Global InformationMuslim Sicily information
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Muslim Sicily صِقِلِّيَة (Arabic) | |||||||||
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| 831–1091 | |||||||||
 Italy in 1000. The Emirate of Sicily is in light green. | |||||||||
| Status |
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| Capital | Palermo | ||||||||
| Common languages | Sicilian Arabic, Byzantine Greek, Berber languages, Judeo-Arabic | ||||||||
| Religion |
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| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||
• Established | 831 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 1091 | ||||||||
| Currency | Tarì, dirham | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Italy Malta | ||||||||
| Historical Arab states and dynasties |
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The island of Sicily[note 1] was under Islamic rule from the late ninth to late eleventh centuries.[1] It became a prosperous and influential commercial power in the Mediterranean,[2] with its capital of Palermo[note 2] serving as a major cultural and political center of the Muslim world.[3]
Sicily was peripheral part of the Byzantine Empire when Muslim forces from Ifriqiya (roughly present-day Tunisia) began launching raids in 652. During the reign of the Aghlabid dynasty in Ifriqiya, a prolonged series of conflicts from 827 to 902 resulted in the gradual conquest of the entire island, with only the stronghold of Rometta, in the far northeast, holding out until 965. The Fatimid Caliphate replaced Aghlabid rule after 909. From 948 onwards, the island was governed by the Kalbid dynasty, who ruled as autonomous emirs while formally acknowledging Fatimid authority.
Under Muslim rule, Sicily became multiconfessional and multilingual, developing a distinct Arab-Byzantine culture that combined elements of its Islamic Arab and Berber migrants with those of the local Latin, Greek, and Jewish communities. Lucrative new crops were introduced, advanced irrigation systems were built, and urban centers were beautified with gardens and public works; the resulting wealth led to a flourishing of art and science.
Beginning in the early eleventh century, political authority began to fracture from internal strife and dynastic disputes. Christian Norman mercenaries under Roger I ultimately conquered the island, founding the County of Sicily in 1071; the last Muslim city on the island, Noto, fell in 1091, marking the end of independent Islamic rule in Sicily.
As the first Count of Sicily, Roger maintained a relative degree of tolerance and multiculturalism; Sicilian Muslims remained citizens of the County and the subsequent Kingdom of Sicily. Until the late twelfth century, and probably as late as the 1220s, Muslims formed a majority of the island's population, and even occupied positions in the royal court. But by the mid thirteenth century, Muslims who had not already left or converted to Christianity were expelled, ending roughly four hundred years of Islamic presence in Sicily.
Over two centuries of Islamic rule has left some traces in modern Sicily.[4] Minor Arabic influence remains in the Sicilian language and in local place names; a much larger influence is in the Maltese language that derives from Siculo-Arabic. Other cultural remnants can be found in the island's agricultural methods and crops, cuisine, and architecture.[5]
Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).
- ^ "Brief history of Sicily" (PDF). Archaeology.Stanford.edu. 7 October 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 9, 2007.
Arab period 827/902-1060/1093; The Arab and Norman conquests of Sicily were drawn-out affairs. The dates given above represent the first arrival of the new rulers and the fall of the last stronghold resisting them. It's important also to bear in mind that these dates reflect military/political transitions; culturally, the transitions were much slower.
- ^ William Dalrymple on Sicily’s Islamic past. Financial Times (Jan. 9, 2021). "The prosperity this generated led to Sicily, and especially Palermo, becoming a rich hub in the trading networks of the Mediterranean, the meeting place for merchants from the Middle East, north Africa and the young Italian trading republics."
- ^ Of Italy, Touring Club (2005). Authentic Sicily. Touring Editore. ISBN 978-88-365-3403-6.
- ^ Mattozzi, Savin. "'Sicilians have affinity for the Islamic world in their DNA'". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
- ^ Davis-Secord, Sarah (2017-12-31). Where Three Worlds Met. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. doi:10.7591/9781501712593. ISBN 978-1-5017-1259-3.