A study reveals that medieval Pisa may have formed a military and diplomatic alliance with the Muslim taifa of Denia in the 11th century. Historian David Romney Smith argues that this alliance emerged post-Sardinian War (1015-1016) when Pisa captured the family of Denia's ruler. The documented fosterage of Ê¿AlÄ«, the young son of MujÄhid al-Ê¿ÄmirÄ«, created a channel for informal diplomacy. Smith merges various historical sources to assert this overlooked alliance, suggesting that it could reshape our understanding of Pisa's role in Mediterranean politics during this period.
The second reason for seeing the connection as a strategic pact between Pisa and Denia - and this is the circumstantial evidence - lies in the configuration of military actions across the eleventh century.
Pisa's eleventh-century history, in its own texts, consists of attacks launched on Muslims, to the extent that the city has been seen by historians as a vanguard of an 'anti-Islamic struggle' that culminated in the crusades.
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