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Monash Medieval & Renaissance Studies @monashcmrs.bsky.social · 09/04/2024

This Friday; 12 April! Dr Romney Smith (ANU) on "Diplomacy in the Shadows. A lost Christian-Muslim Alliance in the 12th c Mediterranean?" 10am AEST on Zoom. Email us for the link (details in image/alt) #medievalsky

Sometimes historians have to make guesses. This talk uses speculation and circumstantial evidence alongside a close reading of primary sources to explore the possibility of an undocumented military alliance between Pisa in Italy, Denia in Spain, and possibly the Banu Hammad of Algeria. Building on earlier scholarship, it posits that connections formed during the Sardinian War of 1015-16 led to ongoing diplomatic or military links between the principals, aimed at countering the power of the Zirid dynasty of Tunisia and Grenada. This military alliance (if it existed) fell out of Pisan historical consciousness in the twelfth century due to disputes between Pisa and Genoa over the historical justifications for their hegemony in Sardinia.
Online via Zoom. Friday 12 April @ 10am AEST.
Email: cmrs-postgraduatecommittee@monash.edu to register