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

82 chapter four

competing political theological traditions, Aragonese and Almohad,

intersected.

When ‘Uthmān finally appears in the chancery registers in 1285 , we

find him living in the kingdom of Valencia. In addition to ‘Uthman, who

is called “Açmon,” we find his brothers, ‘Abd al- Raḥmān (Abderamen),

Muḥammad (Mahomet), and ‘Abd al- Wāḥid (Abdeluaheyt). The pres-

ence of ‘Abd al- Wāḥid is significant. The eldest of Abū Dabbūs’ sons, he

was technically the last Almohad caliph because he held the title for five

days after his father’s death.^41 As these records show, the Aragonese kings

had been providing houses and living expenses for these men and their

families, in essence treating them as dependents and dignitaries.^42 What is

more, from 1285 to 1288 , during the period that Pere II and Alfons II were

facing a French crusade and the Unions, these four broth ers also served as

leaders of jenet companies, which is to say, they served as leaders of the

very same Marīnid cavalry that had overrun the Almohads a generation

earlier.^43 For this service, the Almohad princes were paid twice what the

average jenet received. The Aragonese kings, however, had a different pur-

pose in mind for these men.

On July 29 , 1287 , in the city of Jaca, near the border with France, ‘Abd

al- Wāḥid, the eldest of the Almohad princes, signed a treaty, written in

Latin and Arabic (bi’l- ‘ajamī wa’l- ‘arabī), agreeing to a lifelong alliance

with the Crown of Aragon in return for financial and military support for

the conquest of Ḥafṣid Tunis and the restoration of the Almohad Caliph-

ate in North Africa.^44

The treaty was wide- ranging. ‘Abd al- Wāḥid promised to welcome and

protect Aragonese merchants as long as they respected the rights and cus-

toms of Tunis.^45 He agreed to pay annual tributes to King Alfons and his

brother King Jaume of Sicily of 33 , 333 1 ⁄ 3 silver ( fiḍḍa /argenti) dīnārs and

16 , 000 silver dīnārs respectively, the former the traditional tribute paid

by the Ḥafṣids to the Holy Roman emperor. The remainder of the treaty

concentrated on matters related to Christian soldiers serving in Tunis.

The Almohad prince agreed to transfer all of these Christian soldiers,

regardless of their origin, to the jurisdiction ( ṭā‘a wa- ḥukm /jurisdiccione

et dominacioni) of the Crown of Aragon and its royal captain (al- qā’id /

alcaldus), who alone would adjudicate all civil and criminal law cases.^46

‘Abd al- Wāḥid agreed to maintain the customs established “during the

time of Guillem de Moncada,” a captain appointed by Alfons’ grandfa-

ther, King Jaume I.^47 He also agreed to provide these soldiers with regular

salaries, armed horses, mules, and other necessary provisions, mirroring