|
[Malte] émirs de Malte
|
Bonsoir.
Pouvez-vous me dire ou je peux trouver des renseignements concernant les émirs de Malte des 11em et 12em siècles? Merci par avance Pierre ARMAN 
Bonjour,
C'est à dire ? D'un point de vue historique ou généalogique ? D'un point de vue historique, en effet de 870-1091, Malte est sous domination arabe. Mais il n'y a pas d'émir de Malte. Pas besoin d'un émir pour gérer une si petite île. Pour de plus ample information, il faut lire les livres ou articles historiques sur le sujet. Anthony Luttrell, par exemple, a écrit pas mal de chose sur Malte au temps du moyen âge Vous avez un de ses textes en français sur Persee : https://www.persee.fr/doc/remmm_0997-132..._71_1_1634 Il y a bien sûr Godfrey Wettinger aussi avec son "The arabs of Malta" : https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/bitstr...0Malta.pdf Vous avez bien sur le MaltaHistory : http://maltahistory.eu5.net/mh/mindex.html avec énormément d'articles divers et variés. Et vous avez aussi l'université de Malte avec ses ressources en ligne : https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/ Il faut comprendre qu'avant les années 1970 (et donc avant les études de Anthony Luttrell, Godfrey Wettinger, Stanley Fiorini, ...), l'histoire de Malte était très "fantasmé". D'un point de vue généalogique, si vous cherchez des liens entre votre arbre maltais et les émirs, vous pouvez déjà passer à autre chose. Il n'y a pas de lien et même si y'en avait un, il serait impossible de trouver/prouver. Bonne lecture N. 
12-02-2021, 18:38
Bonsoir,
Si votre question portait sur "la Généalogie des Émirs" donnée par MaltaGenealogy, vous pouvez toujours poser la question sur "ses sources" à l'auteur du site. Et, s'il vous les donne, ne manquez pas de nous informer.
Thanks for making this post, I too have been extremely curious about this part of Malta’s history. It is not a chapter of history we study at school and for obvious reasons it is neglected and ignored. But I think in terms of Maltese genealogy it is fundamental especially when so many Maltese people still have no idea from where their surname originates.
This page in particular https://www.maltagenealogy.com/arabsicilymalta merits a lot of study. MaltaGenealogy has an good reputation as far as I know and they have done a tremendous amount of work. I often use that website with the geneanum database in parallel for my own personal research and they do overlap. Citation :D'un point de vue généalogique, si vous cherchez des liens entre votre arbre maltais et les émirs, vous pouvez déjà passer à autre chose. Can you please explain this point? I do not know from where they got the records from 1200 to ~1400 but I have managed to find my own personal link to the MaltaGenealogy tree from 1600 so that part is definitely correct. I even used Geneanum records to confirm. But anything before that is a mystery... I apologise for writing in English but this is indeed very interesting...and mysterious.
Hello,
No problem, If you want to know details on the malta history, I will only advise to rely on historian studies done by historians (maltese, english, french,...). Like you said, the malta history was neglected and some used it as an advantage. Some want to prove that malta was Christian country all along (now we know that while arab period, all previous christians were expulsed). Some want to prove that arab dynasty survived in all maltese people. Like all of us, you can link your tree with Maltagenealogy from 1600 (the main source on this website is the ADAMI collection) . But before, poof, it's mystery. You can ask to Charles Said Vassallo, the Web Master of Maltagenealogy. Or he can reply here if he wants. From my point of view, he never give me any proof that i ask (and i'm not alone). Sometimes, he would said that he has private collection. But I doubt an australian has archives that the national archives of Malta doesn't have. And i don't think that will be legal to possesed that kind of original documents. Between 1200-1400 all maltese notaries registries are gone. The main source is the sicilian notaries, in it you have some trade, event,... Between sicily and malta. But it will help understand the maltese history but very unlikely help you with your specific family tree.
13-02-2021, 11:31
Hi Angelas21,
You are right : The history of Malta before 1400 merits all our attention. If you ask a question to Genanum team, on any lines of our base, we are able to indicate the source and to provide the associated document. Have you tried to get the source of the emirs ? If so, please share.
