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Frederick II’s crusade: an example of Christian-Muslim diplomacy

Frederick II’s crusade is unique in the bloody history of the crusades for its success in recapturing Jerusalem simply through negotiations with a sultan of Egypt, without any battles. When Frederick II landed at Acre in Syria on 7 September 1228, he was greeted with cheers by the crusaders. Contrary to their expectations, however, he did not take arms against the Muslims, and instead conducted negotiations with al-Kāmil, sultan of Egypt, to take back Jerusalem. Five months later, on 11 February 1229, he concluded a treaty with the sultan to receive Jerusalem. Thus Jerusalem was transferred into the hands of the Christians from the Muslims without any bloodshed.

At a time when many people in Europe – men and women, young and old – were eager to be martyred in the Holy Land due to their strong religious passion, and when many lords and knights tried to distinguish themselves in wars against Muslims, why did Frederick II choose to negotiate? Why was he able to do so with the sultan, who had such a different cultural background from Christians in Europe?

In this article I will focus on Frederick II’s diplomatic relations with al-Kāmil and examine the envoys (or messengers) between them in detail. Since previous studies have highlighted changes in Frederick II’s situation, especially regarding his relations with the pope, the barons in Germany and southern Italy, and the crusaders and prelates in the Levant, I hope to shed new light on another aspect of this crusade.

I believe Frederick II’s crusade cannot be fully understood without knowledge of his long-term relationship with Muslim rulers, although the political circumstances in the Christian world, strongly influenced by the religious passion of the people and by papal ideology, should not be dismissed. Regardless of being marked by quite intense negotiations, his crusade is another example of his long-term diplomatic relations with the sultan rather than just an anecdote of the history of the crusades.

Some of the studies on Frederick II and crusades mention envoys and his diplomatic relationships as one of the important factors of his crusade, but there have been very few studies on the long-standing diplomatic relationships between Frederick II and Muslim rulers. Some exceptions include a partial description by Michele Amari in his excellent work on the Muslims of Sicily, published in 1854–1872¹ and an article published by Edgar Blochet in 1902, which contains a rough sketch of the diplomatic relations between Frederick II and the Muslim rulers, with references to only a few Arabic sources, mainly Maqrīzī (†1442).² Previous studies have confused the chronology of envoys and have scant precise information on source materials. It is the purpose of this article, therefore, to reconstruct Frederick II’s diplomatic relationships with Muslim rulers, particularly al-Kāmil, sultan of Egypt, as precisely as possible by examining the available sources.

I

Without doubt, Frederick II’s diplomatic relationships with Muslim rulers in the Near East were heavily influenced not only by developments in the crusading movement and changing political circumstances, but also by changes in his own situation. Although crowned king of Sicily at the age of three in 1198, king of Germany in 1212 (and again in 1215), and Holy Roman Emperor in 1220, Frederick II’s destiny became entwined with the crusades when Pope Innocent III, his official protector during his childhood and the person who made him king of Germany, proclaimed a new crusade in April 1213.³ In fact, Frederick II swore to take the cross when he was crowned king of Germany in Aachen in 1215, and he again took the Crusader’s Oath when he was made emperor in 1220.⁴

However, he did not leave Italy for the crusade in April 1221, when German troops under the command of Louis, duke of Bavaria, left Taranto for Damietta in April 1221, although a few months later he dispatched a fleet of more than forty ships under the commands of the chancellor Walter of Palear, the admiral Henry of Malta and the marshal Anselm of Justingen.⁵ Two years later, at the meeting with the pope at Ferentino in March 1223, Frederick II made a promise to go on crusade on 24 June 1225, in light of the arrangement for his marriage with Isabella, queen of Jerusalem; nor did he set off in 1224 or thereafter, when preparations for the crusade were complete. Frederick II made another promise to leave for the crusade on 15 August 1227, according to the agreement of San Germano with Pope Honorius III in July 1225, but this promise was not fulfilled either.⁶

In August 1225 Frederick II married Isabella of Brienne (†1228), queen of Jerusalem and the only child of John of Brienne and Queen Maria of Jerusalem (†1212), by proxy at Acre. A few days later Isabella was crowned queen of Jerusalem at Tyre and sailed for Brindisi in the kingdom of Sicily. After her arrival in Italy, their wedding was celebrated anew in the cathedral of Brindisi on 9 November 1225. From then on Frederick II bore the title of king of Jerusalem.⁷ It is certain that this marriage gave him a great incentive to go on crusade to recapture Jerusalem from the hands of Muslims.

In 1226 or 1227, an envoy from al-Kāmil, sultan of Egypt, Fakhr al-Dīn, arrived at the court of Frederick II. Al-Kāmil sent this envoy to ask for military aid from Frederick II, offering him Jerusalem in return. Most historians have regarded this diplomatic mission as one of the most important factors affecting the emperor’s decision to go on crusade, and some seem to think this was the first contact between Frederick II and al-Kāmil. However, this was neither the earliest nor the first envoy exchanged between the two leaders.

The Italian scholar Michele Amari suggests that Frederick II sent an envoy to the Ayyubid princes, al-Mu‘aẓẓam and al-Kāmil, as early as 1217.⁸ Around this time a number of Ayyubid princes ruled independently in the Levant. After the first Ayyubid sultan Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn (Saladin) died in 1193, his large territory including Egypt, Syria and Jazīra was divided among the members of his own family. At times the Ayyubid rulers made alliances, and at others they fought amongst themselves. Al-‘Ādil, brother of Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn, became the most powerful among them, and began to bear the title of sultan and govern Egypt with his son al-Kāmil in 1200. When al-‘Ādil died in 1218, al-Kāmil became the sole and independent ruler of Egypt, and took the title of sultan. On the other hand, al-Mu‘aẓẓam, another son of al-‘Ādil, was installed as a ruler in Damascus in 1198 by his father, and began to govern his principality under the guidance of his father. After the death of al-‘Ādil in 1218, he became an independent ruler of Damascus.⁹

Amari’s conjecture that Frederick II sent an envoy to al-Mu‘aẓẓam and al-Kāmil in 1217 is based on the mosaics with an inscription of Frederick II’s words on the wall of the cathedral of Cefalù. The mosaics are now lost, but the observations of Pirro, an Italian historian in the seventeenth century, can be read in his book published in 1641.¹⁰ According to Pirro, Frederick II says to John in the mosaic: “Go to Babylonia and Damascus, look for Paladinus’ sons, and confidently speak my words.”¹¹

In the inscription on the mosaic, Frederick II tells John Cicala, bishop of Cefalù, to go to Cairo and Damascus, find al-‘Ādil’s sons (or Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn’s nephews), that is, al-Kāmil, sultan and ruler of Cairo, and al-Mu‘aẓẓam, ruler of Damascus, and speak his words to them.¹² This information suggests that Frederick II had diplomatic relationships with Muslim rulers in the earlier part of his reign. It is based on a lost source and is not completely reliable, but it is most probable that Frederick II and al-Kāmil exchanged envoys in this period, given the fact that Frederick II had Muslim officials and soldiers as well as scholars at his court, and lived a life surrounded by Muslims, like the previous Norman kings of Sicily.

