Norman Tunisia; or, the Kingdom of the Three Sicilies

Doug M.

Two sort of random thoughts.

1) OTL, the single greatest popularizer of Arabic numerals was Leonardo Fibonacci of Pisa. Leonardo was introduced to them while directing a Pisan trading post in Tunis.

TTL... well, I could see this going one of two ways. Either Norman Tunisia cuts down on the contact between Tunis and the northern Italians, thus slowing the spread of Arabic knowledge; or the Normans themselves fill the role, picking up Arabic numerals and such from their North African subjects, and spreading them just as fast or faster.

2) Thomas Aquinas! Assuming he's not butterflied away, TTL he'll grow up an a kingdom that's had a land border with Islam for around a century. Again, how this plays out depends on how you think Norman cultural elites would respond to longer and more intimate contact with Islam.

I note in passing that contemporary Castile was a hotbed of translation and intellectual ferment -- 13th century Castile was very different from what it became 250 years later. /If/ we assume the same forces work in the Three Sicilies, then Aquinas would be attending a University of Naples with a more noticeable Arabic flavor -- more and better translations from the classics, more annotations by Arabic scholars, possibly some direct correspondence with contemporary Islamic thinkers. (OTL there was some -- Emperor Frederick II encouraged it, since he was doing it himself -- but it was intermittent.)

My medieval philosophy-fu is not strong enough to guess the knock-ons, but... anyone?


Doug M.
 

Paladin

I know this is an old thread, but since I've been in Tunisia, I've been researching the topic heavily. First, there is an excellent article on the subject by noted scholar David Abulafia, which provides possibly the only complete history of Norman Africa. It's on Google books, free of charge: http://books.google.tn/books?id=4DZ...#v=onepage&q=Norman Kingdom of Africa&f=false

One of the things I learned from the article is that compared to other conquests, the Normans governed with a very light hand, generally leaving the internal governance of the cities to the local elites, and trying not to upset the status quo. They were also extremely generous, providing tax breaks, subsidies, and loans, in an effort to rebuild the region economically. In many ways, the "Kingdom of Africa" was simply a protectorate. Furthermore, according to Abulafia, the actual Norman component was relatively small, mainly restricted to the actual garrison-the architects and administrators of the African empire were Greek and Muslim courtiers back in Sicily.

Of course, if the Normans manage to hold on longer, that may change, and we may see a more pronounced presence, at least in terms of archeological and architectural remains. If settlement increase, then we may even see new towns, like those set up in Sicily and contemporaneously in the Holy Land.

The Norman presence, however brief, also left cultural marks in Tunisia. For example, in the city of Sfax, there is a tradition around New Years celebrating the Sfaxians throwing the Normans out. The story goes that they manufactured arms in secret, and then conspirators went door to door disguised as beggars to recruit fighters. At a given signal, they would be handed a number of beans signifying the number of fighting men in the household. Then, on New Year's Eve 1156, which the Christians celebrated with fireworks and a procession of bejeweled cows, the Sfaxians mingled with the Normans and surprised them mid-carnival and recaptured the town. To this day, New Years is celebrated there with beans and fireworks.

Of course, this may be apocryphal, but it does tell a lot about the culture of the local Christians, and the collapse of Norman rule. As Abulafia points out, many of the towns revolted and drove out the Normans well before the Almohads arrived. So, getting rid of them won't completely solve the problem. You'd also have to solidify Norman rule more thoroughly, which takes resources away from other theatres of war (which, for us Byzantinists, is just fine).
 

XanXar

Basileus Giorgios said:
. Any regime change in Fatimid Egypt, is I'm willing to bet, going to be more interested in expelling Crusaders than Normans.
But these are just my ideas. Someone else probably knows a lot more about this than I do.
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But then what stops a Saladin or Baibars analogue gunning for them afterwords?
 

XanXar

Elfwine said:
Would you, in their position, rather control the Levant, or Tunisia?
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Alright this is all assuming an Egyptian Sultanate, but what about one from the Maghreb, such as the Marinids? They managed to take Ceuta from Granada and Castille, what would stop them from taking other nearby European settlements?
 
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