Hi NSV,
thank you so much for your reply! Yes I agree with you on all those points certainly. Maltese historians have tended to focus intensely on the period of the Knights and the British (thanks to that we have incredible work) but of course they had many documents and records to assist in their research. The Arab period as you say suffers from a lack of records and data. I assume many have been lost and destroyed over the years too? But Mr Said Vassallo’s work on the Siculo Arabic Maltese surnames would help to answer many questions about this period. Indeed, it would be a real revelation. A publication in the future would be certainly welcomed. Citation :between 1200-1400 all maltese notaries registries are gone. The main source is the sicilian notaries, in it you have some trade, event,... Between sicily and malta. But it will help understand the maltese history but very unlikely help you with your specific family tree. Thank you, this is indeed what I suspected - records in Sicily. Also, I believe the dejma records are another source from the 1400s. Very limited of course but useful nonetheless. How did these survive? Hi Georges, Yes, your sources have helped me tremendously in my research and I was able to directly find the archived written church records through the database. No, I have not found the source of the emirs. I only managed to find church records for ‘Seykil’ from Zejtun (1600) that linked with MaltaGenealogy’s SiculoArabic tree. But nothing before 1600...
13-02-2021, 22:53
According to wikipedia : "In 1091, Count Roger I of Sicily, invaded Malta and turned the island's Muslim rulers into his vassals. In 1127, his son Roger II of Sicily fully established Norman rule in Malta, paving the way for the islands' Christianization."
How it's possible to have" emirs of malta" after this date ? How it's possible to only find these information on Maltagenealogy and copy/paste websites ? How it's possible that none "emirs of malta" have a new name but always an already used by an old sicilian emirs ? How it's possible that the vast majority of "emirs of malta", so muslim, married christians italians women and no arab women ? How it's possible that after the expulsion of all muslims in 1224, "emirs of malta" stayed ? For me, the answers are obvious. Seykil in Zejtun around 1600, never saw this name. Do you mean Seichel ? N.
14-02-2021, 11:33
Hi NSV,
Thanks for your reply. A few points to your interesting comments: Citation :How it's possible to have" emirs of malta" after this date ? At the time when the Normans invaded Muslim Sicily, the major cities (Palermo, Syracuse etc) were governed by different ‘emirs’ which the Normans conquered one after the other. However, Christians, Muslims and Jews lived quite peacefully as religion was not particularly important to the recently converted Norman rulers. Many historical sources verify this. Muslim rulers were allowed to continue governing Malta once they retreated from Sicily and were loyal to the Norman rulers of Sicily. Taxes were imposed on Muslims in Malta but eventually as you say in 1127 Muslim governance was abolished. But with nobility, titles can persist and continue especially if they are hereditary and still acknowledged by the Muslim population of Malta. This is exactly where we need more research. From MaltaGenealogy, the last Emir of Malta was in 1240 a certain Jafar VIII. It is written “The Kings of Sicily took over government in Malta by direct rule with a Capitano della Verga.” However, I think the title of ‘Emir of Malta’ could have been ceremonial while the Hakim of Malta was more like the actual governor. In fact the title of Hakim persisted longer until 1356 (according to MaltaGenealogy). “Under the Muslims, the Maltese had their own assembly called ġemgħa composed of both Christians and Muslims under an Arab hakim or governor..." https://culturemalta.org/arab-rule-in-malta-2/ Citation :How it's possible to only find these information on Maltagenealogy and copy/paste websites ? Yes, the specific names are only on that website but the wider historical context of Norman-Muslim rule are documented in other historical sources too. Citation :How it's possible that none "emirs of malta" have a new name but always an already used by an old sicilian emirs ? Paying homage and tribute to an ancestor was a very common practice for a very long time. This naming practice persisted in Malta up until the recent day. Repeated names are extremely common in Maltese families, being named after a grandfather/grandmother etc.. With nobility it makes even more sense. Giving the common names of Jafar and Hassan Samsam established a link with the legitimate nobility and rulers of Sicily. But around the 1200s is when new names started to be given (supposedly