Jihad in a context of shifting alliances and enmities : study on the relations of the early Artukids and crusaders as reflected in contemporary Muslim and Christian historiography, 1098-1124

Abstract

This thesis is a study of the relations of the early Artukids with the Crusaders, with the aim of seeing how they fit into the general context of the reaction of the Muslim world to the Frankish presence in the Middle East. On the one hand, it reveals that emirs like Ilghazi played a kind of diplomatic chess game and allied with whoever was necessary to preserve their possessions and interests, without regard for their religion. On the other hand, it argues that the Artukids may stil have seen their warfare as jihad whenever they happened to clash with the Franks for these strictly practical and strategic aims. It aims to historicise the jihad concept within the early twelfth century, inquiring what jihad might have meant for the early Artukids and other contemporary emirs, and compare this with the approach of later leaders like Nur al-Din and Saladin. Finally, the study examines what advantages and disadvantages were brought to the Artukids by their contiguity with the Franks, by their conflicts with them on their own behalf as well as by their collaborations. The method followed throughout is to compare the close-readings of related pieces of source text, rather than solely individual pieces of evidence, and in doing so always to consider the standpoint of the source or even the group of sources from which the examined text issues. An approximate reconstruction of the course of events is then allowed to emerge from such a procedure of close-reading and comparison.