This thesis pioneers a study in the dynamics of territorial control of the island of Mallorca from ca. 902-1300 AD, with the aim of providing the first holistic and systematic study of the known Islamic fortresses of this island, and determining the reasons which account for the lack of the so-called hisn/qarya complex there. The scientific focus of this project explores the effects that island contexts may have on the identity-forming processes of their population and how these in turn affect the socio-political makeup of these ‘bounded’ polities. More specifically, in the case of Mallorca the core of this study is devoted to the relation between the hinterland fortifications of the Islamic period and the island’s capital city Madīna Mayūrqa, concluding that due to the relative isolation of Mallorca’s segmentary communities from their mainland analogues they evolved a distinctive meta-identity which gradually supplanted their traditional tribal allegiances and redefined their relation with the state and political authority in general. Other areas of interest explored here are the use of rammed earth and masonry in Andalusi Architecture, and the mechanisms of integration of the Islamic territorial setup of Mallorca into the Christian kingdom of Aragon from 1229 onwards. The data here presented results from a broad variety of sources such as extensive archival research, architectural and spatial analysis of the 17+ sites surveyed, aerial photography, hydro-archaeology and in particular viewshed analysis, which was able to provide highly relevant results regarding the interconnectivity of the various sites and therefore give important evidence on their operational context. The creation of the viewsheds relied heavily on GIS software (Global Mapper 10-12) as well as architectural design software (AutoCAD, Illustrator, Sketchup) in order to carry out partial reconstructions of some of the main structures on the island.

This dissertation uses all of the available evidence provided by coins to construct a numismatic history of the early Islamic precious metal coinage of North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula. The dissertation begins with a review of the analysis undertaken by earlier scholars, followed by an explanation of the adopted methodology, including the approach to the primary and secondary sources and the description of the methods used in the metrological, metallurgical, and die estimation analyses. The balance of the dissertation is divided into three sections. The first section is the typology, which divides the coinage into four series: Series 1, the Two Imperial Bust type; Series 2, the Latin Epigraphic type; Series 3, the Bilingual type; and Series 4, the Post-Reform type. The typology analyses each series in detail. This section also discusses the iconographical elements of the coinage, with a further chapter providing an analysis of certain anomalous examples that do not readily fit into the typology. The second section encompasses the analysis of the metrological and metallurgical aspects of the coinage and the estimation of the number of dies for each series. The final section combines the numismatic evidence and the historical record provided by a variety of secondary sources into a numismatic history of the two regions. This section includes a discussion of the historical context prior to, during, and after the Muslim conquest of North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, as well as a discussion of find spots and circulation. The dissertation concludes with a comparison of the evolution of the precious metal coinage in North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula to the evolution of Islamic coinage in other regions of the Umayyad Caliphate and an exploration of the underlying nature of the coinage (i.e. regional, Imperial, etc.).

Cette thèse est une analyse comparée des approches théoriques et des méthodes de recensement élaborées par Alois Musil. Elle se fonde sur des sources historiographiques et archéologiques, ainsi qu’une analyse de la personnalité d’Alois Musil en tant qu’archéologue, dans le contexte des travaux scientifiques conduits au Proche-Orient. Cette thèse compare les résultats de ses travaux pionniers dans les domaines de l’archéologie et de l’anthropologie, avec les méthodes de recherche élaborées par plusieurs autres chercheurs, ainsi qu’avec leurs systèmes respectifs permettant la documentation des sites et leurs apports à la connaissance contemporaine. Bien que Musil ne se considérait pas lui-même comme archéologue, ses découvertes extraordinaires, de même que ses compétences en matière de documentation et d’interprétation ont permis ses écrits de traverser le temps et d’être toujours abondamment cités aujourd’hui. Toutefois, ce travail aborde également les limites de l’exploration de sites supposés Romains par Musil, dans la mesure o un certain nombre de lieux, classifiés comme Romains voire ‘indubitablement Romains’, n’étaient en réalité qu’une fraction du réseau résidentiel omeyyade à Bilād al-Shām. Par ailleurs, les découvertes archéologiques de Musil, en particulier celle de QuṣayrʿAmra, furent étroitement liées aux Bédouins. A ce titre, cette thèse aborde également le versant anthropologique de son œuvre, et sa contribution au développement de la recherche ethnographique sur le Proche-Orient. Enfin, ce travail décrit le développement des recherches sur les forteresses Omeyyades, ainsi que l’évolution des hypothèses et des méthodes développées par Musil. Elle comporte une base de données incluant les sites archéologiques visités et documentés par celui-ci. Elle repose aussi sur la comparaison des classifications et des recueils de données élaborés par Musil, avec les recherches de ses contemporains et, lorsque cela est possible, avec les travaux les plus récents. / This thesis is a comparative analysis of Alois Musil’s theoretical approaches and recording methods, based on historical and archaeological sources and the evaluation of the personality of Alois Musil as an archaeologist in context of scholarly work conducted in the Near East. It compares the results of his pioneering work in the field of archaeology and anthropology with the methods of research of several scholars, within the range of their work, with their system of site documentation and the contributions of their results to contemporary knowledge and revised prospections and excavations. Musil did not consider himself an archaeologist, nevertheless because of his extraordinary discoveries, documentary and interpretative abilities he is quoted to this day. The work is dealing with Musil’s exploration of the Roman limes as well, because some localities classified by Musil and his contemporaries as Roman or even, undoubtedly Roman were in reality a part of the network of Umayyad residential structures in Bilad al-Sham. Musil’s archaeological discoveries, including his discovery of Qusayr Amra, were bound with Bedouins, so this work also deals with Musil as an anthropologist and the developmet of ethnographic research in the Near East. The work describes the development of research of Umayyad castles, Musil’s hypothesis and the evolution of research, and it contains a database of archaeological sites visited and documented by Musil, the comparison of classification and documentation with the researches of his contemporaries and, where possible, with modern researches.

