In North Africa too a series of
independent
States was
gradually formed.
gradually formed.
Cambridge Medieval History - v2 - Rise of the Saracens and Foundation of the Western Empire
They could not
have been surprised if he had not fancied the whole of the west already
conquered, and therefore divided up his army into small detachments.
Or it may be that he was no longer able to keep together the troops,
who were laden with booty. And thus at Tahudha, not far from Biskra,
he suffered the martyr's death (683). This was the signal for a
general rising of the Berbers and the renewal of their co-operation with
the Byzantines. The Arabs were compelled to relinquish Africa, and
Zubair ibn Kais, the commandant of Kairawan, led the troops back.
Kusaila was enabled to wander unpunished with his bands throughout
all Africa. Thus at the time of the death of the Caliph Yazid the
whole of Africa beyond Barka was again lost. This fact further con-
firms our judgment of the vastly too much celebrated 'Ukba.
'Abd-al-Malik attempted as early as 688-689, if we may believe the
unanimous opinion of the Arabs, to restore the Caliph's authority in
Africa. He did not wait, as might have been expected, until after the
conclusion of the civil war against the opposition Caliph, 'Abdallah ibn
Zubair. This new expedition however, commanded by the same Zubair,
did not proceed against the Byzantines, but against Kusaila, for in
all these wars the Byzantine towns managed in a masterly way to make
use of the Berbers as a bulwark. First of all Kairawan which had
drifted under Berber rule was freed, and then a further advance was
made against the Mons Aurasius, Kusaila's base. Kusaila was defeated
in a bloody battle and fell, whilst Zubair's troops penetrated as far as
Sicca Veneria, the present Kef, and it may be even further. The energy
of the Arabs was however then exhausted. On the return march a fate
similar to 'Ukba's overtook Zubair, and from similar causes. The
Byzantines had in fact taken advantage of his absence to attack Barka.
Zubair with a few faithful followers was cut down by them.
Kairawan however remained in the hands of the Arabs and now
began from this point outwards the work of the real pacificator, Hassan ibn
an-Nu'man, though we do not quite know when the arrangement of the
conditions was placed in his hands. As the first Syrian Amir on African
soil he thoroughly understood how to combine severe discipline with
astute diplomacy. In all material points he adopted Dinar's policy.
Like Dinar he recognised in the first instance the Byzantines as his
main enemy. As soon as the arrival of the auxiliary troops sent by
the Caliph permitted him to do so, he advanced against the still
unvanquished Carthage, and conquered it in the summer of 697.
Following this up he defeated the united Byzantines and Berbers at
C. UED. H. VOL. II. C'H. XII. 24
## p. 370 (#402) ############################################
370 Pacification of Africa [698-703
Satfura, to the north-east of Tunis, but without being able to prevent
them from again concentrating at Bizerta. In the autumn of the same
year certainly the Arabs lost Carthage again to the Patricius Johannes,
but his powerful fleet was dispersed in the summer of 698 by a still
greater Arabian fleet, and thus the fate of the town was sealed. From
this time onward the Arabs were supreme at sea, so that it is by no
means the land troops only of Hassan which decided the final fate of
Northern Africa. In his policy towards the Berbers he was at first not
fortunate. A holy prophetess, the so-called Kahina, had roused the
Berber tribes to a united advance and had thus become the successor of
Kusaila. On the banks of the little river Nini, not far distant from
Bagai, on one of the spurs of Mons Aurasius, she defeated Hassan's
army, which was driven back as far as Tripolis. But in the long run
the Kahina was not able to maintain her position, and the clever
diplomacy of Hassan appears also to have won over several tribes and
leaders from her circle. Thus Hassan's final victory over the Kahina a
few years later at Gafes becomes at the same time the commencement
of a fraternisation with the Berbers. It is extremely difficult to fix the
chronological sequence of the fights against the Kahina in regard to
the expeditions against Carthage. If they are placed between the two
conquests of Carthage, as has been done, then the whole chronological
structure falls to pieces; it is therefore the simplest to assume the date
of Hassan's defeat as occurring only after the final fall of Carthage and
to date his victory as about 703. For in the end it was not the land
army but the fleet which rendered possible the occupation and retention
of the Byzantine coast towns. The peace with the Berbers however
led them into the camp of the Arabs and thus too the final fate of such
Byzantine towns as might still be holding out was sealed. And now,
with Islam as their watchword, heads of certain of the Berber tribes,
appointed by the Arabs, advanced against the tribes of the west, who
JAj^mained independent. The prospect of booty and land united the
formeren&nSJ68' wno were moreover so similar to each other in their
whole style oflrVrh2£r; *ne moment now approaches when Africa becomes
too confined for this rieV" wave of population, which the influx of Islam
has brought to flood level. . 3^ latinised and hellenised population of
the towns appears to a large Vxtent to have migrated to Spain and
Sicily, for in a remarkably shorT time Latin civilisation disappeared
from Northern Africa. ',
The Arabs onlv conquered Northern\Africa after they had relinquished
their first policy of plunder for that of as^ermanent occupation. The
commencement of the new policy was 'Ukba'fe foundation of Kairawan.
By that step however in the first place only fthe starting-place for the
raids was changed. Dinar was the first seriously ua consider the question
of not merely plundering the open country but on taking the fortified
towns; and in this design his Berber policy was to support him, These
## p. 371 (#403) ############################################
708-7ii] Invasion of Spain 371
plans however could only be carried out when more troops became
available for Africa after the restoration of unity in the empire by
'Abd-al-Malik, further when the fleet began also to co-operate, and when
simultaneously a clever diplomatist effected the execution of Dinar's
plans in regard to the Berbers in more extended style. This man
however was Hassan ibn an-Nu'man.
'His policy was continued by Musa ibn Nusair, who is regarded in
history as the actual pacificator of Northern Africa and the conqueror
of Spain. Musa appears to have assumed office in the year 708, though
tradition on the point is rather shaky. The first years of his govern-
ment were occupied with the subjection of the western Berbers, the
latter years being devoted to the conquest of Spain, in which work his
freedman and military commander Tarik had paved the way for him.
The conquest of Spain must be ascribed less to the craving of the
Arabs for expansion than to the fact that the newly-subjected tribes
of Moors, whom the prospect of booty had lured to the banner of Islam,
had to be kept employed. At the seat of the Caliphate these far-
reaching enterprises were followed with a certain amount of misgiving.
There certainly was little time available to intervene, for events
followed one after the other in precipitate haste, and the frail kingdom
of the Goths fell into the hands of the conquerors like a ripe fruit by a
windfall. The actual cause is obscure. History tells of disputes in
regard to the succession, and that the last king of the Goths, Roderick,
who succumbed to the Arabs, was a usurper (cf. Chap. vi). Tradition
tells of a certain Count Julian, the Christian ruler of Ceuta, whose
daughter had been violated by Roderick, and who therefore led the
Arabs and Berbers to Spain to satisfy his vengeance. Few characters in
the earlier history of Islam have interested the historians to such an
extent as this Julian, of whom it is not definitely known to which
nation he belonged and to which sovereignty he owed allegiance.
According to the reconstruction of Wellhausen and Codera he was not
named Julian at all, but Urban; he was probably of Moorish ancestry
and a vassal of the Gothic kings, but all beyond this is pure hypothesis.
Induced apparently by the struggles for the throne in the Gothic
kingdom, and probably less with a view to conquer than to plunder,
Tarik crossed into Spain in the year 711 with 7000 Berbers, who were
subsequently supplemented to a total of 12,000, and landed near to the
rock which still bears his name. (Gibraltar = Gebel Tarik = Mount
Tarik. ) After having collected his troops, Tarik appears to have
practised highway robbery along the coast from Gibraltar west-
wards and to have gone around the Laguna de la Janda in the
south. King Roderick opposed him in the valley of the WadI Bekka,
nowadays called Salado, between the lake and the town of Medina
Sidonia. According to the earliest Spanish tradition the site is also
named after the neighbouring Transductine promontory (Cape Spartel).
24—2
## p. 372 (#404) ############################################
372 Conquest of Spain [711-m
It was here, not at Vejer (or Jerez) de la Frontera, that the great decisive
battle was fought in July 711, in which the Gothic army, thanks to the
treachery of Roderick's political enemies, was defeated by Tank's troops.
The king himself probably fell in the battle, for he disappeared at all
events from this day forward1.
This great success led to an unexampled triumphal procession, which
can only be explained by the fact that the rule of the Goths was deeply
hated among the native population. As on Byzantine ground, so here
too had political and religious blunders set the various elements of the
population at variance, and thus prepared the way for the invasion.
The Jews especially, against whom an unscrupulous war of extermination
had been waged by the fanatical orthodox section, welcomed the Arabs
and Berbers as their deliverers. The towns alone, in which the Gothic
knighthood held predominance, offered any effective resistance. Tarik
must have been very accurately informed of the condition of the country;
the authorities represent him as advised in his arrangements for the
whole of the further campaign by Julian (Urban). The sequel certainly
justified the daring plan of pushing forward to Toledo, the capital of
the Gothic kings; the more important cities of the south, e. g. Seville,
were left to themselves, others, as Malaga and Archidona, were subdued
by small detachments; the main body of the army proceeded by Ecija
and Cordova to Toledo. It was only at Ecija that Tarik met with any
vigorous resistance, and at this point a battle ensued, which is described
as the most severe and stubborn of the whole campaign. Cordova and
Toledo fell by treachery. The aristocracy and the higher ranks of the
priesthood did not even await the arrival of the Muslims, but either
repaired to places of safety or sought union with the conquerors.
Tarik was thus master of the half of Spain by the end of the summer
of 711. His unprecedented successes aroused the jealousy of Musa, his
superior officer and patron, who had remained passively in Northern
Africa, because a systematic conquest of Spain was not intended in
Tank's expedition—only one of the customary summer raids of the
Muslim troops. Tarik had however now destroyed the Gothic kingdom.
Musa nevertheless, desiring for himself the fame and the material
advantages attending on the conquest of wealthy Spain, advanced
thither also with 18,000 troops in the following spring, and landed in
June. Purposely avoiding Tank's tracks, he first of all conquered the
towns which still held out, prominent among which were Medina Sidonia.
Carmona and Seville. Seville was the intellectual centre of Spain; it
had been the seat of government for centuries under the Romans, and
under the Goths it had not lost its former splendour. It was only
captured after a siege of several months' duration. From the campaign
of Musa. it can be seen that Tank's stratagem had by no means
destroyed all resistance, but that the heavy work of the conquest of the
1 Another view is fliven in Ch. ti. p. 185.
## p. 373 (#405) ############################################
712-718] Crossing of the Pyrenees 373
country had to follow the rapid occupation of the capital. The Arabs
would scarcely have succeeded in the conquest of Spain without the internal
disorders which had preceded their arrival, and the consequent want of
discipline and unity. Even as it was, after the fall of Seville, Musa
still met with obstinate resistance before Merida, whose impregnable
walls resisted all attempts at undermining. The inhabitants however
finally recognised their advantage in peacefully surrendering the town
(30 June 718). Seville too rose once more in revolt, but was finally
subjugated by Musas son, 'Abd-al-'AzIz. It was only after all these
successes that Musa could enter Toledo, where Tank awaited him.
Musa now vented his anger on his too-successful subordinate, but
soon afterwards the same fate overtook himself. His letter of recall,
signed by the Caliph Walld (713-714), reached him 15 months after
his landing, and but few weeks after his entry into Toledo. The
victorious old man slowly made his way overland, towards Syria, taking
enormous treasures with him. Arabian papyri in the British Museum
have preserved various data in regard to the expenses of provisioning
his princely train during his temporary stay in Egypt. In Damascus he
fell into disfavour and does not again appear in the foreground. His
sons too, of whom he had left 'Abd-al-'Aziz as governor in Spain, and
the others in Africa, did not long enjoy the fruits of their father's great
deeds, for they also were soon either deposed or murdered.
