Scientific life and civilizational movement... Moroccans and Andalusians in the Mamluk cities of the Levant

An artificial intelligence visualization of a Mamluk city in the 15th century AD (Al Jazeera, Firefly)

Historical studies, no matter how high their status and how advanced their topics are, do not reach the point of perfection from a single round. Rather, they continue their rounds until a book or research comes along that breaks the gap, fills the gap, and completes the building.

The book “The Moroccans and Andalusians in the Levant in the Mamluk Era” is one of those books that answered outstanding questions, added something new, did justice to what was wronged, and placed a solid stone in the wall of studies of the Middle Ages, which witnessed the migration of huge numbers of people from the Maghreb and Andalusia to the countries of the East due to political unrest in Morocco, and the continuation of The war waged by Christians in Andalusia against Muslims, known as the War of Restoration.

The book cleared the picture and raised the curtain on the true role of the scientific, administrative, military and political efforts undertaken by the Moroccans and Andalusians in the Levant during the Mamluk era, as it shed light on the activity of the Moroccans and Andalusians who followed the path of migration to the Islamic East in the Middle Ages, which witnessed political and civilizational transformations in the East and the West. Either way.

The book showed a dangerous role played by the Moroccans and Andalusians in war and peace, and they were a cornerstone and a strong building block in the management and maintenance of the Arab Islamic state in the Levant at the time of the rule of the Mamluk state.

The book “The Moroccans and Andalusians in the Levant in the Mamluk Era” by Hassan Ahmed Baraka (Al Jazeera)

The book is a historical study by Dr. Hassan Ahmed Baraka. It was issued by the Egyptian General Book Authority in more than 630 pages. It consists of 3 chapters, 7 chapters, an introduction, and a conclusion. In its first chapter, he talked about the role of Moroccans and Andalusians in political and military life, their relations with the authorities, and their presence in state embassies. Mamluks, and their participation in the jihad against the Crusaders and Tatars.

The second chapter dealt with the role of Moroccans and Andalusians in systems of governance, administration, and economic and social life. It focused on the jobs they occupied and excelled in, and monitored their classes, aspects of their lives, and their effects on Levantine society. As for the third chapter, it is entitled “The Role of Moroccans and Andalusians in the Intellectual Sciences.”

The uniqueness of this book is due to the fact that it provides very important information, as the author traces the migrations of the Moroccans and Andalusians and their companions in their dissolution and travel, relying on extensive scientific material, hundreds of references, and numerous and diverse sources that helped to emerge this scientific momentum, which he depicted and presented in a style characterized by smooth presentation that makes the reader as if he were watching a movie. Documentary through scenic material and many consecutive images.

Migration to jihad

The author describes the internal and external Andalusian migrations as among the most important and greatest human migrations witnessed in human history in the Middle Ages and in the modern era as well. This is due to the nature of Islamic society and the unity of Sharia law that made integration among its people easy and accessible, and therefore families appeared within this society. Many resulted from intermarriage between its members, a cohesion that confirms the authenticity of Islamic society.

The book is not a description of migrations. Rather, the author supplements this by tracing the roles of Moroccans in all aspects of life, and linking their presence to the history of many countries in the Maghreb and the East, in an attempt to give a comprehensive view of the history of the Middle Ages and the migrations of Moroccans to the East, and the role they played and their abundant contribution to Islamic civilization. .

The Moroccans and Andalusians’ sense of religious dependence on the Islamic East - especially the country of the Hijaz - played a role in their many migrations and trips to it. Therefore, the main motivation for the Moroccans and Andalusians in their migrations and Eastern trips was not only Hajj, visits and seeking knowledge, then settling in the Levant, otherwise there would be other, safer countries. There was a demand for knowledge, such as Egypt, the center of the Mamluk Sultanate.

But what is certain is that the motive of Islamic jihad against the Crusaders and Tatars - which is a religious motive - was a major reason for their presence in the Levant alone, given that it contains holy places that must be defended, such as the Holy City of Jerusalem and its Al-Aqsa Mosque, the first of the two Qiblahs and the third of the Two Holy Mosques. Therefore, great care was taken. After performing the Hajj, Moroccans and Andalusians decided to go to Jerusalem to defend it and to be around it.

The migrations of Moroccans and Andalusians to the Levant in the Mamluk era were not limited to specific places, but rather they made most of the Levant their homeland, and therefore their role was extended in various directions.

The book emphasizes that the Moroccan and Andalusian migrations were an influential and effective human resource for the Levant, which suffered from devastating wars and many internal and external conflicts, in addition to being exposed to many natural disasters such as epidemics and plagues, all of which affected the numbers of the indigenous population, and the migrations of the Moroccans and Andalusians were compensation. For what was lost.

