History of early Islamic Tunisia
Encyclopedia
The History of early Islamic Tunisia opens with the arrival of the Arabs who brought their language and the religion of Islam
, and its calendar. The Arab conquest followed strategy designed by the Umayyad Caliphate regarding ist long-term conflict with the Byzantine Empire
. The native Berbers
eventually converted to Islam; they apparently saw many similarities between themselves and the Arabs, both in relatively similar languages and a cognate culture, including familiarity with a pastoral way of life. The first local Islamic ruling house, the Aghlabids, consisted primarily of rule by leading members of this Arab tribe. Fundamental elements of Islamic civilization were established. Although accepting Islam, many Berbers nonetheless resisted rule by the Arabs, establishing the Rustamid
kingdom following the Kharijite revolt. Next in Ifriqiya (Tunisia) arose the Shia Fatimids, inspired by a few immigrants from the east yet consisting for the most part of Ifriqiya Berbers. The Fatimids later expanded their rule east, through conquest by Berber armies of Egypt, and established their caliphate there which came to include Syria and the Hejaz
.
After the initial period of the four rightly-guided caliphs
(632-661) following the passing of the Prophet Muhammad
(570-632), the ruling family of the Umayyads took firm control of the new Muslim state. The Umayyad Caliphate (661-750) ruled from the city of Damascus
; their first Caliph Mu'awiya (602-680, r.661-680) directed Muslim forces in their on-going military contest with the Byzantine Empire
. Decades earlier the Byzantine provinces of Syria and Egypt had fallen to Islamic arms. Under Mu'awiya the Umayyad Caliphate could see how the foreign lands west of Egypt figured in the "geo-political" and military strategy of this struggle. Hence there began the decades-long undertaking resulting in the Umayyad conquest of North Africa
.
In 670 an Arab
Muslim army under Uqba ibn Nafi
, who had commanded an earlier incursion in 666, entered the region of Ifriqiya
(a newly-coined Arabic word for the prior Roman Province of Africa
). Marching overland the Arabs by-passed the fortified Byzantine positions along the Mediterranean coast. In the more arid south of Ifriqiya, the city of Kairouan
[stronghold in Arabic] was established as their base, and the building of its famous Mosque was begun. Then, from 675 to 682, Dinar ibn Abu al-Muhadjir took over direction of the Muslim invasion. Armed Berber
forces constituted the main resistance to the Arabs. Apparently these Berbers were primarily composed of sedentary Christians from the Awreba tribe and perhaps also the Sanhadja confederation; they were led by Kusaila
. In the late 670s, the Arab armies defeated these Berbers forces and made Kusaila their prisoner.
In 682, Uqba ibn Nafi resumed command. He defeated another alliance of Berber forces near Tahirt (Algeria), then proceeded westward in a long series of military triumphs, eventually reaching the Atlantic coast, where he is said to have lamented that before him lay no more lands to conquer for Islam. Episodes from Uqba's campaigns became legend throughout the Maghrib
. Yet Kusaila
, the Berber leader held prisoner, escaped. Later Kusaila organized and led a fresh Berber uprising, which interrupted the conquest and claimed the life of the famous Arab leader, Uqba. Kusaila then formed an enlarged Berber kingdom. Yet Zuhair b. Qais, the deputy of the fallen leader Uqba ibn Nafi, enlisted Zanata
Berber tribes from Cyrenaica
to fight for the cause of Islam, and in 686 managed to overrun, defeat, and terminate the kingdom newly-formed by Kusaila.
Under the Caliph 'Abd al-Malik (685-705), ruling from Damascus, the Umayyad conquest of North Africa
was to advance close to completion. In Egypt a new army of forty thousand was assembled, to be commanded by Hassan ibn al-Nu'man (known to Arabs as "the honest old man"). Meanwhile, the weakened Byzantines managed to reinforce somewhat their positions. The Arab Muslim army crossed the Cyrene and Tripoli without opposition, then quickly attacked and captured Carthage.
The Berbers, however, continued to offer stiff resistance, then being led by a woman of the Jarawa tribe, whom the Muslims called "the prophetess" [al-Kahina in Arabic]; her actual name was approximately Damiya
. On the river Nini, an alliance of Berbers under the Kahina Damiya sharply defeated the Muslim armies under al-Nu'man, who escaped then eastward, returning to Cyrenaica. Thereupon, the Byzantines took advantage of the Berber victory by reoccupying Carthage
. Unlike the Berber Kusaila
ten years earlier, Damiya did not establish a larger state, evidently being content to rule merely her own Jawara tribe. Some commentators speculate that, to the Kahina Damiya, the invading Arabs appeared primarily interested in booty
, because she then commenced to sack and pillage the region, apparently to make it unattractive to raiders looking for the spoils of war; of course, it also made her own forces hotly unpopular to local inhabitants. Yet she did not attack the Muslim base at Kairouan
. From Egypt in 698 the Caliph 'Abdul-Malik sent reinforcements to al-Nu'man, who then reentered Ifriqiya. Although she told her two sons to go over to the Arabs, she herself continued resistance and again gave battle. The fortunes of war deserted her, and al-Nu'man emerged victorious. It is said that at Bir al-Kahina [well of the prophetess] in the Auras mountains, Damiya was slain.
In 705 Hassan b. al-Nu'man stormed Carthage, overcame and sacked it, leaving it destroyed. A similar fate befell the proximous city of Utica
. At Tunis
, a small town dating back to the Punic era, and situated near the ruins of Carthage, al-Numan founded a naval base. Muslim ships fitted for war began to assert dominance over the adjacent Mediterranean coast; hence the Byzantines then made their final withdrawal from North Africa. The Arabs called the region al-Maghrib
: the "sunset land" or "the west". Then al-Nu'man was replaced as Muslim military leader by Musa ibn Nusair, who substantially completed the conquest of al-Maghrib. Ibn Nusair took the city of Tangier
on the Atlantic coast, and appointed as its governor the Berber leader Tariq Abu Zara. Tariq would lead the Muslim conquest of Hispania
, begun in 711.
, also known as the Amazigh, "converted en mass as tribes and assmilated juridically to the Arabs", writes Prof. Hodgson; he then comments that the Berbers were to play a rôle in the west parallel to that played by the Arabs elsewhere in Islam. For centuries the Berbers had lived as semi-pastoralists in or near arid lands at the fringe of civilization, sustaining their isolated identity somewhat like the Arabs. "The Maghrib, islanded between Mediterranean
and Sahara, was to the Berbers what Arabia
... was to the Arabs." Hodgson explains: although the Berbers enjoyed more rainfall than the Arabs, their higher mountains made their settlements likewise difficult to access; and though the imperial Roman cities were more proximous, those cities never incorporated the countryside with a network of market towns, but instead remained aloof from the indigenous rural Berbers.
A counter argument would be that the Berbers at first merely participated in the martial success of the Arab Muslims
; the better historical choice for the Berbers would be more uniquely ethnic and thus more authentic, i.e., to articulate their own inner character and fate, and follow that. Prof. Abdallah Laroui
, however, interprets the North African panorama as indicating that the Berbers did in fact carve out for themselves an independent rôle. "From the first century B.C. to the eighth century A.D. the will of the Berbers to be themselves is revealed by the continuity of their efforts to reconstitute their kingdoms of the Carthaginian period, and in this sense the movement was crowned with success." Here Laroui apparently favorably compares the ancient Berber King Masinissa
and his regime, e.g., to the Rustamid
kingdom, and later to the medieval
Islamic Almoravids and Almohad
s, and to the Zirid
and the Hafsid dynasties, all Berber creations. By choosing to ally not with nearby Europe, familiar in memory by the Roman past, but rather with the newcomers from distant Arabia, the Berbers knowingly decided their future and historical path. "Their hearts opened to the call of Islam because in it they saw a means of national liberation and territorial independence."
Environmental and geographic parallels between Berber and Arab are notable, as Hodgson discusses above. In addition, the languages spoken by the Semitic
Arabs
and by the Berbers
are both included as members in the same world language family, the Afro-Asiatic, although Berber and Semitic form two different branches. Perhaps this linguistic kinship shares a further resonance, e.g., in mythic explanations, popular symbols, and religious preference, in some vital fundamentals of psychology, and in the media of culture and the context of tradition.
Evidently, long before and after the Islamic conquest, there was some popular sense of a strong and long-standing cultural connection between the Berbers and the Semites of the Levant, naturally with regard to Carthage, and in addition with regard to links yet more ancient and genetic. These claims of a remote ancestral relationship perhaps facilitated the Berber demand for equal footing with the Arab invaders within the religion of Islam following the conquest. Later in the medieval Maghrib, elaborate but fictitious genealogies would be created on the assumed foundation of an ancient Yemen
i origin of the Berber people, which genealogies were mocked by Ibn Hazm
(994-1064) and discounted by Ibn Khaldun
(1332–1406).
From Cyrenaica
to al-Andalus
, the superficially 'Arabized' Berbers continuously remained in communication with each other throughout the following centuries, sharing a common cultural identity. As a group their distinguishing features are not difficult to discern within Islam; e.g., while the ulama
in the rest of Islam adopted for the most part either the Hanafi
or the Shafi'i
school of law, the Berbers in the west chose the Maliki
madhhab
, developing it in the course of time after their own fashion. In the process of the Berbers becoming Muslim, the Arab colonists who settled among also in turn underwent a form of "Berberization".
Also inducing the Berbers to convert was the early lack of rigor in religious obligations, as well as the prospect of inclusion as warriors in the armies of conquest, with a corresponding share in booty and tribute. A few years later, in 711, the Berber Tariq ibn Ziyad would lead the Muslim invasion
of the Visigothic Kingdom in Hispania
. Additionally, many of the Arabs who came to settle in al-Maghrib were religious and political dissidents, often Kharijites
who opposed the Umayyad rulers in Damascus
and embraced egalitarian doctrines, both popular positions among the Berbers of North Africa who disliked Arab displays of superiority.
To locate its history of religion context, the Arab conquest and the Islamic conversion of the Berbers followed a centuries-long period of religious conflict and polarization of society in the old Roman Empire's Africa Province
. Here, the Donatist
schism within Christianity proved instrumental; it caused divisions in society, often between the rural Berbers, who were prominent in schismatic dissent, and the more urban orthodoxy of the Roman church. Too, the successor to the Romans, the Vandal Kingdom
(439-534) also religiously polarized the Christian society by their attempt to force on others their own Arian
form of Christianity. Alternatively, or concurrently, the Berbers were initially attracted to the Arabs because of their "proclivity for the desert and the steppes".
After the conquest and following the popular conversion, Ifriqiya
constituted a proximous and natural focus for an Arab-Berber Islamic regime in North Africa, a center for culture and society. Ifriqiya was then the region with the most developed urban, commercial, and agricultural infrastructure, essential for such a comprehensive project as Islam developed.
which eventually disrupted the stability of the entire Maghrib
(739-772). The Kharijites failed to establish strong lasting institutions, yet the small Rustamid kingdom persisted (which controlled southern Ifriqiyah); also the impact of the Berber Kharijite revolt changed the political landscape. Direct rule from the East by the Caliphs over Ifriqiya became untenable, even following the rapid establishment of the new Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad in 750. Also, after several generations a local Arab-speaking aristocracy emerged in Ifriqiya, which became resentful of the distant caliphate's interference in local matters.
The Arab Muhallabids
(771-793) negotiated with the 'Abbasids a wide discretion in the exercise of their governorship of Ifriqiya. One such governor was al-Aghlab ibn Salim (r. 765-767), a forefather of the Aghlabids. Decades later Muhallabid rule came undone. A minor rebellion in Tunis
took a more ominous turn when it spread to Kairouan. The Caliph's governor was unable to restore order.
