The ships that Saracen pirates used for looting were small galleys, known as the ‘fusta,’ which were mainly propelled by rowing. Their speed, mobility, capability to move without wind and their ability to operate in shallow water made them ideal for piracy. They took Arabian horses aboard the fustas and rode them inland, looting coastal areas and returning with plunder. The fusta was a small size ship, but it required at least 16 to 20 rowers. The rowers were mostly Christians captured during raids. Other Christians were sold at slave markets to serve as rowers for other Muslim ships, or they were sent to the military after they were forced to convert to Islam. Otherwise, they were sent to concentration camps, called ‘bathhouses.’ Romans had a strong tradition of communal bathing, and had built a large number of bathhouses across their territories. The bathhouses built in North Africa changed to concentration camps after the fall of the Roman Empire.
The Saracen pirates, with a small fleet of less than 10 ships that had been concentrated in Sicily and its coastal area gradually expanded their activities towards the southern coastal areas of France and Italy. The pirates, based on islands like Sardinia and Corsica, used the seasonal summer winds to propel their ships on raiding missions to the coastal areas of Italy. They expanded their activity even further, getting closer to the pope’s stronghold in Rome. Residents in these areas of the Italian Peninsula could no longer expect that the emperor in Constantinople would protect them. Thus, they sought to protect the security of themselves, their families and their towns without outside help.
Torre Saracena
Residents in coastal areas built watchtowers as a way of protecting themselves, to spot pirate ships’ approach early and give themselves time to escape. Many old pirate watchtowers still exist to this day. They are called Torre Saracena in Italian, which means the ‘Tower of Saracens,’ and they dot the coastal cities in Italy and along the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily. Today they are tourist attractions that provide a scenic view of the blue Mediterranean, but their history tells of the pain that came with living in fear of Saracen pirates.
It was difficult to tell whether approaching ships were friendly or not, as the invention of the telescope was still many years off; in many cases, pirate ships were only identified when they came near to the shore. The pirates did not fly the now-famous ‘Jolly Roger,’ skull and swords flag – that symbol came into being several hundred years later during the Age of Discovery. Neither did they fly any flag of piracy, or even the Islamic symbol of the crescent and star.
Speaking of the symbolic flag of Islam, it was derived from historic events of Islam. On the night when the Prophet Muhammad had received revelations at the mountain cave Hira, a crescent and stars were twinkling in the dark sky. On the night when Muhammad escaped to Medina from Mecca to avoid persecution, there were also a crescent and stars in the dark sky. For this reason, the crescent was regarded by Islam as a symbol of truth, ushering light through darkness. Osman Turks were the first to use the flag of a crescent and stars. Following the collapse of the Byzantine Empire, the Osman Turks had built a great empire that stretched over much of Asia, Africa and Europe. Thus, for the Europeans who came under attack by Islamic pirates, the flag of a crescent and stars symbolized only terror.
Torre Saracena
Saracen pirates also sailed in disguise by flying the flag of a Christian state or the ally of the target area. Thus, it was hard to tell by only the flag of a ship if it was a pirate ship or a merchant ship traveling for trade. This historical legacy might have led to the provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea today: It affirms that ships should sail under the flag of one state, and that changing the flag during a voyage is not allowed; a ship which sails under the flags of two or more states, using them according to convenience, may be regarded as a ship with no nationality.
The coastal residents of southern Italy frequently weren’t aware of an approaching raid until the pirates came inshore, setting off a panic in which residents fled – often, too late to save themselves. Since shores were left defenseless, pirates were able to go on shore with ease. The Byzantine Empire, beleaguered from external aggression, was incapable of defending the southern coast from the sacking of Saracen pirates. Thus, the coastal residents had no choice but to flee as quickly as possible when pirate ships came inshore. Watchtowers helped the locals buy themselves at least a little more time to escape. The best option for the locals was either to flee, carrying valuables, deep inland or hide away somewhere out of reach of pirates. Otherwise, they would lose their property and even their lives at the hands of horseback-riding pirates who destroyed and set fire to villages and committed various atrocities. Those who were captured would live a hellish life either as rowers aboard ships or in labor camps for life.
The coastal residents had built multiple watchtowers along the coast. If the first watchtower onshore emitted signal fumes, the next watchtower would relay the message to those inland. At that time, the residents hid out deep inland, where the fourth or the fifth watchtower was located. When the pirates left, this method was provided the signal to confirm that it was safe to return to the sea.
The main targets of Saracen pirates were monasteries and churches. Monasteries, which owned abundant properties and lands, were located in remote areas, making them a good target for pirates. The pirates also preyed on churches that served as hideouts for locals. Pirates were able to capture a large number of residents at once and to loot their properties with ease. The houses of wealthy landlords and rich people were definitely a good target.
Borgo and Casbah
Saracen pirates gradually expanded their activities deeper inland, looting settlements and towns and capturing residents as plunder. To flee or hide away from the pirates was merely a temporary solution. Thus, the residents decided to move their settlements to remote areas, out of reach of pirates. It was a desperate effort for residents as they fought for their survival. The residents who hid away in a remote area in the mountain might build a town on the rugged and steep cliff, for example. The medieval towns built for the purpose of avoiding pirate aggression were called borgo in Italian. This led to a new lifestyle: Coastal residents would stay in the borgo in the summer, during peak raiding season, and return home in the fall. In a sense, it was natural for coastal residents to return to the sea, which was the base for their livelihood, when the risk of pirate attacks diminished.
However, on the part of city residents, it was an entirely different situation since a city of thousands could not be moved out every season. Thus, citizens had to rely on existing structures, build new defenses, or rely on geography to defend or escape from pirate attacks. One of the main defense structures was a labyrinth of a city, known as a casbah. These days, the legacy of the casbah is found in the northern cities of Italy, like Amalfi. When building a city, the focus of design was on defense for survival, rather than functional considerations, such as convenience and comfortableness. In this design, complicated and twisted alleys made it hard for pirates to find targets and easy for them to get lost. The divergent roads distracted the pirates, and thus allowed people time to escape or provided spaces to hide out.
Casbah
The Holy Raman Empire’s
Campaigns Against Pirates
The region of Gaul (Gallia in Latin, modern-day Western Europe), which had remained divided and ruled by several Germans, became united under Charles the Great (Charlemagne, 742–814) of the Frankish Kingdom. Western Europe had gone through the period of division over the 400 years following the fall of the Western Roman Empire. During that period, it had been ruled by numerous kingdoms. Most of Europe, except Britain, the Iberian Peninsula and the southern Italian Peninsula, became united under the rule of the Franks. Against