This account of events in the conquest of Spain is chiefly based on
Arabian sources, the importance of which, as compared with the certainly
valuable Latin historians, has been decidedly undervalued in recent
times. According to the latter Musa, and not Tarik, was the actual
conqueror of Spain; they represent Tarik as merely the victor in the
battle at the Transductine promontory, whilst Musa consummated his
triumphal march by the conquest of Toledo; of any opposition between
Musa and Tarik there is no mention. Both groups of authorities agree
in recording that under Musa, or at least by his direction, Saragossa also
was taken. Notwithstanding contradictory reports, it is certain that
Musa did not also cross the Pyrenees.
The crossing of this range did not take place until a few years later
(717 or 718), under the leadership of Musfi's fourth successor, Hurr.
North of the Pyrenees, in the same way as to the south, the quarrels of
the various races offered the Arabs an inducement to invade the country,
and with the then prevalent lack of geographical knowledge the seemingly
possible idea of reaching Constantinople by land from Gaul may have
haunted their brains, for was not the fall of the proud imperial city the
ardently desired end and aim of the foreign policy of the Caliphs? The
leaders of the expeditions sent out from Spain had however more obvious
designs; it was the booty, which might reasonably be looked for in the
rich treasures of the convents and churches of Gaul, which lured them
onwards. The daring march, which subsequently led to the celebrated
## p. 374 (#406) ############################################
374 Battle of Tours [718-759
defeat of Tours or Poitiers, is directly attributed by the authorities to
this lust of booty. The chief officers of the Merovingians were engaged
in fighting with the dukes of Aquitaine. While the France of the future
was gradually gaining ground in the north in the midst of heated
fighting, the dukes of Aquitaine were threatened on all sides. The
Duke Eudo of Aquitaine had to sustain the first onslaught of the
Arabs, and this was finally broken against Eudo's iron-willed adversary,
Charles Martel.
Details of the raids made by Hurr are not known. They were
continued by his successor Samh, who captured Narbonne in 720,
and this formed the base of operations for the Spanish attacking
forces until 759. The further undertakings of Samh however were a
failure. He endeavoured to conquer Toulouse in 721 by attacking it
with battering rams. But Duke Eudo relieved the distressed town and
won a decisive victory. The leader of the Muslims fell in battle. This
was the first great success of a Germanic prince over the Muslims, so
long accustomed to victory. It was not the last; for the later ex-
peditions of the Muslims were no longer crowned with success; in fact
Eudo began to utilise to his own ends the growing difficulties between
the Arabs and the Berbers. After a pause the Spanish Amir 'Abd-ar-
Rahman prepared to strike a great blow. He proceeded in 782 over the
Pyrenees, defeated Duke Eudo between the Garonne and the Dordogne,
and followed to the vicinity of Tours, attracted by the church treasures
of the town. Here he was met by Charles Martel, whom Eudo had
called to his assistance, and was vanquished in the battle of Tours or
Poitiers, 732, which lasted several days. Here the complete superiority
of the northern temperament over that of the southerners displayed
itself. According to the report of the historians the Frankish warriors
stood firm as a wall, inflexible as a block of ice. The light cavalry of the
Caliphs failed against them. It was however not only the temperament,
but also the physical superiority of the Teutons, which asserted itself in
any fighting at close quarters, that won the battle. When the Teutons
after the last day's fighting, in which the Muslims had lost their leader,
wished to renew the struggle, they found that the Arabs had fled. The
entire camp, with the whole of the munitions of war, fell into the hands
of the victors.
The battle of Tours or Poitiers has often been represented as an
event of the first magnitude in the world's history, because after this
the penetration of Islam into Western Europe was finally brought to •
standstill. The Arabs certainly undertook occasional raids, in regard to
which we have but scanty information; they occupied, for instance.
Aries and Narbonne, until they were expelled thence by Charles Martel
and Pepin. In these expeditions however the Arabs only appear as
allies of the grandees of Southern Gaul, who desired with their help to
ward off the advance of Charles. The Caliph Hisham, at that time in
## p. 375 (#407) ############################################
732] Saracen Failures in Gaul 375
power, certainly encouraged a vigorous expansion in connexion with his
policy of restoration; but the attack of the Saracens was no longer
successful, and as early as 759 the Arabs had to relinquish Narbonne,
their last base north of the Pyrenees, to Pepin. The Saracen assault
was therefore apparently broken by the battle of Tours or Poitiers—but
only apparently, for that which might be regarded as cause and effect was
but a chronological coincidence. Every movement has its limits, and the
migration of the Arabs would not have been enough to place the requisite
forces of men in the field for a permanent occupation even of Spain if
they had not sought them outside their own limits among the Berbers.
By joining the Arabs and conquering Spain for them, the Berbers carried
the Saracen movement into another new country, but at the same time
they made it heterogeneous, and as an addition to the internal Arabian
feuds they created a new one, that between Arabs and Berbers. This
strife, still latent during the first years of victory, came to light about
the time of the battle of Tours or Poitiers. But a further cause
rendered additional Saracen raids into Gaul impossible. In the northern
corner of Spain a remnant of the opposition against the penetration of
Islam had preserved its independence as a State; year by year this small
State grew in size, and in a short time it inserted itself like a wedge
between the Arabian magnates and the Pyrenees. On this was founded
the legend of St Pelagius, which is treated more fully in another part of
this work.
Under these circumstances the expansion of the Muslims came to a
natural standstill from internal causes, and the consequences of the
battle of Tours or Poitiers must therefore not be exaggerated. The
plundering of these towns would decidedly not have resulted in a
permanent occupation of Gaul by the Saracens. Their defeat before
Constantinople was of vastly greater significance. The fall of Constan-
tinople would have entirely remodelled the history of the East, as in
fact it did, seven centuries later.
The battle then of Tours or Poitiers marked the extreme point of
advance of the Saracens into Western Europe, but it was not the cause
of the sudden stoppage, or rather recess of the movement. That fact
lay, as above stated, in the feud between Arabs and Berbers. This strife
was bound to be so much the more fatal for the Arabs, as at the same
time the discord between Kais and Kalb in the East made its influence
felt in the West also, and thus broke up the compact unity of the
hitherto paramount nationality. The details of this process have little
value for the history of the Saracen expansion treated in these chapters.
A brief description of the principal events will suffice to explain the
other great advance of the Saracens against Mid-Europe (Sicily, Sardinia
and South Italy).
The whole of the western portion of the empire of the Caliph, the
so-called Maghrib, i. e. Northern Africa and Spain, was placed after the
## p. 376 (#408) ############################################
376 Disturbances under Hishdm [c. 730
completion of the conquest under various governors, who had their
seat of government in Kairawan. The Spanish sub-prefects however
often had an almost independent position. They resided at first at
Seville, but shortly afterwards chose as the seat of government
Cordova, which was thus destined for centuries to become the brilliant
residence of the western Caliphate. Until its secession from the eastern
main empire, and in fact for centuries afterwards, the destinies of Spain
were united in the closest manner with those of Northern Africa through
the Berbers, who were now settled on both sides of the Straits of
Gibraltar. Thus it came that Spain, on the outbreak of Berber unrest
in Northern Africa, was at once drawn into this fatal movement. The
only difference was that in Northern Africa the Berbers were the
subjects, who had however expected to attain an equal footing with
the Arabs by the adoption of Islam, whilst in Spain the Arabs and
Berbers had together conquered a foreign land, whose wealth and
territory they divided. At this stage the Arabs committed the great
mistake of shewing themselves too ostentatiously as the masters, i. e.
in Africa they proceeded arrogantly and violently against the proud
Berbers, who had cost so much trouble to subdue, whilst in Spain they
allotted the Berbers the worst portion of the booty. This caused a
first revolt, which was however but partial. The Berber Munusa in
Northern Spain declared his independence, and entered into friendly,
even family connexions with the Duke Eudo. His call however found
but little response among his countrymen, and he was put down with
little trouble (729 or 730).
More serious were the developments in Africa. It was at the
time of Caliph Hisham, under whom the revision of Omar's system
of taxation, which had gradually become a necessity, was enforced more
generally and energetically. The bureaucracy which accompanied this
revision, and the Asiatic despotism which was gradually creeping in,
were nowhere so unsuitable as in the mountain homes of the Berbers,
who were only held in check by diplomacy and the prospect of booty.
As with the Orientals in general and especially with the Berbers every
national or economical opposition easily assumes a religious tinge, so it
was in this case too. We have already spoken of the Kharijites, who
had detached themselves from Ali after the battle of Siffin. Their
doctrine was that of the absolute sovereignty of the people, who were
justified at all times in deposing an unjust Caliph or Imam. We have
already indicated that the Umayyads had much trouble with these
people. The profession of the doctrine of the Kharijites was one of
the most important forms in which the opposition against the growing
despotism and the bureaucracy found expression, especially among the
old-Arabian circles, just as, among the Persians, this opposition took
the form of the ShI'a. With the increasing tension betwixt Umayyad
ti'oops and the Berber populace, the Kharijite ideas had an unsuspected
## p. 377 (#409) ############################################
741-745] Fall of the Umayyads ',■ 377
spread among the latter. And as the Arabs had now lost their readiness
for battle by reason of their tribal feuds, the Berbers ventured, under
the Caliph Hisham, openly to secede. After local revolts, which were
quickly suppressed, a serious rebellion began in the extreme west. The
whole territory of what is now called Morocco within a short period
shook off the domination of the Arabs (741). Hisham hereupon sent
a powerful army, composed of the best Syrian troops, to Africa, and it
was intended that this force should co-operate with the garrisons already
there. But the feuds amongst the Arabs themselves more than counter-
balanced their better equipment, and in consequence the Berbers won a
mighty victory (741) at the river Sebu, or, as the best Latin authority
gives it, "super Huvium Nauam," and thus put in doubt the supremacy
of the Arabs. Later on numerous fugitives crossed over into Spain and
brought new confusion into the confusion there prevailing. But here as
there for a short period the authority of Damascus was once more
restored. Hanzala ibn §afwan, the new governor, managed by time-
honoured methods to prevent common action on the part of the Berbers,
and then later vanquished the main body of the Berber troops (742) at
Asnam, not far from Kairawan. His representative, 'Abu-1-Khattar,
then enforced order in Spain. The Berber revolt was thus broken, but
it was the Berbers notwithstanding, and not the Arabs, who decided the
destinies of the countries. Though the majority returned to Muslim
orthodoxy, remnants of the Kharijites have maintained their position
in Northern Africa even to the present day, under the name of Ibadites.
This peace lasted scarcely three years. Spain arose out of the new
tumults as an independent State, for which a period of high prosperity
was in prospect.
In North Africa too a series of independent States was
gradually formed. After the residence of the Caliph had been removed
nearer to Central Asia it was probably natural that the Mediter-
ranean territories, inhabited by a vigorous population, should begin
a separate existence as States. After the fall of the Umayyads the
countries to the east of Barka, permeated by the Saracen expansion, only
occasionally and then only nominally held common cause with the
Eastern Empire. The first usurper preserved at least the appearance of
dependence. In the year 745 'Abd-ar-Rahman ibn Habib, of the tribe
of Fihr, declared himself in Tunis independent of the governor Hanzala,
who had conducted the affairs of the Maghrib since the revolt of
Kairawan. Belonging to a race long tried and approved on African
soil, 'Abd-ar-Rahman could count on followers by reason of the universal
discontent. By a brutal intrigue he compelled Hanzala to leave Africa
without drawing the sword. The last of the Umayyads, Marwan, sub-
sequently legalised the de facto authority of 'Abd-ar-Rahman. For this
'Abd-ar-Rahman paid a small tribute and named the Caliph in his pulpit
prayers, but he was otherwise his own master; and his position was not
influenced by the change in the dynasty in the East. When the rule of
## p. 378 (#410) ############################################
378 Saracen Kingdoms in Northern Africa [754-800
the Abbasids had become consolidated and it was proposed to make an
energetic attack on him from Bagdad, he renounced his obedience to
the Abbasids and received fugitive Umayyads as honoured guests in
Kairawan (754-755). These Umayyad princes however brought discord
into 'Abd-ar-Rahman's family, in connexion with which he himself and
two of the princes met their deaths. A third prince, 'Abd-ar-Rahman
ibn Mu'awiya, forced his way through to Spain and became the founder
of the western Caliphate. In Africa the murder of Ibn Habib led to a
general disorganisation and set free all the tendencies towards decentral-
isation. Independent Berber dynasties arose in the extreme West, as
for instance the Banu Midrar in Sijilmasa (757) and Banu Rustam in
Tahert (761), the latter under the banner of the Kharijites; in the
nearer West the Arabs on the one hand and the Berbers, who had also
separated into parties, on the other, fought for the possession of
Kairawan, which did not again acknowledge the authority of the
Abbasids until 761, and then only for a short time; the province of
Africa, as far as to the border of Algeria, was once more restored,
though with disturbances and interruptions, but the whole of the far
West remained irretrievably lost.