Ibrahim ibn al-Aghlab, a provincial leader (son of al-Aghlab ibn Salim), led a disciplined army; he did manage to reestablish stability in 797. Later he proposed to the 'Abbasid
caliph Harun al-Rashid
, that he be granted Ifriqiya (as the Arabs called the former Province of Africa) as a hereditary fief, with the title of amir; the caliph acquiesced in 800. Thereafter, although the 'Abbasids caliphs received an annual tribute and their suzerainty was referenced in the khubta at Friday prayers, their control was largely symbolic, e.g., in 864 the Caliph al-Mu'tasim
"required" that a new wing be added to the Zaituna Mosque near Tunis.
.png)
Ibrahim ibn al-Aghlab (r.800-812) and his descendants, known as the Aghlabids (800-909), ruled in Ifriqiya from 800 to 909. The Aghlabids also ruled lands to the west (Constantine
) and lands to the east (Tripolitania
). The Aghlabids were predominantly of an Arab tribe the Bani Tamim. At that time there were perhaps 100,000 Arabs living in Ifriqiya, but of course the Berbers constituted the great majority. The Aghlabid military forces were drawn from: (a) immigrant Arab warriors (both those recently sent against the Berber Kharajite revolts, and those descendants of earlier Arab invasions), (b) Islamized and bilingual natives (Afariq) most of whom were Berbers, and (c) black slave soldiers from the south. The black soldiery formed the ruler's last resort.
At origin, Aghlabid rule was based on their opportune use of assertion and negotiation supplemented by effective military force, in order to control the populace and secure civil order, following a period of instability. In theory, the Aghlabids governed on behalf of the 'Abbasid Caliphate in Bagdad, whose prestige the Aghlabids held, enhanced their authority among the locals of Ifriqiya. Yet the Aghlabid regime failed to become popular. Despite the political peace and stability they initiated, followed by economic expansion and prosperity, including admired public construction projects, and despite a blossoming culture, political dissent was rife, and not confined to Berbers. Many in the Arabic-speaking elite developed an increasingly contrary attitude toward the Aghlabids, for several reasons.
First, in the army the Arab officer class became dissatisfied with the legitimacy of the regime, or used this as a pretext for disloyal ambition. This general attitude of insubordination meant that the internal quarreling within the military from time to time spilled over into public and violent struggles. Their latent hostility also surfaced when army factions began making extortionist demands directly on the population. A dangerous revolt from within the Arab army (the jund) broke out near Tunis and lasted from 824 until 826. The Aghlabids retreated to the south pre-Sahara, and were saved only by enlisting the aid of Berbers of the Kharajite Jarid. Later another revolt of 893 (said to be provoked by the cruelty of Ibrahim II Ibn Ahmad
(r. 875-902), the ninth Aghlabid amir), was put down by the black soldiery.
Second, the Muslim ulema
(clerics) looked with reproach on the ruling Aghlabids. Surface aggravation in religious circles arose from the un-Islamic lifestyle of the rulers. Disregarding the strong religious sentiments held by many in the emerging Muslim community, the Aghlabids often led lives of pleasure at variance to Islamic law, e.g., publicly drinking wine. In the context of the bitter charges against the Aghlabids for lax Islamic practice, which came from their rivals the Rustamid
kingdom (predominantly Berber, see below), their well-known failings acquired importance. Another issue was that Aghlabid taxation policies were not sanctioned by the prevailing Maliki
school of law. Opponents further criticized their contemptuous treatment of mawali
Berbers who had embraced Islam, but were treated as infidels. The Islamic doctrine of equality regardless of race, i.e., as between Arab and Berber, became a cornerstone of the orthodox Sunni movement in the Maghrib, as it was developed in Kairouan
by the Maliki school of law. These various Islamic principles formed the core of the prevailent hostility of Ifriqiya toward any rule by the Caliph
from the East. They also helped to fuel anti-Aghlabid sentiment.
As recompense, the Aghlabid rulers saw that mosques were constructed or augmented, e.g., at Tunis: the Zaituna [Olive Tree] Mosque (later home to its famous university, Ez-Zitouna
); at Kairouan: Ibn Kayrun Mosque (or Mosque of the Three Doors); and at Sfax. Also a well known ribat
or fortified military monastery was built at Monastir
, and another at Susa
(in 821 by Ziyadat Allah I); here Islamic warriors were trained.
In 831 Ziyadat Allah I (r. 817-838), son of the founder Ibrahim, launched an invasion of Sicily
. Placed in command was Asad ibn al-Furat
, the qadi
or religious judge; the military adventure was termed a jihad. This expedition proved successful; Palermo
was made the capitol of the region captured. Later raids were made against the Italian peninsula; in 846 Rome was attacked and the Basilica of St. Peter sacked. In orchestrating the invasion of Sicily, the Aghlabid rulers had managed to unite two rebellious factions (the army and the clergy) in a common effort against outsiders. Later Islamic rulers in Sicily
severed connections with Ifriqiyah, and their own Sicilian Kalbid dynasty (948-1053) governed the now independent Emirate.
The invasion of Sicily had worked to stabilize the political order in Ifriqiya, which progressed in relative tranquility during its middle period. In its final decline, however, the dynasty self-destructed, in that its eleventh and last amir, Ziyadat Allah III
(r. 902-909) (d. 916), due to insecurity stemming from his father's assassination, ordered his rival brothers and uncles executed. This occurred during the assaults made by the newly emergent Fatimid
s (see below) against the Aghlabid domains
of Kairouan was said to be given "only to outstanding personalities notable for their conscientiousness even more than their knowledge." On the other hand, the administrative staffs were composed of dependent clients (mostly recent Arab and Persian
immigrants), and the local bilingual Afariq (mostly Berber, and which included many Christians). The Islamic state in Ifriqiya paralleled in many respects the government structure formed in Abbasid Baghdad. Aghlabid offices included the vizier
[prime minister], the hajib
[chamberlain], the sahib al-barid [master of posts and intelligence], and numerous kuttab [secretaries] (e.g., of taxation, of the mint, of the army, of correspondence). Leading Jews
formed a small elite group. As in an earlier periods (e.g., under Byzantine rule), the majority of the population consisted of rural Berbers
, distrusted now because of Kharajite or similar rebel tendencies.
Kairouan
(or Qayrawan) had become the cultural center of not only of Ifriqiya but of the entire Maghrib. A type of volume then current, the tabaqat (concerned with the handling of documents), indirectly illuminates elite life in Aghlabid Ifriqiya. One such work was the Tabaqat 'ulama' Ifriqiya [Classes of Scholars of Ifriqiya] written by Abu al-'Arab. Among the Sunni Muslim ulema
, two learned professions then came to the fore: (a) the faqih (plural fuqaha) or the jurist; and (b) the ābid or the ascetics.
The fuqaha
congregated at Kairouan, then the legal center of the entire al-Maghrib. The more liberal Hanafi
school of Muslim law at first predominated in Ifriqiyah. Soon, however, a strict form of the Maliki
school came to prevail, which in fact became the only widespread madhhab
, not only in Kairouan, but throughout North Africa. The Maliki school of law persisted (despite several major interruptions) in being the legal norm throughout the Maghrib and continues so today.
The Maliki madhhab was introduced to Ifriqiya by the jurist Asad ibn al-Furat
(759-829), yet he was known to waver somewhat between the prior Hanafi and the Maliki. The influencial law book called Mudawanna, written by his disciple Sahnun ('Abd al-Salam b. Sa'id) (776-854), provided a "vulgate of North-African Malikism" for practical use during the period when Maliki legal doctrines won the field against its rival, the Hanafi. Abu Hanifa (700-767) (founder of the Hanafi school) drew out fiqh
that was perhaps better suited to its origin in Baghdad
, a sophisticatd imperial capital; while Malik ibn Anas
(716-795) initiated the school bearing his name in the smaller, rural city of Medina
. By choosing the then more marginal Maliki school, the jurists of Kairouan probably obtained more discretion in defining Maghriban legal culture.
The Maliki jurists were often at odds with the Aghlabids, over the Arab rulers' disappointing personal moral conduct, and over the fiscal issue of taxation of agriculture (i.e., of a new fixed cash levy replacing the orthodox tithe
in kind). The offending tax on crops payable in cash being the act of the second amir, 'Abdullah ibn Ibrahim (812-817). Further, the Maliki fuqaha was commonly understood to act more in favor of local autonomy, hence in the interests of the Berbers, by blocking potential intrusions into Ifriqiya affairs and filtering out foreign influence, which might originate from the central Arab power in the East.
Besides jurists there was a second community of Muslim ulema
, the scholars and ascetics. Foremost among these ābid was Buhlul b. Rashid (d. 799), who reputedly despised money and refused the post of grand judge; his fame accordingly spread throughout the Islamic world. By virtue of their piety and independence, the ābid won social prestige and a voice in politics; some scholars would speak on behalf of the governed cities, criticizing the regime's finance and trade decisions. Although substantially different, the status of the ābid relates somewhat to the much later, largely Berber figure of the Maghribi saint, the wali
, who as keeper of baraka
(spiritual charisma) became the object of veneration by religious believers, and whose tomb would be the destination of pilgrimage.
Economically, Ifriqiya
flourished under Aghlabid rule. Extensive improvements were made to the pre-existing water works in order to promote olive groves and other agriculture (oils and cereals were exported), to irrigate the royal gardens, and for livestock. Roman aqueducts to supply the towns with water were rebuilt under Abu Ibrahim Ahmad, the sixth amir. In the Kairouan
region hundreds of basins were constructed to store water for the raising of horses.
Commercial trade resumed under the new Islamic regime, e.g., by sea, particularly to the east with the Egyptian port of Alexandria as a primary destination. Also, improved trade routes linked Ifriqiya with the continental interior, the Sahara
and the Sudan
, regions regularly incorporated into the Mediterranean commerce for the first time during this period. Evidently camels on a large scale had not been common to these regions until the fourth century, and it was not until several centuries later that their use in the Saharan trade
became common. Now this long-distance overland trade began in earnest. The desert city of Sijilmasa
near the Atlas mountains in the far west [maghrib al-aqsa] served as one of the primary trading junctions and entrepôts, e.g., for salt and gold. Regarding Ifriqiya, Wargla was the primary desert contact for Gafsa
and more distant Kairouan
. In addition, Ghadames
, Ghat
, and Tuat
served as stops for the Saharan trade to Aghlabid Ifriqiya.
A prosperous economy permitted a refined and luxurious court life and the construction of the new palace cities of al-'Abbasiya (809), and Raqada (877), where were situated the new residences of the ruling emir. The architecture of Ifriqiya was later imitated further west in Fez
, Tlemcen
, and Bougie
. The location of these palace cities for Aghlabid government was purposely was outside of the sway of Kairouan, which city had become dominated by Muslim clerical institutions, which were independent of emir's control. Yet generally Ifriqiyah during the era under the Aghlabid Dynasty (799-909) for the most part continued its leading rôle in the region, in the newly-installed Muslim Maghrib, due generally to its peace and stability, recognized cultural achievements, and material prosperity.
.png)
The origins of the Rustamid
state can be traced to the Berber Kharijite (Ar
: Khawarij) revolt (739-772) against the new Arab Sunni power that was being established across North Africa following the Islamic conquest. Originating in Mesopotamia
, the Kharijite movement had begun in protest against the fourth caliph Ali
, who consented to negotiate during a Muslim civil war
(656-661) despite his superior army in the field; as a result some of his armed forces left the camp, hence the movement of the Khawarij ["those who go out"]. Originally puritan in outlook, being of the ummah
of Islam for a believer indicated a perfection of the soul, yet sin constituted a schism
, a split from other believers, the sinner becoming an apostate. The leader must be above reproach, yet could be non-Arab. Never attaining lasting success, but persisting in its struggles, the Kharijite movement remains today only in its Ibadi
branch, with small minorities in isolated locales throughout the Muslim world. The Ibadis predominate in Oman
.
