The taifa of Denia and the Jewish networks of the medieval Mediterranean: a study of the Cairo Geniza and other documents

• Autores: Travis Bruce
• Localización: Journal of Medieval Iberian Studies, ISSN-e 1754-6567, ISSN 1754-6559, Vol. 10, Nº. 2, 2018, págs. 147-166
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The rulers of Denia, on the Mediterranean coast of eleventh-century Islamic Spain, and one of the principal taifas, or kingdoms, to emerge from the fallen caliphate of Cordoba, developed a unique maritime policy that bound their polity to the Mediterranean. The taifa is best known for its active promotion of piracy against Christian coasts, as well as its failed conquest of Sardinia, but the port also participated in direct maritime trade with Christian and Muslim ports. From a minor harbor in the tenth century, Denia became second only to Almeria in the transfer of goods between al-Andalus and the Mediterranean by the end of the taifa period. Denia’s rulers and commercial elites built complex networks that spanned from Barcelona to Alexandria. Essential to their success was their ability to attract and conduct business with members of the Mediterranean Jewish community, as evidenced by Denia’s unique and significant presence in the documents of the Cairo Geniza. This study examines commercial ties between Denia’s rulers and the Jewish trading houses of the Mediterranean, while attempting to retrace the networks built by the taifa’s own Jewish community with their coreligionists in Iberia and across the Mediterranean