II

The fact that Frederick II and al-Kāmil had exchanged envoys before al-Kāmil’s envoy arrived at Frederick II’s court in 1226 or 1227 is confirmed by an Arabic chronicle Tārīkh Baṭārika al-Kanīsa al-Miṣrīya (or Kitāb Sīar al-Abā’), generally known as History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria, which mentions the three diplomatic missions exchanged between Frederick II and al-Kāmil.¹³ First, Frederick II’s envoy (rasūl) to al-Kāmil arrived in Egypt in the previous kharājī year (al-sana al-khārija/al-sana al-kharājīya).¹⁴ Second, al-Kāmil’s envoy to Frederick II went to Sicily accompanied by Frederick II’s envoy on his way home. Third, a new envoy from Frederick II arrived in Egypt, accompanied by al-Kāmil’s envoy on his way home in 944 of the Diocletian era (era of Martyrs) (30 August 1227–28 August 1228).¹⁵

We know very little about the first envoy from Frederick II to al-Kāmil mentioned in Tārīkh Baṭārika, but it is confirmed by the annals of Nuwayrī (†1332), which informs us that the emperor’s envoy (rasūl al-inbarūr) came to al-Kāmil in AH 624 (Anno Hegirae; in the year of the Hijra; 22 December 1226–11 December 1227).¹⁶ This suggests that the envoy from al-Kāmil to Frederick II in 1226 or 1227 was not the beginning of their contact, but one of a series of envoy exchanges which started earlier.

The second envoy, from al-Kāmil to Frederick II, as cited in the Tārīkh Baṭārika, is well known to scholars as the envoy of Fakhr al-Dīn. However, scholars’ opinions are not in accord on the year of arrival or of visiting, the number of visits, nor the content of the negotiations. Steven Runciman has asserted that Fakhr al-Dīn went to the court of Frederick II twice as representative of al-Kāmil’s envoy: first in the autumn of 1226, and second before Frederick II’s leaving for the Holy Land (28 June 1228).¹⁷ Thomas C. Van Cleve has also insisted that Fakhr al-Dīn visited Frederick II twice: in 1226 and in the autumn of 1227.¹⁸ Thomas F. Madden and R. Stephen Humphreys uphold that Fakhr al-Dīn visited Frederick II in 1226,¹⁹ while Hans L. Gottschalk and Wolfgang Stürner believe it occurred in 1227.²⁰

There is no doubt that al-Kāmil sent an envoy to Frederick II, since it is mentioned in many Arabic sources. It is also certain that the representative at the head of the mission was Fakhr al-Dīn (al-Amīr Fakhr al-Dīn Yūsuf), whose name is mentioned in various Arabic sources including the annals of the contemporary or later chroniclers Ibn Wāṣil (†1298),²¹ Abū al-Fidā’ (†1331)²² and Maqrīzī,²³ as well as in the description of the mission by Baybars al-Manṣūrī (†1325) quoted by ‘Aynī (†1451) in his ‘Iqd al-Jumān.²⁴

Concerning the year of the visit, I have confirmed that the annals of Ibn Wāṣil²⁵ and Maqrīzī²⁶ put al-Kāmil’s diplomatic mission in the events of AH 624. Baybars al-Manṣūrī’s description of this mission is quoted in the part of AH 624 in ‘Iqd al-Jumān by ‘Aynī.²⁷ Makīn (†1273)²⁸ and Ibn Khaldūn (†1406)²⁹ do not mention al-Kāmil’s envoy, but inform us that al-Kāmil wrote a letter to Frederick II to ask for his aid in AH 624.³⁰

Since AH 624 (22 December 1226–11 December 1227) overlaps for only ten days (22–31 December) of AD 1226, it is most probable that al-Kāmil’s envoy was sent from Egypt and arrived in Italy in 1227. As I will discuss later, Fakhr al-Dīn returned to Egypt some time between 30 August 1227 and 12 November 1227 (probably September or October). If we take traveling and time spent in southern Italy into consideration, al-Kāmil probably sent Fakhr al-Dīn to Frederick II in the earlier half of 1227, as proposed by Gottschalk and Stürner.³¹

It is difficult to accept the claim by Runciman and Van Cleve that Fakhr al-Dīn visited Frederick II twice. The description of Baybars al-Manṣūrī, which these two scholars regard as referring to the second envoy, does not refer to a new diplomatic mission, but to the same envoy sent in the first half of 1227. ‘Iqd al-Jumān (or Kitāb Jāmi‘ al-Tawārīkh), in which Runciman and Van Cleve found the description of Baybars al-Manṣūrī, is not the annals written by a sole author but a sort of patchwork of chronicles written by different authors and compiled by ‘Aynī in AH 832 (11 October 1428–29 September 1429). It should also be noted that its contents are not arranged in strict chronological order.³²

The chronicler Maqrīzī explains the reason why al-Kāmil sent an envoy to Frederick II, as follows:

In AH 624 (22 Dec. 1226–11 Dec. 1227), discord erupted between al-Kāmil and his two brothers, al-Mu‘aẓẓam and al-Ashraf. Al-Kāmil, fearing al-Mu‘aẓẓam’s vengeance, prepared for war against Jalāl al-Dīn, sultan of Khwarizmians, and sent al-Amīr Fakhr al-Dīn Yūsuf to the king of Franks (malik al-Firanj), and asked him to come to Acre on the condition that he would be granted the coastal lands under Muslim rule if he complied. Then, the emperor and king of Franks began to prepare to come to the coast of Syria.³³

Thus, Maqrīzī is of the belief that al-Kāmil sent an envoy to Frederick II to ask for his military aid because he was threatened by the alliance between al-Mu‘aẓẓam and Jalāl al-Dīn. This view of Maqrīzī is shared by many other Arabic chroniclers. Ibn Wāsil³⁴ and Baybars al-Manṣūrī³⁵ wrote, like Maqrīzī, that al-Kāmil sent Fakhr al-Dīn to Emperor Frederick II (al-inbiraṭūr Furidirīk) to ask for his military aid. Makīn,³⁶ Nuwayrī³⁷ and Ibn Khaldūn³⁸ do not mention the dispatch of Fakhr al-Dīn, but they do say that al-Kāmil wrote a letter to the emperor to ask for his aid to guard against the movement of al-Mu‘aẓẓam allied with Jalāl al-Dīn. In addition, in the description on AH 624, Abū al-Fidā’ informs us that al-Kāmil wrote a letter to the emperor asking him to come to Acre, while in the description on AH 625 he informs us that al-Kāmil sent Fakhr al-Dīn to encourage the emperor to come to Syria.³⁹ More significantly, while Maqrīzī reports that al-Kāmil offered to give Frederick II the coastal lands in return for his aid, by contrast Makīn,⁴⁰ Ibn Wāṣil,⁴¹ Abū al-Fidā’⁴² and Ibn Khaldūn⁴³ mention instead Jerusalem (al-Bayt al-Maqdis, al-Quds) as being offered in return for his help.

According to the contemporary chronicler Makīn, al-Mu‘aẓẓam, who knew that al-Kāmil had asked Frederick II for his aid, sent a letter to Sultan Jalāl al-Dīn to ask for help against his brother al-Kāmil, and promised to have a khuṭba delivered in the name of Jalāl al-Dīn, and to have coins minted with the inscription of Jalāl al-Dīn. Jalāl al-Dīn accepted his offer, and sent gorgeous clothes (khil‘a) to al-Mu‘aẓẓam, who walked around wearing them in Damascus. He also prohibited delivering khuṭba in the name of al-Kāmil. Having learned of this, al-Kāmil marched from Egypt and stayed in Balbays in the month of Ramaḍān (15 August–13 September 1227).⁴⁴

The third diplomatic mission from Frederick II to al-Kāmil, as it appears in the Tārīkh Baṭārika, arrived in Egypt in 944 of the Diocletian era (Era of Martyrs, 30 August 1227–28 August 1228) accompanied by Fakhr al-Dīn, the returning envoy of al-Kāmil. This new envoy of Frederick II is also mentioned by Maqrīzī, who says that in AH 624 (22 December 1226–11 December 1227), Frederick II’s envoy came to al-Kāmil with gorgeous gifts and rare presents.⁴⁵ Considering the dates of 944 of the Diocletian era (Era of Martyrs) in the Tārīkh Baṭārika and AH 624 in Maqrīzī, this envoy probably arrived in Egypt between 30 August and 11 December of 1227. Furthermore, considering that this envoy had a meeting with al-Mu‘aẓẓam which I will discuss later, his arrival in Egypt must have been before the death of al-Mu‘aẓẓam (9 November 1227) and probably in September or October.⁴⁶ It is possible that this envoy left Italy around the same time as the departure of Thomas of Aquino, count of Acerra, whom Frederick II sent to Syria as his representative (nā’ib) in August 1227.⁴⁷