In the Maghrib the un-Islamic tax policies imposed on the Muslim Berbers by the new Arab Islamic regime (levying the kharaj
[land tax] and the jizya
[poll tax] meant only for infidels) provoked a widespread armed resistance, which came to be led by Kharijite Berbers. The widespread struggle of this movement included victories, e.g., the "battle of the nobles" in 740. Later the Kharijites became divided and eventually were defeated after some decades. Arab historians remark that the 772 defeat of the Kharijite Berbers by an Abbasid army in battle near Tripoli
was "the last of 375 battles" the Berbers had fought for their rights against armies from the East. Yet the Kharijites persisted under the Rustamids. Even until today across North Africa they practice still, small island communities of this religious minority within Islam.
(located in the mountains southwest of modern Algiers). Apart from the lands surrounding Tahert, Rustamid territory consisted of largely the upland steppe or "pre-Sahara" that forms the frontier between the better watered coastal regions
of the Maghrib and the arid Sahara
desert. As such, its territory extended in a narrow climatic
strip eastward as far as Tripolitania and Jebel Nefusa (in modern Libya). In between lay southern Ifriqiya, where Rustamid lands included the oases of the Djerid, with its chott
s (salt lakes), and the island of Djerba
. The functionality of this elongated geography may be explained by the liberal nature of the Rustamid government: "[T]he imam did not so much rule or govern the surrounding tribes as preside over them, his authority being recognized rather than imposed and his mediation in disputes willingly sought." As such this Rustamids territory ran from Tlemcen
in the west to Jebel Nefusa in the east.
The peoples of this climatic zone of the pre-Sahara began to be called the Arzuges in the 3rd century by the Roman legio III Augusta
of Africa province. The Roman military authorities insulated Arzugitana from rule by the coastal cities. The fall of Rome "offered unprecedented opportunites for the communities of the pre-Sahara zone and their political elites, and may be seen as a period of renaissance in the region, at least in the political sphere." The Arzuges managed to recover their autonomy.
The Arab Aghlabid emirate in Ifriqiya remained the dominant state in the region, and the Rustamid's neighbors. Nonetheless the Aghlabids proved unable to dislodge these remnant Kharijites. Soon they were obliged to recognize Rustamid rule in the pre-Sahara region of the eastern Maghrib. In Hispania now transformed into al-Andalus, the Emirs of Córdoba welcomed the presence of the Rustamids Berbers as natural allies against the Aghlabids, whom Umayyad
Córdoba considered Abbasid
agents.
Tahert was economically well situated, as it formed an entrepot
for trade between the Mediterranean coastlands and the Sahara. During the summer Tahert became the market place where the pastoralist of the desert and steppe exchanged their animal produce for the local grains harvested by sedentary farmers. As the most prominent Khawarij center, it attracted immigrants from across the Islamic world, including Persia the home of its founder. Christians also found welcome. Yet in another sense behavioral tolerance was slim; "life at Tahert was conducted in a permanent state of religious fevor."
The founder Ibn Rustam (r.776-784) took the title of Imam
. While in theory elected by elders, in practice the Imam was an hereditary office. The constitution was theocratic. The Imam was both a political and a religious leader. Islamic law was strictly applied. "[A]dulterers were stoned, the hands of thieves were cut off, and in war pillage and the massacring of non-warriors were not permitted." The Imam managed the state, law and justice, prayers, and charity. He collected zakah ["alms"] at harvest and distributed it to the poor and for public works. He appointed the qadi
(judge), the treasurer, and the police chief. The Imam was expected to lead an ascetic life and be an able theologian. He was also expected to be astute, as civic conflicts might develop into religious schism. Yet opposing parties in disputes often submitted the matter to mediation. The Khawarij remained tolerant toward "unbelievers".
The remaining Christians of the region (called Afariqa or Ajam by Muslim Arabs) could find a tolerant home in Rustamid Tahert, where their community was known as the Majjana. This acceptance "might explain the growth of Ibadi communities in area where there is also evidence for the persistence of Christianity." Yet here, given the continuing defense of Rustamid autonomy against "the depredations of the central power" the Aghlabids, the choice to convert to Islam was sometimes "as much a political as a religious act."
The Rustamids endured about as long at the Aghlibid emirate; both states declined, and fell to the Fatimids during 909. Kharijites surviving from the Rustamid era eventually became Ibadi
s. For the most part, they now reside in the Djebel Nefousa (western Libya), in the Mzab and at Wargla (eastern Algeria), and on Djerba
island in Tunisia.
movement grew in strength and numbers. Thereafter the Fatimids began to launch frequent attacks on the Aghlabid regime. Such militant aggression provoked general unrest and increased Aghlabid political instability. The Fatimids eventually managed to capture Kairouan in 909, forcing the last of theb Aghlabid line, Ziyadat Allah III, to evacuate the palace at Raqadda. Concurrently the Rustamid
state was overthrown. On the east coast of Ifriqiaya facing Egypt, the Fatimids built a new capital on top of ancient ruins, calling the seaport Mahdiya
after their mahdi.
The Fatimid movement had originated locally in al-Maghrib, based on the strength of the Kotama Berbers in Kabylia (Setif, south of Bougie
, eastern Algeria). The two founders of the movement were recent immigrants from the Islamic east: Abu 'Abdulla ash-Shi'i, originally from San'a in al-Yemen
; and, arriving from Salamiyah
in Syria
, 'Ubaidalla Sa'id. These two were religious dissidents who had come west to al-Magrib specifically to propagate their beliefs. The later, 'Ubaidalla Sa'id, claimed descent from Fatimah
the daughter of the prophet Muhammad
; he was to proclaim himself the Fatimid Mahdi
. Their religious affiliation was the Ismaili
branch of the Shia.
By agreement, the first of the two founders to arrive (circa 893) was Abu 'Abdulla ash-Shi'i
, the Ismaili Da'i or propagandist. He found welcome in the hostility against the Caliphate
in Baghdad
freely expressed by the Kotama Berbers. After his success in recruitment and in building the organization, Abu 'Abdulla was ready in 902 to send for 'Ubaidalla Sa'ed, who (after adventures and Aghlibid imprisonment in Sijilmasa
) arrived in 910. 'Ubaidall Sa'ed then proclaimed himself Mahdi, literally "the guided one", an august Islamic title of supreme command, taking the name Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah
. He assumed leadership of the movement. Thereafter Abu 'Abdulla was killed in a dispute over control.
From the start the Shi'a Fatimid movement had been focused on expansion eastward toward the heartland of Islam. Soon the new Mahdi ordered an attack on Egypt
by a Fatimid army of Kotama Berbers led by his son al-Qa'im, once in 914, and again in 919; the Fatimids quickly took Alexandria, but both times lost it back to the Sunni Abbasids. Probing for weakness, the Mahdi then sent an invasion westward, but his forces met with mixed results. Many Sunnis, including the Umayyad Caliph of al-Andalus
and the Zenata Berber kingdom
in Morocco
, effectively opposed him because of his Ismaili Shi'a affiliation. The Mahdi did not follow Maliki
law; he taxed harshly, incurring further resentment. His capital Mahdiya was more a fort than a princely city. The Maghrib was disrupted, being contested between the Zenata
in the west and the Sanhaja
who favored the Fatimids. Yet eventually Fatimid authority spread to most of al-Magrib.
After the death of the Mahdi, there came the popular Kharijite revolt of 935, under Abu Yazid
(nicknamed Abu Himara, "the man on a donkey"). Abu Yazid was known to ride about clad in common clothes accompanied by his wife and four sons. This Berber revolt, centering on a social justice appeal with respect to Kharijite ideals, gathered a wide following; by 943 it was said to be spreading confusion far and wide. The Mahdi's son, the Fatimid caliph al-Qa'im, became besieged in his capital Mahdiya. The situation appeared desperate when a relief column led by Ziri ibn Manad
broke through the siege with supplies and reinforcements for the Fatimids. Eventually Abu Yazid lost much of his following and in 946 was defeated in battle; this was the work of the son of al-Qa'im, the next Fatimid caliph, Ishmail, who accordingly took the sobriquet Mansur, the "victor". Mansur then moved his residence and his government to Kairouan
. Fatimid rule continued to be under attack by Sunni power to the west, i.e., the Umayyad Caliphate in Al-Andalus
. Nonetheless the Fatimids prospered.
.png)
In 969 the Fatimid caliph al-Mu'izz sent against Egypt his best general Jawhar al-Rumi, who led a Kotama Berber army. Egypt then was nominally under the Abbasid Caliphate, yet since 856 Egypt had been ruled by Turks, now by the Turkish Ikhshidid dynasty
; however, actual control had passed into the strong hands of the Ethiopian eunuch Abu-l-Misk Kafur for 22 years. At Kafur's death in 968, Egypt's leadership became weak and confused. The Fatimids in Ifriqiya, carefully observing these conditions in Misr (Egypt), ceased the opportunity to conquer.
Jawhar al-Rumi accordingly managed the military conquest without great difficulty. The Shi'a Fatimids subsequently founded al-Qahira (Cairo
) ["the victorius" or the "city of Mars"]. In 970 the Fatimids also founded the world famous al-Azhar mosque
, which later became the leading Sunni theological center. Three years later al-Mu'izz the Fatimid caliph decided to leave Ifriqiyah for Egypt, which he did, taking everything, "his treasures, his administrative staff, and the coffins of his predecessors." This al-Mu'izz was highly educated, wrote Arabic poetry, had mastered Berber, studied Greek, and delighted in literature; he was also a very capable ruler and it was he who founded Fatimid power in Egypt. Once centered there the Fatimids expanded their possessions further, northeast to Syria
and southeast to Mecca
and Medina
, while retaining control of North Africa. From Cairo the Fatimids were to enjoy relative success, reigning until 1171. They became for a time the foremost power of Islam; they never returned to Ifriqiyah. Meanwhile the Kotama Berbers, wornout from their conflicts on behalf of the Fatimids, disappeared from the streets of al-Qahira, and thereafter also from the life of al-Maghrib.
The western lands of the Fatimids were assigned to Berber vassals who continued in name the Shi'a caliphate rule. The first chosen ruler was Buluggin ibn Ziri
, son of Ziri ibn Manad
(died 971), the Sanhaja
Berber chieftain who had saved the Fatimids when besieged in Mahdiya by Abu Yazid (see above). The Zirid
dynasty would eventually become the sovereign power in Ifiqiya.
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, and its calendar. The Arab conquest followed strategy designed by the Umayyad Caliphate regarding ist long-term conflict with the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
. The native Berbers
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
eventually converted to Islam; they apparently saw many similarities between themselves and the Arabs, both in relatively similar languages and a cognate culture, including familiarity with a pastoral way of life. The first local Islamic ruling house, the Aghlabids, consisted primarily of rule by leading members of this Arab tribe. Fundamental elements of Islamic civilization were established. Although accepting Islam, many Berbers nonetheless resisted rule by the Arabs, establishing the Rustamid
Rustamid
The Rustamid dynasty of Ibāḍī Kharijite imām that ruled the central Maghreb as a Muslim theocracy for a century and a half from their capital Tahert in present Algeria until the Ismailite Fatimid Caliphs destroyed it. The dynasty had a Persian origin...
kingdom following the Kharijite revolt. Next in Ifriqiya (Tunisia) arose the Shia Fatimids, inspired by a few immigrants from the east yet consisting for the most part of Ifriqiya Berbers. The Fatimids later expanded their rule east, through conquest by Berber armies of Egypt, and established their caliphate there which came to include Syria and the Hejaz
Hejaz
al-Hejaz, also Hijaz is a region in the west of present-day Saudi Arabia. Defined primarily by its western border on the Red Sea, it extends from Haql on the Gulf of Aqaba to Jizan. Its main city is Jeddah, but it is probably better known for the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina...
.
Umayyad Caliphate in Ifriqiya
Rashidun
The Rightly Guided Caliphs or The Righteous Caliphs is a term used in Sunni Islam to refer to the first four Caliphs who established the Rashidun Caliphate. The concept of "Rightly Guided Caliphs" originated with the Abbasid Dynasty...
