Wa-ḥalafū ʿalā l-wafāʾ bihā : The Banū ʿĪsā and the Christian Conquest of Šāṭiba/Xàtiva

Abstract

This article examines the Christian subjugation of Šāṭiba (modern Xàtiva, Comunitat Valenciana), which is to be placed in the context of the Catalan-Aragonese conquest of eastern al-Andalus in the first half of the 7th/13th century. The developments and events will be analysed from the perspective of the Muslim ruling family of the Banū ʿĪsā as much as possible. Since c. 627/1230, the chiefs of this family acted as governors for Ibn Hūd of Mursiya/Murcia. With the successive collapse of his emirate from the late 630/1230s onwards, the Banū ʿĪsā gained a certain degree of political autonomy. Without a strong protecting power, however, they soon attracted the focus of the two expanding Iberian main powers Castile and Aragon, whose spheres of interest, not yet completely defined then, collided precisely in this region. In the following years, the Banū ʿĪsā maintained complex and variable relations with both kingdoms, characterised by both military conflicts and diplomatic understanding, which culminated in an agreement concluded with King James I of Aragon in 641/1244. Examining the development of these relations, the article will assess which strategies enabled the Banū ʿĪsā, despite their political isolation and military inferiority, to use the rivalries between the competing Christian powers to their advantage, to counter their demands in a variety of carefully considered ways, and to influence as far as possible the conditions under which Šāṭiba/Xàtiva eventually capitulated and joined the new “Christian” Kingdom of Valencia.