Fatimid sack of Genoa

The Fatimid Caliphate conducted a major raid on the Ligurian coast in 934–935, culminating in the sack of its major port, Genoa, on 16 August 935. The coasts of Spain and southern France may also have been raided and the islands of Corsica and Sardinia certainly were. It was one of the most impressive accomplishments of the Fatimid navy.

At the time, the Fatimids were based in North Africa, with their capital at Mahdia. The raid of 934–35 was the high point of their domination of the Mediterranean. They never again raided so far afield with so much success. Genoa was a small port in the Kingdom of Italy. How wealthy Genoa was at the time is not known, but the sack is sometimes taken as evidence of a certain economic vitality. The destruction, however, set the city back years.

Raid
According to the Muslims sources, a fleet of ships left Mahdia under the command of Yaʻqūb ibn Isḥāq on 18 June 934 (7 Rajab 322) to attack the Rums (Christians). The sources do not agree on the number of ships: Ibn al-Athīr gives thirty, while ʿImād al-Dīn says twenty. According to ʿImād al-Dīn, "on the way [Yaʻqūb] encountered Rumi ships loaded with merchandise; he captured them and took prisoner those who were on board."

The Fatimid fleet then approached Genoa from the west, from the direction of Spain, having apparently sailed along the coast and across the Gulf of Lion. At some point, Genoa, which ʿImād al-Dīn describes as a "well-fortified city", became the prime target of the raid. Although other cities, including Pisa, were probably attacked, none are named in the extant sources. Some sources indicate that Corsica and Sardinia were also raided, possibly on the return voyage from Genoa to Mahdia. At Genoa, fighting took place outside the city walls and later in the streets of the city. The Fatimid forces having the upper hand, the city was plundered and burnt on 16 August 935, according to Ibn al-Athīr. The fleet returned to Mahdia on 28 August 935 (26 Ramaḍān 323), twelve days after the sack.

Upon Yaʻqūb's return to Mahdia, the caliph held a triumph for him. According to ʿImād al-Dīn, "the prisoners were exhibited and the fleet was decorated" while Yaʻqūb "entered the city wearing his most beautiful clothes". He then conferred with the caliph al-Ḳāʾim, sitting in a special dar al-bahr (sea pavilion), and was offered any sum of money asked to be distributed to the soldiers, a request which ʿImād al-Dīn says the caliph honoured.

Legacy
The extent of the destruction in Genoa is known only from literary sources, which tend to exaggerate. Ibn al-Dhahabī records 1,000 women sold into slavery and ʿImād al-Dīn gives 8,000 prisoners total. Both numbers are too high to be credible. Nonetheless, the city may have been completely depopulated for some years after the sack.

The sack of Genoa in 935 has led to some discussion about whether early tenth-century Genoa was "hardly more than a fishing village" or a vibrant trading town worth attacking. Benjamin Kedar, who is responsible for drawing scholars attention to the potential relevance of ʿImād al-Dīn on this question, argues that the linen and raw silk mentioned among the loot carried away by the Fatimids are evidence of trade with the Islamic world. He sees these thing as among the "treasures" mentioned by Liudprand. ʿImād al-Dīn, however, is a late source. Contemporary documentary sources are utterly lacking. Genoese charters only survive in significant numbers from the second half of the tenth century onwards, a fact which itself may be a result of the destruction wrought in 935.

In the late thirteenth century, Jacopo da Varagine believed that the Genoese fleet had been away when the Fatimids attacked. After returning, it pursued the attackers and rescued the captives.