- A historian of late antiquity and the middle ages, with special interests in manuscripts, diplomacy, urbanism and cha... moreA historian of late antiquity and the middle ages, with special interests in manuscripts, diplomacy, urbanism and charismatic megafauna. A Senior Researcher with the NFR-project Voices on the Edge: Minuscule Texts in Early Medieval Latin Culture (VOICED) at the University of Oslo
Find me on the research blog https://salutemmundo.wordpress.com/edit
Following an increase in Saracen attacks on mainland Italy in the mid-ninth century, and in particular the raid on Rome in August 846, reference to Saracens began to play an important role in statements made by Popes and Carolingian... more
Following an increase in Saracen attacks on mainland Italy in the mid-ninth century, and in particular the raid on Rome in August 846, reference to Saracens began to play an important role in statements made by Popes and Carolingian monarchs about their relationship with each other. Some Carolingian rulers, including Emperor Lothar I in his Capitulary of 846 and his son Louis II, added legitimacy to their authority by mounting or claiming leadership of campaigns combating Saracens. They laid specific stress upon their role as defender of the Pope from Saracen menace, using it as a means to unify their kingdoms behind them and to strengthen their position against challenges from their own hostile relatives. Popes in this period could be full participants in this process, supporting those who portrayed themselves as papal champions. This is demonstrated by the involvement of Hadrian II and John VIII in internal Carolingian power struggles, supporting Louis II and Charles the Bald respectively by celebrating them as fighters of Saracens. Pontiffs used the rhetoric of Saracen danger as a means of encouraging Carolingian intervention in Italian affairs in their support. In this way Frankish rulers such as Louis the Stammerer and Charles the Fat had pressure placed upon them by Popes to march into Italy, something which continued until it became clear that the Carolingians were no longer in a position to assert themselves in central Italy. This work serves to shed light both on the wider Christian reaction to the greater Saracen presence in Italy and to ways in which Carolingians and Popes renewed and renegotiated their alliance in the late ninth century.
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While it is well known that many Carolingian wars had a strong religious element, Frankish campaigns against the Muslims of Spain have generally been understood as secular exercises in power politics. This is part of a wider scholarship... more
While it is well known that many Carolingian wars had a strong religious element, Frankish campaigns against the Muslims of Spain have generally been understood as secular exercises in power politics. This is part of a wider scholarship which has downplayed the religiosity of conflict between Christians and Muslims before the Crusades, viewing the eleventh century as a break with the past. My paper presents contemporary evidence to argue that many observers of the Frankish invasions of the Iberian Peninsula understood them as holy wars. Carolingian warfare against al-Andalus was depicted as defending Christian communities in the Frankish Empire. It was also portrayed protecting and expanding the worship of Christianity in Spain by liberating Christians living under Muslim rule and converting Muslims to Christianity. The rhetoric of these depictions, redolent in Old Testament allusion and ideas of divine election and purpose, also support a religious interpretation. Further, although the prosecution of these wars were politically opportunistic, the sources suggest that the Carolingian court encouraged religious explanations of these campaigns and that they might be considered examples of Holy War.
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Muslim Spain and the Christian west are generally understood to have been divided by faith. This paper argues that they could also be united by it, by examining the ways in which the Christian population of al-Andalus and wider clerical... more
Muslim Spain and the Christian west are generally understood to have been divided by faith. This paper argues that they could also be united by it, by examining the ways in which the Christian population of al-Andalus and wider clerical and monastic networks facilitated communication and the exchange of information between the Umayyad court at Córdoba and Latin rulers beyond the Iberian Peninsula from the eighth to the tenth century. Al-Andalus’ large Christian community could be a source of tension between Christian monarchs and the emirs of Córdoba, encouraging ideas of Christian ‘liberation’, perhaps best demonstrated by Carolingian involvement with the Martyrs of Córdoba. Mozarabs (Arabized Christians) were sometimes figures of polemic in wider Christian discussion. But the Mozarabic populace also served as conveyors of information, ambassadors and translators, both literally in the sense of turning Arabic into Latin and vice versa but also figuratively, by helping Latin Christians and Andalusī Muslims understand the context in which the other operated. This paper will discuss the key role played by Christians in al-Andalus and beyond in maintaining these lines of communication and awareness and the implications both for the supposed isolation of the Mozarabic community and claims of limited interest among the Umayyads and Latin monarchs in each other.