According to Maqrīzī, the gifts brought by Frederick II’s envoy to al-Kāmil included a number of horses, one of which was a steed belonging to the emperor himself, fitted with gold stirrups adorned with precious jewels.⁴⁸ In Tārīkh Baṭārika, it is written that this envoy brought horses (khail), fabric (qumāsh), bijouterie (maṣaagh) and falcons (jawāriḥ) as presents to al-Kāmil.⁴⁹ Abū al-Faḍāyl states that Kamāl al-Dīn, who had been at the court of al-Kāmil, talked about the arrival of the emperor’s envoy with presents of horses and other indescribable things, and that al-Kāmil gave the special horse of the emperor (faras al-imbiraṭūr) to a son of al-Mālik al-Ẓāhir, prince of Aleppo.⁵⁰

Al-Kāmil bore the cost of the trip of Frederick II’s envoys from Alexandria to Cairo, went to meet them in person near the city, welcomed them in great honor, and provided them with the house of Wazīr Ṣafī al-Dīn b. Shakir as accommodation.⁵¹ He decided to return Frederick II’s generosity with splendid gifts of his own, which included products of India, Yemen, Iraq, Egypt and Persia.⁵² One of the members of this diplomatic mission was Berard, archbishop of Palermo. Some scholars believe Thomas of Aquino, count of Acerra, was also one of the envoys,⁵³ but I have been unable to find sources to support this. The annals of Richard of San Germano indicate that Frederick II only sent Thomas of Aquino to Syria in July 1227.⁵⁴

Frederick II’s envoy traveled from Cairo to Damascus, and had a meeting with al-Mu‘aẓẓam, which is mentioned by the contemporary or later chroniclers such as Abū Shāma, Abū al-Faḍāyl, Sibṭ Ibn al-Jawzī, Ṣafadī and Ibn Kathīr. According to the contemporary chronicler Abū al-Faḍāyl, its head was the emperor’s deputy in Acre (nā’ib-hu bi ’Akkā) (that is, Thomas of Aquino), and the envoy had already met al-Kāmil to request the coastal lands in Syria.⁵⁵ This information is probably the foundation for some scholars’ idea that the diplomatic mission sent from Frederick II to al-Kāmil included Thomas of Aquino as well as Berard, the archbishop of Palermo. However, it is uncertain whether the diplomatic mission included Thomas of Aquino from the beginning or whether he joined after its arrival in Egypt.

According to the contemporary chroniclers Sibṭ Ibn al-Jawzī⁵⁶ and Abū Shāma,⁵⁷ the emperor’s envoy (rasūl al-inbarūr) came to al-Mu‘aẓẓam after the meeting with al-Kāmil and demanded the land their uncle Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn had conquered, but al-Mu‘aẓẓam harshly replied: “Tell your lord. I am not like others. I have nothing to give him but a sword.” This story is also found in the annals of Ibn Kathīr⁵⁸ and the work of Ṣafadī. Ṣafadī describes al-Mu‘aẓẓam’s subsequent dispatch of troops to Nablus in mid-Shawwāl, and his death from illness.⁵⁹

Thus Frederick II’s envoy to al-Kāmil arrived in Egypt probably in September or October of 1227, joined Thomas of Aquino and had a meeting with al-Kāmil first, and then with al-Mu‘aẓẓam, to demand them to return the lands conquered by Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn to Frederick II. It is apparent that their negotiations were not successful, since Frederick II began negotiations with al-Kāmil after he arrived in Syria in the following year. Berard, archbishop of Palermo, returned home in January 1228 and presented Frederick II with an elephant, mules and other precious gifts from al-Kāmil.⁶⁰

III

Around the time when his envoy to al-Kāmil left Italy for Egypt, Frederick II was making preparations to leave for the crusade. He seems to have been fulfilling his promise made at San Germano to set off on 15 August 1227. In the summer of 1227, a large number of crusaders had gathered in Brindisi in southern Italy, and the main units embarked for the east by mid-August. Frederick II followed suit on 8 September, but he fell gravely ill on the way and his expedition was called off again. Pope Gregory IX, who had succeeded Honorius III, was infuriated at Frederick II’s repeated postponement of the crusade expedition, and on 29 September pronounced an excommunication on Frederick II for breaching his promise to embark on the crusade.

On 12 November 1227 al-Mu‘aẓẓam, al-Kāmil’s brother, opponent and prince of Damascus, died.⁶¹ It was just one or two months after Frederick II’s envoy represented by Thomas of Aquino had a meeting with him. His twelve-year-old son al-Nāṣir succeeded him, but the government was entrusted to ‘Izz al-Dīn Atābak who had served al-Mu‘aẓẓam.⁶² Al-Nāṣir submitted to al-Kāmil, and made a khuṭba delivered in the name of al-Kāmil,⁶³ which means that al-Nāṣir recognized al-Kāmil’s rule in public. The death of al-Mu‘aẓẓam thus lessened the importance of Frederick II’s military aid to al-Kāmil. The news of the death of al-Mu‘aẓẓam reached Frederick II in Barletta in March 1228 via a letter from Thomas of Aquino, who was in Syria.⁶⁴ On 26 April 1228 Frederick II’s wife Isabella of Brienne, Queen of Jerusalem, gave birth to Conrad, but died ten days later.⁶⁵

It was in these circumstances that Frederick II finally left Brindisi for the Holy Land on 28 June 1228. He called into a port in Cyprus on 21 July by way of Corfu, Cephalonia, Crete and Rhodes.

Around that time al-Kāmil marched from Egypt to Syria, occupied Nablus, and encamped in al-Mu‘aẓẓam’s palace in the city.⁶⁶ “When he knew the arrival of the emperor in Syria,” the contemporary English chronicler Roger of Wendover (†1236) writes in his well-known Flores Historiarum (Flowers of History), “the sultan of Babylon (al-Kāmil) sent him many precious gifts of gold and silver, silks and jewels, camels and elephants, bears and monkeys, and other marvelous things which are not to be got in the regions of the west.”⁶⁷ The Arabic chronicle Tārīkh baṭārika gives a slightly different account, namely, that al-Kāmil sent the emperor horses (ḥujūra), mules (bighāl), Arabian camels (hujun), Bactrian camels (najābī), fabrics (aqmisha) and other things from Nablus, along with an elephant (fīl) from Tall al-‘Ajūl.⁶⁸ Shortly after the arrival of Frederick II in Acre, al-Kāmil moved his camp from Nablus to Tall al-‘Ajūl in the suburbs of Gaza closer to Egypt.⁶⁹

Frederick II also sent an envoy to al-Kāmil as soon as he arrived in Acre, and began tenacious negotiations to obtain Jerusalem, a fact that is attested by many Arabic sources.⁷⁰ This was the continuation of the negotiation he had been engaged in through his representative Thomas of Aquino in the previous year. In fact, the main negotiator on the part of Frederick II was the same Thomas of Aquino, while his counterpart was Fakhr al-Dīn who had been sent to Frederick II’s court. According to Tārīkh Baṭārika, Frederick II dispatched a diplomatic mission with a large number of followers and precious gifts, which included two people of high status, the prince (ṣāḥib) of Sidon (Balian) and Count Thomas (al-Kund Tumās), the viceroy (nā’ib al-malik) of the emperor in Acre, from Acre to al-Kāmil, which was received politely by the sultan.⁷¹ These two people are also mentioned by the contemporary chronicler Abū al-Faḍāyl in his Tārīkh Manṣūrī, which informs us that at the beginning of Dhū al-Qa‘da of this year (AH 625; 2–11 October 1228), the messenger of the emperor, Count Thomas, arrived at the camp of al-Kāmil along with Balian, lord of Sidon.⁷² Thereafter, al-Kāmil at Tall al-‘Ajūl and Frederick II in Acre frequently exchanged envoys.⁷³