the origin of many Maltese surnames like Seychell, Calafato, Zrinzo etc etc..) Citation :How it's possible that the vast majority of "emirs of malta", so muslim, married christians italians women and no arab women ? This was extremely common even in Sicily. Nobility married nobility and Muslim men are allowed to marry Christian or Jewish women because the children would be Muslim. It was a common mode of alliances, independent historical sources also back these up. Some of the Hakims did marry a Muslim woman (a cousin usually - again, noble) but it was mainly their Harem that was composed of Muslim women. Citation :How it's possible that after the expulsion of all muslims in 1224, "emirs of malta" stayed ? The Muslims who refused to convert were expelled however many converted, including the descendants of Hakims etc.. and stayed in Malta. if they were threatened with expulsion in 1224 you would start seeing conversions around this time. However, in 1240 more than eight hundred Muslim families still lived in the Maltese islands. But how to know if the Muslims began converting? Look at their children's names around this decade. According to MaltaGenealogy, Christian names start entering these Hakims' family trees around 1250. In fact, the year we should be looking at is not 1224 BUT 1249: "Around 1249, some Maltese Muslims were sent to the Italian colony of Lucera, established for Sicilian Muslims. For some historians, including Godfrey Wettinger, who follow on this Ibn Khaldun, this event marked the end of Islam in Malta. According to Wettinger, "there is no doubt that by the beginning of Angevin times [i.e. shortly after 1249] no professed Muslim Maltese remained either as free persons or even as serfs on the island." https://vassallohistory.wordpress.com/va...nt-page-4/ Citation :Seykil in Zejtun around 1600, never saw this name. Yes, exactly so. I wrote Seykil in reference to the "original" name..but yes, Seichel in the records. Sorry for my long reply!
14-02-2021, 16:45
Hi,
1°) "At the time when the Normans invaded Muslim Sicily, the major cities (Palermo, Syracuse etc) were governed by different ‘emirs’ which the Normans conquered one after the other." No, major cities of Sicily were not governed by "Emir". Emir is a specific title and no governors take the title. After 1091, the period is called "Taifa". In this period, like you said, Sicily was multi cultural, and some cities were governed by arab : Abdallah ibn Mankut - Trapani and Mazara (1053–?) Ibn al-Maklatí - Catania (1053–?) Muhammed ibn Ibrahim (Ibn Thumna) - Syracuse (1053–1062) and in later years Catania and Trapani/Mazara Alí ibn Nima (Ibn al-Hawwàs) - Agrigento and Castrogiovanni (1053–about 1065), all Taifas from 1062 Ayyub ibn Tamim (Zirid) (about 1065–1068) Ibn al-Ba'ba, Palermo (1068–1072) Hammad - Agrigento and Castrogiovanni (1068–1087) Ibn Abbad (Benavert)- Syracuse and Catania (1071–1086) So culturemalta used the right word : Hakim, and not "Emir" 2°) So no maltese historians never wrote down this names, weird, don't you think ? 3°) So why if you take the emirs of Sicily : al-Hasan al-Kalbi (948–953) Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Kalbi (954–969) Ya'ish (969-970) Abu'l-Qasim Ali ibn al-Hasan al-Kalbi (970–982) Jabir al-Kalbi (982–983) Ja'far al-Kalbi (983–985) Abdallah al-Kalbi (985–990) Yusuf al-Kalbi (990–998) Ja'far al-Kalbi (998–1019) al-Akhal (1019–1037) Abdallah (1037–1040), Zirid usurper Hasan as-Samsam (1040–1053) From 948 to 1053, there only one "duplicate" : Ja'far al-Kalbi ? Why that ? No hommage ? No respect in this period ? No always the father / son. We can see that the fourth emir Abu'l-Qasim Ali ibn al-Hasan al-Kalbi, seems to be the brother of the second Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Kalbi and the son of the first al-Hasan al-Kalbi. So in Sicily history, it's no so simple, the son isn't always the successor. It's not because it's "common" that it will become just "perfect" on a specific family ? Many time, it's not the elder who take the "crown" 4°) Do you try to find the "story" of the wifes ? I see a "Princess Euphrosyne Angelos" for the last emir. You can find her on wikipedia : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphrosyne_Kastamonitissa "Euphrosyne Kastamonitissa wife of Andronikos Doukas Angelos" Oh, so she remaried ? Weird she died in 1186, a little too early for be the wife of the "last emir of malta" 5°) Maybe you need to try to find others sources  6°) The original name ? The original name of a person is the name used when he was alive. The potential of an ancestor, 400 years before are the original name of that person. For malte surnames origin, Mario CASSAR is an expert You can contact him on facebook : https://www.facebook.com/mario.cassar.52 |