a mercenary economy 83
the treatment of jenets by the Crown of Aragon.^48 Differently than for
the jenets, he promised to make alcohol available, one wine barrel (barīl
[sic] al- sharāb / barrile vini) every five days for a knight and every seven
days for a squire.^49 In addition to matters of jurisdiction, pastoral concerns
were also addressed. ‘Abd al- Wāḥid authorized the Aragonese soldiers
to establish a merchant hostel ( funduq/alfundicum) with the customary
right to possess a church, celebrate rituals such as “[raising] the body of
Jesus Christ ( jāshū qarīsit / Iehsu Cristi) while ringing bells,” receive com-
munion, and use a censer (mibkhara /turibula) for burial services.^50 Fi-
nally, the prince promised to aid the Aragonese against all their enemies,
whether Christian or Muslim:
Moreover, we promise you upon our word (‘alā ‘ahdinā/ bona fide) that whenever
you call upon us (nuṭlabu ‘ankum /a vobis fuerimus requisiti) by letter or mes-
senger, we will help you with all our might to oppose anyone, whether Christian,
Muslim, or otherwise, of whatever community (umma /condicionis legis), religion
or creed (dīn aw i‘tiqād /fidei), and we will do this without deceptions, malice, or
treachery (khudu‘ wa- khubth wa- ghadr/dolo, malo, et fraude).
The imbalance between the parties of this contract is underscored by
the fact that Alfons, in turn, only promised to offer ‘Abd al- Wāḥid sup-
port against his Muslim enemies.^51 Finally but rather typically for such in-
terreligious agreements, the Almohad prince and Aragonese king swore
on the Qur’ān and Bible respectively.^52
In this treaty, Alfons asserted his dominion not only over Tunis but
also over the Christian troops living there, who served in the armies and
courts of the Ḥafṣids. Like his predecessors, Alfons was attempting to
place a puppet on the throne at Tunis. This desire to ventriloquize, to
speak through Almohad authority, is most obvious in the fact that the
Arabic of this charter is a slavish copy of the Latin. The script is Maghribī
but written unsteadily and riddled with errors, unusual word choices, and
curious vocalization marks. All the witnesses to the charter are, more-
over, Christians. In other words, this treaty was most likely the product of
the Aragonese chancery, an agreement thrust upon ‘Abd al- Wāḥid. One
might even be tempted to conclude that the whole document was a forg-
ery if not for the events that followed.
After signing this agreement, it took some time for ‘Abd al- Wāḥid to
depart for North Africa. In October 1287 , Alfons transferred 2 , 000 solidi
to ‘Abd al- Wāḥid for his journey.^53 But as late as April 1288 , the Almohad