La gestion de l’eau est un aspect central de la pérennité séculaire des oasis sahariennes et de leurs dynamiques économiques. En cette matière, il est important de faire la part entre les systèmes traditionnels et les systèmes « modernes » qui ont très largement bouleversé l’écosystème oasien. L’oasis du Tāfīlālt (Maroc), siège de l’émirat de Sid̲j̲ilmāsa et « port » du commerce caravanier entre le VIIIe et le XVe siècle, constitue un excellent observatoire de l’adaptation humaine en milieu aride. Afin de disposer de toutes les données nécessaires à notre réflexion sur l’hydraulique de Sid̲j̲ilmāsa, nous avons constitué un large corpus documentaire, issu du dépouillement de la littérature scientifique autour de la thématique générale de l’eau, focalisé principalement sur les études archéologiques et les techniques de mobilisation. Après une contextualisation du site archéologique de Sid̲j̲ilmāsa dans son environnement oasien et sa documentation écrite depuis le Moyen Âge, nous dressons un état des vestiges hydrauliques découverts depuis 2012 par la mission franco-marocaine. Observables sur l’ensemble des zones de fouilles, ces structures peuvent être associées au captage, à l’adduction ou au stockage de l’eau, ainsi qu’à l’évacuation des eaux usées. L’analyse et la description technique de celles-ci puis leur insertion dans un contexte stratigraphique général, permet, en mobilisant les données du corpus, de proposer des hypothèses fonctionnelles et une évolution des pratiques hydrauliques dans la Sid̲j̲ilmāsa médiévale. Dans la partie finale de la thèse, nous traitons notamment de la représentation symbolique de l’eau à Sid̲j̲ilmāsa, véhiculée depuis le Moyen Âge, et des changements dans les modes d’approvisionnement des populations locales au cours du temps, en nous basant sur les considérations archéologiques présentées durant tout ce travail de recherche et sur nos observations actuelles, afin de proposer un essai d’hydrohistoire du Tāfīlālt. / Water management is a central aspect of the secular sustainability of Saharan oases and their economic dynamics. In this matter, it is important to distinguish between traditional systems and "modern" systems that have widely changed the oasian ecosystem. The oasis of Tāfīlālt (Morocco), seat of the emirate of Sid̲j̲ilmāsa and "port" of the caravan trade between the eighth and fifteenth century, is an excellent observatory of human adaptation in an arid environment. In order to have all the necessary data for our reflection on the hydraulics of Sid̲j̲ilmāsa, we have constituted a large corpus of documents, resulting from the analysis of the scientific literature around the general theme of water, focused mainly on archaeological studies and mobilization techniques. Following a contextualization of the archaeological site of Sid̲j̲ilmāsa in its oasis environment and its written documentation since the Middle Age, we establish a report of the hydraulic remains discovered since 2012 by the french-moroccan mission. Observable over all the excavation areas, these structures can be associated with the capture, supply or storage of water, as well as the disposal of wastewater. The analysis and the technical description of these remains then their insertion in a general stratigraphic context, allow us, by also mobilizing the data of the corpus, to propose functional hypotheses and an evolution of hydraulic practices in medieval Sid̲j̲ilmāsa. In the final part of the thesis, we deal in particular with the symbolic representation of water in Sid̲j̲ilmāsa conveyed since the Middle Age and changes in the way of supply of local populations over time, based on the archaeological considerations presented during all this research work and on our current observations, in order to provide an essay of hydrohistory in Tāfīlālt.

