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601 Graves, Relics and Sanctuaries: the Evolution ARAM, 18-19 (2006-2007) 601-620.D. TALMON-HELLER doi: 10.2143/ARAM.19.0.2020748 601 GRAVES, RELICS AND SANCTUARIES: THE EVOLUTION OF SYRIAN SACRED TOPOGRAPHY (ELEVENTH-THIRTEENTH CENTURIES) Dr. DANIELLA TALMON-HELLER (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev) Ibn Jubayr, a renowned Maghribi traveler who visited Damascus in 580/1184, lists “custodianship over one of the blessed sanctuaries” (sadanat mashhad min al-mashahid al-mubaraka) as one of the best and most profitable occupa- tions pious foreigners residing in Damascus could aspire to hold.1 Other twelfth-thirteenth century sources show that ziyarat (visits to sanctuaries) in Zangid and Ayyubid Syria were indeed prevalent enough to keep many custo- dians busy. Moreover, they indicate that the number of sanctuaries to be vis- ited and safeguarded was on the rise: existing commemorative structures asso- ciated with the lives and deaths of prophets or saints (mashahid and ma- qamat)2 were refurbished, and new ones were being established all over the country. In this paper I venture to offer some explanations for the popularity of ziyarat and for the growing interest in ancient tombs, sacred sites and relics at a particular place and time in history. Namely, against the backdrop of the Crusades and the Muslim counter-Crusade, of the spread of Sufism in the Is- lamic world and of the revivification of sunni Islam (known as iÌya’ al- sunna). I will portray attitudes of different elements in society – rulers, mem- bers of the military elite, ‘ulama’ and commoners – towards the cult of holy sites, and consider the input from “above” and from “below” to its promotion. The claim that there was a significant upsurge in Islamic commemorative structures and cults in the twelfth century is not new, yet I hope to draw here a more nuanced picture regarding the geographical spread and the social fiber of this phenomenon. Also, I will make a preliminary attempt to substantiate it from an angle little explored up till now: the evolution of the specific tradi- tions that build up the sacred topography of Bilad al-Sham.3 1 Ibn Jubayr, RiÌla, ed. W. Wright and M.J. De Goeje (Leiden, 1907), 278; English transla- tion: R.J.C. Broadhurst, The Travels of Ibn Jubayr (London, 1952), 289. 2 For a discussion of the development of commemorative architecture in the Muslim world and of relevant terminology see O. Grabar, “The Earliest Islamic Commemorative Structures, Notes and Documents,” Ars Orientalis 6 (1966): 7-12. See also J. Meri, The Cult of the Saints among Muslims and Jews in Medieval Syria (Oxford, 2002), 262-272. 3 See Grabar, “Commemorative Structures,” 13-14; J. Sourdel-Thomine, “Traditions d’emprunt et dévotions secondaires dans l’Islam du XIIe siécle,” REI 55 (1987-89): 319-27; Y. Frenkel, “Baybars and the sacred geography of Bilad al-Sham: a chapter in the Islamization of Syria’s landscape,” JSAI 25 (2001): 153-156; J. Meri, “Zigara,” EI2, XI:528. 06-8819_Aram 18-19_31_Talmon 601 06-26-2007, 18:40 602 GRAVES, RELICS AND SANCTUARIES, THE EVOLUTION OF SYRIAN SACRED TOPOGRAPHY MOTIVATIONS FOR ZIYARA Standing at the grave of the saintly Îanbali shaykh Abu ‘Umar (d. 607/ 1210), the Damascene philologist and historian Abu Shama (d. 665/1268) was moved to tears. He describes his experience saying: “I have encountered there, with God’s succor, great tenderness (riqqa ‘aÂima) and I wept with all my heart.” Another visitor to the grave of Abu ‘Umar, ‘Abd al-Mawla b. MuÌammad, tells of a wondrous event he witnessed there. He was all alone, reciting surat al-Bakara, when he heard a voice rising from the grave to cor- rect his reading of verse 68.4 Other reports of wonders – light or fire emanating from graves,5 the apparition of the prophets al-Kha∂ir or MuÌammad, the sud- den appearance of a cloud to shade a funeral on a blazing hot summer day6 – teach us that the devout, ‘ulama’ included, sensed that there was a special con- centration of baraka (blessings) nearby graves. Mystical and spiritual experi- ences were expected to occur there.7 Medieval Arabic sources do not allow a detailed reconstruction of the reli- gious beliefs, personal circumstances and psychological motivation of Mus- lims who undertook a ziyara. They do hint at a few objectives that the devout were hoping to achieve at cemeteries and sanctuaries: a cure from disease,8 the undertaking of a vow or the fulfillment of one,9 pleading for mercy before God, or praying for rain.10 Most Muslims assumed, as do visitors at cemeteries in various cultures, that the dead are closer to God and enjoy a certain moral 4 Abu Shama, Tarajim Rijal al-Qarnayn al-Sadis wa’l-Sabi‘, ed. M.Z. al-Kawthari (Cairo, 1947), 75. For a portrait of Abu ‘Umar see D. Talmon-Heller, “The Shaykh and the Commu- nity – Popular Îanbalite Islam in 12th-13th Century Jabal Nablus and Jabal Qasyun,” Studia Islamica 79 (1994):114-117. 