Talk:Sijilmasa

Sijilmasa is located south of Tafilalet... (instead of "south ouest of Fez").

Interesting article, it seems that my ancestors came from this area. Regards. Gabriel

I'm editing the history of the city after the Almoravid invasions. According to extant sources, most prominently the Kitab al-Istibar and Ibn Battuta's Rihla, Sijilmassa maintained its prominence as a trans-Saharan entrepot for quite some time after the Almoravid's second sacking of the city. In fact, according to Boone and Benco's "Islamic Settlement in North Africa...", the Almoravids oversaw a transition from an agrarian based economy to a wealth-based economy centered around the gold trade coming through the Sahara.

In sum, Sijilmassa got much, much bigger. I'm currently doing my thesis on religious change in the city, so when I get a chance, I am going to heavily modify this article. --Cocomaan (talk) 22:32, 9 September 2008 (UTC)

Okay! Finally got some of the revision done. I will add in text citations whenever I get around to it, and clean up a few things as well. If any experts want to comment or add/remove, please feel free! I'm tracking this page so I will make sure to keep an eye on it in the future. You can contact a fellow scholar at cocomaan at g mail dot com --Cocomaan (talk) 01:17, 28 May 2009 (UTC)

Could I encourage you to add the inline citations - they would greatly enhance the quality of the article. Aa77zz (talk) 08:38, 28 May 2009 (UTC)

Absolutely! I worked on that some tonight, and I will have more to come. Thanks for the advice.Cocomaan (talk) 01:12, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

Anachronism
This chronology is contradictory:

"Sijilmasi is also the power base of Ahmed ibn Abi Mahalli who, from 1610-1618 [....]

The next mention of Sijilmassa in the extant sources is [...] in the early 16th century" (at which point it is described as a ruin).

Did Africanus visit in the 17th century? Or did Abi Mahalli use the ruins as his base? Just curious, would appreciate clarification...

--Pentheusagoniste (talk) 22:43, 18 June 2011 (UTC)


 * I've deleted the Mahalli sentence. There is no citation, the sentence is not in the correct place in the article, the name of the town was mispelt and I think the dates might be incorrect. The article on Siljilmasa by Terrasse in vol 9 of the Encyclopaedia of Islam (1967) has: "But above all, this century saw the rise of the Abū Matalli marabouts who threatened the power of Mawlāy Zīdān (1020-2/1611-13) before another marabout, Abū Zakarivvā' replaced his, to be in turn chased out of the Tāfīlālt in 1070/1660 by the 'Alawid Mawlāy Rashīd."


 * I'm confused as to when Sijilmasa was destroyed and to what extent it was rebuilt. The E of I article doesn't mention the destruction of the city. Lightfoot and Miller (1966) state that the town was destroyed in 1393 and cite Leo Africanus (page 428-430 of the 1957 (1956?) translation into French by Epaulard). I don't have a copy of this but I can view the Hakluyt 1886 edition on the Internet archive. This a reprint of Pory's 1600 edition together with notes by Brown. Leo (early 16th century) states that: "But since that time, the prince of the region was slaine in a rebellion, and the city of Segelmessa was destroied, and till this day remaineth desolate. Afterwards the inhabitants built certaine castles, whereof some are at libertie, and others are subject to the Arabians. (p 780 vol 3) There is long footnote by the editor (Brown) on p 806 vol 3 where he explains that many sources use "Segelmesse as another name for Tafilet". Aa77zz (talk) 12:30, 19 June 2011 (UTC)

Aa77zz, I did pretty extensive research on the city, and I was never able to find out how it was destroyed. There was some speculation about abandonment due to raids by Arab tribes, but that was all. Cocomaan (talk) 19:01, 25 August 2011 (UTC)