This thesis is a comprehensive re-examination of Maritime Southeast Asia's (or the Nusantara's) Islamic conversion history between the late thirteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Traditionally, academia has attributed this event to Muslim traders and/or Sufis from either India and/or the Middle East. During the late twentieth century, however, a number of scholars began to consider the possibility of Chinese Muslim involvement. The resulting discussions focused on a re-evaluation of Javanese history in the context of attempts to re-conceptualise pre-modern Nusantara trade (considered the catalyst for Islamisation) as fundamentally orientated towards Southern China, where Muslims played a significant commercial role from the seventh through to the early fifteenth centuries. Despite the intrinsic merits of these efforts, however, they have all been limited by an overwhelming focus on Java and a tendency to examine the relevant issues over only a very narrow time span. This thesis seeks to rectify these problems. First, it will evaluate the validity of the new commercial framework over a much longer period – from the rise of Śrīvijaya in the seventh century CE to the establishment of the early seventeenth-century European trade monopolies. This longue dureé view will provide a much stronger basis for both conclusively re-orientating pre-modern Nusantaran trade towards China and also positing it as the catalyst for conversion, with Chinese Muslims at its heart. Second, the thesis will look beyond Java to examine the conversion histories of several other important Nusantara locations (Samudera-Pasai, Melaka and Brunei), as accessed through early written texts (indigenous, European and Chinese) and archaeology. The thesis then, and thirdly, couples this examination with a consideration of the Islamic influences which came to bear on the Nusantara’s early intellectual and architectural expressions of Islam. Ultimately, by taking this broad chronological, geographical and cultural approach, the thesis aims to more reliably assess the possibility that Chinese Muslims influenced the Nusantara’s initial Islamisation process.

Despite the recent interest in late antique archaeology and the increasing number of publications on the transformations of towns (both in Spain and in the Roman world as a whole), the concern shown towards aqueducts has been almost non-existent. Some studies have focused on exceptional local examples, such as Rome or Constantinople, but there have been neither general nor regional syntheses of the chronology of the abandonment of aqueducts on a broad regional scale. This thesis consequently fills this gap in our knowledge by offering an all-encompassing study and compilation of the available material and written evidence for aqueducts in Spain in Late Antiquity, it looks at aqueducts in the late Roman period, and how they evolve through the Visigothic and the Umayyad centuries. For this purpose, each aqueduct in the Iberian Peninsula is assessed according to the available information and studied in its wider urban context. By the end of the thesis it is possible to put forward some clear results on the degree of continuity of aqueducts in Spain. The information is used to analyse how the presence or absence of aqueducts affected the development of urban settlement and housing patterns away from a traditional Roman context. Aqueducts had not been at first an essential part of urban life, yet by Late Antiquity they had become so intimately related to it that the end of aqueduct supply modified urban landscapes. Finally, I present various scenarios to explain why aqueducts ceased to function and how the various elite groups of the period (urban aristocrats, the Church, the Visigothic monarchy and the Umayyads) tried to take over the control of the aqueducts, as they were not only extremely useful functional monuments, but also reminders and legitimising links to the Roman past.

