The Al-Azraq Treaty of 1245 was a surrender treaty between the Christian King James I of Aragón, his son-in-law Prince Alfonso X of Castile, and the Mudéjar commander Abū 'Abd Allāh Muhammad ibn Hudhayl, more commonly known as al-Azraq. It was signed on 15 April 1245 in Vall d'Alcalà, his hometown within al-Andalus, in what is now modern day Spain, the Iberian Peninsula. The treaty is one of only two bilingual Muslim-Christian surrender treaties to survive into the present day. According to James I, the treaty marked the end of the reconquista.
Context
Muslims and al-Andalus
Umayyad Caliphate
Muslim and Arab forces from Northwest Africa, under the military leadership of Ṭāriq ibn Ziyād, conquered al-Andalus between 711 and 718 C.E. At the time, the region was under the control of the Visigoths but, after the Battle of Guadalete, the area fell to the Umayyad Caliphate. The Caliphate collapsed in the East in 750 CE, but continued on al-Andalus until 1031 when it broke up into 23 small emirates known as the tafia kingdoms. These became the main rivals of the Christian territories on the Peninsula. The Umayyads were then subsequently replaced by the Abbasid Dynasty in the East. Many Christians fled to the Northern parts of the peninsula and established the kingdom of Asturias, which eventually split into the kingdoms of Castile, Galicia, and León. The Asturians conquered the Umayyads at the Battle of Covadonga in 722; this is when many historians determine that the Reconquista began. After this event, the Umayyads faced the loss of Galicia (739), León (754), Barcelona (801), and Salamanca (939). According to the historian Alan Heston, the Caliph of Córdoba, al-Mansur, "undertook more than fifty jihads into Christian areas of northern Spain to pillage and eventually expand Muslim rule to all of present-day Spain." In 997, al-Mansur called for the destruction of the Church of St. James in León. This site served as an important pilgrimage destination for Christians since it claimed to hold the tomb of James, the brother of Jesus. The tomb was left alone, but the church itself was dismembered, with the doors and bells taken to Córdoba to expand its mosque. The year 1000 saw the weakening of Islamic hold on the peninsula since al-Mansur left Córdoba in a weaker condition than he received it and the Umayyad caliphate finally broke apart in 1031.
Almoravid Dynasty
In 1089, the Asturians captured Toledo after the disintegration of the Umayyad Caliphate on al-Andalus. The historian Houssain Kettani states that "The Andalusian [from al-Andalus] Muslims then requested the help of Almoravid Muslim Dynasty" who "stopped the advance of the Christians at the Battle of Zallaqa (Arabic for slippery) or the Battle of Sagrajas in 1086." Under the Almoravids, Christian forces captured Zaragoza (1139) and Lisbon (1147).
Almohad Caliphate
The Almoravids were replaced by the Almohad Caliphate in 1147. They lost a large amount of land to Christian conquerors after their defeat at the Battle of Oqab or Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212. After this, they lost the Balearic Islands (1228-1232), Badajoz (1229), Córdoba (1236), Valencia (1238), Murcia (1243), Cartagena (1245), Seville (1248), Huelva (1250), Arcos (1262), Medina-Sidonia (1262), Jerez (1262), Cádiz (1262), and Tarifa (1294).
Nasrid Dynasty
The Nasrid Dynasty was created in 1232. It continuously shrank with the captures of Baeza (1487), Malaga (1487), Almería (1487), Almuñécar (1489), and Salobreña (1489). The capture of Grenada (1492) "marks the end of Muslim rule in the Iberian Peninsula" which was under Islamic control for around 781 years.
The Catholic Church
Early on in the eleventh Century, the Catholic Church declared Muslims, specifically Moors, infidels as a way to unite all of Christendom around a single cause. Heston states that "The Church in Rome [the Catholic Church] and other Christians to the north envied the prosperity of southern Spain" which was controlled primarily by Moors. There were multiple military campaigns in the eleventh century, primarily in Aragón and Castile, aimed at driving Moors off of the continent they had occupied since the eighth century. These actions were led by the Church and shifted from battles to a full blown crusade. They also served as a precursor to the Crusades to the Holy Land, which began in 1095, as well as the Inquisition. During the First Crusade, Pope Urban II actively worked to divert forces from Jerusalem to al-Andalus, calling the Moors a "threat" and arguing that they needed to be driven off their lands. In the 1100s, Urban II offered indulgences to men who were willing to fight on the peninsula, but only when Christian states were in extreme danger. This was an incentive that was offered to crusaders who "taken the cross" for the Holy Land. Additionally, only people from the peninsula itself or from neighboring lands were supposed to be diverted from their original purpose. In the 1200s, fighting crusades in the Baltics and al-Andalus was "thought to merit the same rewards as fighting in the Holy Land." As a result, many were given indulgences for fighting "infidels" in these regions where it had not been allowed in the previous century. The inability of crusaders to keep Jerusalem under Christian control prompted many to blame outside groups for the losses instead of their own (lack of) military might, which led to the Inquisition. There were three different monastic groups for whom the Inquisition became their "special responsibility." In 1209, the Cathars began overseeing the Inquisition. That authority was then passed to the Dominicans in 1233, during which time the form of the Spanish Inquisition as it is known today was created. Specifically, it developed after the capture of Córdoba in 1236 which was during the Valencian Crusade. The Christians who conquered the town built a church on top of the mosque (the same one that al-Mansur had beefed up using pieces from the Church of St. James) as was a common practice at the time. They also forcibly converted Mudéjars and Jews who remained; those that converted were subject to suspicion and many were the victims of torture. Additionally, Christians viewed "bathing as sacrilegious" and destroyed bathhouses located around the region. In 1246, a year after the signing of the al-Azraq Treaty of 1245 and a year before the ensuing Mudéjar revolts, responsibility for the Inquisition was passed to the Franciscans. In 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella expelled all of the Jews from Spain, resulting in a large migration of Muslims and Jews who still practiced their faith, as well as those who had converted to Christianity, from the country. The last execution for heresy in Spain took place in 1826 and the Inquisition did not end until 1834.
