Abû ‘Uthman Sa’îd ibn Hakam al-Qurashi (30 December 1204 – 9 January 1282) () was the first Ra’îs of Manûrqa (modern

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from , later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the isl ...

) from 1234 to 1282.

Early life

Sa’îd ibn Hakam was born in the city of

Tavira Tavira (), officially the City of Tavira (), is a Portuguese town and municipality, capital of the ''Costa do Acantilado'', situated in the east of the Algarve on the south coast of Portugal. It is east of Faro and west of Huelva across the riv ...

in the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...

(modern

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

). He studied

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

, the capital of the

Almohad The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb). The Almohad ...

Caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

Al Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...

, and took part in literary reunions of famous poets. Al Andalus had been in a process of decadence primarily due to the downfall of the

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...

Caliph which meant the closing of a vital commercial relationship. This situation brought a critical spiral of internal conflicts and external invasions. Because of the political instability in Al Andalus, Sa’îd ibn Hakam moved to North Africa, to the cities of Bejaïa and

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

, where he served as secretary to the Almohad governors.

Al-Motaserrif of Manûrqa

Two years later, he planned to return to Al Andalus, but the situation had worsened, so he was given refuge by the Almohad wali of Medina Mayurqa (Modern

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

). He was then sent to Manûrqa as al-Motaserrif in 1227. His mission was to collect and administrate the taxes and command the army. In 1229,

James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( Catalan/Valencian: ''Jaume I or Jaume el Conqueridor''; Aragonese: ''Chaime I'' ''o Conqueridor''; ; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1 ...

invaded Mayurqa, but did not take any action at that moment against Manûrqa. By 1231, the resistance of Mayurqa’s Muslims was finally crushed and James I sent three ambassadors to Manûrqa, Berenguer de Santa Eugenia, Don Assalit de Gudar and Don Pere Maça, to negotiate its submission to the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...

. James I, who at that time had a small number of troops, ordered fires to be set on the coast facing Manûrqa as to simulate a larger army and thus put more pressure on the Muslims. After a meeting between the Kadī Abû ‘Abd Allah Muhammad, Sa’îd ibn Hakam, the sheiks and three hundred of the principal people of the island, they agreed to become vassals to the new

King of Majorca The Kingdom of Majorca (1231–1715) was created by James I of Aragon following his Conquest of Majorca, conquest in 1229 and the subsequent surrender of sovereignty by the Muslim rulers of the Balearic Islands in 1231. It was ruled in conjunct ...

. The treaty of Capdepera was signed on 17 June 1231. It was rumoured that Sa’îd ibn Hakam was the real instigator of the treaty with James I, although his role in the text of the treaty was discreet. The treaty gave wide political autonomy to the island and the military protection of the island by the King of Majorca in exchange for the payment of an annual tribute of three thousand quarters of wheat, a hundred cows and five hundred goats or sheep, later adding two “quintals” (hundredweight) of fresh butter and two hundred

bezants In the Middle Ages, the term bezant (, from Latin ) was used in Western Europe to describe several gold coins of the east, all derived ultimately from the Roman . The word itself comes from the Greek Byzantion, the ancient name of Constantinopl ...

for leave to transport the cattle. Abû ‘Abd Allah Muhammad was the new ruler of Manûrqa.

Rise to power

In July 1234, Sa’îd ibn Hakam took over power through an armed coup and negotiated a new treaty with James I, in which he ruled alone with the title of Ra’îs of Manùrqa. This is believed to be the only time in the history of the island that it was an independent political entity, although tributary to the Kingdom of Majorca. Under his harsh rule, Manûrqa became an Islamic law-abiding structured state. It is said that he executed by beheading those Muslims found drunk. He constructed a strong political apparatus in Madina al Jazira (modern Ciutadella) with a council of ministers, secretaries and clan representatives, and a small military force consisting of mercenaries. His political shrewdness allowed for the survival of this Islamic entity while other Muslim territories fell to the Christian Reconquista: Cordoba (1236), his hometown Tavira (1242), and

(1248). Only the

Kingdom of Granada The Emirate of Granada, also known as the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, was an Islamic polity in the southern Iberian Peninsula during the Late Middle Ages, ruled by the Nasrid dynasty. It was the last independent Muslim state in Western Europe. ...

remained independent, although vassal to the Kingdom of Castille. At the death of James I (1276), the Crown of Aragon was split in two: the Kingdom of Majorca (the Balearic Islands and counties of Roussillon and Cerdagne) went to his son

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

and the Crown of Aragon (The

Principality of Catalonia The Principality of Catalonia (; ; ; ) was a Middle Ages, medieval and early modern state (polity), state in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula. During most of its history it was in dynastic union with the Kingdom of Aragon, constituting together ...

and the kingdoms of

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

and

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) to his other son

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. Manûrqa remained tributary to James II. This division would ultimately mean the fall of Manûrqa. Sa’îd ibn Hakam died in 1282 in Madina al Jazira, and his son Abû 'Umar ibn Sa'îd became the next and last Ra’îs of Manûrqa. Sa’îd ibn Hakam was also an important Islamic intellectual figure of the 13th century, learned in Islamic law and medicine, philologist, grammarian and poet. He managed a great library at Madina al Jazira. Some samples of this collection are kept in the library of

El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial (), or (), is a historical residence of the king of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, up the valley ( road distance) from the town of El Escorial, Madrid, El ...

Footnotes

# (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

) Chief, leader. # (

) Governor. # (

) Tax-collector or Minister of Finances. # (

) Judge

References

*Barcelo, M. ''El tractat de Capdepera de 17 Juny de 1231 entre Jaume I i Abû 'Abd Allàh Muhammad de Manûrqa. Sobre la funció social i política del fugaha''. 1984 *Moll Mercadal, B. ''Abû 'Uthmân Sa'îd ibn Hakam, Ra'îs de Manûrqa (631/1234-680/1289)'' Publicacions des Born nº5. 1999
''The Book of Deeds''
of James I of Aragon (available in PDF format)

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abu 'Uthman Sa'id ibn Hakam al Qurashi History of Menorca 13th-century writers from al-Andalus 13th-century poets 13th-century Arabic-language writers 1204 births 1282 deaths Oriental islands of al-Andalus Scholars from al-Andalus