Išqalyūla, not Ašqīlūla: the correct name of the founding family of the Nasrid Emirate

Abstract

This article is concerned with the correct form of the name of Išqalyūla’s family. One of the founding father’s families of the Nasrid Emirate has so far been named Ašqīlūla, even though María Jesús Rubiera Mata has proven that this name should be considered incorrect. This study develops her theory further. Based on the analysis of the funeral inscription and manuscripts, the most important ones being from 14th century Granada. This confirms that the sources mainly bear the name in the form where lām is preceeding yā’’. It could first be seen in the unique epitaph of ‛Alī Ibn Išqalyūla made after his death. In addition, the article shows that some of the manuscripts are vocalized in the form of Išqalyūla but none as Ašqīlūla. It therefore demonstrates that the latter is a neologism coined by modern authors approaching the word with the same misunderstanding held by antique authors and copyists. From textual comparison with other manuscripts, the change of the name from the Išqalyūla form to Išqaylūla is described and explained as a scribe’s mistake. The final conclusion is that the correct name was Išqalyūla which was a transcription of the word Escallola/Escalhola.