Islamic and Norman Sicily

Introductory reading

Biographical details of al-Nuwayrī (.pdf file limited access) or read in The Encyclopedia of Islam ( EI3), (3rd edition), 13 vols, eds. H. A. R. Gibb et al. (Leiden, 2006)

The Encyclopedia of Islam

EI3

H. Kennedy, 'Sicily and al-Andalus under Muslim rule', New Cambridge Medieval History, vol. 3: c. 900–1024, ed. T. Reuter, (Cambridge, 1995–2005), 646–69.

F. Gabrieli, 'Greek and Arabs in the Central Mediterranean Area', Dumbarton Oaks Papers 18 (1964), 57–65 (.pdf 1.1 mB). Limited access.

Histoire et culture dans l'Italie byzantine: Acquis et nouvelles recherches eds A. Jacob, J.-M. Martin, and G. Noye (Rome, École Française de Rome, 2006).

Introductory reading

H. Kennedy, 'Sicily and al-Andalus under Muslim rule', The New Cambridge Medieval History, vol. 3: c. 900–1024, ed. T. Reuter, (Cambridge, 1995–2005), 646–69.

W. Granara, 'Islamic Education and the Transmission of Knowledge in Muslim Sicily' in Law and Education in Medieval Islam, eds. J. E. Lowry, D. J. Stewart and S. M. Toorawa (Chippenham, 2004), 150–73.