Here in the far West a third State was soon founded. A descendant
of Ali named Idris, who had fled from the Abbasids, created for himself,
in the year 788, an independent kingdom, which soon extended eastward
to beyond the town of Tlemcen. Here again a clever leader managed to
unite the Berbers by a religious party-cry. The kingdom of the Idrisids
was the first Shi'ite State founded in the West.
The remainder of the province of Maghrib once so extensive was
moreover destined to make itself independent in the last decade of the
eighth century. The constant dissensions between the Arab leaders and
tribes could no longer be permanently controlled by the governors sent
from Bagdad. The Amir of Mzab (in the back-country of Algeria) Ibrahim
ibn Aghlab, who had grown up in Africa, and whose father had been
the means of reconquering the Mzab, was on the other hand the right
man in the right place to restore state authority (800). When he had
succeeded in this however he demanded from the Caliph the hereditary
investiture in return for payment of a tribute and the customary
naming of the Caliph in the pulpit prayers and on the coinage. This
amounted to complete independence. Thus arose the dynasty of the
Aghlabids of Kairawan, which gave to Africa a series of clever, but
also often worthless, rulers. In proportion to the smallness of their
kingdom they had a considerable naval force, and thus they became the
leaders of the expansion of Islam into Mid-Europe. It was under them
that Sicily was conquered.
Before turning however to Sicily, we must still sketch the further
destinies of Northern Africa, in as far as it is connected with the history
of Islam in Southern Europe. In spite of their brilliant performances
## p. 379 (#411) ############################################
909—H71] Idrisids and Fatimites 379
the authority of the Aghlabids was in a tottering state. The diversion
to Sicily of the generals and troops, always inclining towards insub-
ordination, gave them a respite for a considerable time; after lasting
for a century their kingdom was destroyed by the political lack of
discipline of the Berber tribes and by bloody quarrels within the dynasty
itself.
These conditions were cleverly utilised by the Shi'ite opposition,
which just at that time, after many ill-successes in Asia, had pushed
forward into Africa, where the propaganda of the Idrisids had paved
the way for them. The leader of the movement was named 'Ubaidallah,
whose descent from AH is by no means established beyond doubt; the
race itself however was called, after Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet,
the Fatimites. When 'Ubaidallah had become master of the situation
in the year 909, through the fortunate trend of circumstances and
his skill in recruiting, he assumed the cognomen Mahdi, i. e. the
directed one, a title in which the old claims of Alfs kinsmen to the
Caliphate found expression. Mahdi founded a new capital, Mahdiya,
and established a State which for centuries held the supremacy in the
eastern Mediterranean. For this end of course the possession of Egypt
was needed, but the acquisition of this was first effected by Mu'izz
(969), Mahdrs third successor, who was the founder of Cairo. The
centre of gravity of the Fatimite kingdom was now transferred eastward,
especially when Syria also was conquered. Africa soon attained inde-
pendence again as a State under Yusuf Bulukkin, a Berber of the
Sanhaja, the governor appointed by the Fatimites; Yusuf founded the
dynasty of the Zlrids (972-1148), alongside of whom the Hammadids
held their ground in the West, and specially in Algeria, from 1107 till
1152. The kingdom of the Idrisids in Morocco had in the meantime
been split up into a number of petty principalities. The Fatimites
however remained the rulers of the eastern territory, and under them
Egypt experienced its most brilliant times, but suffered also its worst
defeat. In 1171 the heir to the Fatimite kingdom was Salad in.
We were compelled to give an anticipatory sketch of the history of
North Africa until the commencement of the times of the Crusades, in
order to understand the second great advance of the Saracens against
Sicily and Southern Italy as one connected whole. Incidents from the
standpoint of individual countries, these regular attacks of the Muslims
on Mid-Europe are presented, in the light of universal history, as a
connected movement, which naturally closes with the occupation of
Sicily and also of parts of the Continent. As in Spain, the reaction of
the Christian world follows upon the action of Islam. Just as they
came, so the Muslims are gradually forced back. Here we have to do
with the forward action alone, and though from chance reasons this
took place much later in Sicily and Italy than in Spain or Asia Minor,
yet its description comes notwithstanding within the scope of a general
## p. 380 (#412) ############################################
380 First Raids on Sicily [c. 664
history of the expansion of the Saracens, for the conquest of Sicily is
connected in the most intimate way with the occupation of Northern
Africa, and could only succeed after the conditions in the latter territory
had somewhat improved. It is the same movement which took the
Saracens across the Straits of Gibraltar. The subsequent advance of
the world of Islam against Eastern Europe and the occupation of
Constantinople by the Turks are in no way connected with the original
movement as described here; the events now related below are the hut
ramification of the Arabian exodus.
As Michele Amari says in his classical work on the Muslims in Sicily,
only a glance at the map is needed to shew that Sicily must be
involved in continuous war with the Saracens after their occupation
of Africa. And yet this same great historian represents the first naval
expedition against Sicily not as starting from Africa but from Syria,
and that too at a time when the subsequent Caliph Mu'awiya was still
governor of Syria. The strongly contradictory reports about this event
may most easily be reconciled by regarding the first appearance of an
Arabian fleet in Sicily as taking place under the Caliphate of Mu'awiya,
and connecting it with the expedition of his African governor, Mu'awiya
ibn Hudaij, against the Byzantines (664). Arabian tradition also
accepts this Ibn Hudaij as the leader. It is quite probable that he
himself never saw Sicily, but that the raid was made under his orders by
his representative, 'Abdallah ibn Kais. It is however quite certain that
this naval expedition did not start from Syria but from the Pentapolis
(Barka); the Syrian fleet had opportunities of booty nearer home; of
the Pentapolis however we learn from the papyri that it was an
important naval base in the seventh century, and here the fleet operating
in the west received recruits from the fleets coming from Egypt. This
opportunity serves to point out once again that, with the exception oi
special occasions the regular war of the Arabs against the Byzantines
consisted of individual summer campaigns, which bore the name Kovpavi
and took place by water or on land. From this old custom piracy, that
terrible scourge of the western Mediterranean, was developed in course
of time as the great kingdoms became split up into small states, and the
name Corsair is also etymologically related to the word Kovp<rov. The
despatch of the fleet by Ibn Hudaij was such a Kovpaov. The booty
consisted of captive women and church treasures, images, which according
to the Arabian historians Mu'awiya endeavoured to sell for gold a>
quickly as possible among the idol-worshipping Indians.
Just as this first expedition against Sicily was connected with
the occupation of Northern Africa, so we must not disconnect the
occasional raids of the following decades from the ever-increasing use of
the fleet in the western seat of war. It can therefore cause no surprise
that during the regime of the great pacificators of the Berbers, tV.
under Hassan and Musfi, war was waged on Sicily more frequently.
## p. 381 (#413) ############################################
740—827] Conquest of Sicily 381
At that time also the small island of Pantellaria, the stepping-stone
between Africa and Sicily, was occupied by the Arabs, and Sardinia was
plundered. It is needless to recount in detail all these numerous
piratical expeditions against the islands of the Mediterranean. They
were the terror of the residents on the coast, but very little was in reality
attained by them. In any case Sicily must have been well defended. But
if Syracuse itself could only purchase the retirement of 'Abd-ar-Rahman
ibn Habib by payment of tribute (740), and even if this ruler, after
acquiring the sovereignty in Northern Africa, attempted to gain Sicily
also, these matters were but incidents which had no influence on the
course of history. During the second half of the eighth century Sicily
was scarcely troubled at all by its tormentors, for, as we have seen,
Northern Africa was almost in a state of anarchy.
It was not until after a more powerful State had been formed by the
Aghlabids that the expeditions against Sicily were at once renewed.
Not only the Aghlabids but also the Idrisids and even the Spanish
Muslims took part in these piratical raids, each as a rule on their own
account but occasionally working conjointly. When the Sicilians had
perhaps succeeded in completing a treaty with the Aghlabids and
looked forward to a period of rest and peace, then the vessels of the
Idrisids would suddenly appear. A large proportion of these ex-
peditions have another connexion, for the raids are episodes in the long
fight between the Franks and the Spanish Umayyads, but in the case of
many of these sudden attacks we cannot now determine the State to
which the Saracens in question belonged. One expedition in the year
813 is specially well known to us, because it advanced far to the north-
ward and even touched on Nice and Civita Vecchia. In the same year
or shortly afterwards Reggio also received a first Saracenic visitation.
Corsica in particular was in the midst of the fighting, whilst Sardinia
was better able to defend itself; the smaller islands, eg. the Pontine
group and even Ischia (8-12 Aug. 812), were occasionally attacked—in
fact, a revival of the Saracen expansion began. But still great successes
could not be recorded, for on the one hand various Saracenic fleets were
lost at sea through storms, and on the other hand not only the
Byzantines but also Charles the Great took energetic steps to secure
their lands against the ravages of the Saracens, though they generally
confined themselves to acting on the defensive. As for such a thing as
paying the Saracens off in their own coin by undertaking a piratical
expedition to Northern Africa, that occurred but once, when the African
coast between Utica and Carthage was terrorised by a small Frankish
fleet under Earl Bonifacius of Tyrrhenia.
There was no really serious advance of the Saracens against European
territory, until the year 827. Acting not on their own initiative, but
called in to the assistance of a Christian insurrection, the Aghlabids
conquered the rich island of Sicily. By this means an outpost of Islam
## p. 382 (#414) ############################################
382 Conquest of Sicily [829—859
was pushed forward close to Italy, and it followed as a matter of course
that the Saracens became an important factor in the diversified confusion
of the States of Central and Southern Italy.
The occasion was a military revolt, such as was of everyday occurrence
in Sicily, the "Siberia" of the Byzantine Empire. The details are not
clear, but we may probably assume, with Amari, that Euphemius, the
leader of the rebels, was compelled to flee from the Byzantine governor,
Photeinos. He went to Africa to Ziyadatallah I, the third prince of
the race of Aghlabids, requested help, and promised, after the conquest
of the island, to regard himself as Ziyadatallah's vassal. The latter
took counsel with his all-powerful minister, the Kadi Asad ibn al-Furat,
then seventy years of age, who, as head of the clergy, was leader of the
internal policy of the Aghlabids, founded as it was on orthodoxy, and
who moreover must be described as a military leader of eminence. The
opportunity was favourable, and therefore no delay could be brooked in
carrying the religious war to the long-coveted island. Apart from this,
no better opportunity could be found to keep the ever-insubordinate
Arabs and Berbers employed. Thus the undertaking was resolved on
and at once commenced.
The aged Kadi himself undertook to lead the army, consisting of
11,000 men, which landed at Mazara, defeated Photeinos and advanced
to Syracuse. But at this stage of the proceedings a reverse followed.
