Presence of Muslim Slaves in the Court of Palermo During the 6th Century AH/12th Century AD In Light of Andalusian Travel Literature: "Al-Tadhkira bi’l-Akhbar ‘an Ittifaqat al-Asfar" by Ibn Jubayr as a Model
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63939/AJTS.3y8xtf44Keywords:
Muslim Slaves, Palermo, Andalusian Travel Literature, Islamic Civilization, Ibn Jubayr’s JourneyAbstract
As a result of economic ties and military operations between both shores of the Mediterranean during the medieval period, many peoples and ethnic groups moved-either voluntarily or forcibly-to regions beyond their original homelands. Among the most significant of these regions were Al-Andalus and Sicily. The latter witnessed significant political settlement and the widespread influence of Islam and its civilization from the 2nd century AH/8th century AD. Although Islamic rule in Sicily came to an end in the 5th century AH/11th century AD due to the Reconquista and the shifting balance of power between the East and West in the Mediterranean world, Muslim communities continued to exist there.
Despite being at the lowest ranks of the social hierarchy, these Muslim groups played a crucial role in the political and social life of Sicily, particularly in the courts of its rulers and its great capital, Palermo. Among these groups was the class of "slaves and servants", whose presence and contributions are partially documented in Ibn Jubayr’s travelogue Al-Tadhkira bi’l-Akhbar ‘an Ittifaqat al-Asfar. This study explores the role and contributions of this Muslim community and social class in Sicily, with a particular focus on Palermo.
Downloads
References
Ibn al-Khaṭīb, Lisān al-Dīn. (2009). Al-Iḥāṭa fī Akhbār Gharnāṭa (Vol. 2) [The Comprehensive Account of Granada]. Al-Amal Studies Publishing House
Ibn al-Abbār. (2011). Al-Takmila li-Kitāb al-Ṣila [Supplement to “al-Ṣila”]. Islamic West Publishing House
Ibn Jubayr. (2001). Tadhkira bi-l-Ikhbār ʿan Ittifāqāt al-Asfār [Memoir on the Events of the Journeys]. Al-Suwaydi Publishing & Distribution; Arab Institute for Studies and Publishing
Ibn Jubayr. (2014). Risālat Iʿtibār al-Nāsik fī Dhikr al-Āthār al-Karīma wa-l-Manāsik [Pilgrim’s Reflections on Noble Relics and Rites]. Mohammadia League of Scholars
Al-Difāʿ, ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh. (1993). Ruwād ʿIlm al-Jughrāfiyā fī al-Ḥaḍāra al-ʿArabiyya wa-l-Islāmiyya (2nd Ed.) [Pioneers of Geography in Arab-Islamic Civilization]. Al-Tawba Bookstore
Al-Marrākushī, Ibn ʿAbd al-Malik. (2012). Al-Dhayl wa-l-Takmila li-Kitābay al-Mawṣūl wa-l-Ṣila [Appendix and Supplement to “al-Mawṣūl” and “al-Ṣila”]. Islamic West Publishing House
Al-Maqrīzī, Taqī al-Dīn. (1991). Al-Muqaffā al-Kabīr [The Great Biographical Dictionary]. Islamic West Publishing House
Al-Ṣafadī, Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn. (2000). Al-Wāfī bi-l-Wafayāt [The Complete Obituaries]. House for the Revival of Arab Heritage
Al-Maqrī, Aḥmad ibn al-Tilmisānī. (2012). Nafḥ al-Ṭīb min Ghuṣn al-Andalus al-Raṭīb [The Perfumed Breeze from the Verdant Branch of al-Andalus]. Sader Publishing
Al-Mawṣilī, Abū al-Barakāt. (2005). Qalāʾid al-Jumān fī Farāʾid Shuʿarāʾ Hādhā al-Zamān [Necklaces of Pearls on the Choice Poets of Our Time]. Scientific Book House