(632-661) following the passing of the Prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
(570-632), the ruling family of the Umayyads took firm control of the new Muslim state. The Umayyad Caliphate (661-750) ruled from the city of Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
; their first Caliph Mu'awiya (602-680, r.661-680) directed Muslim forces in their on-going military contest with the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
. Decades earlier the Byzantine provinces of Syria and Egypt had fallen to Islamic arms. Under Mu'awiya the Umayyad Caliphate could see how the foreign lands west of Egypt figured in the "geo-political" and military strategy of this struggle. Hence there began the decades-long undertaking resulting in the Umayyad conquest of North Africa
Umayyad conquest of North Africa
The Umayyad conquest of North Africa continued the century of rapid Arab Muslim expansion following the death of Muhammad in 632 CE. By 640 the Arabs controlled Mesopotamia, had invaded Armenia, and were concluding their conquest of Byzantine Syria. Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad caliphate....
.
Islamic conquest
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
Muslim army under Uqba ibn Nafi
Uqba ibn Nafi
Uqba ibn Nafi was an Arab hero and general who was serving the Umayyad dynasty, in Amir Muavia and Yazid periods, who began the Islamic conquest of the Maghreb, including present-day Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Morocco in North Africa. He was the nephew of 'Amr ibn al-'As. Uqba is often surnamed...
, who had commanded an earlier incursion in 666, entered the region of Ifriqiya
Ifriqiya
In medieval history, Ifriqiya or Ifriqiyah was the area comprising the coastal regions of what are today western Libya, Tunisia, and eastern Algeria. This area included what had been the Roman province of Africa, whose name it inherited....
(a newly-coined Arabic word for the prior Roman Province of Africa
Africa Province
The Roman province of Africa was established after the Romans defeated Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day northern Tunisia, and the small Mediterranean coast of modern-day western Libya along the Syrtis Minor...
). Marching overland the Arabs by-passed the fortified Byzantine positions along the Mediterranean coast. In the more arid south of Ifriqiya, the city of Kairouan
Kairouan
Kairouan , also known as Kirwan or al-Qayrawan , is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia. Referred to as the Islamic Cultural Capital, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city was founded by the Arabs around 670...
[stronghold in Arabic] was established as their base, and the building of its famous Mosque was begun. Then, from 675 to 682, Dinar ibn Abu al-Muhadjir took over direction of the Muslim invasion. Armed Berber
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
forces constituted the main resistance to the Arabs. Apparently these Berbers were primarily composed of sedentary Christians from the Awreba tribe and perhaps also the Sanhadja confederation; they were led by Kusaila
Kusaila
Kusaila or Kasila or Kusayla was a 7th century chief of the Awraba tribe of the Berber people and head of the Sanhadja confederation...
. In the late 670s, the Arab armies defeated these Berbers forces and made Kusaila their prisoner.
In 682, Uqba ibn Nafi resumed command. He defeated another alliance of Berber forces near Tahirt (Algeria), then proceeded westward in a long series of military triumphs, eventually reaching the Atlantic coast, where he is said to have lamented that before him lay no more lands to conquer for Islam. Episodes from Uqba's campaigns became legend throughout the Maghrib
Maghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
. Yet Kusaila
Kusaila
Kusaila or Kasila or Kusayla was a 7th century chief of the Awraba tribe of the Berber people and head of the Sanhadja confederation...
, the Berber leader held prisoner, escaped. Later Kusaila organized and led a fresh Berber uprising, which interrupted the conquest and claimed the life of the famous Arab leader, Uqba. Kusaila then formed an enlarged Berber kingdom. Yet Zuhair b. Qais, the deputy of the fallen leader Uqba ibn Nafi, enlisted Zanata
Zenata
Zenata were an ethnic group of North Africa, who were technically an Eastern Berber group and who are found in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco....
Berber tribes from Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya.Also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, it was part of the Creta et Cyrenaica province during the Roman period, later divided in Libia Pentapolis and Libia Sicca...
to fight for the cause of Islam, and in 686 managed to overrun, defeat, and terminate the kingdom newly-formed by Kusaila.
Umayyad conquest of North Africa
The Umayyad conquest of North Africa continued the century of rapid Arab Muslim expansion following the death of Muhammad in 632 CE. By 640 the Arabs controlled Mesopotamia, had invaded Armenia, and were concluding their conquest of Byzantine Syria. Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad caliphate....
was to advance close to completion. In Egypt a new army of forty thousand was assembled, to be commanded by Hassan ibn al-Nu'man (known to Arabs as "the honest old man"). Meanwhile, the weakened Byzantines managed to reinforce somewhat their positions. The Arab Muslim army crossed the Cyrene and Tripoli without opposition, then quickly attacked and captured Carthage.
The Berbers, however, continued to offer stiff resistance, then being led by a woman of the Jarawa tribe, whom the Muslims called "the prophetess" [al-Kahina in Arabic]; her actual name was approximately Damiya
Kahina
al-Kāhina was a 7th century female Berber religious and military leader, who led indigenous resistance to Arab expansion in Northwest Africa, the region then known as Numidia, known as the Maghreb today...
. On the river Nini, an alliance of Berbers under the Kahina Damiya sharply defeated the Muslim armies under al-Nu'man, who escaped then eastward, returning to Cyrenaica. Thereupon, the Byzantines took advantage of the Berber victory by reoccupying Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
. Unlike the Berber Kusaila
Kusaila
Kusaila or Kasila or Kusayla was a 7th century chief of the Awraba tribe of the Berber people and head of the Sanhadja confederation...
ten years earlier, Damiya did not establish a larger state, evidently being content to rule merely her own Jawara tribe. Some commentators speculate that, to the Kahina Damiya, the invading Arabs appeared primarily interested in booty
Booty
Category:Article Feedback Blacklist...
, because she then commenced to sack and pillage the region, apparently to make it unattractive to raiders looking for the spoils of war; of course, it also made her own forces hotly unpopular to local inhabitants. Yet she did not attack the Muslim base at Kairouan
Kairouan
Kairouan , also known as Kirwan or al-Qayrawan , is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia. Referred to as the Islamic Cultural Capital, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city was founded by the Arabs around 670...
. From Egypt in 698 the Caliph 'Abdul-Malik sent reinforcements to al-Nu'man, who then reentered Ifriqiya. Although she told her two sons to go over to the Arabs, she herself continued resistance and again gave battle. The fortunes of war deserted her, and al-Nu'man emerged victorious. It is said that at Bir al-Kahina [well of the prophetess] in the Auras mountains, Damiya was slain.
In 705 Hassan b. al-Nu'man stormed Carthage, overcame and sacked it, leaving it destroyed. A similar fate befell the proximous city of Utica
Utica, Tunisia
Utica is an ancient city northwest of Carthage near the outflow of the Medjerda River into the Mediterranean Sea, traditionally considered to be the first colony founded by the Phoenicians in North Africa...
. At Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
, a small town dating back to the Punic era, and situated near the ruins of Carthage, al-Numan founded a naval base. Muslim ships fitted for war began to assert dominance over the adjacent Mediterranean coast; hence the Byzantines then made their final withdrawal from North Africa. The Arabs called the region al-Maghrib
Maghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
: the "sunset land" or "the west". Then al-Nu'man was replaced as Muslim military leader by Musa ibn Nusair, who substantially completed the conquest of al-Maghrib. Ibn Nusair took the city of Tangier
Tangier
Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...
on the Atlantic coast, and appointed as its governor the Berber leader Tariq Abu Zara. Tariq would lead the Muslim conquest of Hispania
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
, begun in 711.
Berber role
The Berber peopleBerber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
, also known as the Amazigh, "converted en mass as tribes and assmilated juridically to the Arabs", writes Prof. Hodgson; he then comments that the Berbers were to play a rôle in the west parallel to that played by the Arabs elsewhere in Islam. For centuries the Berbers had lived as semi-pastoralists in or near arid lands at the fringe of civilization, sustaining their isolated identity somewhat like the Arabs. "The Maghrib, islanded between Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
and Sahara, was to the Berbers what Arabia
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
... was to the Arabs." Hodgson explains: although the Berbers enjoyed more rainfall than the Arabs, their higher mountains made their settlements likewise difficult to access; and though the imperial Roman cities were more proximous, those cities never incorporated the countryside with a network of market towns, but instead remained aloof from the indigenous rural Berbers.
A counter argument would be that the Berbers at first merely participated in the martial success of the Arab Muslims
Arab Muslims
Arab Muslims are adherents of the religion of Islam who identify linguistically, culturally, or genealogically as Arabs. They greatly outnumber other ethnic groups in the Middle East. Muslims who are not Arabs are called mawali by Arab Muslims....
; the better historical choice for the Berbers would be more uniquely ethnic and thus more authentic, i.e., to articulate their own inner character and fate, and follow that. Prof. Abdallah Laroui
Abdallah Laroui
Abdallah Laroui is a Moroccan historian and novelist writing in Arabic and French. He is considered one of Morocco's leading intellectuals....
, however, interprets the North African panorama as indicating that the Berbers did in fact carve out for themselves an independent rôle. "From the first century B.C. to the eighth century A.D. the will of the Berbers to be themselves is revealed by the continuity of their efforts to reconstitute their kingdoms of the Carthaginian period, and in this sense the movement was crowned with success." Here Laroui apparently favorably compares the ancient Berber King Masinissa
Masinissa
Masinissa — also spelled Massinissa and Massena — was the first King of Numidia, an ancient North African nation of ancient Libyan tribes. As a successful general, Masinissa fought in the Second Punic War , first against the Romans as an ally of Carthage an later switching sides when he saw which...
and his regime, e.g., to the Rustamid
Rustamid
The Rustamid dynasty of Ibāḍī Kharijite imām that ruled the central Maghreb as a Muslim theocracy for a century and a half from their capital Tahert in present Algeria until the Ismailite Fatimid Caliphs destroyed it. The dynasty had a Persian origin...
kingdom, and later to the medieval
History of medieval Tunisia
The medieval era opens with the commencement of a process that would return Ifriqiya, i.e., Tunisia, and the entire Maghrib to local Berber rule. The precipitating cause was the departure of the Shia Fatimid Caliphate to their newly conquered territories in Egypt. To govern Ifriqiya in their stead,...
Islamic Almoravids and Almohad
Almohad
The Almohad Dynasty , was a Moroccan Berber-Muslim dynasty founded in the 12th century that established a Berber state in Tinmel in the Atlas Mountains in roughly 1120.The movement was started by Ibn Tumart in the Masmuda tribe, followed by Abd al-Mu'min al-Gumi between 1130 and his...
s, and to the Zirid
Zirid
The Zirid dynasty were a Sanhadja Berber dynasty, originating in modern Algeria, initially on behalf of the Fatimids, for about two centuries, until weakened by the Banu Hilal and finally destroyed by the Almohads. Their capital was Kairouan...
and the Hafsid dynasties, all Berber creations. By choosing to ally not with nearby Europe, familiar in memory by the Roman past, but rather with the newcomers from distant Arabia, the Berbers knowingly decided their future and historical path. "Their hearts opened to the call of Islam because in it they saw a means of national liberation and territorial independence."
Environmental and geographic parallels between Berber and Arab are notable, as Hodgson discusses above. In addition, the languages spoken by the Semitic
Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 270 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa...
Arabs
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
and by the Berbers
Berber languages
The Berber languages are a family of languages indigenous to North Africa, spoken from Siwa Oasis in Egypt to Morocco , and south to the countries of the Sahara Desert...
are both included as members in the same world language family, the Afro-Asiatic, although Berber and Semitic form two different branches. Perhaps this linguistic kinship shares a further resonance, e.g., in mythic explanations, popular symbols, and religious preference, in some vital fundamentals of psychology, and in the media of culture and the context of tradition.
Evidently, long before and after the Islamic conquest, there was some popular sense of a strong and long-standing cultural connection between the Berbers and the Semites of the Levant, naturally with regard to Carthage, and in addition with regard to links yet more ancient and genetic. These claims of a remote ancestral relationship perhaps facilitated the Berber demand for equal footing with the Arab invaders within the religion of Islam following the conquest. Later in the medieval Maghrib, elaborate but fictitious genealogies would be created on the assumed foundation of an ancient Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
i origin of the Berber people, which genealogies were mocked by Ibn Hazm
Ibn Hazm
Abū Muḥammad ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn Saʿīd ibn Ḥazm ) was an Andalusian philosopher, litterateur, psychologist, historian, jurist and theologian born in Córdoba, present-day Spain...
