28

“A Specific and Marginal Reality” ? Saracen Piracy on the Gulf of Lion from the 11th to the 13th CenturiesBetween the 9th–10th and the 14th–15th centuries, the two high points of incursions originating from the Dār al-islām, the Gulf of Lion coast seems to have been spared the threat of Saracen raids. Of course, historiography did record some attacks in the 11th and 12th centuries, but saw them as insignificant. A diverse Latin literature – more so than Arab sources – attests to the fact that the threat always remained significant. The summary of expeditions from the power centers arising out of the fragmentation of the Caliphate of Córdoba (mainly the Emirates of Denia and Majorca) shows that they were able to mobilize significant resources and inflict severe damage. Beyond the traditional rhetoric of pagan depredation, the more generic allusions to raids against churches and defenses confirm how much the fear of the Saracens had taken root in people’s minds. Captivity was also a constant worry since expeditions essentially aimed to supply the slave trade. Finally, a chronology of these incursions must be linked both to the power struggles of the aristocracy in the South and to diplomatic and commercial relations in the Western Mediterranean.