Al-Marrākushī, Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Malik. (2012). Al-Dhayl wa-l-Takmila li-Kitābay al-Mawṣūl wa-l-Ṣila [Appendix and Supplement to “al-Mawṣūl” and “al-Ṣila”]. Islamic West Publishing House
Al-Mundhirī, Abd al-ʿAẓīm. (1984). Al-Takmila li-Wafayāt al-Naqala [Supplement to the Deaths of the Transmitters]. Al-Resala Foundation
Amari, Michele. (2003). Tārīkh Muslimī Siqilliyya (Vol. 3) [History of the Muslims of Sicily]. Le Monnier
Ibn Taghrī Birdī. (1963). Al-Nujūm al-Zāhira fī Mulūk Miṣr wa-l-Qāhira (Vol. 6) [The Shining Stars on the Kings of Egypt and Cairo]. General Egyptian Book Organization
Benarba, M., & Boussalem, A. (2021). Dawr Wārjlān fī Tijārat al-Raqīq bi-Bilād al-Maghrib al-Awsat khilāl al-ʿAṣr al-Wasīṭ [The Role of Ouargla in the Slave Trade of the Central Maghreb during the Medieval Period]. Mediterranean History Journal, 4(1). Publications of the Laboratory for Orientalist Research and Studies on Islamic Maghreb Civilization
Benarba, M. (2020). Tijārat al-Raqīq fī Bilād al-Maghrib al-Awsat khilāl al-ʿAṣr al-Wasīṭ: al-Aṣnāf – al-Marākiz [Slave Trade in the Central Maghreb during the Medieval Age: Categories and Centers]. In African Studies (International collective volume). Publications of the Laboratory for Orientalist Research and Studies on Islamic Maghreb Civilization
Toumi, Rachid. (1988). Al-ʿAlāqāt al-Khārijiyya li-Dawlat al-Nūrmān fī Janūb Iṭāliyā wa-Siqilliyya (1017–1154 M) [Foreign Relations of the Norman State in Southern Italy and Sicily, 1017–1154 AD]. Institute of History
Ḥallāq, Ḥassān. (1996). Makka al-Mukarrama min khilāl Riḥlat Ibn Jubayr wa-Ibn Baṭṭūṭa (1st ed.) [Mecca through the Journeys of Ibn Jubayr and Ibn Baṭṭūṭa]. Arab Renaissance Printing & Publishing House
Ḥamīda, Abd al-Raḥmān. (1994). Aʿlām al-Jughrafiyyīn al-ʿArab wa-Muqtafaṭāt min Āthārihim. [Notable Arab Geographers and Selections from Their Works]. Dar al-Fikr (House of Thought)
Dimand, M. S. (1982). Al-Funūn al-Islāmiyya (Arabic Trans. ʿĪsā, A. M.; rev. Fikrī, A.) [Islamic Arts]. House of Knowledge
Abbās, Iḥsān. (1975). Al-ʿArab fī Siqilliyya: Dirāsa fī al-Tārīkh wa-l-Adab (2nd Ed.) [The Arabs in Sicily: A Study in History and Literature]. Culture House
Azīz, Aḥmad. (1980). Tārīkh Siqilliyya al-Islāmiyya (Arabic Trans. & Introd. Al-Ṭayyibī, A. T.) [History of Islamic Sicily]. Arab House for Books
Kratchkovsky, Ignatius. (1963). Tārīkh al-Adab al-Jughrafī al-ʿArabī (Arabic Trans. Hāshim, Ṣ. ʿ.; rev. Belyaev, I.; Vol. 1) [History of Arabic Geographical Literature]. Printing Press of the Committee for Authorship, Translation and Publication
Dayf, Shawqī. (1956). Al-Riḥlāt (4th Ed.) [Travelogues]. House of Knowledge
Moreno, Martino Mario. (1968). Al-Muslimūn fī Siqilliyya (2nd Ed.) [The Muslims in Sicily]. Lebanese University Publications
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
As an open-access the journal follows the CC BY-NC 4.0 Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International which states that:
- you are free to:
- Share— copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.
- Adapt— remix, transform, and build upon the material.
- Under the following terms:
- Attribution— You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.