Т. 1. «Азия и Африка: Наследие и современность»

20 Азия и Африка: Наследие и современность. Т. 1 Секция I to the time of the reign of the Byzantine emperors Leo VI andAlexander (886–912) 1 . The Greek name of the island which is reported vaguely in the Arabic translation as “Asḥāb al-Baqr” (the island of “the Owners of the Cows”) is not mentioned 2 . From the various possible topographical locations of this island, the view that the appel- lation “Asḥāb al-Baqr” seems most possible and could be a convenient translation of the Greek word Voiai (loosely connected with the word “βοῦς” or cow), the name of the coastal area below Monemvasia and across from the tiny island Elaphonesos (now also called “Voiai” or “Vatica”). The term “Voiai” includes both the island Elaphonesos and the mainland across from it 3 . The additional remark reported in the narration that the island was devastated and all of its inhabitants “till the last” were killed seems to be an exaggeration, typical in the hagiographical sources. Most probably, because of its significant strategic position, below the famous port of Monemvasia, the island was transformed into a naval Arab base and part of its population was forced to move out. Nevertheless, a number of the local farmers and shepherds remained to serve the conquerors, working and grazing the land of the “cow owners”. To repeat, the theory that theArabs of Crete used to either exterminate all their cap- tured Byzantines or sell them (the slave trade being their primarymeans of enrichment) is unacceptable. It is worth mentioning that in Cameniates’narration of Leo of Tripoli’s sack of Thessaloniki in 904, it is reported that the inhabitants of Naxos at this period enjoyed excellent relations with the Arabs of Crete with whom they had a special tax arrangement 4 . Recent research by S. Panagiotou, in cooperation with K. Katsouros, has provided further evidence about the peaceful relations between the local inhabitants of Naxos and the Arabs of the Emirate of Crete. 5 We do not know how long the friendly relations between Naxos and the emirate of Crete lasted. We can only vaguely place them between the year 904, the time Leo of Tripoli sacked Thessaloniki and sailed to Crete after stopping in Naxos, and the year 949 during which the Byzantines undertook an expedition for the recovery of Crete. The exact date of this expedition is reported in a document inserted in the work of ConstantineVII Porphyrogenitus, De ceremonii aulae 1 V. Christides, The Conquest of Crete by the Arabs (ca. 824). ATurning Point in the Struggle between Byzantium and Islam ,Athens:Academy ofAthens, 1984.Ar. text p. 216, trans. p. 217. 2 ParadoxicallyA. K. Kyrou, «Περιπλανήσεις αγίων λειψάνων και μία άγνωστη καστροπο- λιτεία στονΑργολικό», Πελοποννησιακά 21 (1995), p. 97–118 , does not accept the translation of the Arabic word baqar as “cow”, ignoring the commonly known s ū ra (chapter) of the Quran called baqar which is universally translated as “cow”. 3 P. Peeters, Analecta Bollandiana , 30.1 (1911). P. 301–304; M. Kordosis, “Ένα λακωνικό κάστρο του όγδοου αιώνα (Ελαφόνησος)», Λακωνικαί Σπουδαί 6 (1982), p. 259–267, but his translation of “baqar” is wrong. 4 For Cameniates see E. Tsolakes, ed., text and modern Greek trans., Ιωάννης Καμινιάτης, Εις την άλωσιν της Θεσσαλονίκης , Αthens 2000. P. 174, §70, 1–2. 5 S. Panagiotou, “Some Remarks on the Arab Raid on Naxos during the Dark Ages (7 th –10 th c.), Graeco-Arabica 12, forthcoming.