Article Review: Signs of the Times: Arabic Signatures as a Measure of Acculturation in Norman Sicily by Jeremy Johns Nadia Jamil

The charter to build the Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio in Palermo with Roger II's signature in Arabic at the top

Summary:
In this article, Johns and Jamil look at the documented evidence of the use of Arabic signatures by the kings and royal court of the Normans from Roger II to Frederick II, with the emphasis on Roger II. The article examines limited evidence of the use of an Arabic signature, specifically in the charter to build the Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio in Palermo, and the discussion from other sources. The article makes the argument that Roger II used scribes to establish the signature in order to project power and status, and suggest rulership over all of Sicily. The article also compares the signature attributed to Roger II to others in his court, and the differences in what was said and what it conveyed.

Key Quotes, Information, or Chapter:
- Although little attention has been given in recent scholarship to signature practices in the Islamic world, it was an area of focus in Medieval times, including the use of a motto of religious significance

- King Roger’s (II) translation of documents was not by chance but was the result of importing and hiring script writers from outside Sicily in Arabic, Greek, and Latin, and was done to enhance the view of his leadership and show his authority over all aspects of the island

- This is also reflected in imagery and architecture - King Roger was depicted not just as a Latin king, but also in Byzantine imperial robes of a bygone age, and in the guise of an Islamic sultan.”

- “That extraordinary flourishing of art and architecture in Norman Sicily lasted only sixty years, from the coronation of King Roger (II) on Christmas Day, 1130, to the death of his grandson, William II, in 1189. On William’s death the dynasty failed, and the increasingly fragile hold of the Norman kings upon their subjects was broken. The Latins attacked the Muslims, who fled to the mountains of the interior and in their hilltop refuges created an independent rebel emirate that fought on until the final destruction of the Muslim community in 1246.”

- Frederick II attempted to recreate something of the atmosphere that had surrounded his grandfather but was unable to reproduce the unique palace culture of Norman Sicily.”

- Ibn Jubayr visiting Sicily in 1184-85:



- “King Roger’s alama alama is preserved, and is one of the few documents from the Fatimid period to survive. It is a document giving consent to build Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio, the church founded by his vizier, George of Antioch and is written in Greek and Arabic.”

- The alama reads “Praise be to God, and thanks for His blessings”

- One challenge is that this does not seem to be a regular feature of documents for King Roger

- When used in 1130 and 1143, it is modeled after Fatimid rulers

- King Roger’s standard signature was in Greek, but likely not written by him, it was done by scribes

- The alama is likely also done by a scribe, an expert in Arabic calligraphy

- For our purposes, the point to stress is that Roger’s Arabic signature does not indicate the extent to which he was Arabicized, but rather the pains that he and his ministers took to ensure that he appeared to be so. Roger’s

alama helps to explain how it came to be believed, for example by Ibn Jubayr, that he and his successors could read and write Arabic—a deliberate fiction that contributed to the illusion that they resembled Muslim rulers.”

- “The Cappella Palatina, for example, was not the spontaneous product of the fusion of Arab, Greek, and Latin cultures in Sicily, but rather the deliberate creation of King Roger and his ministers, who imported mosaicists from Byzantium, painters from Fatimid Egypt, and masons and stone carvers from Campania and Puglia, who each contributed a part to the artificial and composite royal image. Once in Palermo, of course, these foreign ateliers influenced both each other and their Sicilian pupils, so that there rapidly developed local traditions of mosaics, painting, sculpture, and so on.:”

- “No document bearing the alama of either William I or William II has survived, but the alama of King Roger is preserved at the head of an original document in the archive of the Cappella Palatina in Palermo. We believe this to be the only surviving alama of a ruler from the Fatimid period and, with the single exception of the alama of the Fatimid vizier Bahram that dates from March 1136 (see below), the earliest known example of an alama on an original document.”

- In the document that with King Roger’s alama , the charter for Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio includes land in Misilmeri that includes 10 Muslim households, all listed in Arabic

- There is scant evidence that the use of the alama was standard, and there are decades that go by without any documents showing evidence of this. It is challenging to say with certainty the extent to which King Roger II engaged with Arabic.

