The Mercenary Mediterranean_ Sovereignty, Religion, and Violence in the Medieval Crown of Aragon - Hussein Fancy

a mercenary economy 91

nations, in order to force them into submission. They do not use them for

holy war, because they are afraid that they might take sides against the

Muslims. Such is the situation at this time.”^111 Despite such constraints,

the use of Christian was widespread.

By the time one reaches the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the

period best illuminated by the chancery registers of the Archive of the

Crown of Aragon, the employment of soldiers was not only thoroughly

entrenched but had also become an “affair of state,” a fact that brought

these armies greater legitimacy, authority, and influence in North Africa

and the Iberian Peninsula.^112

As seen in the case of Alfons’ three missions above, the Aragonese kings

were concerned principally with asserting their jurisdiction over Christian

soldiers in North Africa.^113 In this regard, they were most successful in Tu-

nis and Tlemcen. By contrast, in Fez, their influence was split: Aragonese

and Castilian troops competed with each other for control, backing differ-

ent factions at court, leading to decades of intrigue.^114 Nevertheless, control

over the traffic in Christian soldiers to all three North African kingdoms

was an Aragonese diplomatic priority in the thirteenth century.^115

The earliest Aragonese intervention into the lives of Christian militias

in North Africa can be roughly dated to the 1250 s. In that period, the cap-

tain William de Moncada approached the Aragonese king to help settle a

salary dispute with the Ḥafṣid sultan in Tunis.^116 The resulting agreement

with the sultan would become the standard invoked during later negotia-

tions, as it was, for instance, in the treaty of ‘Abd al- Wāḥid, the Almohad

prince.^117 In accepting the service of Christian knights, Muslim rulers had

to confirm what they recognized as customary privileges related to pay

and religion.^118 They agreed to salaries for different ranks of soldiers from

squire to knight. They recognized pastoral concerns and made assurances

that these soldiers would be free to perform religious services.^119 The Ara-

gonese kings assigned Christian militias uniforms and banners, bearing

the colors of the Crown of Aragon, a white cross on a colored background,

an image that reportedly drew complaints from some Muslims in North

Africa.^120 But perhaps most significantly, the Aragonese king gained the

right to name a captain (Lat. alcaidus or Rom. alcayt) over these soldiers,

who would administer justice on the king’s behalf.^121

In an effort to appeal to the powerful captains of these Christian mi-

litias, the Aragonese kings extended them honors and privileges. These

captains were called upon to serve as ambassadors and translators,

as representative of the Crown of Aragon in North Africa.^122 The first