Points of dialogue increased across the Muslim–Christian Iberian frontier over the course of the eleventh century. Rulers on both sides pursued policies of active communication, through violent and pacific means. This is especially evident in the relations between Denia and Barcelona. The growing Mediterranean interests of both polities brought them into frequent contact through trade, diplomacy and conflict. In fact, the intercultural entente established between the rulers of Denia and Barcelona allows for a much broader view of Iberian Muslim–Christian relations within the context of the eleventh-century Western Mediterranean.
The taifa of Denia on the Iberian eastern seaboard was one of the most dynamic of the regional polities that emerged from the disintegrated Cordovan caliphate. Mujāhid al-'Ā mirī based his state not only on its continental territories, but especially on the maritime networks that linked it with the Mediterranean. Commerce with Muslim and Christian ports played a role in Denia's success, but both Latin and Arabic sources emphasise its practice of piracy on a grand scale. In fact, Mujāhid al-'Ā mirī built his state as a continuation of the maritime policies of the Cordovan caliphate under which the piracy of independent coastal communities was adopted and expanded into a statesponsored guerre de course. Mujāhid's pursuance of this policy stemmed from his role in the erstwhile caliphate, but was also motivated by a combination of religious, political and economic factors. The legitimacy provided by his ''jihād on the sea'' helped to shore up his power at a time of political instability. This policy also provided the taifa's economic foundation for much of its history. In fact, the Mediterranean maritime lanes became as much an extension of Denia as its continental territories. Denia's piracy thus reflects a coherent form of statecraft, informing definitions of the medieval state and territoriality.
In the eleventh century, as ports and cities expanded their involvement in the Mediterranean, they came into contact and conflict with one another; both were integral parts of the Mediterranean renewal after the relative decline of the early Middle Ages. Of these cities, relations between Pisa and Denia were perhaps the most exemplary of the extremes possible within the new Mediterranean. On the surface, theirs would seem to be merely a series of clashes based on religious friction, jih ad, or territorial ambitions, as shown by their conflict over Sardinia. However, when viewed together with diplomatic and commercial relations, it becomes apparent that violence was only a part of the Mediterranean dynamic, and that where conflict did exist it was along new lines. Economic ambitions were becoming the motivating factor, and trade routes and commerce were the new stakes in the medieval Mediterranean.In the eleventh century, as ports and cities expanded their involvement in the Mediterranean, they came into contact and conflict with one another; both were integral parts of the Mediterranean renewal after the relative decline of the early Middle Ages. Indeed, contact and conflict often simultaneously characterized relations between emerging powers, and brisk trade, direct and indirect, was concomitant with armed clashes over territory and sea routes. Nowhere, perhaps, were these more intense than in the relations between Christian and Muslim powers in the
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.