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In the middle of his Book of Roads and Kingdoms, the eleventh-century Andalusian geographer al-Bakrī includes an unusual diatribe against the Bretons, which he attributes to the tenth-century traveller al-Ṭarṭūshī. This exceptional... more
In the middle of his Book of Roads and Kingdoms, the eleventh-century Andalusian geographer al-Bakrī includes an unusual diatribe against the Bretons, which he attributes to the tenth-century traveller al-Ṭarṭūshī. This exceptional description will be used as a case study in order to discuss the communication of ideas from the Christian world to that of Muslim al-Andalus, by examining the sources of al-Bakrī's ethnographic abuse, as well as the wider Andalusi understanding of the Bretons and the peoples of the Atlantic Coast. This paper will consider the way Christian ideas about other peoples were fit into pre-existing Andalusi cultural concepts. It will also examine the role played by the Bretons within al-Bakrī's work, his reasons for employing this particular material, and the light that sheds upon his understanding not just of the Christian world, but of al-Andalus itself.
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As one of the most celebrated examples of early medieval diplomacy, contact and exchange between Charlemagne and the ‘Abbāsid Caliph, Hārūn al-Rashīd, has long been a subject of scholarly interest. Much of the focus has been on the... more
As one of the most celebrated examples of early medieval diplomacy, contact and exchange between Charlemagne and the ‘Abbāsid Caliph, Hārūn al-Rashīd, has long been a subject of scholarly interest. Much of the focus has been on the motives of the Frankish King and Emperor, or on the significance of the elephant, Abū l’Abbās, sent to Charlemagne by Hārūn. Considerably less attention has been paid to the ruler of Baghdad in these proceedings, and when Hārūn has been considered, it has often been in distinctly Orientalist terms, with limited reference to the ‘Abbāsid sources and scant reflection of the political context within which the Caliph was working. This paper will analyse previous work done on Hārūn’s diplomatic engagement with Charlemagne. It will then use Arabic sources such as the history of al-Ṭabarī to consider the challenges Hārūn was facing, the means with which he sought to manage the crises besetting his reign and the ways in which diplomatic contact with distant empires formed part of his strategies for legitimation, providing a context in which ‘Abbāsid contact with the Carolingians can be understood. Conditions within the ‘Abbāsid court during the period of communication with Charlemagne will be examined to explain the initiation and ending of diplomacy, and to get a clearer view of the purposes and means by which ‘Abbāsid international relations were performed. Above all, this paper seeks to shed some light on the question of what the Caliph of Baghdad was seeking to achieve when he sent the ruler of the Franks an elephant.
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The Franciscan writer Francesc Eiximenis devoted the twelfth volume (the Dotzè) of his great encyclopedia, the Crestià, to the city. This paper explores the opening of the Dotzè. Eiximenis began it with forty-three chapters outlining... more
The Franciscan writer Francesc Eiximenis devoted the twelfth volume (the Dotzè) of his great encyclopedia, the Crestià, to the city. This paper explores the opening of the Dotzè. Eiximenis began it with forty-three chapters outlining thirteen reasons for the founding of cities. This section contains some of Eiximenis’ clearest explanations for what he thought cities were for, how they should work and why they may fail or succeed. Eiximenis was convinced that the motivations for founding a city were important, and that their antiquity and ubiquity said something important about humans. The following argues that Eiximenis saw cities as a means to transform their inhabitants. As the city shaped its citizens, so too did the manner and means of the creation of the city have an impact on the results of this moulding. People might make cities, but in doing so they made themselves.