(994-1064) and discounted by Ibn Khaldun
Ibn Khaldun
Ibn Khaldūn or Ibn Khaldoun was an Arab Tunisian historiographer and historian who is often viewed as one of the forerunners of modern historiography, sociology and economics...
(1332–1406).
Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya.Also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, it was part of the Creta et Cyrenaica province during the Roman period, later divided in Libia Pentapolis and Libia Sicca...
to al-Andalus
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
, the superficially 'Arabized' Berbers continuously remained in communication with each other throughout the following centuries, sharing a common cultural identity. As a group their distinguishing features are not difficult to discern within Islam; e.g., while the ulama
Ulama
-In Islam:* Ulema, also transliterated "ulama", a community of legal scholars of Islam and its laws . See:**Nahdlatul Ulama **Darul-uloom Nadwatul Ulama **Jamiatul Ulama Transvaal**Jamiat ul-Ulama -Other:...
in the rest of Islam adopted for the most part either the Hanafi
Hanafi
The Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...
or the Shafi'i
Shafi'i
The Shafi'i madhhab is one of the schools of fiqh, or religious law, within the Sunni branch of Islam. The Shafi'i school of fiqh is named after Imām ash-Shafi'i.-Principles:...
school of law, the Berbers in the west chose the Maliki
Maliki
The ' madhhab is one of the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. It is the second-largest of the four schools, followed by approximately 25% of Muslims, mostly in North Africa, West Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and in some parts of Saudi Arabia...
madhhab
Madhhab
is a Muslim school of law or fiqh . In the first 150 years of Islam, there were many such "schools". In fact, several of the Sahābah, or contemporary "companions" of Muhammad, are credited with founding their own...
, developing it in the course of time after their own fashion. In the process of the Berbers becoming Muslim, the Arab colonists who settled among also in turn underwent a form of "Berberization".
Also inducing the Berbers to convert was the early lack of rigor in religious obligations, as well as the prospect of inclusion as warriors in the armies of conquest, with a corresponding share in booty and tribute. A few years later, in 711, the Berber Tariq ibn Ziyad would lead the Muslim invasion
Umayyad conquest of Hispania
The Umayyad conquest of Hispania is the initial Islamic Ummayad Caliphate's conquest, between 711 and 718, of the Christian Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania, centered in the Iberian Peninsula, which was known to them under the Arabic name al-Andalus....
of the Visigothic Kingdom in Hispania
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
. Additionally, many of the Arabs who came to settle in al-Maghrib were religious and political dissidents, often Kharijites
Kharijites
Kharijites is a general term embracing various Muslims who, while initially supporting the authority of the final Rashidun Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib, the son-in-law and cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, then later rejected his leadership...
who opposed the Umayyad rulers in Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
and embraced egalitarian doctrines, both popular positions among the Berbers of North Africa who disliked Arab displays of superiority.
To locate its history of religion context, the Arab conquest and the Islamic conversion of the Berbers followed a centuries-long period of religious conflict and polarization of society in the old Roman Empire's Africa Province
Africa Province
The Roman province of Africa was established after the Romans defeated Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day northern Tunisia, and the small Mediterranean coast of modern-day western Libya along the Syrtis Minor...
. Here, the Donatist
Donatist
Donatism was a Christian sect within the Roman province of Africa that flourished in the fourth and fifth centuries. It had its roots in the social pressures among the long-established Christian community of Roman North Africa , during the persecutions of Christians under Diocletian...
schism within Christianity proved instrumental; it caused divisions in society, often between the rural Berbers, who were prominent in schismatic dissent, and the more urban orthodoxy of the Roman church. Too, the successor to the Romans, the Vandal Kingdom
Vandals
The Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century. The Vandals under king Genseric entered Africa in 429 and by 439 established a kingdom which included the Roman Africa province, besides the islands of Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and the Balearics....
(439-534) also religiously polarized the Christian society by their attempt to force on others their own Arian
Arianism
Arianism is the theological teaching attributed to Arius , a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of the entities of the Trinity and the precise nature of the Son of God as being a subordinate entity to God the Father...
form of Christianity. Alternatively, or concurrently, the Berbers were initially attracted to the Arabs because of their "proclivity for the desert and the steppes".
After the conquest and following the popular conversion, Ifriqiya
Ifriqiya
In medieval history, Ifriqiya or Ifriqiyah was the area comprising the coastal regions of what are today western Libya, Tunisia, and eastern Algeria. This area included what had been the Roman province of Africa, whose name it inherited....
constituted a proximous and natural focus for an Arab-Berber Islamic regime in North Africa, a center for culture and society. Ifriqiya was then the region with the most developed urban, commercial, and agricultural infrastructure, essential for such a comprehensive project as Islam developed.
Establishment
During the years immediately preceding the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate of Damascus (661-750), revolts arose among the Kharijite Berbers in MoroccoMorocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
which eventually disrupted the stability of the entire Maghrib
Maghrib
The Maghrib prayer , prayed just after sunset, is the fourth of five formal daily prayers performed by practicing Muslims.The formal daily prayers of Islam comprise different numbers of units, called rak'at. The Maghrib prayer has three obligatory rak'at. The first two fard rak'at are prayed...
(739-772). The Kharijites failed to establish strong lasting institutions, yet the small Rustamid kingdom persisted (which controlled southern Ifriqiyah); also the impact of the Berber Kharijite revolt changed the political landscape. Direct rule from the East by the Caliphs over Ifriqiya became untenable, even following the rapid establishment of the new Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad in 750. Also, after several generations a local Arab-speaking aristocracy emerged in Ifriqiya, which became resentful of the distant caliphate's interference in local matters.
The Arab Muhallabids
Muhallabids
The Muhallabids were a dynasty of governors in Ifriqiya under the Abbasid Caliphate Although subject to the Abbasids, they enjoyed a great deal of autonomy and were able to maintain Arab rule in the face of revolts by the Berbers...
(771-793) negotiated with the 'Abbasids a wide discretion in the exercise of their governorship of Ifriqiya. One such governor was al-Aghlab ibn Salim (r. 765-767), a forefather of the Aghlabids. Decades later Muhallabid rule came undone. A minor rebellion in Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
took a more ominous turn when it spread to Kairouan. The Caliph's governor was unable to restore order.
Ibrahim ibn al-Aghlab, a provincial leader (son of al-Aghlab ibn Salim), led a disciplined army; he did manage to reestablish stability in 797. Later he proposed to the 'Abbasid
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....
caliph Harun al-Rashid
Harun al-Rashid
Hārūn al-Rashīd was the fifth Arab Abbasid Caliph in Iraq. He was born in Rey, Iran, close to modern Tehran. His birth date remains a point of discussion, though, as various sources give the dates from 763 to 766)....
, that he be granted Ifriqiya (as the Arabs called the former Province of Africa) as a hereditary fief, with the title of amir; the caliph acquiesced in 800. Thereafter, although the 'Abbasids caliphs received an annual tribute and their suzerainty was referenced in the khubta at Friday prayers, their control was largely symbolic, e.g., in 864 the Caliph al-Mu'tasim
Al-Mu'tasim
Abu Ishaq 'Abbas al-Mu'tasim ibn Harun was an Abbasid caliph . He succeeded his half-brother al-Ma'mun...
"required" that a new wing be added to the Zaituna Mosque near Tunis.
Political culture
Constantine, Algeria
Constantine is the capital of Constantine Province in north-eastern Algeria. It was the capital of the same-named French département until 1962. Slightly inland, it is about 80 kilometres from the Mediterranean coast, on the banks of Rhumel river...
) and lands to the east (Tripolitania
Tripolitania
Tripolitania or Tripolitana is a historic region and former province of Libya.Tripolitania was a separate Italian colony from 1927 to 1934...
). The Aghlabids were predominantly of an Arab tribe the Bani Tamim. At that time there were perhaps 100,000 Arabs living in Ifriqiya, but of course the Berbers constituted the great majority. The Aghlabid military forces were drawn from: (a) immigrant Arab warriors (both those recently sent against the Berber Kharajite revolts, and those descendants of earlier Arab invasions), (b) Islamized and bilingual natives (Afariq) most of whom were Berbers, and (c) black slave soldiers from the south. The black soldiery formed the ruler's last resort.
At origin, Aghlabid rule was based on their opportune use of assertion and negotiation supplemented by effective military force, in order to control the populace and secure civil order, following a period of instability. In theory, the Aghlabids governed on behalf of the 'Abbasid Caliphate in Bagdad, whose prestige the Aghlabids held, enhanced their authority among the locals of Ifriqiya. Yet the Aghlabid regime failed to become popular. Despite the political peace and stability they initiated, followed by economic expansion and prosperity, including admired public construction projects, and despite a blossoming culture, political dissent was rife, and not confined to Berbers. Many in the Arabic-speaking elite developed an increasingly contrary attitude toward the Aghlabids, for several reasons.
First, in the army the Arab officer class became dissatisfied with the legitimacy of the regime, or used this as a pretext for disloyal ambition. This general attitude of insubordination meant that the internal quarreling within the military from time to time spilled over into public and violent struggles. Their latent hostility also surfaced when army factions began making extortionist demands directly on the population. A dangerous revolt from within the Arab army (the jund) broke out near Tunis and lasted from 824 until 826. The Aghlabids retreated to the south pre-Sahara, and were saved only by enlisting the aid of Berbers of the Kharajite Jarid. Later another revolt of 893 (said to be provoked by the cruelty of Ibrahim II Ibn Ahmad
Ibrahim II of Aghlabids
Abu Is`haq Ibrahim II was the ninth Emir of the Aghlabids in Ifriqiya He succeeded to the Emirate on the death of his brother Muhammad II . Although he inherited a kingdom depopulated by the plague of 874, his reign was economically prosperous...
(r. 875-902), the ninth Aghlabid amir), was put down by the black soldiery.
Second, the Muslim ulema
Ulema
Ulama , also spelt ulema, refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law...
(clerics) looked with reproach on the ruling Aghlabids. Surface aggravation in religious circles arose from the un-Islamic lifestyle of the rulers. Disregarding the strong religious sentiments held by many in the emerging Muslim community, the Aghlabids often led lives of pleasure at variance to Islamic law, e.g., publicly drinking wine. In the context of the bitter charges against the Aghlabids for lax Islamic practice, which came from their rivals the Rustamid
Rustamid
The Rustamid dynasty of Ibāḍī Kharijite imām that ruled the central Maghreb as a Muslim theocracy for a century and a half from their capital Tahert in present Algeria until the Ismailite Fatimid Caliphs destroyed it. The dynasty had a Persian origin...
kingdom (predominantly Berber, see below), their well-known failings acquired importance. Another issue was that Aghlabid taxation policies were not sanctioned by the prevailing Maliki
Maliki
The ' madhhab is one of the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. It is the second-largest of the four schools, followed by approximately 25% of Muslims, mostly in North Africa, West Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and in some parts of Saudi Arabia...
school of law. Opponents further criticized their contemptuous treatment of mawali
Mawali
Mawali or mawālá is a term in Classical Arabic used to address non-Arab Muslims.The term gained prominence in the centuries following the early Arab Muslim conquests in the 7th century, as many non-Arabs such as Persians, Egyptians, and Turks converted to Islam...
Berbers who had embraced Islam, but were treated as infidels. The Islamic doctrine of equality regardless of race, i.e., as between Arab and Berber, became a cornerstone of the orthodox Sunni movement in the Maghrib, as it was developed in Kairouan
Kairouan
Kairouan , also known as Kirwan or al-Qayrawan , is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia. Referred to as the Islamic Cultural Capital, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city was founded by the Arabs around 670...
by the Maliki school of law. These various Islamic principles formed the core of the prevailent hostility of Ifriqiya toward any rule by the Caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
from the East. They also helped to fuel anti-Aghlabid sentiment.
