MESA Banner
Recalling al-Andalus in Early Modern Moroccan Diplomatic Writing: al-Ghassānī’s Riḥlat al-wazīr fī iftikāk al-ʾasīr (1690-1691) as a Case Study
Abstract
Much ink has been spilled on the nostalgic and elegiac recollections of al-Andalus in pre-modern and modern Arabic and Islamic writings. Yet, very little has been written on the theme of nostalgia for al-Andalus in the rich corpus of early modern Moroccan Voyages en Espagne. By Voyages en Espagne I refer specifically to travel accounts written by Moroccan diplomats who visited Spain in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; besides al-Ghassānī (d.1707), this includes travelers such as al-Ghazzāl (d.1777), al-Miknāssī (d. d.1791), and al-Zayyānī (d.1833). In my presentation, I argue that al-Ghassānī‘s Riḥlat al-wazīr fī iftikāk al-ʾasīr is infused with nostalgia for al-Andalus and this work of literature should be looked at as one of the foundational Post-Reconquista Arabic Andalusiyyāt. I do so by, firstly, exploring al-Ghassānī‘s predilection for historical digression on the early Muslim conquest of al-Andalus. Secondly, I discuss the author’s nostalgic/elegiac representation of what he fascinatingly calls “ʾāthār al-ḥaḍārah al-qadīmah” (the traces/ruins of the old civilization) in Andalusian towns, notably Cordoba and Toledo. Finally, I explore al-Ghassānī’s poetic anthologization of Andalusian landscapes, flora, and fauna as well as his recurring juxtaposition of al-Andalus’ Islamic past with its Spanish-Christian present. While a comprehensive exploration of modern theories of memory and nostalgia exceed the scope of my presentation, the writings of Pierre Nora and Alfredo González-Ruibal on sites of memory, as well as Svetlana Boym, and Fred Davis on nostalgia will inform my exploration of these themes in al-Ghassānī’s Riḥlat al-wazīr.
Discipline
History
Geographic Area
Morocco
Sub Area
13th-18th Centuries