Ibn Khaldun negotiates with Tamerlane

The book is full of positions that indicate the positions of the Moroccans and their defense of the people of the Levant. Perhaps the story of Tamerlane with the scholar Ibn Khaldun is the best example. He and the scholars were honored and his intercession was heard for the people of Damascus. Ibn Khaldun’s role was effective in protecting the people of the Levant from the oppression of Tamerlane.

The Moroccans were a cornerstone and a strong building block in the management and maintenance of the Arab Islamic State in the Levant (Al Jazeera, Firefly)

Perhaps what the city of Aleppo was exposed to at the hands of the hordes of Tamerlane’s army is evidence of this. From a scientific standpoint, its schools were destroyed and its scholars were exterminated, and they were killed, captured, and displaced. This is similar to what happened in the rest of the country.

Perhaps the expressive moment here is how scholars - including Moroccan and Andalusian scholars - acted as negotiators for the occupiers and invaders in periods when the ruling authority was absent or fled from confrontation, as happened during Tamerlane's siege of the city of Damascus.

After the Mamluk Sultan Faraj left for Cairo, the scholars gathered to request reconciliation from Tamerlane, along with Ibn Khaldun, the Maliki judge in Egypt. He had come to the Levant accompanied by the Sultan, and here we see that the scholars became responsible for the fate of their city in the event of a vacuum of power and negotiations with... The occupier to save her.

Propaganda played a major role in the migration of Moroccans and Andalusians to the countries of the Islamic East, as what the traveler Ibn Jubayr mentioned about the interest and care received by strangers in those countries had a great impact on the migration of many of them, and Ibn Jubayr was not alone in that, as a number of Moroccans who preceded him and followed him They described the East and the advantages and care that strangers received from the people of the Maghreb, and such propaganda played a role in their large migration.

The Moroccans and Andalusians remained on the scene of events in the Mamluk state until the end of its era, and they played important roles whose importance varied according to the desire of the Mamluks and what the circumstances required. The Moroccans and Andalusians - especially their scholars who settled in the Levant in the Mamluk era - were not lacking in experience or in need of acquiring it when they arrived. Rather, they were unique in their duties and not others, especially with regard to the Maliki school of thought.

The Mamluk state in Egypt and the Levant was a military institution. Rather, it was a military institution that arose and developed under conditions in which the Islamic lands were exposed to aggression from the Crusaders from the west and the Tatars from the east. Moroccans participated in the Mamluk army through volunteers for jihad and to support Islam.

The scholars had a prominent role, not only in urging the princes to wage jihad against the enemies, but it went beyond that to actual participation in confrontations and battlefields and standing next to the sultans and commanders in the midst of battles and wars, spreading enthusiasm in them and raising awareness of the virtue of jihad and the value of martyrdom. Moroccans had a major role in the manufacture of weapons such as Moroccan catapults, which the Mamluks learned to make, and which played a major role in demolishing the fortresses and castles of the Crusaders.

Administrative and cultural work

The Mamluk sultans sought the help of many Moroccans and Andalusians in the major positions of their state, such as Judge Ibn Khaldun, Judge Azraq, and many others, as they were proficient in administrative work and performing major job tasks, and the Mamluk state benefited from their experiences, and many Moroccan and Andalusian scholars in the Levant assumed jobs other than teaching and supervision. On educational institutions, including the functions of judiciary, oratory, imamate, and fatwa.

The cultural ties between the Maghreb, Egypt, and the Levant in the Middle Ages were more established than the political ties, which were characterized by disintegration. Scholars were given the freedom to move around the countries of the Islamic world to seek knowledge and meet peers, and schools of jurisprudence played a major role in the flourishing of the scientific and educational movement in the Levant.

The Moroccans and Andalusians who came to the Levant initially resided in places known to them, such as the Moroccan neighborhood in Jerusalem, which was exclusive to them, and some of them resided in rural areas where they excelled in agriculture and farming.

The migration of Moroccans and Andalusians to the Levant led to the revival of scientific and cultural life. They brought with them their experiences, culture, customs and traditions from which the new homeland benefited. The Moroccan travelers were an expressive example of the extent of the cultural progress that Islamic civilization had reached in the Middle Ages. In their travels, a more summary was given. Sciences known in this era.

The scholars of the Maghreb and Andalusia were not less than their Eastern counterparts in their scientific training. Rather, the personality of the Moroccan scholar seemed to be equivalent to his Eastern counterpart, if not superior to it. Many of them had opinions that gained admiration and appreciation from many Eastern scholars, and in the travels of travelers such as Ibn Rashid al-Sabti, al-Abdari, and al-Tajibi. Strong evidence of this.