The town was impregnable; an epidemic, to which Asad himself succumbed,
broke out among the besieging troops; Euphemius was murdered; the
Byzantines sent fresh troops, but Ziyadatallah was unable to send
reinforcements on account of the unrest in Africa. The Africans there-
fore were compelled to retire on Mazara and Mineo, and it began to
appear as if this energetic attempt to conquer the island would fail.
The blockaded Africans however were relieved by Spanish co-religionists
(829), and then the aspect of affairs was changed. Palermo was
conquered in the beginning of September 831 by fresh troops from
Africa. The Muslims even began to form connexions with the States
on the Continent, of which we shall see more presently. The Byzantines
were forced back step by step. For all that, the war lasted over ten
years longer before the capture of Messina (probably 843) by the Aghlabid
prince, Abu-1-Aghlab Ibrahim. Byzantium could no longer help the
Sicilians, for all the troops were required in the East. They still
held out however at a few points. The apparently impregnable Castro-
giovanni, situated on a high sugar-loaf mountain, which even to the
present has maintained a remarkably sinister medieval character, did
not fall till the year 859, after a long defence, into the hands of
'Abbas ibn al-Fadl, who had succeeded Ibrahim. But the energy of
the undisciplined African soldiery did not last beyond this stage, and
even before the island was completely conquered the Arabs and Berbers
were at daggers drawn and the Saracenic advance appears to have
## p. 383 (#415) ############################################
814-1061] Invasion of Italy 383
come to a standstill here from the same reasons as in Southern France.
The last energetic prince of the house of the Aghlabids, Ibrahim II,
further succeeded (21 May 878) in capturing and destroying Syracuse.
Later on he came himself to Sicily and attacked with brutal cruelty the
only Christian communities who were still independent, in the Etnadistrict,
and he also destroyed Taormina (902). The conquest of Sicily was thus
completed. The re-conquest by the Normans did not begin till 1061.
Ibrahim II met his death in the same year before Cosenza, after
having carried the religious war across the straits into Calabria. He
was not the first Saracen on Italian ground, for immediately after the
conquest of Palermo the Aghlabid generals had interfered in the
internecine quarrels of the Lombard States in Southern Italy, and thus
these Aghlabids had soon become the terror of Southern and Central
Italy. Everyone who has travelled along the incomparable coast
between Naples and Palermo knows the numerous "Saracen towers,'" the
ruins of the coastguard towers, from which the approach of Sicilian or
African fleets had to be announced. Even to-day, in the time of a
peaceful, money-bringing invasion of foreigners, there still dwells in the
memories of the people occupying this favoured country the recollection
of that other invasion of quite other character, the Saracen calamity,
which for centuries restricted all healthy development. This forms the
final chapter in the spread of Islam into Central Europe. In depicting
it we must rely mostly on western sources, as the Arab-Berber robber-
States which sprang up in Southern Italy never attained civilisation
enough to have literary records, and Sicilian and Eastern writers tell us
little about Italy1.
As in Sicily so in Italy the Saracens did not come without an appeal.
For a long time past the Duchy of Benevento had endeavoured to annex
the free town of Naples, which was besieged at various times and was
compelled to agree to the payment of a tribute, which however was
at once suspended whenever any resistance appeared possible. After
having unsuccessfully requested Louis the Pious (814-840) to intervene,
and having also been unable to find any sufficiently powerful allies in
his own neighbourhood, Duke Andreas of Naples turned to the Saracens
in Sicily. These availed themselves eagerly of this opportunity to
interfere in Italy and in the year 837 they relieved Naples, at that time
besieged by Duke Sikard of Benevento. Sikard retired with indignation,
but the alliance thus formed by Naples lasted for many a long year to
the benefit of both parties. The Duchy of Benevento was a natural
enemy to both of them and it could not be otherwise than agreeable to
the Neapolitans when, shortly afterwards, Sikard's troops were defeated
by Saracens at Brindisi, and the town itself was burnt. In fact Naples
even returned the assistance rendered in 837 by helping the Saracens in
842-843 to conquer Messina.
1 The following account utilises the results of Aniari and Lokys.
f
## p. 384 (#416) ############################################
384 Dealings of Sikonolf [839-844
After SikarcTs death the Duchy of Benevento was divided into two
principalities; Radelchis resided in Benevento and Sikonolf in Salerno,
and the two were constantly fighting. This self-destruction on the part
of the sole great power of Southern Italy was of course in the highest
degree welcome to the Saracens. Sikard died in 839, and immediately
afterwards the Saracens of Sicily were once more in Calabria. They even
advanced as far as Apulia, and though the conquest of Bari was not at
first attained, Taranto fell and was not relieved even with the help of
the Venetians, whom the Byzantines had called to their assistance
(840). The victorious Muslims pushed forward to the Adriatic, burned
Ossero on the island of Cherso, and Ancona, and even appeared
temporarily in the neighbourhood of Venice, whose trading ships they
captured. In 842 also the Venetians suffered a further defeat. Bari,
which was to be the main base of the Saracens for thirty years, had
already fallen (probably 841). Radelchis, pressed hard by Sikonolf, had
called the masters of Sicily to his assistance, and they had begun by
taking Bari from their ally. Radelchis had of course in his distress to
accept this with a good grace and come to terms with these strange and
unruly allies. The Saracens under the Berber Khalfun advanced from
Bari as a base against Sikonolf, but after a bloody battle they were
driven back on Bari, which in the meantime they had converted into a
strong fortress. As the Muslims constantly received reinforcements this
one victory served Sikonolf but little; and Radelchis too, especially after
he had received (in 842), whether he liked it or not, his infidel allies under
the leadership of Masar into his capital, Benevento, became the puppet
of the Saracens, who ravaged the whole country with their despotism
and cruelty—a terrible scourge for friend and foe alike.
In spite of all such misfortunes however Radelchis was of course
under the circumstances victorious over his adversary. As Sikonolf could
not help himself in any other way, he too sought Saracen allies. He is
said to have applied to the Spaniards, whose numerous raids into
Provence, Northern Italy and in fact as far afield as Switzerland do not
come within the scope of this chapter. It is moreover much more
probable that Sikonolf did not draw his auxiliaries directly from the
Iberian peninsula, but from Crete, where a Muslim robber-State had
been in existence since 826, founded there by Spanish Saracens who had
been expelled for mutiny from their country. With these new troops,
who were more easily governed, as they had no neighbouring great
power on whose support they could calculate, Sikonolf succeeded in
defeating his opponent and locking him up in Benevento. He was
however unable to take the town owing to difficulties in his own camp,
and so everything remained in the same state as before. Masar with his
Saracens swept through the whole country, plundering as he went, and
undertook expeditions far towards the north.
These advances however of the Saracens, starting from Bari and
## p. 385 (#417) ############################################
845-849] • Attack on Rome 385
Benevento, were not the only raids with which the unfortunate country
was infested. The large ports of the western coast were in constant
dread of unpleasant surprises, for in the year 845 the Sicilians had
chosen Ponza and Ischia as naval bases, to which moreover they soon
added Cape Miseno. The towns of Naples, Gaeta, Amalfi and Sorrento
formed an alliance for the purpose of mutual defence, as the Duke of
Salerno was not in a position to assist them. In the following years the
Muslims prepared to deal a severe blow. For a long time Rome with
its vast church treasures had tempted them. On 23 Aug. 846, a fleet of
73 vessels, stated to have been manned by 1100 Muslims, appeared
before Ostia, and in the early morning of 26 August the Saracens stood
before the walls of Rome, where they plundered the quarters of the town
lying outside the walls, especially the church of St Peter and the
cathedral of St Paul, and they broke open the graves of the apostolic
prelates. Unfortunately the information we have respecting this event
is extremely scanty and it is moreover distorted by legend, for the very
idea of the hordes of the false prophet having ravaged in the capital of
Christendom gave a magnificent scope for the imagination of the western
world. God himself immediately afterwards seemed to desire to avenge this
visitation, for after a few successes before Gaeta, whither the Saracens had
withdrawn from Rome, and just when they proposed to return, their entire
fleet, conveying all their stolen treasures, was destroyed in a storm (847).
The impression made by these events was enormous. In 847 King
Louis II appeared in Southern Italy, defeated the Saracens and
conquered Benevento. With the disputing parties there he arranged
that thev should make common cause against the infidels in Bari and
Taranto. This plan was frustrated through the selfish policy of the
small States of Southern Italy. Nothing was effected against the con-
tinued piratical raids of the Sicilians. It was not until the year 849,
when the Saracens planned another great expedition against Rome and
collected for this purpose in Sardinia, that the seaports of the western
coast united for the defence of Rome. The fleets met before Ostia, and
the fight had already begun when the elements waxed tempestuous and
the naval battle and the Sicilian fleet came to a sudden and violent end.
The Italian fleet was probably also destroyed—information on the point
is missing—but the sacred city was rescued. Even now, in the Stanzas
of the Vatican, the celebrated picture of this sea fight, painted from
sketches by Raphael, recalls this wonderful rescue of Rome.
Even though these naval expeditions were but episodes, the Saracen
fortress at Bari was a constant menace to Southern Italy. The successes
gained by King Louis had been lost again immediately after his departure,
and Bari once more extended its power to Benevento. Louis II, who
had in the meantime been crowned as Emperor, was therefore compelled
once more to decide on an expedition to the south. On this occasion he
advanced on Bari, but was unable to capture it, as his vassal States failed
C. MED. H. VOL. II. CH. XII. 25
## p. 386 (#418) ############################################
386 Successes of Louis II [852-875
him at the critical moment. However he managed to obtain possession
of Benevento for the second time, and he caused the Saracen leader Masar
to be executed (28 May 852). The Saracen commander-in-chief in
Sicily, 'Abbas ibn al-Fadl, avenged this deed by plundering and occupying
the Calabrian coast.
The same performance was repeated as after the first departure
of Louis. Meanwhile Mufarrij ibn Salim had taken up Khalfun>
position at Bari. He took his revenge for past failures by founding an
independent State, declaring his allegiance directly to the Abbasic
Caliph. His successor assumed the title of Sultan, thus proclaiming his
independence of the Sicilian Amir. Little is known of the doings of
these rulers of Bari, who were probably soldier-emperors like the sub-
sequent Mamelukes in Egypt. The country as far as Central Italy lay
defenceless at their feet, as the troubles in the territory of the old
Duchy of Benevento became greater and greater, and prevented all
defence. The western historians give the most incredible reports of the
bloodthirstiness of these sultans. Capua and Naples had to suffer tit
most, but the rich monasteries further to the north, as San Vincenzo on
the Volturno, and Monte Cassino, also saw the enemy either within their
walls, or at least before them.
In order to put a stop to this distress the Emperor once more
undertook (866) a great expedition against the Saracens, and finally
forced them back on Bari and Taranto. In order to subjugate Ban
however a fleet was necessary, and after long negotiations this *as
eventually placed at his disposal by the Byzantines. By co-operation
at this stage the two emperors and their vassals at last succeeded
(2 Feb. 871) in breaking the power of Bari. On his way to Taranto
however to take this last bulwark from the Muslims the Emperor w&*
compelled to fall back on Ravenna, and this too through the treachery
of the self-same petty princes, whom he had just rescued from the
severest distress. At the same time the Saracens appeared once more.
this time on the western coast, and attacked Salerno, pushing forward
also even as far as Capua. Louis sent help once more, and the Saracens
were defeated at Capua on the Volturno, whereupon they left Italy-
but only to return shortly afterwards with renewed forces. They did not
meet the Emperor again in the south. He died in 875 in Northern
Italy, and with his death all his successes appear to have vanished.
At this point Byzantium assumed the moral heritage of the
Carolingian and profited by his deeds. The further struggle with the
Saracens and their final expulsion from Italy belongs to the great
Byzantine restoration under the Macedonian emperors of the Basiliss
dynasty. A few words only may here be added in regard to the con-
clusion of the Saracen domination on Italian soil. With the consent
of the residents the Byzantines, who were up to that time stationed
in Syracuse, had also settled in Bari. The loss of Syracuse in the I
## p.
have been surprised if he had not fancied the whole of the west already
conquered, and therefore divided up his army into small detachments.