On the other hand, al-Kāmil’s representative was Fakhr al-Dīn, who had previously visited Frederick II’s court and had a long-standing friendship with the emperor.⁷⁴ He had two assistants, Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Irbilī (Arbalī) and Shams al-Dīn. The contemporary chronicler Makīn writes that Fakhr al-Dīn went to the emperor’s court alone on some occasions, and together with Ṣalāḥ (al-Dīn) al-Irbilī at others.⁷⁵ Abū al-Faḍāyl mentions Fakhr al-Dīn, the qādī of the army of Egypt (Shams al-Dīn), and Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Irbilī as al-Kāmil’s envoys,⁷⁶ while the later chronicler Maqrīzī says that Fakhr al-Dīn and Shams al-Dīn al-Urmāwī, the qādī of the army, came and went more often than before between al-Kāmil and Frederick II during AH 626 (30 November 1228–19 November 1229).⁷⁷

While continuing the difficult negotiations with Fakhr al-Dīn, Frederick II sent complex problems in philosophy, geometry and mathematics to al-Kāmil, who had scholars solve them and return the answers. According to Abū al-Faḍāyl, Frederick II asked al-Kāmil to arrange a meeting for him with a good astronomer, and al-‘Alam Qayṣar, a man of learning in this field, was sent to him.⁷⁸ Ibn Wāṣil, another contemporary chronicler, states that the emperor sent difficult problems to al-Kāmil in various fields to discover whether the latter had men of learning at his court, and that the sultan passed the problems in mathematics to Shaikh ‘Alam al-Dīn Qayṣar, and the rest to other scholars, who provided answers to all the problems.⁷⁹ We find a similar description by Maqrīzī.⁸⁰

On 11 February 1229, Frederick II and al-Kāmil finally reached an agreement (the Treaty of Jaffa) that al-Kāmil would give Jerusalem to Frederick II, on several conditions, however.⁸¹ They concluded a truce pact for ten years, five months and forty days, starting on 28 of Rabī‘ al-Awwal of AH 626 (24 February 1229).⁸² By this Treaty of Jaffa, Jerusalem, together with Nazareth and Bethlehem, were put under the rule of Frederick II, while the sacred area to Muslims (al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf) inside the city, including the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqṣā Mosque (Masjid al-Aqṣā), remained in the hands of Muslims; the agreement also stipulated that the Muslims could freely come and go, while also keeping the right of worship there. Frederick II promised not to attack al-Kāmil on any condition, not to support Christians who would attack al-Kāmil, and to protect the lands under the control of al-Kāmil.⁸³

On 17 March 1229, Frederick II entered Jerusalem with a guide sent by al-Kāmil, Shams al-Dīn, qādī of Nablus.⁸⁴ On the next day Frederick II went to the Holy Sepulcher and was crowned.⁸⁵

These drawn-out negotiations to make the treaty of peace including the transfer of Jerusalem should be understood as one part of the long-standing diplomatic relations between Frederick II and al-Kāmil, which had started well before Frederick II’s departure for the crusade.

IV

On 10 June 1229 Frederick II returned to Brindisi, having departed from Acre on 1 May 1229. It was only a month later that Pope Gregory IX heard of his departure from Acre. Frederick II repelled the papal army that had invaded his dominions, and made the pope absolve him of his excommunication.⁸⁶ Thereafter, he never visited the Holy Land until his death in 1250.

However, Frederick II maintained an intimate friendship with Fakhr al-Dīn and al-Kāmil after his return to Italy, and maintained his correspondences with them.⁸⁷ In AH 627 (20 November 1229–8 November 1230), Frederick II’s envoy arrived in Harran in Mesopotamia under the Ayyubid rule with his Arabic letters to Fakhr al-Dīn, two of which have survived to the present day. In the letters Frederick II expresses his desire for frequent letters from Fakhr al-Dīn after having explained what happened in his kingdom, including the papal army’s invasion and his successful counter-attack.⁸⁸ In AH 630 (18 October 1232–6 October 1233), al-Kāmil sent Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn to Frederick II to confirm the pact and receive his oath. Frederick II wrote two verses for al-Kāmil.⁸⁹ In the same year, Frederick II’s envoy to al-Kāmil, Raymond, arrived in Egypt with birds and gyrfalcon (sunqur).⁹⁰ In AH 631 (7 October 1233–25 September 1234), Frederick II sent another envoy to Egypt with various gifts including a white bear and a white peacock.⁹¹ According to the contemporary chronicler Ibn Wāṣil, “the Emperor was a sincere and affectionate friend of al-Kāmil, and they kept up correspondence until al-Kāmil’s death.”⁹²

Al-Kāmil died on 9 March 1238 (23 Rajab AH 635)⁹³ and was succeeded by his son al-‘Ādil (†1240). Frederick II was on sincerely affectionate term with him as well and maintained correspondence with him, too.⁹⁴ In December of 1239, al-Nāṣir, son of al-Mu‘aẓẓam, occupied Jerusalem.⁹⁵ It was about three months after the peace pact between Frederick II and al-Kāmil had lapsed. In 1240, al-‘Ādil died and was succeeded by his brother al-Ṣalīh (†1249). Frederick II exchanged envoys with al-Ṣāliḥ, too.⁹⁶ Al-Ṣāliḥ sent the learned shaikh Sirāj al-Dīn Urmawī, qādī of Asia Minor, to Frederick II. This shaikh was received with honor by the emperor and wrote a book for him.⁹⁷ In AH 647 (16 April 1249–4 April 1250), Frederick II sent a messenger disguised as a merchant to al-Ṣāliḥ in order to inform him that King Louis IX of France had decided to attack Egypt.⁹⁸

On 13 December 1250 Frederick II died in Castel Fiorentino near Lucera, shortly before his fifty-sixth birthday on 26 December. After his death, the king-ship of Sicily passed to his son Conrad (†1254), grandson Conradin (†1268) and natural son Manfred (†1266), but the governing of the kingdom was entrusted to Manfred as representative or regent of the king. In 1258 Manfred himself became king on a false rumor of the death of Canradin. Like his father, Manfred exchanged envoys with Baybars, ruler of Egypt. In the month of Ramaḍān of AH 659 (August 1261), Baybars sent Ibn Wāṣil as his envoy to Manfred.⁹⁹ In the month of Sha‘bān of AH 660 (July 1262), his envoy who had been sent to Manfred returned with his letter and presents to Egypt.¹⁰⁰ Ibn Wāṣil reports that the pope loathed the kings of Sicily because they treated Muslims well, but that he was quite impressed by Frederick II, who excelled in sciences and arts, and began to build an institute of knowledge (dār ‘ilm).¹⁰¹

In the Arabic chronicles, Frederick II, usually referred to only as inbarūr or inbiraṭūr, occasionally accompanied with his name Furidirīk, is described as an intelligent and prudent ruler with a love of knowledge and natural sciences, and who shows favor to Muslims.¹⁰² Similarly, Ibn Wāṣil writes that Frederick II loved wisdom, logic and medicine, and favored Muslims,¹⁰³ while Maqrīzī observes that Frederick II was deeply interested in geometry, arithmetic and mathematics.¹⁰⁴ Another Arabic chronicler Ibn al-Furāt, while reporting the attempted murder of Frederick II by the followers of Pope Innocent IV in AH 644 (19 May 1246–7 May 1247), writes that the pope had declared that Frederick II had abandoned Christianity, and treated Muslims in favor.¹⁰⁵ He also informs us that Frederick II was said to be a secret Muslim (muslim fī al-bāṭin) in the news of his death in AH 648 (5 April 1250–26 March 1251).¹⁰⁶

V

Here we have reconstructed Frederick II’s relationship with Muslim rulers, mainly al-Kāmil, sultan of Egypt, based on the available sources. Since previous studies seem to have made only limited references to Arabic sources, I have tried to make precise references to all Arabic sources from which it is possible to obtain information regarding Frederick’s relations with his Muslim counterparts. As this study shows, Frederick II’s crusade, which resulted in the signing of the peace treaty between himself and al-Kāmil, was just one element of a long-standing diplomatic relationship that had started long before the departure of Frederick II for the crusade. Placing Frederick II’s crusade in the context of his diplomatic relations with the sultan of Egypt, as opposed to the normal context of the historiography of the crusades themselves, provides a new perspective of what was taking place in the Mediterranean world, and offers greater insight into the motives behind Frederick II’s crusade.

