Excerpt: The Mohammedan Peoples of Andelucia and Their Ways - Bertrand de Rennes, AD 1257
Of the Mohammedans there are three great peoples who follow their faith, and they are called Saracen, Turcoman and Moor.[1] And it will be the third of whom we tell the most in these writings, for it is they who inhabit the lands upon which we meditate.
It is the Saracen who is the oldest of the Mohammedans, and from him who the belief in this faith comes. Now the Saracen dwells in the east, in Egypt and Syria, in Persia and of late in Anatolia. And he is most often a learned man, but a warrior, who is made hardy by the land in which he lives, and he travels most often by the horse and the camel. Now the Saracen most often lives alongside the Turcoman, who comes from the lands of Gog and Magog[2], and he is a man who admires horses, and it is he who most often rules over the Saracen, (though in truth the Saracen is free of the Turcoman in Egypt). And the Turcoman rules as well over the Greek, in Constantinople and Varna, and loves the Greek's ways and his treasures, but cannot be swayed from his Mohammedanism. And it is the Turcoman who makes war in the east and covets more of the treasures of the Greeks, and claims the title of Caesar.
But it is the Moor of whom we address, and he is so called because he comes from Mauretania, and has from there come to dwell in Africa, and to rule in Andelusia. And of his race there are two types, and they are the Black Moors and the White Moors, and they are so called because some are of the darkest complexion and some are fair as angels.[3] And the White Moors dwell mostly in Andelucia, and the Black Moors in all places where the Moor may be found. And the White Moors are most often great warriors and scholars, and the Black Moors are most often tradesmen and sailors and scholars. And so are things divided among the Moors.
It must be said of the Moor that he is the most noble of the Mohammedans, and that the Christian dwells among the Moor's numbers without punishment, and the Moor does not raise anger against the bishops of the Christians among them (and indeed the Christians speak the tongue of the Moor here). And it is said as well that the Jew lives in these lands as well and is loved by the Moor for his ways.[4] And he is unlike the Saracen and the Turcoman, for the Saracen does travel mostly by the camel, and the Turcoman does admire the horse and the saddle, but the Moor is most fond of the sea, and his vessels are swift, and carry much treasure. And they are known to be masters of alchemy, and transform olive oil into gold[5], and they have many gold things and baubles, and great knowledge as well, for they are learners and merchants, and they dabble in the ways of healers and scribes.
Now it must be said that the wisdom of the Moor is known to some, and it is said that even some men of God have traveled to Andelucia and been among the Moors, and understood their ways. And the traders say that the Moor can be found in great numbers in Amalfi, where many of their vessels travel, and the goods they sell are wonders from far-off lands.[6] And it is in this way that some have learned to live with the Moor, for though he is a fine warrior, he is nevertheless a lover of trade. And some say that the Moor travels even to the edge of the earth, and has seen the domain of Leviathan.
~
Excerpt: Al-Andalus in the Precrossing Period - Gharsiya Jalaleddine, Academia Metropress, AD 1996
The disposition of Saraqusta would not be fully accomplished in the lifetime of Al-Hasan. The region had long been a northeastern stronghold, with the warlord 'Amr controlling the mostly-
Saqaliba army typically stationed at Madinat as-Salih. Skirmishes between the two sides took place, and troops loyal to the Caliph routinely squabbled with troops loyal to 'Amr in various small raids. However, little full-scale fighting took place save between the King of Navarre and 'Amr.
Part of this seems to have been due to Al-Hasan's insistence on rebuilding the infrastructure and governance of Al-Andalus. While the Andalusi Revolt brought a large faction of armed Andalusis to power, and Al-Hasan himself had his personal guard, he continued to face intractable regional lords who had been appointed by the late Saqlabids. Over the term of Al-Hasan's rule, many of these lords were removed and replaced with local rulers of
muwallad ancestry, always appointed by Al-Hasan for a lifetime term and certified by the Caliph. These rulers were not hereditary landholders as they tended to be in Christian feudalities, but appointed governors who ruled for life (or until removal) and could be replaced by the Caliph's order. As such, the power of Caliphal appointment increased in this time, and the standing of the Caliph grew, though his powers continued to be exercised largely by the
hajib.
