Article Review: "What became of medieval Sicily’s Arabs? Genetic Demographic Evidence" by Louis Mendola

 

A street mural from Mazara, one of the original landing points of Muslims from Tunisia. Photo by blog author.

Summary: 
This short research article seeks to answer concisely what happened to the Arabs from the Muslim era of Sicily with genetic evidence, and based on previous research by the author himself, Louis Mendola. The research shows that genetic testing both reinforces the recorded historical facts and fills in some of the question marks. It is known and recorded that the final stand by Sicilian Muslims against the rule of the Normans and the land ownership of the Catholic Church was in the Iato area of West Sicily and resulted in Frederick II deporting an estimated 20,000 Muslims to Lucera in what today is Southern Italy. What the DNA evidence adds and that the historical record suggest is that many more Muslims integrated into Latin Sicily. Effectively, the Arab lineage never left, and continues to be part of the genetic heritage of almost all present-day Sicilians (and by extension, those in the Sicilian diaspora).

Key Quotes, Information, or Chapter:

• “By 1250, there were no Byzantine dioceses in Sicily; only a few Orthodox monasteries remained. Following a series of revolts, a few thousand Muslim Arabs were deported to Lucera in Apulia, while thousands more converted to Catholicism. By 1250, mosques were a rare sight.”

• “The genetic record revealed by DNA haplotyping confirms what historians have always known about the diversity of Sicily’s historic populations.”

• “Sicily’s population, like its culture, has been essentially endogamous since around 1300.”

• “In the case of Sicily, it has validated recorded history rather than challenged it.”

• “In its essence, the genetic evidence suggests that the greater part of Sicily’s Arabs did not simply leave the island (for Tunisia or other Fatimid lands), nor were they deported during the reign of Frederick II. Rather, such evidence as exists implies that the great majority assimilated with the Latin population, adopted Christianity and remained here in Sicily, in much the same manner as the Greek-speakers were Latinized.”

Map from What became of medieval Sicily’s Arabs? Genetic Demographic Evidence © 2016 Louis Mendola

Reflections of il Moro: 
The final quote says it all, “the great majority [of Arabs] assimilated with the Latin population, adopted Christianity and remained here in Sicily.” It is not just the DNA evidence either. It is well documented in the place names, surnames, language, food, art, and culture of Sicily. In my own family, we have the DNA evidence, but also a last name derived from Arabic, and come from a part of Sicily that historically had a large number of Arabs. Part of what Mendola tries to get at is that it is the layers of historical evidence that speak to the enduring presence. Last names alone were not necessarily indicators of DNA heritage (despite what some online sites claim), region alone is not an indicator, DNA alone is only part of the story, having Arab food in culinary tradition is not the full story - it is all of these things together that have been woven through a culture that has been largely “endogamous” (i.e. genetically unchanging) for the last 700+ years that speak to our Arab heritage.

Full article by Louis Mendola