University of Ez-Zitouna
Ez-Zitouna University is located in Tunis. It is claimed to be the oldest teaching establishment in the Arab World, since the Ez-Zitouna madrassa was founded in 737 C.E...
); at Kairouan: Ibn Kayrun Mosque (or Mosque of the Three Doors); and at Sfax. Also a well known ribat
Ribat
A ribat is an Arabic term for a small fortification as built along a frontier during the first years of the Muslim conquest of North Africa to house military volunteers, called the murabitun...
or fortified military monastery was built at Monastir
Monastir, Tunisia
-Areas within Monastir:Monastir's north-eastern territories lead into a place called Route de la Falaise, through which you will reach its most notable suburb, Skanes, which is 6 miles from Monastir's town centre...
, and another at Susa
Susa
Susa was an ancient city of the Elamite, Persian and Parthian empires of Iran. It is located in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris River, between the Karkheh and Dez Rivers....
(in 821 by Ziyadat Allah I); here Islamic warriors were trained.
In 831 Ziyadat Allah I (r. 817-838), son of the founder Ibrahim, launched an invasion of Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. Placed in command was Asad ibn al-Furat
Asad ibn al-Furat
Asad ibn al-Furat was a jurist and theologian in Ifriqiya, who began the Muslim conquest of Sicily.His family, originally from Harran in Mesopotamia, emigrated with him to Ifriqiya. Asad studied in Medina with Malik ibn Anas, the founder of the Malikite school, and in Kufa with a disciple of Abu...
, the qadi
Qadi
Qadi is a judge ruling in accordance with Islamic religious law appointed by the ruler of a Muslim country. Because Islam makes no distinction between religious and secular domains, qadis traditionally have jurisdiction over all legal matters involving Muslims...
or religious judge; the military adventure was termed a jihad. This expedition proved successful; Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
was made the capitol of the region captured. Later raids were made against the Italian peninsula; in 846 Rome was attacked and the Basilica of St. Peter sacked. In orchestrating the invasion of Sicily, the Aghlabid rulers had managed to unite two rebellious factions (the army and the clergy) in a common effort against outsiders. Later Islamic rulers in Sicily
History of Islam in southern Italy
The history of Islam in southern Italy begins with the Islamic conquest and subsequent rule of Sicily and Malta, a process that started in the 9th century. Islamic rule over Sicily was effective from 902, and the complete rule of the island lasted from 965 until 1061...
severed connections with Ifriqiyah, and their own Sicilian Kalbid dynasty (948-1053) governed the now independent Emirate.
The invasion of Sicily had worked to stabilize the political order in Ifriqiya, which progressed in relative tranquility during its middle period. In its final decline, however, the dynasty self-destructed, in that its eleventh and last amir, Ziyadat Allah III
Ziyadat Allah III of Aghlabids
Abu Mudhar Ziyadat Allah III was the eleventh and last Emir of the Aghlabids in Ifriqiya He came to power after the murder of his father Abdullah II in 903. He immediately had all his brothers and uncles executed to eliminate any possible rivals...
(r. 902-909) (d. 916), due to insecurity stemming from his father's assassination, ordered his rival brothers and uncles executed. This occurred during the assaults made by the newly emergent Fatimid
Fatimid
The Fatimid Islamic Caliphate or al-Fāṭimiyyūn was a Berber Shia Muslim caliphate first centered in Tunisia and later in Egypt that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz from 5 January 909 to 1171.The caliphate was ruled by the Fatimids, who established the...
s (see below) against the Aghlabid domains
Institutions and society
In the Aghlabid government generally, the high positions were filled by "princes of the blood, whose loyalty could be relied on." The judicial post of QadiQadi
Qadi is a judge ruling in accordance with Islamic religious law appointed by the ruler of a Muslim country. Because Islam makes no distinction between religious and secular domains, qadis traditionally have jurisdiction over all legal matters involving Muslims...
of Kairouan was said to be given "only to outstanding personalities notable for their conscientiousness even more than their knowledge." On the other hand, the administrative staffs were composed of dependent clients (mostly recent Arab and Persian
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
immigrants), and the local bilingual Afariq (mostly Berber, and which included many Christians). The Islamic state in Ifriqiya paralleled in many respects the government structure formed in Abbasid Baghdad. Aghlabid offices included the vizier
Vizier
A vizier or in Arabic script ; ; sometimes spelled vazir, vizir, vasir, wazir, vesir, or vezir) is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in a Muslim government....
[prime minister], the hajib
Hajib
The term "hajib" is not to be confused with the word "hijab", which is a headscarf for Muslim women.A hajib was a government official in Al-Andalus and Egypt. They began as treasurers or Chamberlains but by 756, the position had evolved to be equivalent to a vizier or higher....
[chamberlain], the sahib al-barid [master of posts and intelligence], and numerous kuttab [secretaries] (e.g., of taxation, of the mint, of the army, of correspondence). Leading Jews
History of the Jews in Tunisia
The history of the Jews in Tunisia goes back to Roman times. Before 1948, the Jewish population of Tunisia reached a peak of 110,000. From the 1950s, half this number left for Israel and the other half for France...
formed a small elite group. As in an earlier periods (e.g., under Byzantine rule), the majority of the population consisted of rural Berbers
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
, distrusted now because of Kharajite or similar rebel tendencies.
Kairouan
Kairouan
Kairouan , also known as Kirwan or al-Qayrawan , is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia. Referred to as the Islamic Cultural Capital, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city was founded by the Arabs around 670...
(or Qayrawan) had become the cultural center of not only of Ifriqiya but of the entire Maghrib. A type of volume then current, the tabaqat (concerned with the handling of documents), indirectly illuminates elite life in Aghlabid Ifriqiya. One such work was the Tabaqat 'ulama' Ifriqiya [Classes of Scholars of Ifriqiya] written by Abu al-'Arab. Among the Sunni Muslim ulema
Ulema
Ulama , also spelt ulema, refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law...
, two learned professions then came to the fore: (a) the faqih (plural fuqaha) or the jurist; and (b) the ābid or the ascetics.
Faqih
A Faqīh is an expert in fiqh, or, Islamic jurisprudence.A faqih is an expert in Islamic Law, and, as such, the word Faqih can literally be generally translated as Jurist.- The definition of Fiqh and its relation to the Faqih:...
congregated at Kairouan, then the legal center of the entire al-Maghrib. The more liberal Hanafi
Hanafi
The Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...
school of Muslim law at first predominated in Ifriqiyah. Soon, however, a strict form of the Maliki
Maliki
The ' madhhab is one of the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. It is the second-largest of the four schools, followed by approximately 25% of Muslims, mostly in North Africa, West Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and in some parts of Saudi Arabia...
school came to prevail, which in fact became the only widespread madhhab
Madhhab
is a Muslim school of law or fiqh . In the first 150 years of Islam, there were many such "schools". In fact, several of the Sahābah, or contemporary "companions" of Muhammad, are credited with founding their own...
, not only in Kairouan, but throughout North Africa. The Maliki school of law persisted (despite several major interruptions) in being the legal norm throughout the Maghrib and continues so today.
The Maliki madhhab was introduced to Ifriqiya by the jurist Asad ibn al-Furat
Asad ibn al-Furat
Asad ibn al-Furat was a jurist and theologian in Ifriqiya, who began the Muslim conquest of Sicily.His family, originally from Harran in Mesopotamia, emigrated with him to Ifriqiya. Asad studied in Medina with Malik ibn Anas, the founder of the Malikite school, and in Kufa with a disciple of Abu...
(759-829), yet he was known to waver somewhat between the prior Hanafi and the Maliki. The influencial law book called Mudawanna, written by his disciple Sahnun ('Abd al-Salam b. Sa'id) (776-854), provided a "vulgate of North-African Malikism" for practical use during the period when Maliki legal doctrines won the field against its rival, the Hanafi. Abu Hanifa (700-767) (founder of the Hanafi school) drew out fiqh
Fiqh
Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the code of conduct expounded in the Quran, often supplemented by tradition and implemented by the rulings and interpretations of Islamic jurists....
that was perhaps better suited to its origin in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, a sophisticatd imperial capital; while Malik ibn Anas
Malik ibn Anas
Mālik ibn Anas ibn Mālik ibn Abī 'Āmir al-Asbahī is known as "Imam Malik," the "Sheikh of Islam", the "Proof of the Community," and "Imam of the Abode of Emigration." He was one of the most highly respected scholars of fiqh in Sunni Islam...
(716-795) initiated the school bearing his name in the smaller, rural city of Medina
Medina
Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
. By choosing the then more marginal Maliki school, the jurists of Kairouan probably obtained more discretion in defining Maghriban legal culture.
The Maliki jurists were often at odds with the Aghlabids, over the Arab rulers' disappointing personal moral conduct, and over the fiscal issue of taxation of agriculture (i.e., of a new fixed cash levy replacing the orthodox tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
in kind). The offending tax on crops payable in cash being the act of the second amir, 'Abdullah ibn Ibrahim (812-817). Further, the Maliki fuqaha was commonly understood to act more in favor of local autonomy, hence in the interests of the Berbers, by blocking potential intrusions into Ifriqiya affairs and filtering out foreign influence, which might originate from the central Arab power in the East.
Besides jurists there was a second community of Muslim ulema
Ulema
Ulama , also spelt ulema, refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law...
, the scholars and ascetics. Foremost among these ābid was Buhlul b. Rashid (d. 799), who reputedly despised money and refused the post of grand judge; his fame accordingly spread throughout the Islamic world. By virtue of their piety and independence, the ābid won social prestige and a voice in politics; some scholars would speak on behalf of the governed cities, criticizing the regime's finance and trade decisions. Although substantially different, the status of the ābid relates somewhat to the much later, largely Berber figure of the Maghribi saint, the wali
Wali
Walī , is an Arabic word meaning "custodian", "protector", "sponsor", or authority as denoted by its definition "crown". "Wali" is someone who has "Walayah" over somebody else. For example, in Fiqh the father is wali of his children. In Islam, the phrase ولي الله walīyu 'llāh...
, who as keeper of baraka
Baraka
Baraka means blessing in Hebrew, Arabic and Arabic-influenced languages. It may refer to:* Baraka, also berakhah, in Judaism, a blessing usually recited during a ceremony...
(spiritual charisma) became the object of veneration by religious believers, and whose tomb would be the destination of pilgrimage.
Economically, Ifriqiya
Ifriqiya
In medieval history, Ifriqiya or Ifriqiyah was the area comprising the coastal regions of what are today western Libya, Tunisia, and eastern Algeria. This area included what had been the Roman province of Africa, whose name it inherited....
flourished under Aghlabid rule. Extensive improvements were made to the pre-existing water works in order to promote olive groves and other agriculture (oils and cereals were exported), to irrigate the royal gardens, and for livestock. Roman aqueducts to supply the towns with water were rebuilt under Abu Ibrahim Ahmad, the sixth amir. In the Kairouan
Kairouan
Kairouan , also known as Kirwan or al-Qayrawan , is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia. Referred to as the Islamic Cultural Capital, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city was founded by the Arabs around 670...
region hundreds of basins were constructed to store water for the raising of horses.
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
and the Sudan
Sudan (region)
The Sudan is the name given to a geographic region to the south of the Sahara, stretching from Western to Eastern Africa. The name derives from the Arabic bilâd as-sûdân or "land of the Blacks"...
