The Mercenary Mediterranean: Sovereignty, Religion, and Violence in the Medieval Crown of Aragon

Placeholder author icon
By Hussein Fancy *08

Published May 20, 2016

Based on extensive research in Arabic, Latin, and Romance sources, The Mercenary Mediterranean: Sovereignty, Religion, and Violence in the Medieval Crown of Aragon explores the little-known and misunderstood history of Muslim soldiers recruited by the Christian kings of Aragon in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries to serve in their armies and royal courts. Hussein Fancy *08 argues that study of the alliance of these Christian kings and Muslim soldiers offers a unique opportunity to reconsider the relation of medieval religion to politics. Fancy is an assistant professor of history at the University of Michigan.

Paw in print

Image
The January 2026 cover of PAW, featuring a man and a woman and the headline "Empower Couple."
The Latest Issue

January 2026

Giving big with Kwanza Jones ’93 and José E. Feliciano ’94; Elizabeth Tsurkov freed; small town wonderers.