- Roger II was educated in Greek, but despite this, appeared unaccustomed to writing his name, and often signed documents with a cross and had scribes sign it in Greek

- Similarly, it is believed that Arab calligraphers were responsible for the signature on documents, and on the document examined, it appears that the writer tried to complete the signature in one stroke, and is comparable to other Fatimid rulers of the time

- That said, this is not an indication of Roger II use or proficiency in Arabic, but is a projection of how he wanted his rule to be perceived, especially by Muslim subjects and the larger Muslim world

- While Roger II did not write his signature, William Malconvenant, a high ranking administrator under William II, did sign his name in Arabic

- In documents written in Latin, he would sign with a cross and then add his name in Arabic - written in the Kufic script, and from left to right

- To learn Kufic, it is likely that he was instructed by an Arab scribe - in his position, he likely was mostly interacting with other Latin language speakers/writers - and adding this signature was for them to potentially believe that he knew Arabic in some form, and was close to royalty

- Multi long proclamations “were symbols of the royal policy of populus trilinguis — visual proclamations that the cohesive rule of the king had united the three linguistic communities of the island into a single Sicilian people

- From the reign of Roger II until the fall of the kingdom, the Norman kings employed eunuchs as household servants, palace officials, and administrators.

- Peter, a Berber, rose to an administrative position, and was one of the key people that ran the kingdom, along with Richard Palmer and Matthew of Salerno, and helped lead military attacks as well as put down rebellions in Sicily. After William I died, Richard Palmer joined the rebellious barons, and Peter fled to the Almohads, taking on the name Ahmed.

- Martin, a member of the royal diwan (court) had a similar signature to Peter (My trust is in God)

- Richard, another member of the royal diwan, signature read “Nothing is hidden by God”

- It is highly likely that the environment of the royal diwan allowed for collaboration across Peter, Martin, and Richard

- The eunuch, ‘Ammar was the most direct, his signature listed his actual name and added “God and the Muslims are sufficient for me” - this put him at risk if it was revealed what was said

- The authors acknowledge that by examining the signatures, it is shown how falsehoods are claimed and truth is concealed to meet a political end. This important conclusions can be drawn from examining a small detail, the signatures on documents

Samples of signatures from members of the royal court. 

Reflections of il Moro:
Did Roger II speak Arabic? Roger II’s use of Greek and Arabic are debated. Some sources share that he was tutored directly in both languages, had high fluency, and could speak multiple languages. In this paper, which is over 20 years old now, it is argued that he did not speak Arabic and likely had poor writing skills overall. The authors argue that Roger II’s use of an Arabic signature was more a projection of power than it was a reflection of Roger II’s language use. The researchers suggest that this was a fabrication for political power, building the argument on several assumptions of why there is limited evidence. Considering that Roger II famously commissioned Muhammad al-Idrisi to complete the geographical نزهة المشتاق في اختراق الآفاق (The Excursion of One Eager to Penetrate the Distant Horizons), sometimes known as the Book of Roger, it is hard to believe that Roger II did not have some level of engagement with learning Arabic. But what was more interesting about this article was learning more about Arabic signatures in medieval times. Ranging from “My trust is in God” to “God and the Muslims are sufficient for me,” the signatures reflect the depth of Muslim culture during this time of transition, and the challenges that Muslims faced as the Normans took Sicily out of the dar al-Islam and into the political structure of Europe.

Link to the full research article

Book Review of "Narrating Muslim Sicily" by William Granara

 

Summary: 
"Narrating Muslim Sicily: War and Peace in the Medieval Mediterranean World" by William Granara looks at primary documents of Muslim writers (mostly legal scholars and poets) to make sense of the political and cultural landscape of Sicily over about 500 years right before, during, and after Muslim rule in Sicily. Granara has previously written extensively on the Sicilian Muslim, Ibn Hamdis, who grew up in Siracusa, and this book includes an in-depth analysis of his poetry, and other poetry by Muslim authors as a means to understand cultural and political forces during the time of Muslim rule. It concludes with describing the way these forces had a lasting impact into Norman rule and beyond.

 

Key Quote, Information or Chapter: 
This book is well organized with an in-depth overview of the start and end of Muslim rule, and in interpretation of complex forces that opened the doors to it, including how internal conflict both opened the doors to Muslim rule and to Muslim succession by the Normans.