, regions regularly incorporated into the Mediterranean commerce for the first time during this period. Evidently camels on a large scale had not been common to these regions until the fourth century, and it was not until several centuries later that their use in the Saharan trade
Trans-Saharan trade
Trans-Saharan trade requires travel across the Sahara to reach sub-Saharan Africa. While existing from prehistoric times, the peak of trade extended from the 8th century until the late 16th century.- Increasing desertification and economic incentive :...
became common. Now this long-distance overland trade began in earnest. The desert city of Sijilmasa
Sijilmasa
Sijilmasa was a medieval trade entrepôt at the northern edge of the Sahara Desert in Morocco. The ruins of the town lie along the River Ziz in the Tafilalt oasis near the town of Rissani...
near the Atlas mountains in the far west [maghrib al-aqsa] served as one of the primary trading junctions and entrepôts, e.g., for salt and gold. Regarding Ifriqiya, Wargla was the primary desert contact for Gafsa
Gafsa
Gafsa is the capital of Gafsa Governorate of Tunisia. Its name was appropriated by archaeologists for the Mesolithic Capsian culture. With a population of 84,676, it is the 9th Tunisian city.-Overview:...
and more distant Kairouan
Kairouan
Kairouan , also known as Kirwan or al-Qayrawan , is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia. Referred to as the Islamic Cultural Capital, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city was founded by the Arabs around 670...
. In addition, Ghadames
Ghadames
Ghadames or Ghadamis is an oasis town in the Nalut District of the Fezzan region in southwestern Libya.-Geography:Ghadames lies roughly to the southwest of Tripoli, near the borders with Algeria and Tunisia. Ghadames borders Illizi Province, Algeria and Tataouine Governorate, Tunisia.The oasis...
, Ghat
Ghat Municipality
Ghat is one of the districts of Libya. Its capital is Ghat.To the west, Ghat borders two provinces of Algeria: Tamanghasset in the far southwest, and Illizi Province otherwise. It also has a short border with the Agadez Department of Niger in the far south...
, and Tuat
Tuat
Tuat is a desert region in central Algeria that contains a string of small oases. In the past, the oases were important for caravans crossing the Sahara desert.-Geography:...
served as stops for the Saharan trade to Aghlabid Ifriqiya.
A prosperous economy permitted a refined and luxurious court life and the construction of the new palace cities of al-'Abbasiya (809), and Raqada (877), where were situated the new residences of the ruling emir. The architecture of Ifriqiya was later imitated further west in Fez
Fes
Fes or Fez is the second largest city of Morocco, after Casablanca, with a population of approximately 1 million . It is the capital of the Fès-Boulemane region....
, Tlemcen
Tlemcen
Tlemcen is a town in Northwestern Algeria, and the capital of the province of the same name. It is located inland in the center of a region known for its olive plantations and vineyards...
, and Bougie
Bougie
Bougie, Bougis or Bougy as a place name or surname may refer to:- Places :*Bougy , village, Département Calvados, Normandy, France*Bougy-lez-Neuville, village, Département Loiret, France...
. The location of these palace cities for Aghlabid government was purposely was outside of the sway of Kairouan, which city had become dominated by Muslim clerical institutions, which were independent of emir's control. Yet generally Ifriqiyah during the era under the Aghlabid Dynasty (799-909) for the most part continued its leading rôle in the region, in the newly-installed Muslim Maghrib, due generally to its peace and stability, recognized cultural achievements, and material prosperity.
Kharijite revolt
Rustamid
The Rustamid dynasty of Ibāḍī Kharijite imām that ruled the central Maghreb as a Muslim theocracy for a century and a half from their capital Tahert in present Algeria until the Ismailite Fatimid Caliphs destroyed it. The dynasty had a Persian origin...
state can be traced to the Berber Kharijite (Ar
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
: Khawarij) revolt (739-772) against the new Arab Sunni power that was being established across North Africa following the Islamic conquest. Originating in Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
, the Kharijite movement had begun in protest against the fourth caliph Ali
Ali
' |Ramaḍān]], 40 AH; approximately October 23, 598 or 600 or March 17, 599 – January 27, 661).His father's name was Abu Talib. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and ruled over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661, and was the first male convert to Islam...
, who consented to negotiate during a Muslim civil war
First Fitna
The First Islamic Civil War , also called the First Fitna , was the first major civil war within the Islamic Caliphate. It arose as a struggle over who had the legitimate right to become the ruling Caliph...
(656-661) despite his superior army in the field; as a result some of his armed forces left the camp, hence the movement of the Khawarij ["those who go out"]. Originally puritan in outlook, being of the ummah
Ummah
Ummah is an Arabic word meaning "community" or "nation." It is commonly used to mean either the collective nation of states, or the whole Arab world...
of Islam for a believer indicated a perfection of the soul, yet sin constituted a schism
Schism (religion)
A schism , from Greek σχίσμα, skhísma , is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization or movement religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a break of communion between two sections of Christianity that were previously a single body, or to a division within...
, a split from other believers, the sinner becoming an apostate. The leader must be above reproach, yet could be non-Arab. Never attaining lasting success, but persisting in its struggles, the Kharijite movement remains today only in its Ibadi
Ibadi
The Ibāḍī movement, Ibadism or Ibāḍiyya is a form of Islam distinct from the Sunni and Shia denominations. It is the dominant form of Islam in Oman and Zanzibar...
branch, with small minorities in isolated locales throughout the Muslim world. The Ibadis predominate in Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
.
In the Maghrib the un-Islamic tax policies imposed on the Muslim Berbers by the new Arab Islamic regime (levying the kharaj
Kharaj
In Islamic law, kharaj is a tax on agricultural land.Initially, after the first Muslim conquests in the 7th century, kharaj usually denoted a lump-sum duty levied upon the conquered provinces and collected by the officials of the former Byzantine and Sassanid empires or, more broadly, any kind of...
[land tax] and the jizya
Jizya
Under Islamic law, jizya or jizyah is a per capita tax levied on a section of an Islamic state's non-Muslim citizens, who meet certain criteria...
[poll tax] meant only for infidels) provoked a widespread armed resistance, which came to be led by Kharijite Berbers. The widespread struggle of this movement included victories, e.g., the "battle of the nobles" in 740. Later the Kharijites became divided and eventually were defeated after some decades. Arab historians remark that the 772 defeat of the Kharijite Berbers by an Abbasid army in battle near Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
was "the last of 375 battles" the Berbers had fought for their rights against armies from the East. Yet the Kharijites persisted under the Rustamids. Even until today across North Africa they practice still, small island communities of this religious minority within Islam.
Rustamid kingdom
A Kharijite remnant established a state (776-909) under the Rustamids, whose capital was at TahertTahert
Tiaret is a large town in the central Algeria, that gives its name to the wider farming region of 'Wilaya de Tiaret' province. Both the town and region lie south-west of the capital of Algiers in the western region of the central highlands, in the Tell Atlas, and about from the Mediterranean coast...
(located in the mountains southwest of modern Algiers). Apart from the lands surrounding Tahert, Rustamid territory consisted of largely the upland steppe or "pre-Sahara" that forms the frontier between the better watered coastal regions
Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub
Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, defined by the World Wildlife Fund, characterized by dry summers and rainy winters. Summers are typically hot in low-lying inland locations but can be cool near some seas, as near San Francisco, which have a sea of cool waters...
of the Maghrib and the arid Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
desert. As such, its territory extended in a narrow climatic
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
strip eastward as far as Tripolitania and Jebel Nefusa (in modern Libya). In between lay southern Ifriqiya, where Rustamid lands included the oases of the Djerid, with its chott
Chott
In geology, chott or shebka is a dry lake in the Saharan area of Africa that stays dry in the summer, but receives some water in the winter...
s (salt lakes), and the island of Djerba
Djerba
Djerba , also transliterated as Jerba or Jarbah, is, at 514 km², the largest island of North Africa, located in the Gulf of Gabes, off the coast of Tunisia.-Description:...
. The functionality of this elongated geography may be explained by the liberal nature of the Rustamid government: "[T]he imam did not so much rule or govern the surrounding tribes as preside over them, his authority being recognized rather than imposed and his mediation in disputes willingly sought." As such this Rustamids territory ran from Tlemcen
Tlemcen
Tlemcen is a town in Northwestern Algeria, and the capital of the province of the same name. It is located inland in the center of a region known for its olive plantations and vineyards...
in the west to Jebel Nefusa in the east.
The peoples of this climatic zone of the pre-Sahara began to be called the Arzuges in the 3rd century by the Roman legio III Augusta
Legio III Augusta
Legio tertia Augusta was raised in the year 43 BCE most likely by the consul Gaius Vibius Pansa and the emperor Augustus who served the Roman Empire in North Africa until at least the late 4th century CE. It is possible that it fought in the battle of Philippi against the murderers of Caesar...
of Africa province. The Roman military authorities insulated Arzugitana from rule by the coastal cities. The fall of Rome "offered unprecedented opportunites for the communities of the pre-Sahara zone and their political elites, and may be seen as a period of renaissance in the region, at least in the political sphere." The Arzuges managed to recover their autonomy.
"Subsequently neither the Vandal monarchy nor the East Roman exarchate appear to have re-established direct rule over the Tripolitanian hinterland. Instead the communities of the pre-desert wadis and Jebel ranges may have been absorbed in a larger tribal confederation variously labeled the Laguatan, Levathae or, in the Arabic sources, the Lawata.
"The existence of labels such as Gaetuli and Arzuges thus reflects a longstanding and distinct sense of identity amongst the inhabitants of the pre-Saharan zone, which probably underwent a revival in late Antiquity. The support for the Ibadi movement shown by the communities of the Jebel Nefusa and the Jerid oases in the heart of the former Arzugitana suggests that this regional sense of identity and consequent desire for autonomy were maintained into the early medieval period and acquired a new emblematic marker in the adoption of the Ibadi faith. Indeed Savage suggests that many of the 'tribal' groups which figure in the sources in this period, notably the Nefusa, may represent alliances of disparate communities which coalesced at this very time in response to the catalyst provided by the egalitatian Ibadi message and were retrospectively legitimized with a genealogical tribal framework."
The Arab Aghlabid emirate in Ifriqiya remained the dominant state in the region, and the Rustamid's neighbors. Nonetheless the Aghlabids proved unable to dislodge these remnant Kharijites. Soon they were obliged to recognize Rustamid rule in the pre-Sahara region of the eastern Maghrib. In Hispania now transformed into al-Andalus, the Emirs of Córdoba welcomed the presence of the Rustamids Berbers as natural allies against the Aghlabids, whom Umayyad
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major Arab caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the...
Córdoba considered Abbasid
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....
agents.
Tahert was economically well situated, as it formed an entrepot
Entrepôt
An entrepôt is a trading post where merchandise can be imported and exported without paying import duties, often at a profit. This profit is possible because of trade conditions, for example, the reluctance of ships to travel the entire length of a long trading route, and selling to the entrepôt...
for trade between the Mediterranean coastlands and the Sahara. During the summer Tahert became the market place where the pastoralist of the desert and steppe exchanged their animal produce for the local grains harvested by sedentary farmers. As the most prominent Khawarij center, it attracted immigrants from across the Islamic world, including Persia the home of its founder. Christians also found welcome. Yet in another sense behavioral tolerance was slim; "life at Tahert was conducted in a permanent state of religious fevor."
The founder Ibn Rustam (r.776-784) took the title of Imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
. While in theory elected by elders, in practice the Imam was an hereditary office. The constitution was theocratic. The Imam was both a political and a religious leader. Islamic law was strictly applied. "[A]dulterers were stoned, the hands of thieves were cut off, and in war pillage and the massacring of non-warriors were not permitted." The Imam managed the state, law and justice, prayers, and charity. He collected zakah ["alms"] at harvest and distributed it to the poor and for public works. He appointed the qadi
Qadi
Qadi is a judge ruling in accordance with Islamic religious law appointed by the ruler of a Muslim country. Because Islam makes no distinction between religious and secular domains, qadis traditionally have jurisdiction over all legal matters involving Muslims...
(judge), the treasurer, and the police chief. The Imam was expected to lead an ascetic life and be an able theologian. He was also expected to be astute, as civic conflicts might develop into religious schism. Yet opposing parties in disputes often submitted the matter to mediation. The Khawarij remained tolerant toward "unbelievers".
