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

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less, military successes rapidly brought them tremendous authority and

enthusiastic acolytes.^9 Princes and soldiers from the kingdoms of North

Africa crossed the sea to join the Ghuzāh, replenishing their ranks con-

tinually. Ultimately, these Marīnid princes commanded a motley crew of

Zanāta and Arab soldiers as well as a mixture of salaried soldiers and

ascetic warriors. These ascetic warriors were men who had devoted them-

selves voluntarily to holy war. The Ghuzāh resided both at the city of

Granada, where they protected the Naṣrid sultans, and in frontier for-

tresses, which were simultaneously military and religious institutions from

which they conducted raids into Christian territory.^10 As Romance and

Ara bic sources confirm, the Ghuzāh played a decisive role the battles of

Moclín ( 1280 ), Alicún ( 1316 ), de la Vega ( 1319 ), and Teba ( 1331 ), tri-

umphs that resonated across the peninsula and the Mediterranean.

The extensive success of the Ghuzāh for a period of a century reflected

not only their military strength but also the delicate balance of power

in the western Mediterranean after the collapse of the Almohad Caliph-

ate. For the Marīnid sultans in North Africa, the existence of the Ghuzāh

served two purposes. First, this institution offered a tidy solution to the

problem of royal succession at Fez. By banishing competitors, sending

them across the sea, the Marīnid rulers aimed to free themselves from

internal threats while nevertheless keeping these pretenders within reach.

For instance, when the Marīnid sultan sent the powerful prince ‘Abd al-

Ḥaqq b. ‘Uthmān to Iberia to join the Ghuzāh, he asked that the Naṣrids

imprison ‘Abd al- Ḥaqq upon his arrival in Granada.^11 This caution was

wise: the prince escaped from prison; fled to “Christian territory (dār al-

ḥarb)”; and ultimately returned to North Africa, where he continued to

conspire against the Marīnids.^12 Second, the Marīnid sultans’ creation of

and support for the Ghuzāh demonstrated their commitment to jihād.^13

From the Aghlabids to the Almohads, Islamic rulers in the North Africa

and al- Andalus had employed holy war against not only Christians but

also other Muslims to establish their temporal and spiritual authority, to

gain approval from jurists and warriors.^14 By choosing to call these troops

“al- Ghuzāh,” these sultans may have also intended to draw a comparison

between themselves and the Almohads, who maintained a homologous

military division. In other words, in the eyes of the Marīnid sultans, the

Ghuzāh were an important symbol of their claim to be the rightful heirs

of these caliphs.^15

For the exiled Marīnid princes, al- Andalus offered not only refuge

but also opportunity. Their participation and success in jihād lent these

princes an authority that came to rival that of the Marīnid sultan. For