Musa’s son takes the reins from his father and becomes the second governor of Al Andalus! Hear about peace treaties, awkward marriages, and the return of the room of knives and poison in Abd al-Aziz’s episode!
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Categories
Conquistadores
Treaty of Tudmir: “In the name of God, the merciful and the compassionate.
This is a document [granted] by ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Musa ibn Nusair to Tudmir, son of Ghabdush, establishing a treaty of peace and the promise and protection of God and his Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace). We [‘Abd al=’Aziz] will not set special conditions for him or for any among his men, nor harass him, nor remove him from power. His followers will not be killed or taken prisoner, nor will they be separated from their women and children. They will not be coerced in matters of religion, their churches will not be burned, nor will sacred objects be taken from the realm, [so long as] he [Tudmir] remains sincere and fulfills the [following] conditions that we have set for him. He has reached a settlement concerning seven towns: Orihuela, Valentilla, Alicante, Mula, Bigastro, Ello, and Lorca. He will not give shelter to fugitives, nor to our enemies, nor encourage any protected person to fear. He and [each of] his men shall [also] pay one dinar every year, together with four measure of wheat, four measure of barley, four liquid measure of concentrated fruit juice, four liquid measures of vinegar, four of honey, and four of olive oil. Slaves must each pay half of this amount.
Names of witnesses follow, and the document is dated from the Muslim month of Rajab, in the year 94 the Hijra (April 713)”
Score
Peter: 6
Sarah: 7
Total: 13
No Me Digas
Abd al-Aziz and Egilona are married not long after Musa leaves. This marriage is NOT popular among the Muslim contingent. For one thing, Egilona does not convert upon marriage. I don’t know if she continues to practice Christianity, but she does not become a Muslim. Secondly, she’s still 100% in the “medieval kings” mindset: she wants her new husband to behave how she thinks a ruler of Spain should: wearing a crown, sitting on a throne, etc. There’s even a story that she convinces Abd al-Aziz to lower the tops of the door frames of the monastery so that people will be forced to bow their heads when they enter.
Score
Peter: 5
Sarah: 5
Total:10
Ortodoxia
754: he tried to throw off the Arab yoke from his neck and retain the conquered kingdom of Iberia for himself.
al-Qutiyya: giving orders to five of the leading Arabs in al-Andalus to assassinate his son Abd al Aziz. These included Habıb ibn Abı Ubayda and Zıyad ibn al-Nabigha al-Tamı mı . They went to carry it out . . . One morning he [Abd alAzız] went to the mosque and stood in front of the mihrab where he recited the sura al-Fatiha , the opening chapter of the Qur’an and the sura called [ ‘ The Event ’ ]. Then the people drew their swords and set about him all at once. They cut off his head and sent it to Sulayman. This took place [in Rajab 97/March 716] in the Mosque of Rubına , over looking the plain of Seville, as Abd alAzız was then living in the church of [Santa] Rufina. 34 He had married a Visigothic woman called Umm Asim, and lived with her in the church close to the mosque, built nearby, in which he was murdered. Until recently his blood stains could be seen there.
Score
Peter: 3
Sarah: 3
Total: 6
El Rey-sto
Length of Reign: 2 years
Children: Maybe 2 children? At least 1 (Aisha) that marries Fortún ibn Qasi
Death: Stabbed to death while at prayer, head returned to caliph
Score
Peter: 4
Sarah: 4
Total: 8
¿Fuero o Fuera?
Sources
Primary
The Chronicle of 754. As translated in Wolf, Kenneth Baxter (1999). Conquerors and Chroniclers of Early Medieval Spain.
The History of the Conquest of Spain, al-Hakam. As translated in Jones, John Harris (1858). History of the Conquest of Spain.
Book of the Conquest of Countries, al-Baladhuri. As translated in Hitti, Phillip K. (1916). The Origins of the Islamic State.
The History of the Conquest of Al Andalus, Ibn al-Qutiyya. As translated in James, David (2009). Early Islamic Spain: The History of Ibn Al-Qutiyah
Secondary
Collins, Roger (1989). The Arab Conquest of Spain: 710-797.
O’Callaghan, Joseph F. (1975). A History of Medieval Spain.
Recommendations
The Dark Queens, by Shelly Puhak
The Imposters, directed by Stanley Tucci
The Spanish ArPodA 