While Al-Hasan could not fully subdue his breakaway lords in the northeast, his reign marks a flowering of Andalusi trader culture. The 13th century in general represents a time of bold leaps in shipbuilding technology and integration of a broader Western Islam marketplace bolstered by economic developments in Ifriqiya, the Maghreb and Subsahara.
The defeat of the Al-Mutahirin had restored the Berber Coast to the control of more stable dynasties with their seats in urban centres. The stability the Rezkids of Fes and the Igiderids of Mahdia provided created the conditions to reverse the trend of decline which began when the Fatimids moved their capital to Egypt and comparatively neglected Ifriqiya. The period marks a steady growth of urban life and greening. Andalusian-style waterwheels begin to appear in this period along rivers in the Maghreb, and evidence exists of increased farming and irrigation.[7]
But it was the increased integration of Sudani trade into Andalusian life which would drive the urge to trade beyond the Ibero-Berber Kingdoms. Traders carried stories of the Mande Empire to the ears of Andalusi traders beginning in the early 13th century, and by the reign of Al-Hasan, it was accepted as common wisdom that a River of Gold existed to the south of the Juzur al-Kaledat.
The River of Gold idea tempted Andalusi merchants with a number of advantages. The first was the prospect of cutting out the middleman: Al-Andalus received gold and slaves from Subsahara through the hands of intermediaries, namely the veiled Sanhaja who would deal them through Sijilmasa.
But it was the second potential advantage which most tempted merchants. While Al-Andalus continued to deal in Asian goods through trade ties with the Harabids of Egypt and the Turkmens of Rüm, trade through the Mediterranean carried increasing risks in this period, most particularly punitive duties imposed by sailors from Genoa and Venice (Pisa having lapsed into irrelevance after being burned during a war with Narbonne and Genoa over Sardinia). Trade with the south Italian commune of Amalfi provided some relief, the Amalfitans being notably eager to rake in money by selling Moorish luxury goods to the rest of Christendom, but trade routes in the Mediterranean in this period left Moorish traders with fewer options. Trade was also threatened by piracy, including by Berber groups in the central Maghreb.
The advantage the River of Gold offered stemmed from a geographical misconception: It was believed that the river was connected in some way to the Nile. The cartographer Urdun ibn Al-Jayyani believed that it would be possible for a sailor to go to the mouth of the River of Gold and sail straight up the river and all the way out to Egypt, thereby bypassing Genoa and Venice completely. Of course, in reality the Wadi al-Dahab does not actually connect to the Jeliba, and neither connect to the Nile - but geography in this period was often rife with misconceptions.
The development of the Juzur al-Kaledat over the prior 130 years had transformed them into a hub of sugarcane farming, the native Island Berbers having largely been tributized and steadily assimilated.[8] While the island of Liwaril was uninhabited, it had similarly been steadily developed as a source of timber and sugar. But the islands' use had also led to the development of Andalusi shipbuilding. The oceangoing
saqin had developed in the 12th century, and by the 13th it had rounded into a more standard design, usually a carvel-built ship of about 50 to 150 tons, with a shallow keel and anywhere from one to three masts carrying lateen sails.[9]
The
saqin proved sufficient for mariners to navigate the more capricious currents of the Atlas Ocean and manage the looping course back home. But Andalusi mariners had never had occasion to venture past the cape known as Abu Khatar, or Ra's Bujadur to the Berbers.[10] The actual landform of Abu Khatar itself is not particularly threatening, but the cape marks the point where the Atlas Winds begin, in the form of strong winds ripping out of the northeast to push ships southwesterly. The early 13th-century cartographer Ibn Aarif describes Abu Khatar as the edge of the domain of Liwyatan, or Leviathan, who emerges to inhale ships who enter into his realm. In reality, these winds would prove incredibly valuable at a later time.
