60 chapter three
marks like the Christian soldiers of North Africa.^43 For instance, Alfons
offered to provide the troops of the captain Mohamet Abenadalil with
either clothing or money to buy their own clothing, suggesting it did not
matter much to him how they dressed.^44 In addition to basic clothing, jen-
ets also received compensation for all travel related to their duties, both
within and beyond the king’s territories, a privilege not granted to feudal
troops.^45 Moreover, unlike Aragonese feudatories — but like the Marīnid
Ghuzāh — jenets received horses and military equipment.^46 In some cases,
money was disbursed for a jenet to purchase these items;^47 in other cases,
horses, mules, or equipment were distributed directly by royal officials;^48
and in yet other cases, jenets commandeered horses, whose owners were
later reimbursed.^49 It should be added that the Crown also insured these
animals and goods against loss or harm.^50 In one of many such instances,
in July 1289 , Arnaldus de Bastida compensated Hahen Abenhali 500 sol-
idi for “a certain horse of his that he lost in our service.”^51 This privilege
was broadly and generously applied: for example, Arnaldus de Bastida
paid a jenet named Maymon 400 solidi to recover a horse that he had
pawned in Valencia to cover a debt.^52 Similarly, in 1310 , King Jaume II
paid a Christian nobleman 180 solidi in compensation for a mule taken by
a jenet when he departed the lands of the Crown of Aragon.^53 The Crown
also extended these indemnities to the bodies of the jenets themselves.
The captain, Abduluahet (‘Abd al- Wāḥid), who served at Albarracín, re-
ceived compensation rather matter- of- factly for “two animals and two sol-
diers” that he lost in battle.^54 Similarly, the Crown intervened to redeem
jenets from captivity. In 1290 , for example, King Jaume II demanded the
release of jenets held prisoner by his own subjects.^55 And in 1292 , Jaume
also reimbursed Paschasius Dominici for paying the ransom for several
jenets held captive in Castile.^56 In short, the Crown provided for these sol-
diers in all aspects of their service, from stipends to sustenance, whatever
they might need while in its lands. The fact that other soldiers in battle did
not receive these same privileges suggests that the king valued his Muslim
jenets differently and, perhaps, more than the rest.
The Aragonese kings heaped even more privilege, honor, and one
might say, affection upon jenet captains and commanders.^57 For instance,
in February 1290 , King Alfons issued three letters, each to a captain of jen-
ets residing in the kingdom of Granada, inviting them to enter his service:
Don Alfons, by the grace of God, king of Aragon, Mallorca, Valencia, and
Count of Barcelona, to you, Don Iuceff Abenzubayba, greeting and good will.
We have understood from Adabub Adalil that you with a company of jenets