Cette thèse consiste en une étude historique et archéologique de la ville de Masyaf (Syrie) et de son château durant les XIIe et XIIIe siècles, alors qu’elle se trouvait sous l'autorité de la communauté ismaʿilienne nizârite. Cette ville, qui se situe sur le versant oriental de la montagne côtière de la Syrie occidentale, est connue comme siège et capitale de cette communauté. La présente recherche porte sur le développement de cette minorité religieuse syrienne, connue en Occident durant les Croisades comme celle des Assassins (ou Hachchachines en arabe). L’Etat qu’elle a fondé a joué un rôle important dans le conflit politique et militaire qui a opposé Croisés et Musulmans. Le travail offre pour la première fois une étude archéologique approfondie des bâtiments et des complexes architecturaux qui forment le tissu de la ville de Masyaf et participent à sa configuration ; il analyse le rempart et ses portes, les rues principales qui dessinent le plan urbain, les monuments importants, en particulier la grande mosquée, le bain, le souq, les mausolées de plusieurs personnages historiques. Les résultats préliminaires de l'étude du château y sont également exposés de manière détaillée. Ils révèlent deux phases principales de construction : la première comprise entre le Xe siècle et le milieu du XIIe siècle, la deuxième comprise entre le milieu du XIIe siècle et la fin du XIIIe siècle, qui correspond à la période des Ismaʿiliens nizarites. Grâce à l’apport de la céramique, de la numismatique et de l’épigraphie, l’archéologie permet de mettre en évidence, pour la première fois, l'activité édilitaire de Rašid al-Din Sinan, le « Vieux de la montagne », entre 1162 à 1192 / This thesis is a historical and archaeological study of the city of Masyaf (Syria) and its castle during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, when it was under the authority of the Ismā'īlī.Nizari community. This city, which lies on the eastern slopes of the coastal mountains of Western Syria, is known as the seat and capital of this community. This research focuses on the development of a Syrian religious minority, known in the West during the Crusades as the Assassins (or Hachchachines in Arabic). The State she founded has played an important role in the political and military conflict between Crusaders and Muslims. The work provides for the first time a thorough archaeological survey of buildings and architectural complexes that form the fabric of the city of Masyaf and participate in its configuration; it analyzes the ramparts and gates, the main streets that draw the urban plan, important monuments, especially the great mosque, the bath, the suq, the mausoleums of several historical figures. Preliminary results of the study of the castle are also exposed in detail. They reveal two main phases of construction: the first between the tenth century and the mid-twelfth century, the second between the mid-twelfth century and the late thirteenth century, which is the period of Nizari Isma'ilis. Thanks to the contribution of ceramics, numismatics and epigraphy, archeology helps to reveal, for the first time, the building activity of Rasid al-Din Sinan, the "Old Man of the Mountain", between 1162-1192.

Les inscriptions persanes de Ghazni constituent des témoignages artistiques ainsi que des sources primaires originales sur l’histoire culturelle des Ghaznavides (366-582/977-1186). Leur étude nous informe sur l’apport de cette dynastie à l’affirmation du persan moderne comme langue épigraphique « nouvelle » complémentaire à l’arabe, et sur les spécificités de cette réalisation. Le corpus examiné réunit 228 fragments d’inscriptions poétiques en persan, dont 113 inédits. Ces textes sont sculptés sur des plaques en marbre relevées par la Mission Archéologique Italienne en Afghanistan dans les années 1950-1960 et provenant pour la plupart d’un palais royal fouillé à Ghazni. Forte d’une approche interdisciplinaire, nous poursuivons deux objectifs principaux : le premier est d’offrir une analyse exhaustive de ce corpus épigraphique, qui fasse ressortir toute information historique dont il est porteur. Le second vise à la mise en contexte des inscriptions et se traduit par une étude comparative des sources épigraphiques et littéraires produites à Ghazni et dans l’ensemble du monde iranien aux Ve/XIe et VIe/XIIe siècles. La diffusion de l’épigraphie persane dans la capitale ghaznavide est confirmée par certains documents inédits externes à notre corpus principal, qui posent des jalons pour une chronologie de cette pratique à l’échelle locale et régionale. Nous constatons en outre le rôle central joué par la poésie persane dans la tradition épigraphique des Ghaznavides, qui emprunte le vocabulaire des panégyristes pour célébrer l’idéologie royale et les valeurs de l’Islam. Cet usage trouve des échos dans les autres régions de l’Iran pré-mongol et donne une voix à la politique culturelle des dynasties musulmanes orientales. / Persian inscriptions from Ghazni may be regarded as both artistic testimonies and original primary sources for the cultural history of the Ghaznavid dynasty (366-582/977-1186). They provide evidence of the Ghaznavid contribution to the rise of New Persian as an epigraphic language complementary to Arabic, and of the distinctive features of its use. Our study focuses on a corpus composed of 228 fragments of Persian poetic inscriptions, 113 of which have remained unpublished until now. These texts, carved onto marble dado panels, were mostly retrieved from a royal palace in Ghazni and recorded by the Italian Archaeological Mission in Afghanistan in the 1950s and 1960s. Through an interdisciplinary approach, we pursue two main goals: firstly, to offer a comprehensive analysis of this epigraphic corpus in order to bring to light any historical data it may disclose. Secondly, to place the Persian inscriptions in context by means of a comparative study of epigraphic and literary sources produced in Ghazni and in the Persianate world between the 5th/11th and the 6th/12th centuries. The spread of Persian epigraphy in the Ghaznavid capital city is confirmed by a set of documents that falls beyond our main corpus and until now has remained unknown. This new evidence provides chronological benchmarks for the use of Persian epigraphy at local and regional levels. We also note the central role played by Persian poetry in the Ghaznavid epigraphic tradition, borrowing the vocabulary of court panegyrists to build up a celebration of royal and Islamic ideals. This particular use finds echoes in other regions of pre-Mongol Iran and gives voice to the cultural policy of Eastern Islamic dynasties.