Or it may be that he was no longer able to keep together the troops,
who were laden with booty. And thus at Tahudha, not far from Biskra,
he suffered the martyr's death (683). This was the signal for a
general rising of the Berbers and the renewal of their co-operation with
the Byzantines. The Arabs were compelled to relinquish Africa, and
Zubair ibn Kais, the commandant of Kairawan, led the troops back.
Kusaila was enabled to wander unpunished with his bands throughout
all Africa. Thus at the time of the death of the Caliph Yazid the
whole of Africa beyond Barka was again lost. This fact further con-
firms our judgment of the vastly too much celebrated 'Ukba.
'Abd-al-Malik attempted as early as 688-689, if we may believe the
unanimous opinion of the Arabs, to restore the Caliph's authority in
Africa. He did not wait, as might have been expected, until after the
conclusion of the civil war against the opposition Caliph, 'Abdallah ibn
Zubair. This new expedition however, commanded by the same Zubair,
did not proceed against the Byzantines, but against Kusaila, for in
all these wars the Byzantine towns managed in a masterly way to make
use of the Berbers as a bulwark. First of all Kairawan which had
drifted under Berber rule was freed, and then a further advance was
made against the Mons Aurasius, Kusaila's base. Kusaila was defeated
in a bloody battle and fell, whilst Zubair's troops penetrated as far as
Sicca Veneria, the present Kef, and it may be even further. The energy
of the Arabs was however then exhausted. On the return march a fate
similar to 'Ukba's overtook Zubair, and from similar causes. The
Byzantines had in fact taken advantage of his absence to attack Barka.
Zubair with a few faithful followers was cut down by them.
Kairawan however remained in the hands of the Arabs and now
began from this point outwards the work of the real pacificator, Hassan ibn
an-Nu'man, though we do not quite know when the arrangement of the
conditions was placed in his hands. As the first Syrian Amir on African
soil he thoroughly understood how to combine severe discipline with
astute diplomacy. In all material points he adopted Dinar's policy.
Like Dinar he recognised in the first instance the Byzantines as his
main enemy. As soon as the arrival of the auxiliary troops sent by
the Caliph permitted him to do so, he advanced against the still
unvanquished Carthage, and conquered it in the summer of 697.
Following this up he defeated the united Byzantines and Berbers at
C. UED. H. VOL. II. C'H. XII. 24
## p. 370 (#402) ############################################
370 Pacification of Africa [698-703
Satfura, to the north-east of Tunis, but without being able to prevent
them from again concentrating at Bizerta. In the autumn of the same
year certainly the Arabs lost Carthage again to the Patricius Johannes,
but his powerful fleet was dispersed in the summer of 698 by a still
greater Arabian fleet, and thus the fate of the town was sealed. From
this time onward the Arabs were supreme at sea, so that it is by no
means the land troops only of Hassan which decided the final fate of
Northern Africa. In his policy towards the Berbers he was at first not
fortunate. A holy prophetess, the so-called Kahina, had roused the
Berber tribes to a united advance and had thus become the successor of
Kusaila. On the banks of the little river Nini, not far distant from
Bagai, on one of the spurs of Mons Aurasius, she defeated Hassan's
army, which was driven back as far as Tripolis. But in the long run
the Kahina was not able to maintain her position, and the clever
diplomacy of Hassan appears also to have won over several tribes and
leaders from her circle. Thus Hassan's final victory over the Kahina a
few years later at Gafes becomes at the same time the commencement
of a fraternisation with the Berbers. It is extremely difficult to fix the
chronological sequence of the fights against the Kahina in regard to
the expeditions against Carthage. If they are placed between the two
conquests of Carthage, as has been done, then the whole chronological
structure falls to pieces; it is therefore the simplest to assume the date
of Hassan's defeat as occurring only after the final fall of Carthage and
to date his victory as about 703. For in the end it was not the land
army but the fleet which rendered possible the occupation and retention
of the Byzantine coast towns. The peace with the Berbers however
led them into the camp of the Arabs and thus too the final fate of such
Byzantine towns as might still be holding out was sealed. And now,
with Islam as their watchword, heads of certain of the Berber tribes,
appointed by the Arabs, advanced against the tribes of the west, who
JAj^mained independent. The prospect of booty and land united the
formeren&nSJ68' wno were moreover so similar to each other in their
whole style oflrVrh2£r; *ne moment now approaches when Africa becomes
too confined for this rieV" wave of population, which the influx of Islam
has brought to flood level. . 3^ latinised and hellenised population of
the towns appears to a large Vxtent to have migrated to Spain and
Sicily, for in a remarkably shorT time Latin civilisation disappeared
from Northern Africa. ',
The Arabs onlv conquered Northern\Africa after they had relinquished
their first policy of plunder for that of as^ermanent occupation. The
commencement of the new policy was 'Ukba'fe foundation of Kairawan.
By that step however in the first place only fthe starting-place for the
raids was changed. Dinar was the first seriously ua consider the question
of not merely plundering the open country but on taking the fortified
towns; and in this design his Berber policy was to support him, These
## p. 371 (#403) ############################################
708-7ii] Invasion of Spain 371
plans however could only be carried out when more troops became
available for Africa after the restoration of unity in the empire by
'Abd-al-Malik, further when the fleet began also to co-operate, and when
simultaneously a clever diplomatist effected the execution of Dinar's
plans in regard to the Berbers in more extended style. This man
however was Hassan ibn an-Nu'man.
'His policy was continued by Musa ibn Nusair, who is regarded in
history as the actual pacificator of Northern Africa and the conqueror
of Spain. Musa appears to have assumed office in the year 708, though
tradition on the point is rather shaky. The first years of his govern-
ment were occupied with the subjection of the western Berbers, the
latter years being devoted to the conquest of Spain, in which work his
freedman and military commander Tarik had paved the way for him.
The conquest of Spain must be ascribed less to the craving of the
Arabs for expansion than to the fact that the newly-subjected tribes
of Moors, whom the prospect of booty had lured to the banner of Islam,
had to be kept employed. At the seat of the Caliphate these far-
reaching enterprises were followed with a certain amount of misgiving.
There certainly was little time available to intervene, for events
followed one after the other in precipitate haste, and the frail kingdom
of the Goths fell into the hands of the conquerors like a ripe fruit by a
windfall. The actual cause is obscure. History tells of disputes in
regard to the succession, and that the last king of the Goths, Roderick,
who succumbed to the Arabs, was a usurper (cf. Chap. vi). Tradition
tells of a certain Count Julian, the Christian ruler of Ceuta, whose
daughter had been violated by Roderick, and who therefore led the
Arabs and Berbers to Spain to satisfy his vengeance. Few characters in
the earlier history of Islam have interested the historians to such an
extent as this Julian, of whom it is not definitely known to which
nation he belonged and to which sovereignty he owed allegiance.
According to the reconstruction of Wellhausen and Codera he was not
named Julian at all, but Urban; he was probably of Moorish ancestry
and a vassal of the Gothic kings, but all beyond this is pure hypothesis.
Induced apparently by the struggles for the throne in the Gothic
kingdom, and probably less with a view to conquer than to plunder,
Tarik crossed into Spain in the year 711 with 7000 Berbers, who were
subsequently supplemented to a total of 12,000, and landed near to the
rock which still bears his name. (Gibraltar = Gebel Tarik = Mount
Tarik. ) After having collected his troops, Tarik appears to have
practised highway robbery along the coast from Gibraltar west-
wards and to have gone around the Laguna de la Janda in the
south. King Roderick opposed him in the valley of the WadI Bekka,
nowadays called Salado, between the lake and the town of Medina
Sidonia. According to the earliest Spanish tradition the site is also
named after the neighbouring Transductine promontory (Cape Spartel).
24—2
## p. 372 (#404) ############################################
372 Conquest of Spain [711-m
It was here, not at Vejer (or Jerez) de la Frontera, that the great decisive
battle was fought in July 711, in which the Gothic army, thanks to the
treachery of Roderick's political enemies, was defeated by Tank's troops.
The king himself probably fell in the battle, for he disappeared at all
events from this day forward1.
This great success led to an unexampled triumphal procession, which
can only be explained by the fact that the rule of the Goths was deeply
hated among the native population. As on Byzantine ground, so here
too had political and religious blunders set the various elements of the
population at variance, and thus prepared the way for the invasion.
The Jews especially, against whom an unscrupulous war of extermination
had been waged by the fanatical orthodox section, welcomed the Arabs
and Berbers as their deliverers. The towns alone, in which the Gothic
knighthood held predominance, offered any effective resistance. Tarik
must have been very accurately informed of the condition of the country;
the authorities represent him as advised in his arrangements for the
whole of the further campaign by Julian (Urban). The sequel certainly
justified the daring plan of pushing forward to Toledo, the capital of
the Gothic kings; the more important cities of the south, e. g. Seville,
were left to themselves, others, as Malaga and Archidona, were subdued
by small detachments; the main body of the army proceeded by Ecija
and Cordova to Toledo. It was only at Ecija that Tarik met with any
vigorous resistance, and at this point a battle ensued, which is described
as the most severe and stubborn of the whole campaign. Cordova and
Toledo fell by treachery. The aristocracy and the higher ranks of the
priesthood did not even await the arrival of the Muslims, but either
repaired to places of safety or sought union with the conquerors.
Tarik was thus master of the half of Spain by the end of the summer
of 711. His unprecedented successes aroused the jealousy of Musa, his
superior officer and patron, who had remained passively in Northern
Africa, because a systematic conquest of Spain was not intended in
Tank's expedition—only one of the customary summer raids of the
Muslim troops. Tarik had however now destroyed the Gothic kingdom.
Musa nevertheless, desiring for himself the fame and the material
advantages attending on the conquest of wealthy Spain, advanced
thither also with 18,000 troops in the following spring, and landed in
June. Purposely avoiding Tank's tracks, he first of all conquered the
towns which still held out, prominent among which were Medina Sidonia.
Carmona and Seville. Seville was the intellectual centre of Spain; it
had been the seat of government for centuries under the Romans, and
under the Goths it had not lost its former splendour. It was only
captured after a siege of several months' duration. From the campaign
of Musa. it can be seen that Tank's stratagem had by no means
destroyed all resistance, but that the heavy work of the conquest of the
1 Another view is fliven in Ch. ti. p. 185.
## p. 373 (#405) ############################################
712-718] Crossing of the Pyrenees 373
country had to follow the rapid occupation of the capital. The Arabs
would scarcely have succeeded in the conquest of Spain without the internal
disorders which had preceded their arrival, and the consequent want of
discipline and unity. Even as it was, after the fall of Seville, Musa
still met with obstinate resistance before Merida, whose impregnable
walls resisted all attempts at undermining. The inhabitants however
finally recognised their advantage in peacefully surrendering the town
(30 June 718). Seville too rose once more in revolt, but was finally
subjugated by Musas son, 'Abd-al-'AzIz. It was only after all these
successes that Musa could enter Toledo, where Tank awaited him.
Musa now vented his anger on his too-successful subordinate, but
soon afterwards the same fate overtook himself. His letter of recall,
signed by the Caliph Walld (713-714), reached him 15 months after
his landing, and but few weeks after his entry into Toledo. The
victorious old man slowly made his way overland, towards Syria, taking
enormous treasures with him. Arabian papyri in the British Museum
have preserved various data in regard to the expenses of provisioning
his princely train during his temporary stay in Egypt. In Damascus he
fell into disfavour and does not again appear in the foreground. His
sons too, of whom he had left 'Abd-al-'Aziz as governor in Spain, and
the others in Africa, did not long enjoy the fruits of their father's great
deeds, for they also were soon either deposed or murdered.
