100 r Yehoshua Frenkel
then in the future Muslims will demand the location for themselves.”^68
By transmitting this pseudo-account, the Christian chronicler actually
says to his audience that this noble act by the Commander of the Faithful
saved the church from confiscation. The Muslims should follow ̔Umar’s
footsteps and not harass the Christian congregation as had happened in
the Holy City during the days of al-Hakim. In addition to this object, the
historical account aims to displace the Jewish population of Jerusalem.
The use of historical accounts to rationalize contemporary conditions
was not limited to explanations of the conditions of the Protected People
under the caliphs; it also served to clarify stories of relics and places. For
example, an Armenian author claims in his description of sacred relics in
Constantinople that they were brought to the Byzantine capital following
the defeat of the imperial armies in the battle of Yarmuk (636). According
to this story, the Christians were able to remove the sacred objects from
the Church of the Resurrection while the Ishmaelite force encamped in
Jericho. They carried the items from Jerusalem to the coast and loaded
them on vessels heading for Constantinople. Following this successful
rescue operation, the Christians demanded that the Muslims swear an
oath guaranteeing their security, and then they opened the city’s gates.^69
Conclusion
It is not surprising that Jews and Christians put forward their claims cen-
turies after the emergence of the Islamic polity. The kitabiyun’s reactions
to the Islamic historical accounts could be established only after the latter
became firmly rooted in Muslim consciousness. This development went
hand in hand with the growth among the Muslims of a strong spirit of self-
identity and the sense of an attachment to their place of residence.^70 This is
clearly reflected in the merging of Islamic sacred history and geography.^71
Often the building of Islamic solidarity was accompanied by the depiction
of cities and regions as spaces blessed with a unique Islamic aura.
Only the accomplishment of these mental and intellectual evolutions
could open the way for the Jews and Christians of the Land of Islam, who
were not political dissidents and hence accepted the dominance of the Is-
lamic state. It is evident that the “Protected People” (ahl al-dhimma) who
lived under the shadow of the caliphs were familiar with the prevailing
topoi in the Arabo-Islamic chronicles and other literary genres. Yet, while