Here is some of the key Sicilian history that is covered:
- It starts with identifying the source of much of recent Arab-Sicilian history research going back to Michele Amari (1806 - 1889), the author of "Biblioteca Arabo-Sicula," and "Storia dei Musulmani di Sicilia" and looks at key sources of information, most from after the time of Muslim rule, including Ibn Hawqal, a traveler (973), Ibn al-Athir, historian (1233), al-Nuwayri, historian (1333), and Ibn Khaldun, historian (1406).
- Dar al-Islam (the Muslim world) had quickly expanded across Ifriqiya (North Africa) right across from Sicily. Asad ibn al-Furat from the Aghlabid Dynasty led the charge into Sicily in the 800, first landing in Mazara. The Aghlabid Dynasty was in charge from 827 - 909 under Ziyadat-allah leadership from Tunisia. As more Muslims came into Sicily, there was a distinct split between Arab Muslims, who were mostly centered in Palermo and North African Berbers (Amazigh).
- In 909, the Fatimids come into power, they are Shi'ites (where most Muslims in Sicily at the time were Sunni), and centered in Cairo (a city founded by a Sicilian Muslim!). They were in power until 944. During this the Fatimid caliph, 'Ubayd Allah ruled through direct proxy. The governor of Sicily, al-Hasan ibn Ahmad ibn Abi Khinzir arrived in Mazara and was a Kutama Berber. al-Hasan's broth, 'Ali, was a regional governor of Agrigento. Sicilians reject the brother and elected Ahmed ibn Qurhub.
- This was not strictly a sectarian conflict, but was more about resisting the rule of North Africa.
- ibn Qurhub pledges support to the rising Abbasid caliph, al-Muqtadir, in Baghdad, in rebellion of the Fatimids, but the Berbers in Agrigento rebelled against this and re-aligned with the Fatimids.
- ibn Qurhub is excusted, and the Fatimids send Abu Sa'id Musa ibn Ahmad with the back up of Kutama Berbers to establish rule.
- It ultimately doesn't work as Agrigento rebels again, and in 937, there is a series of conflicts of near civil war and an attempt by the Byzantines to return to rule. This leads to a high death toll, emigration of Muslims from Sicily, conflict with North Africa and starvation.
- The Fatmids lose control, and the Kalbids rule from 944 - 1044, the Kalb Tribe achieved greater cohesion among the Muslims in Sicily. al-Hasan ibn 'Ali, from a line of Sicilian Muslims leads, and his son, al-Mu'izz takes over after.
- Trade opens up with the Fatimids in Cairo, Taromina, the last Christian stronghold, falls, and the Byzantines are defeated, leading to three peaceful decades.
- This was a period of strong scholarship in the tradition of Maliki law, Arabic language, and poetry.
- 998 - Instability begins as infightings grows after Abu al-Futuh is paralyzed due to illness
- 1036 - Sunni Sicilians organize to oppose Shi'ite Fatimids
- 1038 - Continued disunity and fighting, Byzantine pressure, and Normans moving through Southern Italy leads to warlords dividing the island
- Normans attempt to align with East Sicily and easily dismantle Muslim rule while the Fatimids were focused on island to the East and fighting the Zirids in North Africa
- Castogiovanni (Enna), Agrigento, and Noto are resisted and were Muslim strongholds, but the Normans were able to take over.

Reflections of il Moro: 
"Narrating Muslim Sicily" has a thoughtful ending of placing Federico II as both the "wonder of the world," and the ruler responsible for expelling Muslims. A multicultural "King of Sicily," "the Holy Roman Emperor," "the baptized Sultan," and "King of Jerusalem." He was a champion of Muslim intellect, Arab language, and Eastern customs, and a villain in the Sicilian-Arab Jesu and Guifa tales. The contradictions and blurred boarders of Federico II are similar to the history and present of Sicilia, a place that exist in the past and continues to define itself in the present. A place that has been part of Europe, part of the East, and part of Africa at different points. A Catholic island with elements Muslim burial rituals (vigil and burial soon after death) and Eastern traditions (like churches oriented toward Jerusalem, deep devotion to Mary and Saints, etc). A place were people still greet each other with "Assabinirica" from "As-salamu alaykum." All of these things co-exist and are true at the same time, it is what makes Sicilia Sicilia.