This account of events in the conquest of Spain is chiefly based on
Arabian sources, the importance of which, as compared with the certainly
valuable Latin historians, has been decidedly undervalued in recent
times. According to the latter Musa, and not Tarik, was the actual
conqueror of Spain; they represent Tarik as merely the victor in the
battle at the Transductine promontory, whilst Musa consummated his
triumphal march by the conquest of Toledo; of any opposition between
Musa and Tarik there is no mention. Both groups of authorities agree
in recording that under Musa, or at least by his direction, Saragossa also
was taken. Notwithstanding contradictory reports, it is certain that
Musa did not also cross the Pyrenees.
The crossing of this range did not take place until a few years later
(717 or 718), under the leadership of Musfi's fourth successor, Hurr.
North of the Pyrenees, in the same way as to the south, the quarrels of
the various races offered the Arabs an inducement to invade the country,
and with the then prevalent lack of geographical knowledge the seemingly
possible idea of reaching Constantinople by land from Gaul may have
haunted their brains, for was not the fall of the proud imperial city the
ardently desired end and aim of the foreign policy of the Caliphs? The
leaders of the expeditions sent out from Spain had however more obvious
designs; it was the booty, which might reasonably be looked for in the
rich treasures of the convents and churches of Gaul, which lured them
onwards. The daring march, which subsequently led to the celebrated
## p. 374 (#406) ############################################
374 Battle of Tours [718-759
defeat of Tours or Poitiers, is directly attributed by the authorities to
this lust of booty. The chief officers of the Merovingians were engaged
in fighting with the dukes of Aquitaine. While the France of the future
was gradually gaining ground in the north in the midst of heated
fighting, the dukes of Aquitaine were threatened on all sides. The
Duke Eudo of Aquitaine had to sustain the first onslaught of the
Arabs, and this was finally broken against Eudo's iron-willed adversary,
Charles Martel.
Details of the raids made by Hurr are not known. They were
continued by his successor Samh, who captured Narbonne in 720,
and this formed the base of operations for the Spanish attacking
forces until 759. The further undertakings of Samh however were a
failure. He endeavoured to conquer Toulouse in 721 by attacking it
with battering rams. But Duke Eudo relieved the distressed town and
won a decisive victory. The leader of the Muslims fell in battle. This
was the first great success of a Germanic prince over the Muslims, so
long accustomed to victory. It was not the last; for the later ex-
peditions of the Muslims were no longer crowned with success; in fact
Eudo began to utilise to his own ends the growing difficulties between
the Arabs and the Berbers. After a pause the Spanish Amir 'Abd-ar-
Rahman prepared to strike a great blow. He proceeded in 782 over the
Pyrenees, defeated Duke Eudo between the Garonne and the Dordogne,
and followed to the vicinity of Tours, attracted by the church treasures
of the town. Here he was met by Charles Martel, whom Eudo had
called to his assistance, and was vanquished in the battle of Tours or
Poitiers, 732, which lasted several days. Here the complete superiority
of the northern temperament over that of the southerners displayed
itself. According to the report of the historians the Frankish warriors
stood firm as a wall, inflexible as a block of ice. The light cavalry of the
Caliphs failed against them. It was however not only the temperament,
but also the physical superiority of the Teutons, which asserted itself in
any fighting at close quarters, that won the battle. When the Teutons
after the last day's fighting, in which the Muslims had lost their leader,
wished to renew the struggle, they found that the Arabs had fled. The
entire camp, with the whole of the munitions of war, fell into the hands
of the victors.
The battle of Tours or Poitiers has often been represented as an
event of the first magnitude in the world's history, because after this
the penetration of Islam into Western Europe was finally brought to •
standstill. The Arabs certainly undertook occasional raids, in regard to
which we have but scanty information; they occupied, for instance.
Aries and Narbonne, until they were expelled thence by Charles Martel
and Pepin. In these expeditions however the Arabs only appear as
allies of the grandees of Southern Gaul, who desired with their help to
ward off the advance of Charles. The Caliph Hisham, at that time in
## p. 375 (#407) ############################################
732] Saracen Failures in Gaul 375
power, certainly encouraged a vigorous expansion in connexion with his
policy of restoration; but the attack of the Saracens was no longer
successful, and as early as 759 the Arabs had to relinquish Narbonne,
their last base north of the Pyrenees, to Pepin. The Saracen assault
was therefore apparently broken by the battle of Tours or Poitiers—but
only apparently, for that which might be regarded as cause and effect was
but a chronological coincidence. Every movement has its limits, and the
migration of the Arabs would not have been enough to place the requisite
forces of men in the field for a permanent occupation even of Spain if
they had not sought them outside their own limits among the Berbers.
By joining the Arabs and conquering Spain for them, the Berbers carried
the Saracen movement into another new country, but at the same time
they made it heterogeneous, and as an addition to the internal Arabian
feuds they created a new one, that between Arabs and Berbers. This
strife, still latent during the first years of victory, came to light about
the time of the battle of Tours or Poitiers. But a further cause
rendered additional Saracen raids into Gaul impossible. In the northern
corner of Spain a remnant of the opposition against the penetration of
Islam had preserved its independence as a State; year by year this small
State grew in size, and in a short time it inserted itself like a wedge
between the Arabian magnates and the Pyrenees. On this was founded
the legend of St Pelagius, which is treated more fully in another part of
this work.
Under these circumstances the expansion of the Muslims came to a
natural standstill from internal causes, and the consequences of the
battle of Tours or Poitiers must therefore not be exaggerated. The
plundering of these towns would decidedly not have resulted in a
permanent occupation of Gaul by the Saracens. Their defeat before
Constantinople was of vastly greater significance. The fall of Constan-
tinople would have entirely remodelled the history of the East, as in
fact it did, seven centuries later.
The battle then of Tours or Poitiers marked the extreme point of
advance of the Saracens into Western Europe, but it was not the cause
of the sudden stoppage, or rather recess of the movement. That fact
lay, as above stated, in the feud between Arabs and Berbers. This strife
was bound to be so much the more fatal for the Arabs, as at the same
time the discord between Kais and Kalb in the East made its influence
felt in the West also, and thus broke up the compact unity of the
hitherto paramount nationality. The details of this process have little
value for the history of the Saracen expansion treated in these chapters.
A brief description of the principal events will suffice to explain the
other great advance of the Saracens against Mid-Europe (Sicily, Sardinia
and South Italy).
The whole of the western portion of the empire of the Caliph, the
so-called Maghrib, i. e. Northern Africa and Spain, was placed after the
## p. 376 (#408) ############################################
376 Disturbances under Hishdm [c. 730
completion of the conquest under various governors, who had their
seat of government in Kairawan. The Spanish sub-prefects however
often had an almost independent position. They resided at first at
Seville, but shortly afterwards chose as the seat of government
Cordova, which was thus destined for centuries to become the brilliant
residence of the western Caliphate. Until its secession from the eastern
main empire, and in fact for centuries afterwards, the destinies of Spain
were united in the closest manner with those of Northern Africa through
the Berbers, who were now settled on both sides of the Straits of
Gibraltar. Thus it came that Spain, on the outbreak of Berber unrest
in Northern Africa, was at once drawn into this fatal movement. The
only difference was that in Northern Africa the Berbers were the
subjects, who had however expected to attain an equal footing with
the Arabs by the adoption of Islam, whilst in Spain the Arabs and
Berbers had together conquered a foreign land, whose wealth and
territory they divided. At this stage the Arabs committed the great
mistake of shewing themselves too ostentatiously as the masters, i. e.
in Africa they proceeded arrogantly and violently against the proud
Berbers, who had cost so much trouble to subdue, whilst in Spain they
allotted the Berbers the worst portion of the booty. This caused a
first revolt, which was however but partial. The Berber Munusa in
Northern Spain declared his independence, and entered into friendly,
even family connexions with the Duke Eudo. His call however found
but little response among his countrymen, and he was put down with
little trouble (729 or 730).
More serious were the developments in Africa. It was at the
time of Caliph Hisham, under whom the revision of Omar's system
of taxation, which had gradually become a necessity, was enforced more
generally and energetically. The bureaucracy which accompanied this
revision, and the Asiatic despotism which was gradually creeping in,
were nowhere so unsuitable as in the mountain homes of the Berbers,
who were only held in check by diplomacy and the prospect of booty.
As with the Orientals in general and especially with the Berbers every
national or economical opposition easily assumes a religious tinge, so it
was in this case too. We have already spoken of the Kharijites, who
had detached themselves from Ali after the battle of Siffin. Their
doctrine was that of the absolute sovereignty of the people, who were
justified at all times in deposing an unjust Caliph or Imam. We have
already indicated that the Umayyads had much trouble with these
people. The profession of the doctrine of the Kharijites was one of
the most important forms in which the opposition against the growing
despotism and the bureaucracy found expression, especially among the
old-Arabian circles, just as, among the Persians, this opposition took
the form of the ShI'a. With the increasing tension betwixt Umayyad
ti'oops and the Berber populace, the Kharijite ideas had an unsuspected
## p. 377 (#409) ############################################
741-745] Fall of the Umayyads ',■ 377
spread among the latter. And as the Arabs had now lost their readiness
for battle by reason of their tribal feuds, the Berbers ventured, under
the Caliph Hisham, openly to secede. After local revolts, which were
quickly suppressed, a serious rebellion began in the extreme west. The
whole territory of what is now called Morocco within a short period
shook off the domination of the Arabs (741). Hisham hereupon sent
a powerful army, composed of the best Syrian troops, to Africa, and it
was intended that this force should co-operate with the garrisons already
there. But the feuds amongst the Arabs themselves more than counter-
balanced their better equipment, and in consequence the Berbers won a
mighty victory (741) at the river Sebu, or, as the best Latin authority
gives it, "super Huvium Nauam," and thus put in doubt the supremacy
of the Arabs. Later on numerous fugitives crossed over into Spain and
brought new confusion into the confusion there prevailing. But here as
there for a short period the authority of Damascus was once more
restored. Hanzala ibn §afwan, the new governor, managed by time-
honoured methods to prevent common action on the part of the Berbers,
and then later vanquished the main body of the Berber troops (742) at
Asnam, not far from Kairawan. His representative, 'Abu-1-Khattar,
then enforced order in Spain. The Berber revolt was thus broken, but
it was the Berbers notwithstanding, and not the Arabs, who decided the
destinies of the countries. Though the majority returned to Muslim
orthodoxy, remnants of the Kharijites have maintained their position
in Northern Africa even to the present day, under the name of Ibadites.
This peace lasted scarcely three years. Spain arose out of the new
tumults as an independent State, for which a period of high prosperity
was in prospect.
In North Africa too a series of independent States was
gradually formed. After the residence of the Caliph had been removed
nearer to Central Asia it was probably natural that the Mediter-
ranean territories, inhabited by a vigorous population, should begin
a separate existence as States. After the fall of the Umayyads the
countries to the east of Barka, permeated by the Saracen expansion, only
occasionally and then only nominally held common cause with the
Eastern Empire. The first usurper preserved at least the appearance of
dependence. In the year 745 'Abd-ar-Rahman ibn Habib, of the tribe
of Fihr, declared himself in Tunis independent of the governor Hanzala,
who had conducted the affairs of the Maghrib since the revolt of
Kairawan. Belonging to a race long tried and approved on African
soil, 'Abd-ar-Rahman could count on followers by reason of the universal
discontent. By a brutal intrigue he compelled Hanzala to leave Africa
without drawing the sword. The last of the Umayyads, Marwan, sub-
sequently legalised the de facto authority of 'Abd-ar-Rahman. For this
'Abd-ar-Rahman paid a small tribute and named the Caliph in his pulpit
prayers, but he was otherwise his own master; and his position was not
influenced by the change in the dynasty in the East. When the rule of
## p. 378 (#410) ############################################
378 Saracen Kingdoms in Northern Africa [754-800
the Abbasids had become consolidated and it was proposed to make an
energetic attack on him from Bagdad, he renounced his obedience to
the Abbasids and received fugitive Umayyads as honoured guests in
Kairawan (754-755). These Umayyad princes however brought discord
into 'Abd-ar-Rahman's family, in connexion with which he himself and
two of the princes met their deaths. A third prince, 'Abd-ar-Rahman
ibn Mu'awiya, forced his way through to Spain and became the founder
of the western Caliphate. In Africa the murder of Ibn Habib led to a
general disorganisation and set free all the tendencies towards decentral-
isation. Independent Berber dynasties arose in the extreme West, as
for instance the Banu Midrar in Sijilmasa (757) and Banu Rustam in
Tahert (761), the latter under the banner of the Kharijites; in the
nearer West the Arabs on the one hand and the Berbers, who had also
separated into parties, on the other, fought for the possession of
Kairawan, which did not again acknowledge the authority of the
Abbasids until 761, and then only for a short time; the province of
Africa, as far as to the border of Algeria, was once more restored,
though with disturbances and interruptions, but the whole of the far
West remained irretrievably lost.
