chapter three

Sovereigns and Slaves

T

he Crown of Aragon’s decision to recruit large numbers of Muslim

jenets initially emerged out of extreme circumstances — an existential

threat. In 1284 , facing a French invasion and the rebellion of his own no-

blemen, King Pere II could only muster a handful of men to his defense.

Thus, at some level, his alliance with his former enemies, the Marīnid

Ghuzāh, reflected practical necessity — the desire for professional sol-

diers, at any cost, who would answer his commands. Nevertheless, for

decades to come, until the dissolution of the Ghuzāh at the end of the

fourteenth century, Aragonese kings continued to recruit and employ jen-

ets across their far- flung empire, in their armies and courts, against their

enemies and their own rebellious subjects. What began as an emergency

measure, in other words, became a permanent one, a fixed feature of royal

power. Why did these rulers continue to rely on their former enemies?

Did anything more than practical necessity bind these Christian kings to

these Muslim soldiers? And what does this alliance reveal about the na-

ture of Aragonese kingship?

Salary

The jenets were mercenaries. They were soldiers- for- hire, men who re-

ceived payments from the Crown of Aragon for the services that they

offered. Indeed, the vast majority of the records in the Archive of the

Crown of Aragon concerning the jenets deal with the disbursement of

salaries. Seen from the perspective of these receipts, piles of medieval pay

stubs, the Aragonese kings’ relationship with these soldiers seems decid-

edly professional and uncomplicated. This was a clean and clear financial

transaction: the kings paid, and these soldiers fought their wars.