The Moroccans were a cornerstone and a strong building block in the management and maintenance of the Arab Islamic State in the Levant (Al Jazeera, Firefly)

Jihadist Sufism

Sufism was not limited to a specific group of Moroccans or Andalusians, but rather it spread among all elements of society. Among them were those working in agriculture, industry, and trade. Some of them were even scholars, jurists, and hadith scholars. While the journey witnessed great activity among the Moroccans, not the Andalusians, while the influence of Sufism went beyond Scholars paid attention to both the scientific and doctrinal aspects, but they had an influential role in political, economic and social life.

Sufism had a role in the jihad against the Tatars and the Crusaders, and the pioneers of Moroccan Sufism stood side by side with the military leaders in the Battle of Mansoura and the Battles of Safed. Perhaps Sheikh Abdul Wahid Al-Miknasi, owner of the mosque known as “Tripoli of the Levant,” is the greatest evidence of this. Indeed, from this mosque, prayers were carried out. The call to jihad and mobilization to confront the Crusaders, and from there the Mujahideen go to battle.

Historical writing in the Mamluk era was not limited to scholars and historians only. This huge amount of encyclopedias of that era confirms that non-historians participated in historical writing, as it was natural to find the physician-historian, the historian-philosopher, and the historian-jurist.

The Moroccans and Andalusians formed a large community with diverse specializations through which they participated in all aspects of public life. They often expressed the depth of their sincerity and dedication to the work entrusted to them. They often became pioneers and teachers in their fields of specialization, and some of them left immortal scientific traces in the world. A number of sciences, and a number of them expressed an Arab-Islamic feeling that they translated into reality and action when they stood defending the interests of the Levant, sacrificing themselves and their lives sometimes and their money and wealth at other times.

Intellectual life

The class of scholars and jurists was the most influential, and received great attention from the Mamluk sultans, including those with positions and specializations that the Levantine society needed. This interest began to increase since the sultanate of Sultan al-Zahir Baybars, when he used the position of Maliki judge in Damascus as in Cairo, which confirms The presence of two large Moroccan and Andalusian communities that embrace it, in addition to the endowments that Al-Zahir Baibars endowed for those coming from Morocco and Andalusia.

The book shows that Damascus and the cities of the Levant have become a center for attracting many students and scholars from all parts of the country in the East and the West, and that is why we find Moroccans and others heading to those cities to increase their pursuit of knowledge and to participate in education, research, and creativity in those sciences, as scholars who have their weight in those sciences have emerged. Both Eastern and Moroccan heritage books have preserved for us the names of many scholars, including Moroccans who worked in the Levant.

The Moroccan and Andalusian trips to the Levant had scientific purposes for studying or teaching, and the journey of writers and poets. Some of them were for administrative, political, or commercial purposes, in addition to the trip for the purpose of settling. These trips included different segments of merchants, administrators, scholars, students of science, and others. The sources varied in reporting the news of their trip. We notice ample information about some of them, while we find it scarce about others.

Some Moroccan immigrants worked in agriculture, industry, and trade and contributed to the prosperity of economic life in the Levant (Al Jazeera, Firefly)

In addition to this, he published a large number of Moroccan works, such as Al-Jazuliyyah and Al-Shatibiyyah, the book “Al-Shifa” by Al-Qadi Ayyad, and “Siraj Al-Muluk” by Al-Tartrash, and the transfer and translation of some Greek books transmitted by Ibn Al-Bitar, who came to Damascus to write Galen and Dioscorides, and others copied the books of Ibn Zuhr. Others came with his books, such as Ibn al-Rumiyyah al-Bannani, in addition to books in the Maliki school of thought such as al-Muwatta’ and others. Thus, the Moroccan experience converged with the Levantine experience and united to form a scientific resource, some of which still holds special importance for long periods.

A number of students graduated from Moroccan scholars in various specializations who held high leadership positions in the field of science and management, and some of them went so far as to outperform their professors on many occasions.

Travelers and preserving cognitive heritage

The book emphasizes that the Moroccan scientific community has contributed greatly to the continuation of the scientific cultural momentum in its various branches, through teaching, writing, and transmitting well-known Moroccan books.

The number of books written by men of this group of Moroccans and other workers in mosques and private Maliki zawiyas reached more than 150 books, some of which were new and innovative in readings, grammar, morphology, pharmacy, and Sufism.

The author emphasizes that the Islamic Levant owes the Moroccans and Andalusians the preservation of much of its cognitive heritage thanks to their travels to it, and when some of them returned to their country, they began writing about this heritage and explaining it. Their travels also revealed an honest picture of the nature of economic, social, political, and cultural life in the countries of the Islamic Levant, and in addition In addition, they made efforts to rebuild Islamic civilization in the Levant after the Tatar and Crusader invasions.

The study of the Moroccans and Andalusians in the Levant in the Mamluk era still needs to be dusted off, recognized, and introduced to the Moroccans and Andalusians in terms of their groups and scholars who excelled in the East, because these historical studies have not done them justice to the extent of their influence in the Middle Ages.

Source: Al Jazeera