Muslim and Christian Contact in the Middle Ages

Jarbel Rodriguez is Professor of Medieval History at San Francisco State University. He is a co-author of Exchanges: A Global History Reader, Volume I (2008) with Trevor R. Getz and Richard J. Hoffman and the author of Captives and Their Saviors in the Medieval Crown of Aragon (2007).

Jarbel Rodriguez has accomplished something truly special in this volume. Not only has he collected a number of older translations of key sources, but he is the translator of many of the sources in the collection, bringing previously unknown sources (primarily from the Iberian corpus) into the mainstream of medieval studies. The volume is useful in dispelling notions about the simplicity of the medieval period, demonstrating instead the true diversity and complexity of the lives of medieval Christians and Muslims. The final characteristic which recommends this book is Rodriguez' editorial hand. In selecting, arranging, and cropping his sources, Rodriguez has allowed the documents to speak for themselves but still serve as starting places for discussions among students of medieval history. The didactic opportunities which Rodriguez has cultivated through his editorial hand are invaluable. When discussing Christians opting for martyrdom at the hands of Muslims, for example, a teacher could naturally move a discussion from martyrs to crusading knights, making the whole medieval world fit together in all its messiness and confusion. Most useful as a classroom text or for the novice medievalist, this excellent assembly of chronicles, law codes, literature, poetry, correspondence, and moral instruction, commands a strong recommendation. - The Medieval Review Particularly modern events have sharpened our interest in this large topic, and hence the present anthology specifically geared toward university students comes as a most welcome enrichment of our teaching material. But this collection of relevant texts will also serve scholarship at large, allowing researchers from outside this specialized field to gain immediate access to many of the crucial documents. - Mediaevistik

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction Chapter 1. Origins and Background to Christian/Islamic Interactions1. The Pact of Umar 2. The Conquest of Alexandria3. The Coming of Islam and the Destruction of the (Roman) World4. Al-Jahiz's Warnings about the Christians5. A Muslim Ambassador in Constantinople 6. The Conquest of the Iberian Peninsula 7. The Battle of Tours 8. Christians and Muslims in the Age of Charlemagne 9. Converting Churches into Mosques in Spain 10. Support for the Dhimmis 11. The Martyrs of Cordoba Chapter 2. Warfare in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Holy Land12. The Coming of the Seljuk Turks 13. Calling the Crusades 14. The First Crusade 15. The Muslim Reaction 16. Richard the Lionheart and Saladin 17. The Seventh Crusade 18. The Conquest of Acre and the End of Crusader States 19. The Ottoman Turks and the Battle of Nicopolis 20. The Conquest of Constantinople Chapter 3. Warfare in the Spain and the Western Mediterranean21. The Conquest of Toledo 22. The Arrival of the Almoravids 23. Two Views of El Cid24. The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa25. Christian Conquests and the Rise of the Nasrids 26. Warfare at Sea27. Frontier Raids 28. The Conquest of Granada and Its Aftermath Chapter 4. Diplomacy and Alliances29. A Complex Alliance 30. Frederick II and al-Kamil 31. Crusader/Mamluk Treaties32. Ottoman Treaty with the Venetians 33. The Sultan Bayezid Sends a Relic to the Pope 34. A Christian King and his Muslim Vassal 35. Arranging the Surrender of a Castle 36. Negotiating a Truce 37. A Truce Agreement Chapter 5. Economic Relations38. The Markets of Seville 39. Muslim Merchants in Christian Regions40. A Venetian Trading License41. Muslims and Christians in Business Partnerships42. Muslims and Economic Exchanges in Las Siete Partidas 43. Maritime Commercial Law 44. An Appeal for Christian Merchants 45. Regulating Muslims in Lleida46. Latin Christian Travelers Describe Foreign Markets and Goods47. Truce Between the Turks and Genoese Safeguarding the Rights of Merchants Chapter 6. Religious Interactions48. Muslim Polemics on the Gospels 49. The King of England Contemplates Conversion to Islam50. Saint Francis Preaches to the Sultan of Egypt 51. Muslims and Christians Defend Monotheism 52. Plans to Recover the Holy Land 53. A Response to Christianity 54. Ramon Llull and Boccaccio 55. The Conversion of Anselm de Turmeda56. Johann Schiltberger's Views on Islam Chapter 7. The Views of the Other 57. A Tale of Two Cities 58. The Eccentricities of the Franks 59. A Victory Sermon 60. A Christian View of Islam61. Burchard of Mount Sion on the People of the East 62. The Pope, the Patriarch and the Kohen63. The Emperor and the Grand Turk Chapter 8. Lives of Minority Communities64. The Regulation of Dhimmis 65. Ibn Jubayr in Sicily 66. Muslims under Castilian Law 67. An Incident in Cairo 68. Minority Communities and International Relations 69. A Fatwa against Christian Merchants70. Ordinances of Valladolid71. Muslim Minorities and the Complexities of the Law 72. Pietro Casola in Jerusalem Chapter 9. Intellectual Contacts73. A Storehouse of Knowledge 74. Adelard of Bath and Arabic Sciences 75. A Muslim Geographer in King Roger's Court 76. Strange Medicines77. Translations of Gerard of Cremona78. Islamic Learning and Roger Bacon79. Learning Arabic in the Christian World80. Muslim Influence on Latin Medicine Chapter 10. Of Love and Bondage81. The Wedding of Lady Theresa 82. Forbidden Love 83. Alfonso VI and Sa'ida 84. Bohemond and the Turkish Princess 85. The Egyptian and His Frankish Wife86. How to Purchase a Slave87. Captive Tales 88. On the Janissaries89. The Taking and Freeing of Captives in Iberia SourcesIndex of Topics