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

138 chapter six

of the Marīnid ruler. The Marīnid sultan asked Montegut to retake pos-

session of al- ‘Abbās’ castles in Murcia and return his hostages, while al-

‘Abbās would take his soldiers to Algeciras, where ships would be wait-

ing. Upon receiving these instructions, al- ‘Abbās immediately came with

his troops “en semble” to seek Montegut’s advice. Montegut counseled

the soldiers to go to the Aragonese king before taking a decision, advice

consistent with the jenets’ contract. Al- ‘Abbās replied that “he [al- ‘Abbās]

knew what was in his heart (ell se lo avia a coraçon).” Montegut con-

tinued, “The next day he [al- ‘Abbās] returned and said... that nothing

would make him go to you [King Jaume II], that his nephews and sons

and other soldiers wanted to leave and nothing in the world would make

them wait (Otro dia torno a nos, et dixo nos que ell por ren del mundo no

poria ir a vos, que los sobrinos et sus fijos et la otra cavalleria se le querian

hir se carrera et que por ren del mundo no lo atendrian).” With these lines,

one finally strikes bedrock. Al- ‘Abbās’ jenets rejected the possibility of

continuing their service to the Crown of Aragon. In these circumstances,

no stipend or salary could justify their remaining in Jaume’s employ. Al-

though these soldiers were in open rebellion against Granada and had

come into the lands of the Crown of Aragon of their own accord, they now

invoked the same boundaries found in the sweeping treaties approved by

Islamic jurists. They would not support a Christian king who threatened

Granada. Their loyalty had its limits. Thus, Montegut consented to dis-

charge al- ‘Abbās on the king’s behalf, take possession of his lands, and

return his hostages. Just seven months after entering the king’s service,

al- ‘Abbās and the other members of the Banū Raḥḥū departed for North

Africa.

A month later, the Crown of Aragon and Castile signed the Treaty of

Agreda, by which they agreed to divide Murcia between them and pre-

pare a joint crusade against Almería. And what followed leaves little

doubt as to the motivation behind the jenets’ sudden departure. In Sep-

tember 1304 , Ghuzāh cavalry under the command of none other than al-

‘Abbās b. Raḥḥū attacked Murcia and Valencia.^115 Berenguer de Cardona

and his Templar Knights were called to defend the kingdom from their

former comrades.^116 The invasion of the Ghuzāh had precisely the result

that Bernat de Libia, the bailiff of Valencia, had feared the most: the

Mudéjares rose up in large numbers to join the Ghuzāh.^117 But the up-

rising failed.^118 In some regions, entire Mudéjar villages were forced to re-

treat alongside these cavalrymen, abandoning their possessions.^119 Other

Mudéjares, including the young and the old, were imprisoned for their