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What follows will begin by introducing the two writers who are our subjects (Peter Martyr d'Anghleria and Francisco Cervantes de Salazar) before we consider their varied approaches to the indigenous settlements of the Caribbean and... more
What follows will begin by introducing the two writers who are our subjects (Peter Martyr d'Anghleria and Francisco Cervantes de Salazar) before we consider their varied approaches to the indigenous settlements of the Caribbean and Mesoamerica. Their accounts of these villages and cities will then be contrasted with their depictions of Spanish urban foundations. This examination reveals how the Roman colonial city could be used to understand the cities of the New World and to model Spanish imperialism in these lands. This in turn demonstrates the usefulness of the ancient city as a tool for thinking about colonial cities in later centuries
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When writing the history of his native Kingdom of Jerusalem, Archbishop William of Tyre (c.1130-1186) frequently included extended descriptions of the cities encountered by Crusaders in the Eastern Mediterranean. This paper will... more
When writing the history of his native Kingdom of Jerusalem, Archbishop William of Tyre (c.1130-1186) frequently included extended descriptions of the cities encountered by Crusaders in the Eastern Mediterranean. This paper will investigate the way in which William’s self-identification as a Latin and his extensive education in the universities of Western Europe at the height of the ‘twelfth-century renaissance’ shaped his treatment of the cities of the land in which he was born and raised. William frequently chose to focus on the ancient past of these cities, privileging a reading of the urban landscape that was biblical and classical, to which the crusaders were the natural heirs. Nonetheless, a close reading of the work reveals William’s inability to completely efface the Byzantine and Islamic histories of the cities, disrupting and confusing his orderly account of the urban past. William’s history therefore provides a sense of the complex ways in which the Franks of the Latin East positioned themselves within the long histories of the cities in which they lived.
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While it is well known that many of Charlemagne’s wars had a strong religious element, Frankish campaigns against the Muslims of Spain in his reign have generally been understood as secular exercises in power politics. This paper presents... more
While it is well known that many of Charlemagne’s wars had a strong religious element, Frankish campaigns against the Muslims of Spain in his reign have generally been understood as secular exercises in power politics. This paper presents evidence contemporary to Charlemagne’s reign to argue against this, using a diverse range of sources to conclude that many observers of the Frankish invasions of the Iberian Peninsula understood them as religious wars aimed both at defending of Christian communities in Francia and protecting and expanding the worship of Christianity in Spain. Further, although the prosecution of these wars were politically opportunistic, the sources suggest that Charlemagne and his court encouraged interpretations of these campaigns in religious terms and that they might be considered examples of religious war.
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This article investigates a previously neglected aspect of diplomatic relations between the Carolingians and the Umayyads of al-Andalus, the camels sent by Emir Muḥammad I to Charles the Bald, King of the West Franks, in 865. In addition... more
This article investigates a previously neglected aspect of diplomatic relations between the Carolingians and the Umayyads of al-Andalus, the camels sent by Emir Muḥammad I to Charles the Bald, King of the West Franks, in 865. In addition to being placed within a diplomatic and historiographical context, the meaning of these animals needs to be understood within the traditions both of the donor and the recipient. The unusual nature of camels for both al-Andalus and Francia is explored. For both Muḥammad and Charles and their respective courts, camels would have been resonant of eastern monarchy, strengthening a claim to parity with other Islamic rulers for the former, while contributing to Charles' presentation of himself as a Solomonic king.
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Study of the diplomacy between the Carolingians and the ʿAbbāsids has been hampered by the absence of any sources from the Caliphate commenting on their relationship. This paper identifies two variants of the Arabic Tiburtine Sibyl,... more
Study of the diplomacy between the Carolingians and the ʿAbbāsids has been hampered by the absence of any sources from the Caliphate commenting on their relationship. This paper identifies two variants of the Arabic Tiburtine Sibyl, apocalyptic prophecies composed by Syriac Christians in the early ninth century, that provide contemporary Arabic references to contact between Charlemagne and Hārūn al-Rashīd. In
doing so, they shed new light on this diplomatic activity by indicating that it was considerably more important for the Caliph than normally appreciated. Combined with other references to the Franks in Arabic apocalyptic of the period, the evidence of these Sibyls suggests that Hārūn al-Rashīd accrued considerable prestige from his reception of
Charlemagne’s envoys and the gifts that they brought with them.
doing so, they shed new light on this diplomatic activity by indicating that it was considerably more important for the Caliph than normally appreciated. Combined with other references to the Franks in Arabic apocalyptic of the period, the evidence of these Sibyls suggests that Hārūn al-Rashīd accrued considerable prestige from his reception of
Charlemagne’s envoys and the gifts that they brought with them.