Religious Cohabitation
Historically, the mingling of peoples from the different Abrahamic faiths, including marriage, was common and seen as widely accepted by those in society. According to historians Robert I. Burns and Paul E. Chevedden, the al-Azraq Treaty is a representation of the religious diversity of al-Andalus and illustrates how Muslims, Jews, and Christians were able to not just coexist, but work together at a time when the Catholic church was ramping up its persecution of those they deemed "heretics". Burns and Chevedden state that "The Arabic secretariat of the Christian chancery, which was staffed by Jews, drafted the Arabic text of the treaty, and the Muslim and Christian parties agreement ratified the dual language version of the charter." In addition to working alongside one another at the ground level, those who ruled territories often crossed religious divides and worked with one another if secular interests were put at stake. When the Abbasid dynasty came to power in Baghdad they asked Charlemagne to attack the Umayyads in Córdoba and elsewhere in al-Andalus. Latin and Eastern Christian leaders also often sought help from their Muslim counterparts. Furthermore, Heston states that "Jews had welcomed Muslim rule as more tolerant than that of Christians, with many Jews migrating from other parts of Europe to Al-Andalus." In 1235, during the Valencian Crusade, Pope Gregory IX published the bull cum hora undecima. This allowed Dominican and Franciscan preachers to permit "schismatics who have rejoined the church to cohabit and be in contact with their apparently still schismatic relatives." The bull conflates Muslims, Jews, schismatics, and other groups into the same category of heretical non-Christians while "allow[ing] for a hierarchy of otherness in which European Christians stood higher than others." This bull was reissued again in 1245 by Pope Innocent IV, the year the al-Azraq Treaty was signed.
Background
James I was one of the main proponents of the crusade against the Moors in Valencia which began in 1232 and officially ended with the signing of the al-Azraq Treaty in 1245. During the crusade, he tapped into his vast supply of vassals, "who had sworn 'homage and fealty'" to their king in exchange for land, in order to fill the ranks of his military. He also utilized the strategy of siege warfare which involved less risk than direct confrontation and often resulted in the gain of new territories. His strategy when attacking a region was two pronged: 1. focus all troops on the strongest fortress (physical) and 2. instill as much fear into the surrounding populace as possible (psychological). Historian Donald J. Kagay suggests that "sites might also come into the Conqueror's [James I's] hands without direct combat due to a combination of Muslim fear and the king's well known reputation for granting ostensibly liberal surrender terms." For example, the King would give defeated Moors "up to five days to vacate the conquered fortress with everything they could carry." Moors, on the other had, primarily used raiding which, like siege warfare, involved low risk and high reward. They also paid mercenaries to fight alongside them and relied on aid from the Almohad Caliphate in North Africa. The city of Valencia fell to James I in 1238 after a "long and bitter" siege; at the time the only agreement that was reached was the withdrawal of Moors from the city. In addition to military might, James I brought down the city via the bribery of one of al-Azraq's counselors. This left the leader unable to pay his hired soldiers. Historians determine that "military incompetence" is the reason for the loss of al-Andalus since Moors relied heavily on outside forces to support their military while Christian forces were "experienced" and "organized for war."
The Al-Azraq Treaty
The treaty is a thin piece of parchment 25 by 40 centimeters in size and torn where Alfonso's seal has been removed. The Arabic lines are not a translation of the Castilian; instead they are a continuation of the treaty, interweaving with one another to complete the document. Each portion of the treaty conveys a different tone: the Castilian part conveys a tone of partnership and servitude while the Arabic conveys only a brief truce.
Castilian Lines
The fourteen lines of Castilian (which is influenced by Aragónese) are crowded onto the page and make up the first and last lines of the treaty. This portion of the treaty is broken up into two parts:
Al-Azraq's Portion
- Al-Azraq is Alfonso's vassal.
- Specifically aligning with the Aragónese form.
- Eight castles and their surrounding lands are given to Alfonso at the time the treaty was signed.
- The castles Alcalá and Perpunchent are given to al-Azraq's family.
- These were al-Azraq's main territories.
- Allowed to keep his other four castles for three years, giving half the profits to Alfonso when the treaty was signed.
- All revenue was handed over at the end of the three years.
- A provision is included that allows him to acquire more castles from other rebels.
- If he does this, he must also give half the revenue to Alfonso immediately and all revenues to him after three years.
Alfonso's Portion
- Alfonso received al-Azraq as a vassal.
- Two castles are given to al-Azraq
- The revenue from the villages of Ebo and Tollos are also given to him for three years.
- The Castilian lines end with Alfonso swearing to honor the treaty as long as al-Azraq remains his vassal.
Arabic Lines
There are thirteen lines in Arabic (written in Maghribī script) that appear larger, more evenly spaced, and fainter due to oxidation of the ink.