The NAZAMER Research Project has the study of women of the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada and the Marinid Kingdom of Fes as its main subject,, whose historical-political, social and cultural developments took place simultaneously on both sides of the Mediterranean between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. Despite the great importance and significance that both female groups had in the history of these formations, it is a fact both the limited historiographic treatment they have received and the knowledge that still exists about them today. This juncture inspired the implementation of this project, whose main objective is the reconstruction of the lives, personal stories and identities of these women, rescue them from the veil to which they have been subjected and recognize the just role they played in history. All of these aspects will be addressed from a multidisciplinary approach and gender perspective, as well as framed within the broader context of Islamic societies of the medieval Mediterranean.
Our main objective is to carry out a detailed study of both Nasrid and Marinid women individually. In this sense, we will pay attention to both the women of the plain people (al-‘Amma) and those of the aristocracy and royalty (al-j’asa), considering the economic, social and legal differences as well as the nuances that are present within each of the social classes. Likewise, we will explore the life forms of these women, both in the private and public spheres, trying to identify their actions in the fields of culture, religion, economy, politics or diplomacy, their legal rights, their trades, as well as their presence in both urban and rural interior and outdoor spaces. The multiple identities of these females will also be studied, analyzing their onomatics, their ethnic origins (Arabic, Berber, Hebrew, Hispanic) and their confessional tendencies (Muslims, Jews, Christians). Finally, we will analyze their appearances, dress and ornament, the roles they played in family and marital life, and the intimate themes of female health and sexuality.
Once the female sectors of the Nazari and Meriní Kingdoms have been studied, respectively, they will be subjected to a comparative study. This perspective will allow us to establish both the common and divergence points between the two, detecting the traits of each of them and the common denominators who shared both by belonging to the medieval Islamic world (the Dar al-Islam) and by their geographical proximity, a circumstance that had great influences and points of contact between women on both sides.
Likewise, we will contextualize The Nasrid and Marinid women, either individually or as a whole, within the framework of the societies of the medieval Islamic Mediterranean to which they belonged precisely. This approach will allow cross-looking between these women and the female sectors of other contemporary societies, necessary to identify the greater or lesser uniqueness of their traits and actions. In this sense, we will look to a more eastern part of the Mediterranean, the Mameluco Kingdom of Egypt (XIII-XVI centuries), whose women will be the main element of comparison for different reasons: as one of the most powerful and representative Islamic political formations of that time; and for having an abundant medieval Arabic historiography that allows interesting x-rays of their society and the women who integrated it, a subject to which interesting studies have already been devoted.
The implementation of this Project is justified by the scarcity of work carried out to date on the groups of Nazari and Marinid women on which their study focuses and the relevance of achieving an in-depth scientific knowledge about them to ensure a better understanding of history. To achieve this goal, we will have the participation of a large group of researchers with a recognized track record in these topics that, for the first time, will work as a team. This task will be addressed from an interdisciplinary perspective having specialists in Arab and Islamic Studies, Medieval History, Hispanic Studies and Art History. As a result, we aspire through NAZAMER to contribute to a better and greater knowledge of medieval women, generating new perspectives that enrich history and opening up new avenues of future research.