Notes

1 Michele Amari, Storia dei Musulmani di Sicilia, 2nd ed. Carlo A. Nallino, 3 vols. (Catania, 1933–1939), vol. 3–2, pp. 634–670.

2 Edger Blochet, “Les relations diplomatiques des Hohenstaufen avec les sultans d’Égypte.” Revue historique, vol. 80 (1902).

3 Patrologia Latina, ed. Jacques P. Migne, vol. 216 (Paris, 1844–55), pp. 823–825. James M. Powell, Anatomy of a Crusade 1213–1221 (Philadelphia, 1986), p. 15.

4 Thomas C. Van Cleve, “The Crusade of Frederick II,” History of the Crusades, ed. Kenneth Meyer Setton, vol. 2 (Madison, 1962), pp. 429–435.

5 Richard of San Germano: Carlo A. Garufi, ed. Ryccardi de Sancto Germano Notarii Cronica (Bologna, 1936–1938), pp. 95, 98. An Arabic source also testifies that in 938 of the Diocletian era (Era of Martyrs, 29 August 1221–28 August 1222), the emperor’s fleet of 45 galleys approached Egypt to free Damietta, but turned back after learning that a truce had been concluded. Tārīkh Baṭārika al-Kanīsa al-Miṣrīya (History of the Patriarchs of the Egyptian Church), vol. 4 in 2 parts: Cyril Ibn Laklak (Cairo, 1974), p. 37 (Eng. trans., vol. 4, p. 78. Pages are numbered independently from the Arabic text); Kitāb Sīar al-Abā’, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 322 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 1, p. 518).

6 Thomas C. Van Cleve, “The Fifth Crusade,” History of the Crusades, ed. Kenneth M. Setton, vol. 2 (1962), pp. 423–424; Van Cleve, “The Crusade of Frederick II,” pp. 435–442.

7 Van Cleve, “The Crusade of Frederick II,” p. 442.

8 Amari, Storia dei Musulmani, vol. 3, pp. 647, 648 note 1.

9 For the Ayyubids see R. Stephen Humphreys, From Saladin to the Mongols (Albany, NY, 1977); Carole Hillenbrand, The Crusades: Islamic Perspectives (Edinburgh, 1999), pp. 195–255.

10 Amari, Storia dei Musulmani, vol. 3, pp. 647, 648 note 1.

11 “Noster Joannes, ac Fridericus Imperator musivo llus in llust pariete hac llustrate depicti visuntur. Vade in Babyloniam, dicit Fridericus Joanni, et Damascum, et fi lios Paladini quaere, et verba mea audacter loquere, ut statum ipsius valeas llust reformare.” Rocco Pirro, Sicilia sacra disquisitionibus et notitiis llustrate, 3rd ed. Antonino Mongitore, 2 vols. (Palermo, 1733, 1st ed., 1641), p. 805.

12 Amari, Storia dei Musulmani, vol. 3, p. 648 note 1.

13 Tārīkh Baṭārika, vol. 4, p. 51 (Eng. trans., vol. 4, p. 105); Kitāb Sīar al-Abā’, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 322 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 1, p. 518).

14 Amari edited al-sana al-kharāja in the Paris manuscript into al-sana al-kharājīya in Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 322, and translated it as l’anno innanzi in Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 1, p. 518, although Antoine Khater and Oswald H. E. KHS-Burmester edited this phrase into al-sana al-khārija in the Arabic text and translated it as “Tax-Year” in Tārīkh Baṭārika.

15 For the Diocletian era or the Era of Martyrs, see Venance Grumel, La Chronologie (Paris, 1958), pp. 258, 304.

16 Nuwayrī (†1332): Aḥmad b. ‘Abd al-Wahhāb al-Nuwayrī, Nihāya al-Arab, 33 vols. (Cairo, 1923), vol. 29, p. 139.

17 Steven Runciman, A History of the Crusades, 3 vols. (Cambridge, 1951–1954), vol. 3, pp. 184–185.

18 Van Cleve, “The Crusade of Frederick II,” p. 449; Van Cleve, The Emperor Frederick II, p. 203.

19 Thomas F. Madden, The New Concise History of the Crusades (Oxford, 2006), p. 157; Humphreys, From Saladin, p. 184.

20 Hans L. Gottschalk, Al-Malik al-Kāmil von Egypten und seine Zeit (Wiesbaden, 1958), p. 141; Wolfgang Stürner, Friedrich II., 2 vols. (Darmstadt, 1992–2000), p. 145.

21 Ibn Wāṣil (†1298): Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Ibn Wāṣil, Mufarrij al-Kurūb fī Akhbār Banī Ayyūb, 5 vols. (Cairo, 1953–1977), vol. 4, p. 206.

22 Abū al-Fidā’ (†1331): ‘Imād al-Dīn Ismā‘īl Abū al-Fidā’, Kitāb al-Mukhtaṣar fī Akhbār al-Bashar, 4 vols. (Cairo, 1325H), vol. 3, p. 141; in RHC, Hist. orient., vol. 1, p. 103; Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 418 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 104).

23 Maqrīzī (†1442): Taqī al-Dīn Aḥmad al-Maqrīzī, Kitāb al-Sulūk, 4 vols. (Cairo, 1939–1973), vol. 1, p. 259; Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 518 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 260).

24 Baybars al-Manṣūrī (†1325): Zubda al-Fikra fī Tārīkh al-Hijra (Beirut/Berlin, 1998), quoted in ‘Aynī (†1451): Badr al-Dīn Maḥmūd b. Aḥmad al-‘Aynī, ‘Iqd al-Jumān fī Tārīkh Ahl al-Zamān, 4 vols. (Cairo, 1987–1892), in RHC, Hist. orient., vol. 2–1, pp. 186–187; Kitāb Jāmi‘ al-Tawārīkh, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 510 (Bi blioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 246).

25 Ibn Wāṣil, Mufarrij, vol. 4, pp. 206–207.

26 Maqrīzī, Kitāb al-Sulūk, vol. 1, pp. 258–260; Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 518 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 260).

27 Baybars al-Manṣūrī, Zubda al-Fikra, quoted in ‘Aynī, ‘Iqd al-Jumān, in RHC, Hist. orient., vol. 2–1, pp. 186–187; Kitāb Jāmi‘ al-Tawārīkh, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 510 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 246).

28 Makīn (†1273): Al-Makīn Ibn al-‘Amīd, Akhbār al-Ayyūbīyīn (Claude Cahen, “La chronique des Ayyoubides d’al-Makin ibn al-‘Amid,” Bulletin d’études orientales, vol. 15 [1955–1957]), p. 136; French trans., Anne-Marie Eddé and Françoise Michau, Chronique des Ayyoubides: 602–658 (1205/6–1259/60) (Paris, 1994), p. 38.

