İlk Dönem Endülüs Denizciliği ve Endülüs Donanmasının Teşekkülü
Early Andalusian Seafaring and the Formation of the Andalusian Navy
Yazar: Curuk, Osman
Dergi: Dinbilimleri Akademik Araştırma Dergisi, Vol. 25 No. 1, 2024
Anahtar kelimeler: Political and Civilization History of Islam ; İslam Tarihi ve Medeniyeti ; İslam Tarihi,Akdeniz,Endülüs,Donanma,Korsanlık. ; History of Islam,Mediterranean,Andalus,Navy,Piracy.

Endülüs’ün fethinin ardından Müslümanlar yarımadada kalıcı olmak için giriştikleri yoğun çabalardan ve iç karışıklıkların neden olduğu siyasî istikrarsızlıklardan dolayı erken dönemde donanma hususuna önem verememişlerdir. Aynı zamanda bir ada ülkesi olması, Abbasîlerle meydana gelebilecek bir mücadelenin önüne geçmiştir. Diğer yandan, Akdeniz’de milâdi 7. yüzyıldan itibaren başlayan siyasi çekişmelerin de Endülüs’ün denizden ciddi bir tehditle karşı karşıya kalmasının önüne geçtiği ifade edilebilir. Bu süreçte Endülüs’teki yerli halk ve Müslümanlardan oluşan denizci gruplar, Batı Akdeniz’deki ticarî ve askerî faaliyetlerini sürdürmüşlerdir. 229/844 yılındaki Viking saldırısının ardından Endülüs donanmasının kurulma çalışmaları hız kazanmış ve Akdeniz’de Endülüs’ün resmi denizcilik faaliyetleri başlamıştır. II. Abdurrahman idaresine kadar olan dönemde devletin resmî bir donanmaya sahip olmaması ve bu durumun İslam tarihi eserlerinde yer almaması birçok tartışmayı beraberinde getirmiştir. Batılı kaynaklarda, ilk dönem Endülüslü denizcilerin faaliyetleri gayr-ı resmî olarak değerlendirilmiş ve Endülüs yönetimi ile herhangi bir bağının olmadığı ifade edilmiştir. Denizciler, genellikle “korsan”, faaliyetleri ise “korsanlık” olarak nitelendirilmiştir.

With the conquest of Andalus, the Muslims succeeded in appropriating the maritime accumulation in the region; however, they could not establish an official navy in the first period due to their intense efforts to become permanent in the peninsula and the political instability caused by internal turmoil. During this period, seafaring groups of locals and Muslims in Andalus continued their commercial and military activities in the Western Mediterranean. The fact that the state did not have an official navy until the rule of Abdurrahman II or that this situation was not mentioned in the early sources has brought many debates. In Western sources, the activities of the early Andalusian sailors were considered unofficial, and it was stated that these activities did not have any connection with Andalus. The sailors were generally characterized as “pirates” and their activities as “piracy.” After the Viking attack in 229/844, the establishment of the Andalusian navy gained momentum, and official naval expeditions were organized in the Mediterranean. In 844, the Viking attacks necessitated the establishment of an official navy, and the main force of the Navy was the sailors above. The sailors in the region were brought under the state administration, and their activities were officialized. Again, ports and shipyards were established in the many areas along the coastline, and the existing ones were rebuilt to meet the Navy's need for ships. The accumulated knowledge was utilized as much as possible. Thus, the number of ships in the Andalusian Navy reached 300 in the expedition carried out after the Christians in the Balearic Islands broke their agreement after five years. Again, the rapid reaction to the next Viking attack proved effective, and the Vikings returned empty-handed.We do not have enough information about the maritime activities in Andalusia between 711 and 756, called the “Governors Period.” For this reason, precise data on Andalusian seafaring cannot be presented. During the time of the caliphs after the reign of Hisham, when the collapse of the Umayyad State began, the fleet, especially the Damascus fleet, was weakened against Byzantium in the Aegean and Mediterranean due to the neglect of the Navy and the devastating effects of epidemics. Byzantium took advantage of the situation and strengthened its military power at sea and on land. Andalusia was also affected by this political instability, and only a little progress could be made in maritime affairs due to the many internal revolts that occurred in the country. Therefore, the conquest movements in Andalus, the efforts to make the settlement in the country permanent, and the internal issues during the period of the governors are more common in Islamic historical sources. Although early Islamic historical sources do not mention official naval activities during the period of the Governors, it can be stated that there was military activity in the region.What are the reasons why Andalusia did not need a severe naval force until Abdurrahman II? To answer this question, evaluating Andalus’s location and the Mediterranean's political situation is first necessary. In this context, Andalusia was disconnected from the existing political authority due to its distance from the Eastern Islamic world. At the same time, the fact that the sea surrounded Andalusia prevented a possible struggle with the Abbasids. On the other hand, the political rivalries in the Mediterranean, especially from the 7th century A.D. onwards, prevented Andalusia from facing a severe threat from the sea. Especially in this period, the Byzantine-Frankish struggle in the political arena in Europe favored Andalusia and Muslims in the Mediterranean. There are different views on Andalusian seafaring in the first half of the 9th century A.D., and most of them are based on almost the same idea. Based on Pierre Guichard’s characterization of Muslim sailors as Saracens/pirates and the sailors in the region as independent from the Umayyad state, the activities of the sailors in the area were considered piracy. So, were the activities of these sailors piracy or jihad? This idea needs to be reconsidered due to the various circumstances of the period. The voyages of the sailors characterized as pirates were not irregular and aimless raids but large-scale and planned raids with the participation of many ships. We can consider them as actions with a fundamental purpose. The primary purpose of these systematic raids against Christian lands was to obtain booty and booty. Therefore, the booty, mainly enslaved people, became an essential source of income in Andalusia and other markets.