Mapping the Frontier between Islam and Christendom in a Diplomatic Age: al-Ghassânî in Spain

Abstract

AbstractThis essay analyzes the travel account authored by Moroccan ambassador Muhammad al-Ghassânî, who visited Spain in 1690–91. The account shows the evolution of the early modern frontier between Christian Europe and Islamic North Africa, from a militarized boundary to the development of diplomatic relations. Both an agent and witness of that history, al-Ghassânî describes a heterogeneous space: he surveys the border, explores the foreign land of modern Spain, and reimagines the memory of al-Andalus. His important account, based on sharp observation and serious research, helps nuance the prevailing view that Arab culture had ignored Europe before the nineteenth century.