29 Ibn Khaldūn (†1406): ‘Abd al-Raḥmān Ibn Khaldūn, Kitāb al-‘Ibar, 7 vols. (Beirut, 1959–1961), vol. 5, p. 418; Amari, Appendice alla Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 10 (Bi blioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 242).

30 ‘Aynī quotes from Ibn Kathīr: “al-Malik al-Kāmil wrote to the emperor, king of Franks, to urge him to come to Acre.” I could not find this phrase in Ibn Kathīr (†1373): Ismā‘īl Ibn Kathīr al-Qurashī, Al-Bidāya wal-Nihāya, 14 vols. (Beirut, 1966),. ‘Aynī, ‘Iqd al-Jumān, in RHC, Hist. orient., vol. 2–1, p. 186; Kitāb Jāmi‘ al-Tawārīkh, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 510 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 245).

31 Gottschalk, Al-Malik al-Kāmil, p. 141; Stürner, Friedrich II., p. 145.

32 ‘Aynī, ‘Iqd al-Jumān, in RHC, Hist. orient., vol. 2–1, pp. 186–187; Kitāb Jāmi‘ al-Tawārīkh, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 510 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 246).

33 Maqrīzī, Kitāb al-Sulūk, vol. 1, pp. 258–259; Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 518 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 260).

34 Ibn Wāṣil, Mufarrij, vol. 4, p. 206.

35 Baybars al-Manṣūrī, Zubda al-Fikra, quoted in ‘Aynī, ‘Iqd al-Jumān, in RHC, Hist. orient., vol. 2–1, pp. 186–187; Jāmi‘ al-Tawārīkh, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 510 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 246).

36 Makīn, Akhbār al-Ayyūbīyīn (Cahen, “La chronique des Ayyoubides”), p. 136; French trans., Chronique des Ayyoubides, p. 38.

37 Nuwayrī, Nihāya al-Arab, vol. 23, p. 140; Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 512 (Bi blioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 249).

38 Ibn Khaldūn, Kitāb al-‘Ibar, vol. 5, p. 418; Amari, Appendice alla Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 10 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 242).

39 Abū al-Fidā’, Kitāb al-Mukhtaṣar, vol. 3, pp. 137–138, 141; in RHC, Hist. orient., vol. 1, pp. 102–103; Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 418 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, pp. 103–104).

40 Makīn, Akhbār al-Ayyūbīyīn (Cahen, “La chronique des Ayyoubides”), p. 136; French trans., Chronique des Ayyoubides, p. 38.

41 Ibn Wāṣil, Mufarrij, vol. 4, p. 206.

42 Abū al-Fidā’, Kitāb al-Mukhtaṣar, vol. 3, p. 138; in RHC, Hist. orient., vol. 1, p. 102; Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 418 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 103).

43 Ibn Khaldūn, Kitāb al-‘Ibar, vol. 5, p. 418; Amari, Appendice alla Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 10 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 242).

44 Makīn, Akhbār al-Ayyūbīyīn (Cahen, “La chronique des Ayyoubides”), p. 136; French trans., Chronique des Ayyoubides, p. 38. We can see almost the same story in the annals of Maqrīzī. Maqrīzī, Kitāb al-Sulūk, vol. 1, p. 259; Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 518 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 260).

45 Maqrīzī, Kitāb al-Sulūk, vol. 1, p. 260; Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 519 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 261).

46 Al-Mu‘aẓẓam died on Friday the last day of Dhū al-Qa‘da in the year of 624 (9 November 1227), or on the first day of Dhū al-Ḥijja (12 November 227). See note 61. Makīn, Akhbār al-Ayyūbīyīn (Cahen, “La chronique des Ayyoubides”), p. 136; French trans., Chronique des Ayyoubides, p. 38. Ibn al-Athīr (†1233): Abū al-Ḥasan ‘Alī Ibn al-Athīr, Al-Kāmil fī al-Tārīkh, 12 vols. (Leiden, 1851–1871; repr. Beirut 1965–1966 with a new index in 1967), vol. 12, p. 471 (English trans., Richard, Part 3, p. 284). Cf. Gottschalk, Al-Malik al-Kāmil, p. 145 and note 2 (for sources).

47 Richard of San Germano, p. 146. Abū al-Faḍāyl (13th cent.): Abū al-Faḍāyl Muḥammad b. ‘Alī Ḥamawī, Tārīkh Manṣūrī. Ат-та’рих ал-манcури (Мансурова хроника) (Moscow, 1963), p. 329 (folio 161a); Amari, Seconda Appendice alla Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 29 (Biblioteca, versione italiana. Appendice, p. 47). Richard of San Germano informs us that Thomas of Aquino was sent in July 1227: “Thomas de Aquino Acerrarum comes in Syriam transfretat mense Iulii.” Abū al-Faḍāyl states that the emperor (imbiraṭūr) sent his representative to Acre in AH 624 (22 December 1226–11 December 1227) without mentioning his name.

48 Maqrīzī, Kitāb al-Sulūk, vol. 1, p. 260; Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 519 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 261).

49 Tārīkh Baṭārika, vol. 4, p. 51 (Eng. trans., vol. 4, p. 105); Kitāb Sīar al-Abā’, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 322 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 1, pp. 518–519).

50 Abū al-Faḍāyl, Tārīkh Manṣūrī, p. 338 (folio 165b); Amari, Seconda Appendice alla Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 30 (Biblioteca, versione italiana. Appendice, pp. 49–50).

51 Maqrīzī, Kitāb al-Sulūk, vol. 1, p. 260; Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 519 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 261).

52 Maqrīzī, Kitāb al-Sulūk, vol. 1, p. 260; Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 519 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 261).

53 Runciman, A History of the Crusades, vol. 3, p. 186; Van Cleve, “The Crusade of Frederick II,” p. 449; Van Cleve, The Emperor Frederick II, p. 216.

54 Richard of San Germano, p. 146.

55 Abū al-Faḍāyl, Tārīkh Manṣūrī, p. 339 (folio 166a); Amari, Seconda Appendice alla Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 30 (Biblioteca, versione italiana. Appendice, pp. 50–51).

56 Sibṭ Ibn al-Jawzī (†1257), Mir’ āt al-Zamān fī Tārīkh al-A‘yān, vol. 8 in 2 parts (Hyderabad, 1951–1952), vol. 2, p. 643.

57 Abū Shāma (†1267): Abū Shāma ‘ Abd al-Raḥmān b. Ismā ‘ īl, Tarājim Rijāl alQarnayn al-Sādis wa al-Sābi‘ al-Ma‘rūf bi al-Dhayl ‘alā al-Rawḍatayn (Supplement to Kitāb al-Rawḍatayn) (Beyrut, 1974, 1st ed. 1947), p. 151; in RHC, Hist. orient., vol. 5, p. 185. Cf. ‘Aynī, ‘Iqd al-Jumān, in RHC, Hist. orient., vol. 2–1, p. 186; Kitāb Jāmi‘ al-Tawārīkh, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 510 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 246).

58 Ibn Kathīr, Al-Bidāya wal-Nihāya, vol. 13, p. 126. Cf. ‘Aynī, ‘Iqd al-Jumān, in RHC, Hist. orient., vol. 2–1, p. 186; Kitāb Jāmi‘ al-Tawārīkh, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 510 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 246).

59 Ṣafadī (†1363): Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn Khalīl al-Safadī, Kitāb al-Wāfī bi al-Wafayāt, 22 vols. (Wiesbaden, 1949–1984), in Amari, Seconda Appendice alla Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 13 (Biblioteca, versione italiana. Appendice, p. 18).

60 Richard of San Germano, p. 149: “Archiepiscopus Panormitanus nuntius a Soldano ad Cesarem rediens, elephantem unum, mulos et pretiosa quedam alia munera ipsi Imperatori detulit ex parte Soldani.”

