The Sicilian Vespers and the Tunisian Matins: History across the Medieval Mediterranean
The Nehemia Levtzion Center for Islamic Studies and the Martin Buber Society of Fellows cordially invites you to the 12th Annual Lecture in the Memory of Prof. Nehemia Levtzion:
Hussein Fancy
Department of History, University of Michigan
The Sicilian Vespers and the Tunisian Matins: History across the Medieval Mediterranean
Chair: Reuven Amitai
Department of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, Hebrew University
The lecture will take place on
Monday, 28.5.2018, 16:30-18:00
At room 505, The Maiersdorf Faculty Club
Abstract:
On March 30th, 1282, at sunset, a group of Sicilian conspirators rose up against and massacred French soldiers at Palermo. The episode marked the beginning of what came to be known as the War of the Sicilian Vespers, an event that has resonated in Italian history and become a symbol of national pride. Combining research in Latin, Arabic, and Romance archival sources, this lecture reframes the Sicilian Vespers, viewing the events from the perspective of North Africa. In this manner, it highlights the deep connections between the histories of Italy and North Africa. The War of the Sicilian Vespers, it argues, was only part of a longer story, the story of European ambitions in Tunis in the Middle Ages.