¿Quién lo hizo? Datos sobre la investigación de delitos de sangre en al-Andalus

Abstract

Two procedures of criminal investigation in al-Andalus are presented in this paper. First, the tadmiya, an accusation made by a seriously injured person against his or her assailant; secondly, the qasāma, an oath pronounced 50 times by the male relatives of a victim of murder accusing somebody of the crime. These two procedures are examined through several cases, historically documented, of their actual practice in al-Andalus. Jurists' opinions were not always unanimous on these issues, owing to differences in school affiliations (Mālikites against Shāfi'ites) and to divergences inside the same school. Personal attitudes and social and economic relationships also played an important role in criminal investigations, as attested in the cases under study.