61 Al-Mu‘aẓẓam died on the first day of Dhū al-Ḥijja (12 November 1227). Sibṭ Ibn al-Jawzī, Mir’ āt al-Zamān, vol. 2, pp. 644–652; Ṣafadī, Kitāb al-Wāfī, in Amari, Seconda Appendice alla Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 13 (Biblioteca, versione italiana. Appendice, p. 18). Some other chronicles mention Friday at the end of the month of Dhū al-Qa‘da (9 November 1227) as the day of al-Mu‘aẓẓam’s death. Makīn, Akhbār al-Ayyūbīyīn (Cahen, “La chronique des Ayyoubides”), p. 137; French trans., Chronique des Ayyoubides, p. 39; Ibn al-Athīr, Al-Kāmil, vol. 12, p. 471 (English trans., Richard, part 3, p. 284). The last Friday of Dhū al-Qa‘da of AH 624 is 9 November 1127. For the sources concerning the date of al-Mu‘aẓẓam’s death, see Gottschalk, Al-Malik al-Kāmil, p. 145 note 2.

62 Ṣafadī, Kitāb al-Wāfī, in Amari, Seconda Appendice alla Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 13 (Biblioteca, versione italiana. Appendice, p. 18).

63 Ibn Khaldūn, Kitāb al-‘Ibar, vol. 5, p. 418; Amari, Appendice alla Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 10 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 243).

64 Richard of San Germano, p. 150: “Imperator apud Barolum pascha Domini magnifice celebrat in Omni gaudio et exultatione, quia sicut ex litteris tunc didicerat Thome de Aquino Acerrarum comitis ad suum seruitium in Syria existentis, illis diebus Coradinus Soldanus Damasci mortuus fuerat.”

65 Richard of San Germano, p. 150 and note 7.

66 Al-Kāmil marched from Egypt to Syria in Sha‘bān (6 July–3 August 1228) (Ibn Abī al-Damm, p. 195), or Ramaḍān (4 August–2 September 1228) (Ibn Wāṣil, Mufarrij, vol. 4, p. 226), or Shawwāl (3 September–1 October 1228) (Ibn al-Athīr, vol. 12, p. 479). Makīn, Akhbār al-Ayyūbīyīn (Cahen, “La chronique des Ayyoubides”), p. 137; French trans., Chronique des Ayyoubides, p. 41. Ibn al-Athīr, Al-Kāmil, vol. 12, p. 482; Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 315 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 1, p. 506) (English trans., Richard, part 3, p. 293). Tārīkh Baṭārika, vol. 4, p. 51 (Eng. trans., vol. 4, p. 106); Kitāb Sīar al-Abā’, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 323 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 1, pp. 519–520). Baybars al-Manṣūrī, Zubda al-Fikra, quoted in ‘Aynī, Kitāb Jāmi‘ al-Tawārīkh in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 511 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 248).

67 Roger of Wendover: Roger de Wendover, Liber qui dicitur “Flores historiarum” ab Anno Domini MCLIV. annoque Henrici Anglorum regis secundi primo, ed. Henry G. Hewlett, 3 vols. (London, 1886–1889), vol. 2, p. 351: “Soldanus vero Babyloniae, cum ejus adventum in Syriam cognovisset, misit ei xenia multa et pretiosa in auro et argento, in pannis sericis et lapidibus pretiosis, in camelis et elephantis, in ursis et simiis, et aliis rebus mirificis, quibus omnibus regiones abstinent occidentis.”

68 Tārīkh Baṭārika, vol. 4, p. 51 (Eng. trans., vol. 4, p. 107); Kitāb Sīar al-Abā’, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, pp. 323–324 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 1, pp. 520–521).

69 Ibn al-Athīr, vol. 12, p. 482; Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 315 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 1, p. 506); English trans., vol. 3, p. 293; Kitāb Jāmi‘ al-Tawārīkh, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 510 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 247); Kitāb Sīar al-Abā’, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 323 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 1, pp. 519–520).

70 Tārīkh Baṭārika, vol. 4, p. 51 (Eng. trans., vol. 4, pp. 106–107); Kitāb Sīar al-Abā’, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 323 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 1, p. 519). Maqrīzī, Kitāb al-Sulūk, vol. 1, p. 266; Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 519 (Bi blioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 262). Ṣafadī, Kitāb al-Wāfī, in Amari, Seconda Appendice alla Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 14 (Biblioteca, versione italiana. Appendice, p. 18). Baybars al-Manṣūrī, Zubda al-Fikra, quoted in ‘Aynī, Kitāb Jāmi‘ al-Tawārīkh, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 511 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 248).

71 Tārīkh Baṭārika, vol. 4, p. 51 (Eng. trans., vol. 4, p. 106); Kitāb Sīar al-Abā’, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 323 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 1, p. 519).

72 Abū al-Faḍāyl, Tārīkh Manṣūrī, p. 352 (folio 172b); Amari, Seconda Appendice alla Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 32 (Biblioteca, versione italiana. Appendice, pp. 55–56).

73 Maqrīzī, Kitāb al-Sulūk, vol. 1, p. 266; Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 520 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 263).

74 Ibn Wāṣil, Mufarrij, vol. 4, p. 242; Francesco Gabrieli, Arab Historians of the Crusades (London, 1957), p. 270. Maqrīzī, Kitāb al-Sulūk, vol. 1, pp. 258, 266–268; Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, pp. 519–520 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, pp. 262–263).

75 Makīn, Akhbār al-Ayyūbīyīn (Cahen, “La chronique des Ayyoubides”), p. 137; French trans., Chronique des Ayyoubides, p. 41. Cf. ‘Aynī, Kitāb Jāmi‘ al-Tawārīkh, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 511 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 247). For Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Irbilī, see Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt al-A‘yān, vol. 1, pp. 184–187. According to Ibn Khallikān, al-Kāmil sent Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Irbilī to Frederick II as his envoy when the emperor arrived in Syria in AH 626.

76 Abū al-Faḍāyl, Tārīkh Manṣūrī, p. 370 (folio 181b); Amari, Seconda Appendice alla Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 33 (Biblioteca, versione italiana. Appendice, p. 56).

77 Maqrīzī, Kitāb al-Sulūk, vol. 1, p. 268; Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 520 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 263).

78 Abū al-Faḍāyl, Tārīkh Manṣūrī, p. 370 (folio 181b); Amari, Seconda Appendice alla Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 33 (Biblioteca, versione italiana. Appendice, pp. 56–57).

79 Ibn Wāṣil, Mufarrij, vol. 4, p. 242; Gabrieli, Arab Historians, p. 270.

80 Maqrīzī, Kitāb al-Sulūk, vol. 1, p. 270; Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 522 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 266).

81 Ibn Wāṣil, Mufarrij, vol. 4, pp. 241–243; Gabrieli, Arab Historians, pp. 269–270. Ṣafadī, Kitāb al-Wāfī, in Amari, Seconda Appendice alla Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 14 (Biblioteca, versione italiana. Appendice, p. 19). Maqrīzī, Kitāb al-Sulūk, vol. 1, p. 268; Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, pp. 520–521 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 264). ‘Aynī, Kitāb Jāmi‘ al-Tawārīkh, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 511 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 247). Abū al-Faḍāyl, Tārīkh Manṣūrī, p. 370 (folio 181b); Amari, Seconda Appendice alla Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 33 (Biblioteca, versione italiana. Appendice, p. 56). Abū al-Fidā’, Kitāb al-Mukhtaṣar, vol. 3, p. 141; in RHC, Hist. orient., vol. 1, p. 104; Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 419 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 105).

82 Maqrīzī, Kitāb al-Sulūk, vol. 1, p. 268; Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 520 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 264).

