place and the writing of the source material. However, the earlier non-extant sources that the authors drew upon could potentially have been influenced by similar issues. Whilst most of this criticism has been applied to Persian historians and the work produced in the Seljuq power-centres of Baghdad and Isfahan in the east, it signifies the need to use the source material with caution. Regional pride or even bias and the need to praise their ancestors, or the ancestors of their patrons, is a common theme within the source base. However, this is a problem that all historians who write on this subject face, and it can be at least partially mitigated by the use of contemporaneous Latin, Greek, Persian, Syriac and Armenian
source material. Other Sources
The most important Persian and Latin material in relation to this project include Nasir-i Khusraw (d. 465-71/1072-8), a famous poet and Isma‘ili philosopher who travelled through Aleppo, Jerusalem and coastal Palestine on route to perform pilgrimage at Mecca in the fifth/eleventh century;” the anonymous account of the First Crusade known as the Gesta Francorum;” the history of the early Crusading period complied in Germany by talking to eye-witness participants of the conflict in bilad al-sham attributed to Albert of Aachen (d. after 512/1119);”4 the chronicle of the First Crusade and early Crusading period produced by the chaplain of Baldwin I of Jerusalem, Fulcher of Chartres (d. 521/1127);” the complimentary account of the career of Tancred of Antioch by the prominent ecclesiastical figure Ralph of Caen (d. around 513/1120);” the detailed description of the Seljuq campaign of 509/1115 and the battle of the Field of Blood and its aftermath provided by Walter the Chancellor (d. unknown), who served as chancellor of Antioch between 507 and 516/1114 and 1122;” and the highly influential history of the Latin east provided by William of Tyre (d. 582/1186).”
In terms of Armenian and Syriac material, Matthew of Edessa (d. 538/1144)” and Michael the Syrian (d. 595/1199) are of most interest to this book.*”° The Armenian Matthew of Edessa’s chronicle had a wide focus, covering events in Syria, Mesopotamia and the Caucasus region. His coverage of northern Syria, and particularly Antioch, in the fifth/eleventh century is especially detailed. However, we must be aware of Tara Andrews’ argument that Matthew tailored his work, particularly sections concerning the arrival of the Seljuqs and Franks, to fit with Armenian historiographical traditions and prophecies, and it should therefore not be viewed as an ‘objective’ insight into the early Crusading period or the decades preceding it.’”
Michael the Syrian was a high-ranking member of the Syriac Church who held several prominent positions in the Near East. His chronicle appears to have been written over a fifty-year period. It remains a vital source, not only for his own observations, but for the material taken from other non-extant texts.'°’ Other relevant Syriac narrative sources include the Anonymous Syriac Chronicle of 1234 and the history of Bar Hebraeus (d. 685/1286).'”
In terms of Greek material, the accounts of Michael Attaleiates (d. 472/1080)'* and Anna Komnena (d. 548/1153)'” are of most importance for this period. Michael Attaleiates provided detailed information about Emperor Romanos Diogenes IV’s campaign into northern Syria in 461/ 1068-9, while Anna Komnena is an invaluable source for developments in
Anatolia prior to, during and after the First Crusade. The Scope of this Book
The time frame of this monograph enables detailed analysis of the political situation in Syria in the decades leading up to the First Crusade. These findings are then used to contextualise the formative years of the Crusader era. Beginning in 442/1050, rather than adopting the battle of Manzikert in 463/1071 as a starting point, enables a reassessment of the impact of Seljuq potentates upon the region. As will become clear in the first three chapters, the period 442—63/1050-71 is vital for charting the decline of Byzantine and Fatimid influence in bilad al-sham. Correspondingly, 522/1128 provides a clear end-date, marked by the installation of “Imad al-Din Zangi (d. 541/1146) in Aleppo and the death of Tughtegin (d. 522/1128) of Damascus.
The book is divided into two parts. The first examines how the erosion of centralised Byzantine and Fatimid control over bilad al-sham from 453/1062 onwards resulted in the empowerment of local potentates and notables in Aleppo and Damascus. This dynamic was then perpetuated by the fragmentary nature of Seljuq authority in Syria. Granular focus will be placed on contacts between individual polities and a fluctuating farrago of military elites, with special attention paid to struggles over strategically important sites. Chapters 1-3 also explore the ways in which supposedly rigid ethno-cultural and religious hierarchies within the Byzantine, Fatimid and Seljuq spheres of influence were obscured by political realities on the ground in bilad al-sham.
The second part of this book explores the diverse responses of Syrianbased Muslim polities to the onset of the Crusades, questioning the extent to which the Frankish ‘Crusader states’ were ‘integrated’ into the Syrian political system during the early sixth/twelfth century. Chapter 4 asserts that there was a clearly observable, but unsuccessful, military reaction from the Islamic rulers of Syria to the arrival of the Frankish Crusaders. It also scrutinises the appositeness of applying the “Counter-Crusade’ and ‘la maqam’ paradigms prior to 522/1128. Chapter 5 outlines the influential role played by Aleppan notables in the selection of prospective rulers, and defines the territorial frontiers of bilad halab (the country of Aleppo).
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