Here in the far West a third State was soon founded. A descendant
of Ali named Idris, who had fled from the Abbasids, created for himself,
in the year 788, an independent kingdom, which soon extended eastward
to beyond the town of Tlemcen. Here again a clever leader managed to
unite the Berbers by a religious party-cry. The kingdom of the Idrisids
was the first Shi'ite State founded in the West.
The remainder of the province of Maghrib once so extensive was
moreover destined to make itself independent in the last decade of the
eighth century. The constant dissensions between the Arab leaders and
tribes could no longer be permanently controlled by the governors sent
from Bagdad. The Amir of Mzab (in the back-country of Algeria) Ibrahim
ibn Aghlab, who had grown up in Africa, and whose father had been
the means of reconquering the Mzab, was on the other hand the right
man in the right place to restore state authority (800). When he had
succeeded in this however he demanded from the Caliph the hereditary
investiture in return for payment of a tribute and the customary
naming of the Caliph in the pulpit prayers and on the coinage. This
amounted to complete independence. Thus arose the dynasty of the
Aghlabids of Kairawan, which gave to Africa a series of clever, but
also often worthless, rulers. In proportion to the smallness of their
kingdom they had a considerable naval force, and thus they became the
leaders of the expansion of Islam into Mid-Europe. It was under them
that Sicily was conquered.
Before turning however to Sicily, we must still sketch the further
destinies of Northern Africa, in as far as it is connected with the history
of Islam in Southern Europe. In spite of their brilliant performances
## p. 379 (#411) ############################################
909—H71] Idrisids and Fatimites 379
the authority of the Aghlabids was in a tottering state. The diversion
to Sicily of the generals and troops, always inclining towards insub-
ordination, gave them a respite for a considerable time; after lasting
for a century their kingdom was destroyed by the political lack of
discipline of the Berber tribes and by bloody quarrels within the dynasty
itself.
These conditions were cleverly utilised by the Shi'ite opposition,
which just at that time, after many ill-successes in Asia, had pushed
forward into Africa, where the propaganda of the Idrisids had paved
the way for them. The leader of the movement was named 'Ubaidallah,
whose descent from AH is by no means established beyond doubt; the
race itself however was called, after Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet,
the Fatimites. When 'Ubaidallah had become master of the situation
in the year 909, through the fortunate trend of circumstances and
his skill in recruiting, he assumed the cognomen Mahdi, i. e. the
directed one, a title in which the old claims of Alfs kinsmen to the
Caliphate found expression. Mahdi founded a new capital, Mahdiya,
and established a State which for centuries held the supremacy in the
eastern Mediterranean. For this end of course the possession of Egypt
was needed, but the acquisition of this was first effected by Mu'izz
(969), Mahdrs third successor, who was the founder of Cairo. The
centre of gravity of the Fatimite kingdom was now transferred eastward,
especially when Syria also was conquered. Africa soon attained inde-
pendence again as a State under Yusuf Bulukkin, a Berber of the
Sanhaja, the governor appointed by the Fatimites; Yusuf founded the
dynasty of the Zlrids (972-1148), alongside of whom the Hammadids
held their ground in the West, and specially in Algeria, from 1107 till
1152. The kingdom of the Idrisids in Morocco had in the meantime
been split up into a number of petty principalities. The Fatimites
however remained the rulers of the eastern territory, and under them
Egypt experienced its most brilliant times, but suffered also its worst
defeat. In 1171 the heir to the Fatimite kingdom was Salad in.
We were compelled to give an anticipatory sketch of the history of
North Africa until the commencement of the times of the Crusades, in
order to understand the second great advance of the Saracens against
Sicily and Southern Italy as one connected whole. Incidents from the
standpoint of individual countries, these regular attacks of the Muslims
on Mid-Europe are presented, in the light of universal history, as a
connected movement, which naturally closes with the occupation of
Sicily and also of parts of the Continent. As in Spain, the reaction of
the Christian world follows upon the action of Islam. Just as they
came, so the Muslims are gradually forced back. Here we have to do
with the forward action alone, and though from chance reasons this
took place much later in Sicily and Italy than in Spain or Asia Minor,
yet its description comes notwithstanding within the scope of a general
## p. 380 (#412) ############################################
380 First Raids on Sicily [c. 664
history of the expansion of the Saracens, for the conquest of Sicily is
connected in the most intimate way with the occupation of Northern
Africa, and could only succeed after the conditions in the latter territory
had somewhat improved. It is the same movement which took the
Saracens across the Straits of Gibraltar. The subsequent advance of
the world of Islam against Eastern Europe and the occupation of
Constantinople by the Turks are in no way connected with the original
movement as described here; the events now related below are the hut
ramification of the Arabian exodus.
As Michele Amari says in his classical work on the Muslims in Sicily,
only a glance at the map is needed to shew that Sicily must be
involved in continuous war with the Saracens after their occupation
of Africa. And yet this same great historian represents the first naval
expedition against Sicily not as starting from Africa but from Syria,
and that too at a time when the subsequent Caliph Mu'awiya was still
governor of Syria. The strongly contradictory reports about this event
may most easily be reconciled by regarding the first appearance of an
Arabian fleet in Sicily as taking place under the Caliphate of Mu'awiya,
and connecting it with the expedition of his African governor, Mu'awiya
ibn Hudaij, against the Byzantines (664). Arabian tradition also
accepts this Ibn Hudaij as the leader. It is quite probable that he
himself never saw Sicily, but that the raid was made under his orders by
his representative, 'Abdallah ibn Kais. It is however quite certain that
this naval expedition did not start from Syria but from the Pentapolis
(Barka); the Syrian fleet had opportunities of booty nearer home; of
the Pentapolis however we learn from the papyri that it was an
important naval base in the seventh century, and here the fleet operating
in the west received recruits from the fleets coming from Egypt. This
opportunity serves to point out once again that, with the exception oi
special occasions the regular war of the Arabs against the Byzantines
consisted of individual summer campaigns, which bore the name Kovpavi
and took place by water or on land. From this old custom piracy, that
terrible scourge of the western Mediterranean, was developed in course
of time as the great kingdoms became split up into small states, and the
name Corsair is also etymologically related to the word Kovp<rov. The
despatch of the fleet by Ibn Hudaij was such a Kovpaov. The booty
consisted of captive women and church treasures, images, which according
to the Arabian historians Mu'awiya endeavoured to sell for gold a>
quickly as possible among the idol-worshipping Indians.
Just as this first expedition against Sicily was connected with
the occupation of Northern Africa, so we must not disconnect the
occasional raids of the following decades from the ever-increasing use of
the fleet in the western seat of war. It can therefore cause no surprise
that during the regime of the great pacificators of the Berbers, tV.
under Hassan and Musfi, war was waged on Sicily more frequently.
## p. 381 (#413) ############################################
740—827] Conquest of Sicily 381
At that time also the small island of Pantellaria, the stepping-stone
between Africa and Sicily, was occupied by the Arabs, and Sardinia was
plundered. It is needless to recount in detail all these numerous
piratical expeditions against the islands of the Mediterranean. They
were the terror of the residents on the coast, but very little was in reality
attained by them. In any case Sicily must have been well defended. But
if Syracuse itself could only purchase the retirement of 'Abd-ar-Rahman
ibn Habib by payment of tribute (740), and even if this ruler, after
acquiring the sovereignty in Northern Africa, attempted to gain Sicily
also, these matters were but incidents which had no influence on the
course of history. During the second half of the eighth century Sicily
was scarcely troubled at all by its tormentors, for, as we have seen,
Northern Africa was almost in a state of anarchy.
It was not until after a more powerful State had been formed by the
Aghlabids that the expeditions against Sicily were at once renewed.
Not only the Aghlabids but also the Idrisids and even the Spanish
Muslims took part in these piratical raids, each as a rule on their own
account but occasionally working conjointly. When the Sicilians had
perhaps succeeded in completing a treaty with the Aghlabids and
looked forward to a period of rest and peace, then the vessels of the
Idrisids would suddenly appear. A large proportion of these ex-
peditions have another connexion, for the raids are episodes in the long
fight between the Franks and the Spanish Umayyads, but in the case of
many of these sudden attacks we cannot now determine the State to
which the Saracens in question belonged. One expedition in the year
813 is specially well known to us, because it advanced far to the north-
ward and even touched on Nice and Civita Vecchia. In the same year
or shortly afterwards Reggio also received a first Saracenic visitation.
Corsica in particular was in the midst of the fighting, whilst Sardinia
was better able to defend itself; the smaller islands, eg. the Pontine
group and even Ischia (8-12 Aug. 812), were occasionally attacked—in
fact, a revival of the Saracen expansion began. But still great successes
could not be recorded, for on the one hand various Saracenic fleets were
lost at sea through storms, and on the other hand not only the
Byzantines but also Charles the Great took energetic steps to secure
their lands against the ravages of the Saracens, though they generally
confined themselves to acting on the defensive. As for such a thing as
paying the Saracens off in their own coin by undertaking a piratical
expedition to Northern Africa, that occurred but once, when the African
coast between Utica and Carthage was terrorised by a small Frankish
fleet under Earl Bonifacius of Tyrrhenia.
There was no really serious advance of the Saracens against European
territory, until the year 827. Acting not on their own initiative, but
called in to the assistance of a Christian insurrection, the Aghlabids
conquered the rich island of Sicily. By this means an outpost of Islam
## p. 382 (#414) ############################################
382 Conquest of Sicily [829—859
was pushed forward close to Italy, and it followed as a matter of course
that the Saracens became an important factor in the diversified confusion
of the States of Central and Southern Italy.
The occasion was a military revolt, such as was of everyday occurrence
in Sicily, the "Siberia" of the Byzantine Empire. The details are not
clear, but we may probably assume, with Amari, that Euphemius, the
leader of the rebels, was compelled to flee from the Byzantine governor,
Photeinos. He went to Africa to Ziyadatallah I, the third prince of
the race of Aghlabids, requested help, and promised, after the conquest
of the island, to regard himself as Ziyadatallah's vassal. The latter
took counsel with his all-powerful minister, the Kadi Asad ibn al-Furat,
then seventy years of age, who, as head of the clergy, was leader of the
internal policy of the Aghlabids, founded as it was on orthodoxy, and
who moreover must be described as a military leader of eminence. The
opportunity was favourable, and therefore no delay could be brooked in
carrying the religious war to the long-coveted island. Apart from this,
no better opportunity could be found to keep the ever-insubordinate
Arabs and Berbers employed. Thus the undertaking was resolved on
and at once commenced.
The aged Kadi himself undertook to lead the army, consisting of
11,000 men, which landed at Mazara, defeated Photeinos and advanced
to Syracuse. But at this stage of the proceedings a reverse followed.