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To be fully human in the Greco-Roman world was to be a member of a city. This is unsurprising as cities were the building blocks of Greek and Roman culture and society. The urban landscape of post-Roman Western Europe looked dramatically... more
To be fully human in the Greco-Roman world was to be a member of a city. This is unsurprising as cities were the building blocks of Greek and Roman culture and society. The urban landscape of post-Roman Western Europe looked dramatically different, with smaller, less economically diverse cities which played a smaller role in administration. Despite this, Greco-Roman ideas of humans as city-beings remained influential. This article explores this by investigating early medieval descriptions of cynocephali, which sought to determine whether the dog-headed men were human or not. Accounts of the cynocephali that presented them as human showed them living in urban settlements, whereas in reports of non-human cynocephali there are no cities. In exploring interactions between cynocephali and urban settings through ethnographic portrayals and hagiography, this article traces the lingering importance of the city for concepts of humanity.
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In his fragmentary De Re Publica, written between 54 and 51 BC, Cicero (d. 43 BC) explains that cities were built by gatherings of people, brought together to deliberate their common future, defined by their shared law and interests. It... more
In his fragmentary De Re Publica, written between 54 and 51 BC, Cicero (d. 43 BC) explains that cities were built by gatherings of people, brought together to deliberate their common future, defined by their shared law and interests. It is from these communities that cities arose leading to all subsequent civilisation. Cicero’s text serves as an example of one of the defining features of the Greco-Roman world, the identification of an urban settlement with its citizen body, a specific legal community with specific rights and responsibilities, significant for both who it includes and the many more it leaves out. The Roman orator was well aware that he was part of a longer tradition, referring to Periclean Athens with approval as an example of the union between city and citizen. The modern English word ‘city’ lacks many of the implications of polis or civitas (whence the modern word derives), which might better be rendered as state. Nonetheless, key to the Greco-Roman idea of citizenship is the sense of a fixed settlement centre where citizens can interact with their fellows, participate in assemblies or seek office.
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Published in Quaestio Insularis 16 (2015)
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In the year 802, an elephant arrived at the court of the Emperor Charlemagne in Aachen, sent as a gift by the ʿAbbasid Caliph, Harun al-Rashid. This extraordinary moment was part of a much wider set of diplomatic relations between the... more
In the year 802, an elephant arrived at the court of the Emperor Charlemagne in Aachen, sent as a gift by the ʿAbbasid Caliph, Harun al-Rashid. This extraordinary moment was part of a much wider set of diplomatic relations between the Carolingian dynasty and the Islamic world, including not only the Caliphate in the east but also Umayyad al-Andalus, North Africa, the Muslim lords of Italy and a varied cast of warlords, pirates and renegades. The Emperor and the Elephant offers a new account of these relations. By drawing on Arabic sources that help explain how and why Muslim rulers engaged with Charlemagne and his family, Sam Ottewill-Soulsby provides a fresh perspective on a subject that has until now been dominated by and seen through western sources.
The Emperor and the Elephant demonstrates the fundamental importance of these diplomatic relations to everyone involved. Charlemagne and Harun al-Rashid’s imperial ambitions at home were shaped by their dealings abroad. Populated by canny border lords who lived in multiple worlds, the long and shifting frontier between al-Andalus and the Franks presented both powers with opportunities and dangers, which their diplomats sought to manage.
Tracking the movement of envoys and messengers across the Pyrenees, the Mediterranean and beyond, and the complex ideas that lay behind them, this book examines the ways in which Christians and Muslims could make common cause in an age of faith.
The Emperor and the Elephant demonstrates the fundamental importance of these diplomatic relations to everyone involved. Charlemagne and Harun al-Rashid’s imperial ambitions at home were shaped by their dealings abroad. Populated by canny border lords who lived in multiple worlds, the long and shifting frontier between al-Andalus and the Franks presented both powers with opportunities and dangers, which their diplomats sought to manage.
Tracking the movement of envoys and messengers across the Pyrenees, the Mediterranean and beyond, and the complex ideas that lay behind them, this book examines the ways in which Christians and Muslims could make common cause in an age of faith.