Fighting the Normans
1 media/170235_thumb.jpg 2023-05-11T10:06:43-07:00 James J Walsh 82e88f44989398ce3da36e519ea57a917fadcc70 42813 1 Many of the Berbers living outside the African coastal cities didn't adapt well to Norman rule. The tribes and rural areas that were on the mainland began to counter the Siculo-Norman presence in the region through violent means. plain 2023-05-11T10:06:43-07:00 James J Walsh 82e88f44989398ce3da36e519ea57a917fadcc70This page is referenced by:
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The Pressure of the Local Population
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For at least a century, Norman methods of cross-cultural adaptation and assimilation aided in their ability to rule over the lands they conquered. It is reasonable to assume that their foray into North Africa wouldn't be much different. After all, to the Normans, North Africa can arguably be similar to the Norman invasion of Sicily, where the Normans were able to coexist with the majority Sunni Berber population in the region in order to maintain power. However, the Norman presence in North Africa was entirely different. Not only were there a substantially larger number of Berbers in the region, but the kingdom was surrounded on all sides by opportunistic Muslim powers who wanted to reclaim the lost lands of Ifriqiya. With the Almohad Caliphate rising in the west and the Fatimid Caliphate maintaining its dominance in the east, disgrunted rural Muslims across the Norman Kingdom of Africa began to resist Norman rule.
For many local Muslims in the region, the benefits and religious and cultural tolerance of the Normans didn't outway the actions that they were undertaking in the region. With the rapid expansion of military garrisons in major cities, the influx of Christians coming into major cities, external pressures, and Islamic practices like the jizyah being used against them, many Muslims were not content with the ruling Norman class. With Muslim demands to reinstate Muslim rule in the region, the local populations took up arms against the Normans, including contacting the Almohad king to encourage an invasion of the region. From my research, this is one of the first full-scale retaliations to cross-cultural assimilation under Norman rule.
