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

78 chapter four

to deal with the recruitment of jenets. Alfons instructed his ambassadors

to convey two sentiments to Abū Ya‘qūb: first, that “from Pere, his father,

and Jaume, his grandfather, he has learned of the good will of the sultan,”

and second, that “from his father, Pere, he also has learned of the aid (va-

lença) of his [the sultan’s] knights (companya sua de cavalers) that profited

the king in his war against the French.” Significantly, this document re-

veals that the Marīnids had acknowledged if not authorized the participa-

tion of their cavalry in the defense of the Crown of Aragon against the

French crusade in 1285. Alfons further instructed his ambassadors to tell

Abū Ya‘qūb that “he [Alfons] has learned that the sultan can offer him

2,000 jenets for his mission (II mile janets ab sa messio).” He therefore au-

thorized Pere and Abrahim to conclude a peace treaty with the Marīnids.

According to its terms, Abū Ya‘qūb would initially provide Alfons with

500 jenets, and Alfons, in turn, would provide the sultan with five galleys or

more if required.^11 The rulers also agreed to place restrictions on the use of

these troops and navies: Alfons promised only to assist the sultan against

Muslims, and the sultan would only aid Alfons against Christians.^12

The deeper purpose of this exchange of troops was revealed by the re-

maining instructions, namely a proposed joint invasion of Tunis. First, Al-

fons promised to release into Marīnid custody a captive referred to only

as “Margam” in this document as well as others in the registers of the Ar-

chive of the Crown of Aragon. “Margam” was undoubtedly Murghim b.

Ṣābir, whose captivity in Barcelona was noted by Ibn Khaldūn.^13 Murghim

was also a chief of the Banū Dabbāb, an Arab tribe, and more impor-

tantly, a prominent enemy of the Ḥafṣids. Second, Alfons instructed his

ambassadors to tell Abū Ya‘qūb that any ships supplied by the Crown

of Aragon must immediately be employed against Tunis. Third and last,

in the event the Marīnids captured Tunis, the annual tributes and other

rights (els los tributz els altres dretz) of the Aragonese kings would be

maintained.^14 The importance of these negotiations to understanding the

Aragonese king’s goals is not mitigated by the fact that a signed agree-

ment with the Marīnids never followed.^15

At the same time that Pere and Abrahim traveled to Fez, an Aragonese

ambassador named Pedro Garcia succeeded in signing a treaty with the

‘Abd al- Wādid ruler, Abū Sa‘īd ‘Uthmān b. Yaghmurāsan (r. 1283 – 1304 ),

for the exchange of troops.^16 In this case, however, the Christian soldiers

in question were already in the service of Abū Sa‘īd. They were mem-

bers of a militia under the command of Jaume Pere, an illegitimate son

of King Pere II.^17 Alfons’ instructions to Pedro Garcia began by asking