Article
Licensed
Unlicensed
Requires Authentication
Hindered Passages. The Failed Muslim Conquest Of Southern Italy
-
Marco Di Branco
and
Kordula Wolf
Published/Copyright:
October 10, 2014
Abstract
The establishment of an Aghlabid, then Fāṭimid-Kalbid dominion in Sicily had a deep impact not only on the island and on Mediterranean power constellations, but also on mainland Italy, especially in its Southern parts. Although the Peninsula was under continuous attack between the ninth and eleventh centuries, all attempts to place it under submission failed on a long-term basis. Examining three examples of ‘hindered passages’, this article proposes some new considerations about the question of this missed Muslim conquest. Besides the numerous raids, the establishment of many military bases and Christian-Muslim agreements on the mainland during the Aghlabid and Fāṭimid-Kalbid period points to a targeted politics of conquest. Furthermore, the fragmentation of Southern Italy, often claimed as the main cause for the ‘Saracen’ destructions, could, on the contrary, also be seen as the main obstacle to Muslim expansion due to its many fortified centres.
Published Online: 2014-10-10
Published in Print: 2014-9-1
© 2014 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston
You are currently not able to access this content.
You are currently not able to access this content.
Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Editorial
- Academic Challenges In A Changing World
- Papers
- Towards A New Approach To Medieval Cross- Cultural Exchanges
- Hindered Passages. The Failed Muslim Conquest Of Southern Italy
- Of ‘Pious Traitors’ and Dangerous Encounters. Historiographical Notions of Interculturality in the Principality of Antioch
- Disputes About Purity in Late Medieval Iberia. Interreligious Contacts and the Polemical Language of the Mudejars
- Reviews
- Michael Borgolte/Matthias M. Tischler (Ed.): Transkulturelle Verflechtungen Im Mittelalterlichen Jahrtausend. Europa, Ostasien Und Afrika, Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 2012, 271 Pp.
- Wiebke Deimann: Christen, Juden Und Muslime Im Mittelalterlichen Sevilla. Religiöse Minderheiten Unter Muslimischer Und Christlicher Dominanz (12. Bis 14. Jahrhundert) (Geschichte Und Kultur Der Iberischen Welt 9), Münster In Westfalen: Lit, 2012, 368 Pp.
- Michelina Di Cesare: The Pseudo-Historical Image Of The Prophet Muḥammad In Medieval Latin Literature. A Repertory (Studien Zur Geschichte Und Kultur Des Islamischen Orients. N. F. 26), Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter, 2012, 541 Pp.
- Karen L. Fresco/Charles D. Wright (Ed.): Translating The Middle Ages, Farnham/ Burlington: Ashgate 2012, Xiv + 222 Pp.
- Reinhold F. Glei (Ed.): Frühe Koranübersetzungen. Europäische Und Außereuropäische Fallstudien (Bac – Bochumer Altertumswissenschaftliches Colloquium 88), Trier: Wvt Wissenschaftlicher Verlag, 2012, 266 Pp.
- Sarah Lambert/Helen Nicholson (Ed.): Languages Of Love And Hate. Conflict, Communication, And Identity In The Medieval Mediterranean (International Medieval Research 15), Turnhout: Brepols, 2012, Xxix + 284 Pp., 9 Figures, 2 Tables.
- News
- Foundations in Medieval Societies. Crosscultural Comparisons. A Project of the European Research Council at the Humboldt University of Berlin
- Transcultural Entanglements In The Medieval Euromediterranean (500–1500)
Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Editorial
- Academic Challenges In A Changing World
- Papers
- Towards A New Approach To Medieval Cross- Cultural Exchanges
- Hindered Passages. The Failed Muslim Conquest Of Southern Italy
- Of ‘Pious Traitors’ and Dangerous Encounters. Historiographical Notions of Interculturality in the Principality of Antioch
- Disputes About Purity in Late Medieval Iberia. Interreligious Contacts and the Polemical Language of the Mudejars
- Reviews
- Michael Borgolte/Matthias M. Tischler (Ed.): Transkulturelle Verflechtungen Im Mittelalterlichen Jahrtausend. Europa, Ostasien Und Afrika, Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 2012, 271 Pp.
- Wiebke Deimann: Christen, Juden Und Muslime Im Mittelalterlichen Sevilla. Religiöse Minderheiten Unter Muslimischer Und Christlicher Dominanz (12. Bis 14. Jahrhundert) (Geschichte Und Kultur Der Iberischen Welt 9), Münster In Westfalen: Lit, 2012, 368 Pp.
- Michelina Di Cesare: The Pseudo-Historical Image Of The Prophet Muḥammad In Medieval Latin Literature. A Repertory (Studien Zur Geschichte Und Kultur Des Islamischen Orients. N. F. 26), Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter, 2012, 541 Pp.
- Karen L. Fresco/Charles D. Wright (Ed.): Translating The Middle Ages, Farnham/ Burlington: Ashgate 2012, Xiv + 222 Pp.
- Reinhold F. Glei (Ed.): Frühe Koranübersetzungen. Europäische Und Außereuropäische Fallstudien (Bac – Bochumer Altertumswissenschaftliches Colloquium 88), Trier: Wvt Wissenschaftlicher Verlag, 2012, 266 Pp.
- Sarah Lambert/Helen Nicholson (Ed.): Languages Of Love And Hate. Conflict, Communication, And Identity In The Medieval Mediterranean (International Medieval Research 15), Turnhout: Brepols, 2012, Xxix + 284 Pp., 9 Figures, 2 Tables.
- News
- Foundations in Medieval Societies. Crosscultural Comparisons. A Project of the European Research Council at the Humboldt University of Berlin
- Transcultural Entanglements In The Medieval Euromediterranean (500–1500)