By the mid-13th century, however,
saqin design had improved to the point that challenging Abu Khatar was more realistic. Mariners would eventually discover that the cape could be circumvented by swinging out and away from the coast as one would do when traveling home from the Kaledats.
The first known account of such travel comes from the records of Al-Jayyani. He recounts the story of Lubb and Sumayl, two brothers from Qadis who navigated past Abu Khatar in 1257. Al-Jayyani notes that the brothers discovered a bay sheltered by a long spit of land, where they met a group of veiled Berbers. The brothers then returned home. It's believed that this was the bay now known as the Bay of Mulathamin, likely named for the predominance of the veiled Sanhaja in the otherwise sparsely-peopled region.[11]
The journey demonstrated that ships could pass Abu Khatar by swinging out widely enough. But the journey remained dangerous, and profits were slim to none: There were no real towns south of Abu Khatar, and while some cartographers believed that more lands lay deep in the ocean, none were yet found, nor immediately evident. And the voyage of Lubb and Sumayl did not discover the mouth of the Dahab or a route to the Jeliba. But adventurous mariners saw the potential to make their own contacts with the veiled Sanhaja, and a few merchants would continue to entertain notions of finding the mouth of the River of Gold.
[1] This is obviously not intended as endorsing my personal beliefs and is more along the lines of a blinkered late-medieval effort by a learned Christian to try and understand Islam and its people. It is here to illustrate contemporary attitudes towards Al-Andalus. In fact there are many cultures who follow Islam at this point, ranging from Arabs to Persians to Berbers to Hispano-Romans to Slavs to Mandinka to Somalis to Turks to Pechenegs to Indo-Aryans to Southeast Asians to Malagasy and beyond.
[2] Some medieval historians are very stupid. Bertrand de Rennes is very stupid.
[3] Medieval Christians noticed that ruling-class Andalusis have basically Spanish features. They also noticed that Saqaliba are a thing.
[4] The treatment of Jews in 13th-century Andalusia hardened a little after Al-Hasan took power, but for the most part Jews are still tolerated, and their treatment is a sight better than what Christendom has to offer them. As always, they do not have what we would consider equality, but neither do the Hizamids persecute them or exile them.
[5] I reiterate: Bertrand de Rennes is very stupid. But he does tell us that a lot of gold is reaching Al-Andalus.
[6] While the Mediterranean trade in Christian slaves has largely been cracked down on and the Italian communes largely give Andalusi merchants a hard time with high duties and tariffs, the city of Amalfi fills the role of Venice to Andalusia's Ottomans: Amalfitan merchants will trade with Muslim merchants, regardless of religion. Merchant-run Amalfi survived much longer than OTL as a nominal subject of the Kingdom of Apulia, but it acts independently and dominates trade with Muslim North Africa and Spain. Amalfi is a much bigger player ITTL than it ever was OTL. Basically if you want Moorish indigo and you're a Christian, it probably came through Amalfi.
[7] OTL, the Banu Hilal's arrival turned North Africa from a net food exporter to a net importer. ITTL, the Banu Hilal went south. This has allowed North Africa to rebound from its post-Fatimid lows. Desertification is less intense in MiaJ-world, though ultimately the Saharan cycle is still a thing.
[8] The Andalusi merchants basically economically colonized the Guanches.
[9] The
saqin of the mid-13th century is basically the caravel. Its job is to transport sugar and wood.
[10] Cape Bojador. The Arabic name means "the father of danger."
[11] I'm notoriously bad at languages but this is supposed to indicate that this is the bay where the veiled ones live. And that's how the Almoravids backed into history in a timeline with no Almoravids. In fact the location we're talking about is the Bay of Dakhla.
SUMMARY:
1257: Two brothers from Jayyan round Abu Khatar - Cape Bojador - in a saqin. They end up in a bay in western Sahara, where they meet a group of Sanhaja Berbers. It becomes widely known that rounding Abu Khatar is possible if you swing out far enough.