83 For the content of the treaty, see Huillard-Bréholles, vol. 3, pp. 86–110. Roger of Wendover, Flores historiarum, vol. 2, pp. 365–367. Ibn Wāṣil, Mufarrij, vol. 4, p. 241; Gabrieli, Arab Historians, p. 269. Nuwayrī, Nihāya al-Arab, vol. 29, pp. 100–101. Maqrīzī, Kitāb al-Sulūk, vol. 1, p. 268; Amari Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 520 (Bi blioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, pp. 263–264). Tārīkh Baṭārika, vol. 4, p. 52 (Eng. trans., vol. 4, p. 109); Kitāb Sīar al-Abā’, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 324 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 1, p. 521). Cf. Van Cleve, “The Crusade of Frederick II,” pp. 455–466; Gottschalk, pp. 156–157; Humphreys, pp. 202–203.

84 Ibn Wāṣil, Mufarrij, vol. 4, pp. 244–245; Gabrieli, Arab Historians, pp. 271–272. Maqrīzī, Kitāb al-Sulūk, vol. 1, pp. 269–271; in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, pp. 521–522 (Amari, Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, pp. 265–266); Kitāb Jāmi‘ al-Tawārīkh, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 513 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, pp. 250–255).

85 A letter of Frederick II to Henry III of England: “sequenti die coronam portavimus.” Roger of Wendover, Flores historiarum, vol. 2, p. 368. A letter of Hermann von Salza: “tamen coronam simpliciter sine consecratione de altari accepit et in sedem, sicut est consuetum, portavit.” Huillard-Bréholles, vol. 3, p. 100. For the modern scholars’ arguments against Kantorowicz’s interpretation of Frederick II’s act as self- coronation, see Hans E. Mayer, “Das Pontifikale von Tyrus,” Dumbarton Oaks Papers, vol. 21 (1967), pp. 200–210; Helmuth Kruger, Hochmeister Hermann von Salza und Kaiser Friedrich II. (Marburg, 1987), pp. 95–113; David Abulafia, Frederick II. A Medieval Emperor (London, 1988), pp. 186–187; Rudolf Hiestand, “Friedrich II. und der Kreuzzug,” Friedrich II, ed. Arnold Esch and Norbert Kamp (Tübingen, 1996), p. 146; Stürner, Friedrich II., vol. 2, p. 158.

86 Breve chronicon de rebus Siculis, Huillard-Bréholles, ed., Historia diplomatica Fred-erici secundi, vol. 1–2 (Paris, 1852), pp. 902–903. Van Cleve, “The Crusade of Frederick II,” pp. 460–461. According to Abū al-Faḍāyl, Tārīkh Manṣūrī, p. 370 (folio 181b); Amari, Seconda Appendice alla Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 33 (Biblioteca, versione italiana. Appendice, p. 57), he left Acre at the end of Jumādā I of 626 (26 April 1229).

87 Ibn Wāṣil, Mufarrij, vol. 4, p. 246; Gabrieli, Arab Historians, p. 276. Baybars al-Manṣūrī, Zubda al-Fikra, quoted in ‘Aynī, ‘Iqd al-Jumān, in RHC, Hist. orient., vol. 2–1, p. 192; Kitāb Jāmi‘ al-Tawārīkh, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 515 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 253). Abū al-Fidā’, Kitāb al-Mukhtaṣar, vol. 4, p. 38; Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 421 (Biblioteca arabo-sicula, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 107).

88 Abū al-Faḍāyl, Tārīkh Manṣūrī, p. 382 (folio 187b); Amari, Seconda Appendice alla Biblioteca, testo arabo, pp. 34–37 (Biblioteca, versione italiana. Appendice, pp. 57–62). Gabrieli, Arab Historians, pp. 280–283.

89 Ṣafadī, Kitāb al-Wāfī, in Amari, Seconda Appendice alla Biblioteca, testo arabo, pp. 14–15 (Biblioteca, versione italiana. Appendice, pp. 20–21).

90 Abū al-Faḍāyl, Tārīkh Manṣūrī, pp. 447–448 (folio 220a–220b); Amari, Seconda Appendice alla Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 38 (Biblioteca, versione italiana. Appendice, pp. 64–65).

91 Ṣafadī, Kitāb al-Wāfī, in Amari, Seconda Appendice alla Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 14 (Biblioteca, versione italiana. Appendice, p. 20).

92 Ibn Wāṣil, Mufarrij, vol. 4, p. 246; Gabrieli, Arab Historians, p. 276.

93 Gottschalk, Al-Kāmil, p. 234 and note 1; Humphreys, From Saladin to the Mongols, p. 237.

94 Ibn Wāṣil, Mufarrij, vol. 4, p. 246; Gabrieli, Arab Historians, p. 276. Ṣafadī, Kitāb al-Wāfī, in Amari, Seconda Appendice alla Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 14 (Biblioteca, versione italiana. Appendice, p. 20).

95 Maqrīzī, Kitāb al-Sulūk, vol. 1, pp. 291–292. Abū al-Fidā’, Kitāb al-Mukhtaṣar, in RHC, Hist. orient., vol. 1, pp. 117–118. ‘Aynī, ‘Iqd al-Jumān, in RHC, Hist. orient., vol. 2–1, pp. 196–197; Kitāb Jāmi‘ al-Tawārīkh, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 516 (Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, pp. 255–256). Cf. Humphreys, From Saladin to the Mongols, p. 261; Sydney Painter, “The Crusade of Theobald of Champagne and Richard of Cornwall, 1239–1241,” History of the Crusades, ed. Kenneth Meyer Setton, vol. 2 (Madison, 1962), pp. 475–478; Runciman, vol. 3, p. 215 note 2.

96 Ibn Wāṣil, Mufarrij, vol. 4, p. 246; Gabrieli, Arab Historians, p. 276.

97 Ibn Wāṣil, Mufarrij, vol. 4, p. 247; Gabrieli, Arab Historians, p. 276.

98 Ibn Wāṣil, Mufarrij, vol. 4, p. 247; Gabrieli, Arab Historians, p. 276.

99 Ibn Wāṣil, Mufarrij, vol. 4, p. 248. Abū al-Fidā’, Kitāb al-Mukhtaṣar, vol. 4, pp. 38–39; Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, pp. 420–421 (Biblioteca arabo-sicula, versione italiana, vol. 2, pp. 106–107). Francesco Gabrieli, “Le ambascerie di Bai-bars a Manfredi,” Studi medievali in onore di Antonino de Stefano (Palermo, 1956), pp. 222–223. Cf. Umberto Rizzitano, Storia e cultura nella Sicilia Saracena (Palermo, 1975), p. 333.

100 Gabrieli, “Le ambascerie di Baibars a Manfredi,” p. 224.

101 Ibn Wāṣil, Mufarrij, vol. 4, p. 248. Cf. Carole Hillenbrand, The Crusade. Islamic Perspectives (Edinburgh, 1999), pp. 340–341; Gabrieli, “La ambascerie di Baibars a Manfredi,” pp. 222–223.

102 Hillenbrand, The Crusade, pp. 337–340.

103 Ibn Wāṣil, Mufarrij, vol. 4, p. 234.

104 Maqrīzī, Kitāb al-Sulūk, vol. 1, p. 232.

105 Ibn al-Furāt (†1405): Nāṣil al-Dīn Muḥammad Ibn al-Furāt, Tārīkh al-Duwal wa al-Mulūk, in Ursula Lyons, Malcolm C. Lyons and Jonathan Riley-Smith, Ayyubids,Mamluks and Crusaders, 2 vols. (Cambridge, 1971), vol. 1, p. 11 (Arabic text), vol. 2, p. 9 (Eng. trans.).

106 Ibn al-Furāt, Tārīkh al-Duwal wal-Mulūk, in U. & M. C. Lyons and Riley-Smith, vol. 1, p. 48 (Arabic text), vol. 2, p. 39 (Eng. trans.).

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