The town was impregnable; an epidemic, to which Asad himself succumbed,
broke out among the besieging troops; Euphemius was murdered; the
Byzantines sent fresh troops, but Ziyadatallah was unable to send
reinforcements on account of the unrest in Africa. The Africans there-
fore were compelled to retire on Mazara and Mineo, and it began to
appear as if this energetic attempt to conquer the island would fail.
The blockaded Africans however were relieved by Spanish co-religionists
(829), and then the aspect of affairs was changed. Palermo was
conquered in the beginning of September 831 by fresh troops from
Africa. The Muslims even began to form connexions with the States
on the Continent, of which we shall see more presently. The Byzantines
were forced back step by step. For all that, the war lasted over ten
years longer before the capture of Messina (probably 843) by the Aghlabid
prince, Abu-1-Aghlab Ibrahim. Byzantium could no longer help the
Sicilians, for all the troops were required in the East. They still
held out however at a few points. The apparently impregnable Castro-
giovanni, situated on a high sugar-loaf mountain, which even to the
present has maintained a remarkably sinister medieval character, did
not fall till the year 859, after a long defence, into the hands of
'Abbas ibn al-Fadl, who had succeeded Ibrahim. But the energy of
the undisciplined African soldiery did not last beyond this stage, and
even before the island was completely conquered the Arabs and Berbers
were at daggers drawn and the Saracenic advance appears to have
## p. 383 (#415) ############################################
814-1061] Invasion of Italy 383
come to a standstill here from the same reasons as in Southern France.
The last energetic prince of the house of the Aghlabids, Ibrahim II,
further succeeded (21 May 878) in capturing and destroying Syracuse.
Later on he came himself to Sicily and attacked with brutal cruelty the
only Christian communities who were still independent, in the Etnadistrict,
and he also destroyed Taormina (902). The conquest of Sicily was thus
completed. The re-conquest by the Normans did not begin till 1061.
Ibrahim II met his death in the same year before Cosenza, after
having carried the religious war across the straits into Calabria. He
was not the first Saracen on Italian ground, for immediately after the
conquest of Palermo the Aghlabid generals had interfered in the
internecine quarrels of the Lombard States in Southern Italy, and thus
these Aghlabids had soon become the terror of Southern and Central
Italy. Everyone who has travelled along the incomparable coast
between Naples and Palermo knows the numerous "Saracen towers,'" the
ruins of the coastguard towers, from which the approach of Sicilian or
African fleets had to be announced. Even to-day, in the time of a
peaceful, money-bringing invasion of foreigners, there still dwells in the
memories of the people occupying this favoured country the recollection
of that other invasion of quite other character, the Saracen calamity,
which for centuries restricted all healthy development. This forms the
final chapter in the spread of Islam into Central Europe. In depicting
it we must rely mostly on western sources, as the Arab-Berber robber-
States which sprang up in Southern Italy never attained civilisation
enough to have literary records, and Sicilian and Eastern writers tell us
little about Italy1.
As in Sicily so in Italy the Saracens did not come without an appeal.
For a long time past the Duchy of Benevento had endeavoured to annex
the free town of Naples, which was besieged at various times and was
compelled to agree to the payment of a tribute, which however was
at once suspended whenever any resistance appeared possible. After
having unsuccessfully requested Louis the Pious (814-840) to intervene,
and having also been unable to find any sufficiently powerful allies in
his own neighbourhood, Duke Andreas of Naples turned to the Saracens
in Sicily. These availed themselves eagerly of this opportunity to
interfere in Italy and in the year 837 they relieved Naples, at that time
besieged by Duke Sikard of Benevento. Sikard retired with indignation,
but the alliance thus formed by Naples lasted for many a long year to
the benefit of both parties. The Duchy of Benevento was a natural
enemy to both of them and it could not be otherwise than agreeable to
the Neapolitans when, shortly afterwards, Sikard's troops were defeated
by Saracens at Brindisi, and the town itself was burnt. In fact Naples
even returned the assistance rendered in 837 by helping the Saracens in
842-843 to conquer Messina.
1 The following account utilises the results of Aniari and Lokys.
f
## p. 384 (#416) ############################################
384 Dealings of Sikonolf [839-844
After SikarcTs death the Duchy of Benevento was divided into two
principalities; Radelchis resided in Benevento and Sikonolf in Salerno,
and the two were constantly fighting. This self-destruction on the part
of the sole great power of Southern Italy was of course in the highest
degree welcome to the Saracens. Sikard died in 839, and immediately
afterwards the Saracens of Sicily were once more in Calabria. They even
advanced as far as Apulia, and though the conquest of Bari was not at
first attained, Taranto fell and was not relieved even with the help of
the Venetians, whom the Byzantines had called to their assistance
(840). The victorious Muslims pushed forward to the Adriatic, burned
Ossero on the island of Cherso, and Ancona, and even appeared
temporarily in the neighbourhood of Venice, whose trading ships they
captured. In 842 also the Venetians suffered a further defeat. Bari,
which was to be the main base of the Saracens for thirty years, had
already fallen (probably 841). Radelchis, pressed hard by Sikonolf, had
called the masters of Sicily to his assistance, and they had begun by
taking Bari from their ally. Radelchis had of course in his distress to
accept this with a good grace and come to terms with these strange and
unruly allies. The Saracens under the Berber Khalfun advanced from
Bari as a base against Sikonolf, but after a bloody battle they were
driven back on Bari, which in the meantime they had converted into a
strong fortress. As the Muslims constantly received reinforcements this
one victory served Sikonolf but little; and Radelchis too, especially after
he had received (in 842), whether he liked it or not, his infidel allies under
the leadership of Masar into his capital, Benevento, became the puppet
of the Saracens, who ravaged the whole country with their despotism
and cruelty—a terrible scourge for friend and foe alike.
In spite of all such misfortunes however Radelchis was of course
under the circumstances victorious over his adversary. As Sikonolf could
not help himself in any other way, he too sought Saracen allies. He is
said to have applied to the Spaniards, whose numerous raids into
Provence, Northern Italy and in fact as far afield as Switzerland do not
come within the scope of this chapter. It is moreover much more
probable that Sikonolf did not draw his auxiliaries directly from the
Iberian peninsula, but from Crete, where a Muslim robber-State had
been in existence since 826, founded there by Spanish Saracens who had
been expelled for mutiny from their country. With these new troops,
who were more easily governed, as they had no neighbouring great
power on whose support they could calculate, Sikonolf succeeded in
defeating his opponent and locking him up in Benevento. He was
however unable to take the town owing to difficulties in his own camp,
and so everything remained in the same state as before. Masar with his
Saracens swept through the whole country, plundering as he went, and
undertook expeditions far towards the north.
These advances however of the Saracens, starting from Bari and
## p. 385 (#417) ############################################
845-849] • Attack on Rome 385
Benevento, were not the only raids with which the unfortunate country
was infested. The large ports of the western coast were in constant
dread of unpleasant surprises, for in the year 845 the Sicilians had
chosen Ponza and Ischia as naval bases, to which moreover they soon
added Cape Miseno. The towns of Naples, Gaeta, Amalfi and Sorrento
formed an alliance for the purpose of mutual defence, as the Duke of
Salerno was not in a position to assist them. In the following years the
Muslims prepared to deal a severe blow. For a long time Rome with
its vast church treasures had tempted them. On 23 Aug. 846, a fleet of
73 vessels, stated to have been manned by 1100 Muslims, appeared
before Ostia, and in the early morning of 26 August the Saracens stood
before the walls of Rome, where they plundered the quarters of the town
lying outside the walls, especially the church of St Peter and the
cathedral of St Paul, and they broke open the graves of the apostolic
prelates. Unfortunately the information we have respecting this event
is extremely scanty and it is moreover distorted by legend, for the very
idea of the hordes of the false prophet having ravaged in the capital of
Christendom gave a magnificent scope for the imagination of the western
world. God himself immediately afterwards seemed to desire to avenge this
visitation, for after a few successes before Gaeta, whither the Saracens had
withdrawn from Rome, and just when they proposed to return, their entire
fleet, conveying all their stolen treasures, was destroyed in a storm (847).
The impression made by these events was enormous. In 847 King
Louis II appeared in Southern Italy, defeated the Saracens and
conquered Benevento. With the disputing parties there he arranged
that thev should make common cause against the infidels in Bari and
Taranto. This plan was frustrated through the selfish policy of the
small States of Southern Italy. Nothing was effected against the con-
tinued piratical raids of the Sicilians. It was not until the year 849,
when the Saracens planned another great expedition against Rome and
collected for this purpose in Sardinia, that the seaports of the western
coast united for the defence of Rome. The fleets met before Ostia, and
the fight had already begun when the elements waxed tempestuous and
the naval battle and the Sicilian fleet came to a sudden and violent end.
The Italian fleet was probably also destroyed—information on the point
is missing—but the sacred city was rescued. Even now, in the Stanzas
of the Vatican, the celebrated picture of this sea fight, painted from
sketches by Raphael, recalls this wonderful rescue of Rome.
Even though these naval expeditions were but episodes, the Saracen
fortress at Bari was a constant menace to Southern Italy. The successes
gained by King Louis had been lost again immediately after his departure,
and Bari once more extended its power to Benevento. Louis II, who
had in the meantime been crowned as Emperor, was therefore compelled
once more to decide on an expedition to the south. On this occasion he
advanced on Bari, but was unable to capture it, as his vassal States failed
C. MED. H. VOL. II. CH. XII. 25
## p. 386 (#418) ############################################
386 Successes of Louis II [852-875
him at the critical moment. However he managed to obtain possession
of Benevento for the second time, and he caused the Saracen leader Masar
to be executed (28 May 852). The Saracen commander-in-chief in
Sicily, 'Abbas ibn al-Fadl, avenged this deed by plundering and occupying
the Calabrian coast.
The same performance was repeated as after the first departure
of Louis. Meanwhile Mufarrij ibn Salim had taken up Khalfun>
position at Bari. He took his revenge for past failures by founding an
independent State, declaring his allegiance directly to the Abbasic
Caliph. His successor assumed the title of Sultan, thus proclaiming his
independence of the Sicilian Amir. Little is known of the doings of
these rulers of Bari, who were probably soldier-emperors like the sub-
sequent Mamelukes in Egypt. The country as far as Central Italy lay
defenceless at their feet, as the troubles in the territory of the old
Duchy of Benevento became greater and greater, and prevented all
defence. The western historians give the most incredible reports of the
bloodthirstiness of these sultans. Capua and Naples had to suffer tit
most, but the rich monasteries further to the north, as San Vincenzo on
the Volturno, and Monte Cassino, also saw the enemy either within their
walls, or at least before them.
In order to put a stop to this distress the Emperor once more
undertook (866) a great expedition against the Saracens, and finally
forced them back on Bari and Taranto. In order to subjugate Ban
however a fleet was necessary, and after long negotiations this *as
eventually placed at his disposal by the Byzantines. By co-operation
at this stage the two emperors and their vassals at last succeeded
(2 Feb. 871) in breaking the power of Bari. On his way to Taranto
however to take this last bulwark from the Muslims the Emperor w&*
compelled to fall back on Ravenna, and this too through the treachery
of the self-same petty princes, whom he had just rescued from the
severest distress. At the same time the Saracens appeared once more.
this time on the western coast, and attacked Salerno, pushing forward
also even as far as Capua. Louis sent help once more, and the Saracens
were defeated at Capua on the Volturno, whereupon they left Italy-
but only to return shortly afterwards with renewed forces. They did not
meet the Emperor again in the south. He died in 875 in Northern
Italy, and with his death all his successes appear to have vanished.
At this point Byzantium assumed the moral heritage of the
Carolingian and profited by his deeds. The further struggle with the
Saracens and their final expulsion from Italy belongs to the great
Byzantine restoration under the Macedonian emperors of the Basiliss
dynasty. A few words only may here be added in regard to the con-
clusion of the Saracen domination on Italian soil. With the consent
of the residents the Byzantines, who were up to that time stationed
in Syracuse, had also settled in Bari. The loss of Syracuse in the I
## p.