5 Ibn Jubayr, RiÌla, 282. 6 Ibn Rajab, Al-Dhayl ‘ala ™abaqat al-Îanabila, ed. al-Fiqi (Cairo, 1952-3), 2:60; Ibn ™ulun, al-Qala'id al-Jawhariyya fi Ta'rikh al-∑aliÌiyya, ed. M. A. Duhman (Damascus, 1949), 2:530; Abu Shama, Tarajim, 73; Ibn al-‘Adim, Bughyat al-Talab fi Ta'rikh Halab, ed. S. al- Zakkar (Beirut, 1988-89), 1:464. See also Meri, The Cult, 21-24. 7 For a rich discussion of baraka see Meri, “Aspects of Baraka (Blessings) and Ritual Devo- tion among Medieval Muslims and Jews,” Medieval Encounters 5 (1999): 46-69. See also V.W. Turner, Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture (New York, 1978), 6. 8 I have not found a special emphasis on healing, in line with the conclusions of Ch. Melchert (in his review of Miracle and Karama: Hagiographies médiévales comparés, ed. D. Aigle (Turnhout, 2000), in JAOS 122 (2002): 633-635) on the Muslim hagiographical tradition. Still, a few pilgrims and travelers explicitly sought cures: see Ibn Rushayd al-Fihri (d. 721/1321) in al- Munajjid, Madinat Dimashq, 198; J. Meri, A Lonely Wayfarer’s Guide to Pilgrimage. Text and translation (Princeton, 2004), 14-15. 9 See for example Ibn al-‘Adim, Bughya, 1:463 and 9:4062; Ibn Shaddad, Al-A‘laq al- Khatira fi Dhikr Umara' al-Sham wa’l-Jazira, ed. Y.Z. ‘Abbara (Damascus, 1991), 1:159. 10 On istisqa’ at Magharat al-Dam on the outskirts of Damascus (supposedly, a hiding-place for prophets, where “prayers are answered”) see Ibn ‘Asakir, Ta’rikh Madinat Dimashq, ed. ‘A al-‘Amrawi (Beirut, 1995), 2:333-336; Ibn al-‘Imad, Shadharat al-Dhahab, ed. ‘A.-Q. al- Arna’u† and M. al-Arna’u† (Beirut, 1991), 7:53-54. On istisqa’ by graves see I. Goldziher, Mus- lim Studies, ed. and trans. S.M. Stern and C.R. Barber (London, 1967), 2:285-286. 06-8819_Aram 18-19_31_Talmon 602 06-26-2007, 18:40 D. TALMON-HELLER 603 advantage over the living. Despite some controversy among theologians,11 the notion that men and women, who already during their lifetime were righteous and close to God, did not lose their intercessory powers (shafa‘a) at death was widely upheld. The notion that these powers were most accessible at their graves drew the reverent and the needy to burial sites.12 Ibn al-‘Adim (d. 660/1262), an eminent scholar and a prominent member of the Aleppan elite, combined the quest for the spiritual and the intellectual in his trip to the grave of the ascetic Abu Marwan al-Maghribi. His visit took place while he was working on the entry devoted to Abu Marwan in his volu- minous biographical dictionary, Bughyat al-™alab fi Ta’rikh Îalab. He con- cludes his report about this trip as follows: “I visited the righteous men there, may God have mercy upon them all, and may we all benefit from their bless- ing, amen.”13 In Ibn Jubayr’s experience, the holy and the beautiful were inter- twined, to create a powerful impression. His recollection of al-Rabwa, the ref- uge of Maryam (Mary) and ‘Isa (Jesus) reads as follows: “It is one of the most remarkable sights in the world for beauty, elegance, height and perfection of construction for the embellishment of the plaster, and for the glorious site… a better sight could not be seen.”14 In some cases a change in one’s way of life, such as a process of penance, or the choice of a life of seclusion and asceticism, was motivated by a ziyara. Or the other way round: such changes were enhanced during a ziyara, or cul- minated in its performance.15 I did not find, however, that a lingering sense of guilt, such as had burdened medieval Christian pilgrims, prompted Muslim pil- grims to take to the road.16 Moreover, a ziyara could be a happy and relaxing experience: an occasion for an outing with family members and friends, feast- ing and eating sweets. A ziyara of that type was performed by Ibn al-‘Adim, in a party that included some of his relatives and their guest – a qa∂i from Da- mascus, while the family was spending the summer (“the days of the water- melon”) at the countryside.17 Typically, they chose a local site – Mashhad RuÌin – thereby eliminating long-distance travel and its hardships.18 11 A.J. Wensinck, D. Gimaret, A. Schimmel, “Shafa‘a,” EI2 9:177-179; L. Kinberg, “Interac- tion between this World and the Afterworld in Early Islamic Tradition,” Oriens 29-30 (1986): 298-300. 12 C.S.
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