List of topic areas

1. Early history of the central Mediterranean

2. Sources for medieval Mediterranean history

3. Introduction to Mediterranean historiography

4. Geography of Sicily and the central Mediterranean

5. Arab-Muslim North Africa (647–827)

6. Late Byzantine Sicily and the Muslim conquest

7. Christians under Muslim rule

8. The Amirate of Bari

9. Law and learning in Muslim Sicily

10. Rebellions in the Fatimid period

11. Taxation, land tenure, the army and administration

12. Ibn Hawqal In Sicily

13. The Muslim Civil War (c.1030–60)

14. South Italy before the Normans

15. Al-Mujāhid's attack on Sardinia

16. The rise of the Normans in south Italy

17. The Hilalian ‘invasion' of Zirid Ifrīqiya

18. The Norman conquest of Sicily (1061–72)

19. The Norman conquest of Sicily and Malta (1072–91)

20. Muslim responses to the Norman conquest

21. Ecclesiastical lordships

22. The rise of new administrators

23. The early Norman administration of lands and men in Sicily

24. Rebellious lords and the incastellamento question

25. The regency of Adelaide

26. Christodoulos and George of Antioch

27. Roger II as Count of Sicily

28. Sicily and the Mediterranean (1118–28)

29. Formation of the new kingdom

30. Consolidation and development of the kingdom

31. Law, authority and kingship

32. Art and architecture of the royal palaces

33. The royal fiscal administration of lands and men

34. The trial of Philip of Mahdiyya

35. The Norman conquest of Africa

36. William I and Maio of Bari

37. The History of Hugo Falcandus

38. The Muslims and the ‘Lombards'

39. Stephen of Perche and the French contingents

40. Science, translation and patronage

41. The familiares regis

42. External relations and overseas diplomacy

43. The foundation of Monreale

44. Ibn Jubayr in Sicily

45. Abū l-Qāsim and the Muslims

46. The reign of Tancred

47. Markward and the 'amirate in the mountains'

48. The Norman legacy

49. Frederick II and the Staufen dynasty

50. The Sicilian Vespers

The Medieval Mediterranean Islamic and Norman Sicily (800–1200)
Contact us at: medievalsicily@gmail.com
Home > Islamic Sicily
Home The Central Mediterranean (535–827) Islamic Sicily & South Italy (827–1061) The Early Normans (1000–1130) Kingdom of Sicily (1130–1250) Links and Resources Images Discussion board	Topic 6. Late Byzantine Sicily and the Muslim conquest Source material Al-Nuwayrī's account of the Euphemios revolt and Aghlabid invasion (.pdf file) Translation: Alex Metcalfe (2009). Limited access. Introductory reading Biographical details of al-Nuwayrī (.pdf file limited access) or read in The Encyclopedia of Islam ( EI3), (3rd edition), 13 vols, eds. H. A. R. Gibb et al. (Leiden, 2006) R. Traini, G. Oman and V. Grassi, 'Siqillīya' in The Encyclopedia of Islam (EI3) H. Kennedy, 'Sicily and al-Andalus under Muslim rule', New Cambridge Medieval History, vol. 3: c. 900–1024, ed. T. Reuter, (Cambridge, 1995–2005), 646–69. F. Gabrieli, 'Greek and Arabs in the Central Mediterranean Area', Dumbarton Oaks Papers 18 (1964), 57–65 (.pdf 1.1 mB). Limited access. Histoire et culture dans l'Italie byzantine: Acquis et nouvelles recherches eds A. Jacob, J.-M. Martin, and G. Noye (Rome, École Française de Rome, 2006). Discussion questions Topic 7. Christians under Muslim rule in Sicily Source material The Letter of Theodosius (.pdf file, 78 kB) on the fall of Syracuse in 878. The 'Cambridge Chronicle' (Ta'rīkh Jazīrat Siqilliyya) (.pdf 213 kB) trans. Alex Metcalfe. Introductory reading A. Metcalfe, The Muslims of Medieval Italy (Edinburgh, 2009), pp.11–43 Summary of the lives of Sicilian saints. .pdf file (restricted access). Worksheet on settlement models in the Islamic period. Discussion questions Topic 8. Muslims on the Italian Mainland: the Amirate of Bari Source material Al-Balādhurī, The Origins of the Islamic State (Kitāb Futūh al-Buldān), trans. P. K. Hitti (reprinted 2002), 371–2 and 375 (.pdf file). Restricted access. Discussion questions Topic 9. Law and Learning in Muslim Sicily Introductory reading H. Kennedy, 'Sicily and al-Andalus under Muslim rule', The New Cambridge Medieval History, vol. 3: c. 900–1024, ed. T. Reuter, (Cambridge, 1995–2005), 646–69. W. Granara, 'Islamic Education and the Transmission of Knowledge in Muslim Sicily' in Law and Education in Medieval Islam, eds. J. E. Lowry, D. J. Stewart and S. M. Toorawa (Chippenham, 2004), 150–73. Discussion questions Topic 10. Rebellions in the Fatimid period Ibn Qurhub's revolt; the Agrigento revolt of 937–41; the Banū l-Tabarī revolt of 947. See versions of al-Nuwayrī and the Cambridge Chronicle. Restricted access. Introductory reading Periodisation in tenth-century Sicily Genealogy of the Kalbid amirs (.pdf file 116 kB) Discussion questions Topic 11. Taxation, land tenure, the army and administration Source material Extract from al-Dāwūdī's Kitāb al-Amwāl. .pdf file ( kB). Al-Nuwayrī's account of reforms to provincial structures and taxation. PDF file. Limited access. Introductory reading Discussion questions Topic 12. Ibn Hawqal in Sicily Source material Ibn Hawqal's account of Sicily and Palermo (.pdf file, 201 kB). Translation: Alex Metcalfe (2009). Limited access. Description of Sicily in The Book of Curiosities .pdf extracted from http://cosmos.bodley.ox.ac.uk Map of Palermo in the late Islamic period (.pdf file, )© Alex Metcalfe 2009 Introductory reading J. Johns and E. Savage-Smith, 'The Book of Curiosities: A Newly Discovered Series of Maps', Imago Mundi 55 (2003), 7-24. Access on JSTOR via library catalogue). Discussion questions Topic 13. The Muslim Civil War c. 1030–60 Source material Extracts from the Cairo Geniza translated in Shlomo Simonsohn, The Jews in Sicily. Volume 1: 383–1300 (Leiden, 1999), pp. 177, 207–8, 216, 224, 258, 297–8, 305, 319, 356, 359, 366, 381–2, 384 and 387–9. Al-Nuwayri on the crises in the army and revolts of 1015, 1019 and 1034. Introductory reading Moshe Gil, 'Sicily 827–1072 in the light of the Geniza document and parallel sources' in Italia Judaica: Gli ebrei in Sicilia sino all'espulsione del 1492. Atti del V convegno internazionale, Palermo, 15–19 giugno 1992, (Palermo, 1995), pp. 96–171. Discussion questions	List of topic areas 1. Early history of the central Mediterranean 2. Sources for medieval Mediterranean history 3. Introduction to Mediterranean historiography 4. Geography of Sicily and the central Mediterranean 5. Arab-Muslim North Africa (647–827) 6. Late Byzantine Sicily and the Muslim conquest 7. Christians under Muslim rule 8. The Amirate of Bari 9. Law and learning in Muslim Sicily 10. Rebellions in the Fatimid period 11. Taxation, land tenure, the army and administration 12. Ibn Hawqal In Sicily 13. The Muslim Civil War (c.1030–60) 14. South Italy before the Normans 15. Al-Mujāhid's attack on Sardinia 16. The rise of the Normans in south Italy 17. The Hilalian ‘invasion' of Zirid Ifrīqiya 18. The Norman conquest of Sicily (1061–72) 19. The Norman conquest of Sicily and Malta (1072–91) 20. Muslim responses to the Norman conquest 21. Ecclesiastical lordships 22. The rise of new administrators 23. The early Norman administration of lands and men in Sicily 24. Rebellious lords and the incastellamento question 25. The regency of Adelaide 26. Christodoulos and George of Antioch 27. Roger II as Count of Sicily 28. Sicily and the Mediterranean (1118–28) 29. Formation of the new kingdom 30. Consolidation and development of the kingdom 31. Law, authority and kingship 32. Art and architecture of the royal palaces 33. The royal fiscal administration of lands and men 34. The trial of Philip of Mahdiyya 35. The Norman conquest of Africa 36. William I and Maio of Bari 37. The History of Hugo Falcandus 38. The Muslims and the ‘Lombards' 39. Stephen of Perche and the French contingents 40. Science, translation and patronage 41. The familiares regis 42. External relations and overseas diplomacy 43. The foundation of Monreale 44. Ibn Jubayr in Sicily 45. Abū l-Qāsim and the Muslims 46. The reign of Tancred 47. Markward and the 'amirate in the mountains' 48. The Norman legacy 49. Frederick II and the Staufen dynasty 50. The Sicilian Vespers
\| Home \| View by topic area\| Mediterranean History \| Islamic Sicily \| The Norman Conquest \| \| The Kingdom of Sicily \| Links and Resources \| Images \| Discussion board \|

The Medieval Mediterranean