Saint Francis and Sultan al-Malik al-Kamil – 800 years of Christian-Muslim relations

Bologna State Archives (Italy), until the 29th November 2019

The Bologna State Archives are celebrating the 800th anniversary of the encounter between Saint Francis of Assisi and the Sultan al-Malik al-Kamil Naser ad-Din Abu al-Ma’ali Muhammad with a conference series and exhibitions dedicated to the negotiations between the Sultan and Saint Francis during the V^th crusade (1217-1221). Sain Francis acted as negotiator during a problematic time for the Sultan, who was under attack internally because of a conspiracy to overthrow him. Allegedly, Saint Francis tried to convert the Sultan, while al-Malik offered the restitution of Jerusalem. After the rejection of the peace offers under the pressure of papal legate Pelagius, al-Malik was able to overcome the internal front and to defeat the Christian army.

A selection of collections on Christian/Muslim relations in the 12th and 13th century from Archives Portal Europe is available here

The conference series is organised in collaboration with the European Academy of Religion and the King Abdulaziz Chair for Islamic Studies (KAIS) dell’Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna. More information (in Italian) available here