sovereigns and slaves 61
wish to enter into our service, which pleases us greatly. And we hope that after
seeing this letter, you will come to Valencia, where we have ordered our faithful
scribe, Raimund Escorne, to collect from us your salary (quitacio) and what-
ever you require. And we promise you that when we have won with the aid of
God a settlement to the war, if you have not returned to the land of the King
of Granada, that as long as you wish to stay in our land you will lack nothing
(no vos faleçremos de lo que ayades menester) until you win the love of the
king of Granada, because we know that every man who serves us, serves the
king of Granada (tot homne qui a nos sierva, sierve al Rey de Granada). Dated
Zaragoza, 24 February.
Likewise to Don Mahomet al Granadaxi.
Likewise to Don Mahomet Abenadalil.^58
In this invitation, Alfons not only expressed great pleasure at the pos-
sibility of the service of these three new captains of jenets but also re-
vealed the context for their arrival, namely, that they have had a falling
out with the sultan of Granada, Muḥammad II (r. 1273 – 1302 ). One can
only speculate about the cause of this rift, but what is significant to note
is the nature of Alfons’ entreaty. In a rather ecumenical tone, Alfons ap-
pealed to these exiles by invoking both the divine (“with the aid of God”)
and political justness (“every man who serves us, serves the king of
Granada”) of his impending war, which to say that although these soldiers
were seeking refuge, he nevertheless hoped to dissuade them from seeing
their crossing as a transgression.
Some jenet leaders received elevated positions at the Aragonese royal
court. Mahomet Abenadalil, from the letter above, and al- ‘Abbās b. Raḥḥū,
whom King Jaume II referred to as “beloved (amado),” became vassals of
the Crown.^59 Both of these men as well as several other jenets were also
members of the king’s household (de domo regis), where they joined his en-
tourage and served as his guardsmen.^60 It is worth adding that they would
not have been the only Muslims in court: the Crown’s chief veterinarian
and horse smith, known as the menescallus, was typically a Mudéjar.^61
Given the presence of jenets in the royal entourage, perhaps, it is also no
coincidence that the modern Castilian jinetear, another relative of the word
jenet, signifies to ride in a public procession, a meaning suggestive of the
kind of public and performative role that the jenets might have once played.
Several of the jenets in the king’s entourage also served as ambassadors
to and from Muslim courts. Both Mahomet Abenadalil and al- ‘Abbās b.
Raḥḥū visited the Aragonese court from Granada and Fez, respectively,
after their tenures of service had ended.^62 In 1290 , when King Alfons II