The remaining Christians of the region (called Afariqa or Ajam by Muslim Arabs) could find a tolerant home in Rustamid Tahert, where their community was known as the Majjana. This acceptance "might explain the growth of Ibadi communities in area where there is also evidence for the persistence of Christianity." Yet here, given the continuing defense of Rustamid autonomy against "the depredations of the central power" the Aghlabids, the choice to convert to Islam was sometimes "as much a political as a religious act."
The Rustamids endured about as long at the Aghlibid emirate; both states declined, and fell to the Fatimids during 909. Kharijites surviving from the Rustamid era eventually became Ibadi
Ibadi
The Ibāḍī movement, Ibadism or Ibāḍiyya is a form of Islam distinct from the Sunni and Shia denominations. It is the dominant form of Islam in Oman and Zanzibar...
s. For the most part, they now reside in the Djebel Nefousa (western Libya), in the Mzab and at Wargla (eastern Algeria), and on Djerba
Djerba
Djerba , also transliterated as Jerba or Jarbah, is, at 514 km², the largest island of North Africa, located in the Gulf of Gabes, off the coast of Tunisia.-Description:...
island in Tunisia.
Fatimids: Shi'a Caliphate
Nearby to the west of Ifriqiya, the newly emerging FatimidFatimid
The Fatimid Islamic Caliphate or al-Fāṭimiyyūn was a Berber Shia Muslim caliphate first centered in Tunisia and later in Egypt that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz from 5 January 909 to 1171.The caliphate was ruled by the Fatimids, who established the...
movement grew in strength and numbers. Thereafter the Fatimids began to launch frequent attacks on the Aghlabid regime. Such militant aggression provoked general unrest and increased Aghlabid political instability. The Fatimids eventually managed to capture Kairouan in 909, forcing the last of theb Aghlabid line, Ziyadat Allah III, to evacuate the palace at Raqadda. Concurrently the Rustamid
Rustamid
The Rustamid dynasty of Ibāḍī Kharijite imām that ruled the central Maghreb as a Muslim theocracy for a century and a half from their capital Tahert in present Algeria until the Ismailite Fatimid Caliphs destroyed it. The dynasty had a Persian origin...
state was overthrown. On the east coast of Ifriqiaya facing Egypt, the Fatimids built a new capital on top of ancient ruins, calling the seaport Mahdiya
Mahdia
Mahdia is a provincial centre north of Sfax. It is important for the associated fish-processing industry, as well as weaving. It is the capital of Mahdia Governorate.- History :...
after their mahdi.
Maghribi Origin
Bougie
Bougie, Bougis or Bougy as a place name or surname may refer to:- Places :*Bougy , village, Département Calvados, Normandy, France*Bougy-lez-Neuville, village, Département Loiret, France...
, eastern Algeria). The two founders of the movement were recent immigrants from the Islamic east: Abu 'Abdulla ash-Shi'i, originally from San'a in al-Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
; and, arriving from Salamiyah
Salamiyah
thumb|200px|A full view of Shmemis .Salamiyah is a city and district in western Syria, in the Hama Governorate. It is located 33 km southeast of Hama, 45 km northeast of Homs...
in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, 'Ubaidalla Sa'id. These two were religious dissidents who had come west to al-Magrib specifically to propagate their beliefs. The later, 'Ubaidalla Sa'id, claimed descent from Fatimah
Fatimah
Fatimah was a daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad from his first wife Khadijah bint Khuwaylid. She is regarded by Muslims as an exemplar for men and women. She remained at her father's side through the difficulties suffered by him at the hands of the Quraysh of Mecca...
the daughter of the prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
; he was to proclaim himself the Fatimid Mahdi
Mahdi
In Islamic eschatology, the Mahdi is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will stay on Earth for seven, nine or nineteen years- before the Day of Judgment and, alongside Jesus, will rid the world of wrongdoing, injustice and tyranny.In Shia Islam, the belief in the Mahdi is a "central religious...
. Their religious affiliation was the Ismaili
Ismaili
' is a branch of Shia Islam. It is the second largest branch of Shia Islam, after the Twelvers...
branch of the Shia.
By agreement, the first of the two founders to arrive (circa 893) was Abu 'Abdulla ash-Shi'i
Abu 'Abdullah Al-Husayn Al-Shi'i
Abu 'Abdullah al-Husayn ibn Ahmad ibn Zakariyya al-Shi'i was a Da'i for the Isma'ilis in Yemen and North Africa mainly among the Kutama Berbers, whose teachings influenced the rise of the Fatimid dynasty.He was born in Kufa in Iraq and was active in the...
, the Ismaili Da'i or propagandist. He found welcome in the hostility against the Caliphate
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
freely expressed by the Kotama Berbers. After his success in recruitment and in building the organization, Abu 'Abdulla was ready in 902 to send for 'Ubaidalla Sa'ed, who (after adventures and Aghlibid imprisonment in Sijilmasa
Sijilmasa
Sijilmasa was a medieval trade entrepôt at the northern edge of the Sahara Desert in Morocco. The ruins of the town lie along the River Ziz in the Tafilalt oasis near the town of Rissani...
) arrived in 910. 'Ubaidall Sa'ed then proclaimed himself Mahdi, literally "the guided one", an august Islamic title of supreme command, taking the name Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah
Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah
Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah , often referred to as Ubayd Allah, is the founder of the Fatimid dynasty, the only major Shi'a caliphate in Islam, and established Fatimid rule throughout much of North Africa.- History :...
. He assumed leadership of the movement. Thereafter Abu 'Abdulla was killed in a dispute over control.
From the start the Shi'a Fatimid movement had been focused on expansion eastward toward the heartland of Islam. Soon the new Mahdi ordered an attack on Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
by a Fatimid army of Kotama Berbers led by his son al-Qa'im, once in 914, and again in 919; the Fatimids quickly took Alexandria, but both times lost it back to the Sunni Abbasids. Probing for weakness, the Mahdi then sent an invasion westward, but his forces met with mixed results. Many Sunnis, including the Umayyad Caliph of al-Andalus
Caliphate of Córdoba
The Caliphate of Córdoba ruled the Iberian peninsula and part of North Africa, from the city of Córdoba, from 929 to 1031. This period was characterized by remarkable success in trade and culture; many of the masterpieces of Islamic Iberia were constructed in this period, including the famous...
and the Zenata Berber kingdom
Maghrawa
The Maghrawa or Meghrawa were a Berber tribe in Morocco and central and western Algeria.-History:The Meghrawa, a tribe of Zanata Berbers, were one of the first Berber tribes to submit to Islam in the 7th century. They supported Uqba ibn Nafi in his campaign to the Atlantic in 683...
in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, effectively opposed him because of his Ismaili Shi'a affiliation. The Mahdi did not follow Maliki
Maliki
The ' madhhab is one of the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. It is the second-largest of the four schools, followed by approximately 25% of Muslims, mostly in North Africa, West Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and in some parts of Saudi Arabia...
law; he taxed harshly, incurring further resentment. His capital Mahdiya was more a fort than a princely city. The Maghrib was disrupted, being contested between the Zenata
Zenata
Zenata were an ethnic group of North Africa, who were technically an Eastern Berber group and who are found in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco....
in the west and the Sanhaja
Sanhaja
The Sanhaja or Senhaja were once one of the largest Berber tribal confederations of the Maghreb, along with the Zanata and Masmuda...
who favored the Fatimids. Yet eventually Fatimid authority spread to most of al-Magrib.
After the death of the Mahdi, there came the popular Kharijite revolt of 935, under Abu Yazid
Abu Yazid
Abū Yazīd Mukhallad ibn Kayrād , nicknamed Ṣāhib al-Himār "Possessor of the donkey", was a Kharijite Berber of the Banu Ifran tribe who led a rebellion against the Fatimids in Ifriqiya starting in 944...
(nicknamed Abu Himara, "the man on a donkey"). Abu Yazid was known to ride about clad in common clothes accompanied by his wife and four sons. This Berber revolt, centering on a social justice appeal with respect to Kharijite ideals, gathered a wide following; by 943 it was said to be spreading confusion far and wide. The Mahdi's son, the Fatimid caliph al-Qa'im, became besieged in his capital Mahdiya. The situation appeared desperate when a relief column led by Ziri ibn Manad
Ziri ibn Manad
Ziri ibn Manad was founder of the Zirid dynasty in the Maghreb.Ziri ibn Manad was a clan leader of the Berber Sanhaja tribe who, as an ally of the Fatimids, defeated the rebellion of Abu Yazid...
broke through the siege with supplies and reinforcements for the Fatimids. Eventually Abu Yazid lost much of his following and in 946 was defeated in battle; this was the work of the son of al-Qa'im, the next Fatimid caliph, Ishmail, who accordingly took the sobriquet Mansur, the "victor". Mansur then moved his residence and his government to Kairouan
Kairouan
Kairouan , also known as Kirwan or al-Qayrawan , is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia. Referred to as the Islamic Cultural Capital, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city was founded by the Arabs around 670...
. Fatimid rule continued to be under attack by Sunni power to the west, i.e., the Umayyad Caliphate in Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
. Nonetheless the Fatimids prospered.
Conquest of Egypt
Ikhshidid dynasty
The Ikhshidid dynasty of Egypt ruled from 935 to 969. The dynasty carried the Arabic title "Wali" reflecting their position as governors on behalf of the Abbasids, the first governor was Muhammad bin Tughj Al-Ikhshid, a Turkic slave soldier, who was installed by the Abbasid Caliph and gave him and...
; however, actual control had passed into the strong hands of the Ethiopian eunuch Abu-l-Misk Kafur for 22 years. At Kafur's death in 968, Egypt's leadership became weak and confused. The Fatimids in Ifriqiya, carefully observing these conditions in Misr (Egypt), ceased the opportunity to conquer.
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
) ["the victorius" or the "city of Mars"]. In 970 the Fatimids also founded the world famous al-Azhar mosque
Al-Azhar Mosque
Al-Azhar Mosque is a mosque in Islamic Cairo in Egypt. Al-Mu‘izz li-Dīn Allāh of the Fatimid Caliphate commissioned its construction for the newly established capital city in 970. Its name is usually thought to allude to the Islamic prophet Muhammad's daughter Fatimah, a revered figure in Islam...
, which later became the leading Sunni theological center. Three years later al-Mu'izz the Fatimid caliph decided to leave Ifriqiyah for Egypt, which he did, taking everything, "his treasures, his administrative staff, and the coffins of his predecessors." This al-Mu'izz was highly educated, wrote Arabic poetry, had mastered Berber, studied Greek, and delighted in literature; he was also a very capable ruler and it was he who founded Fatimid power in Egypt. Once centered there the Fatimids expanded their possessions further, northeast to Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and southeast to Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
and Medina
Medina
Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
, while retaining control of North Africa. From Cairo the Fatimids were to enjoy relative success, reigning until 1171. They became for a time the foremost power of Islam; they never returned to Ifriqiyah. Meanwhile the Kotama Berbers, wornout from their conflicts on behalf of the Fatimids, disappeared from the streets of al-Qahira, and thereafter also from the life of al-Maghrib.
The western lands of the Fatimids were assigned to Berber vassals who continued in name the Shi'a caliphate rule. The first chosen ruler was Buluggin ibn Ziri
Buluggin ibn Ziri
Bologhine ibn Ziri was the first ruler of the Zirids in Ifriqiya .Bologhine was already given responsibility under the governorship of his father Ziri ibn Manad, during which time he founded the cities of Algiers, Miliana and Médéa. After Ziri's death in battle against renegade Berbers, Bologhine...
, son of Ziri ibn Manad
Ziri ibn Manad
Ziri ibn Manad was founder of the Zirid dynasty in the Maghreb.Ziri ibn Manad was a clan leader of the Berber Sanhaja tribe who, as an ally of the Fatimids, defeated the rebellion of Abu Yazid...
(died 971), the Sanhaja
Sanhaja
The Sanhaja or Senhaja were once one of the largest Berber tribal confederations of the Maghreb, along with the Zanata and Masmuda...
Berber chieftain who had saved the Fatimids when besieged in Mahdiya by Abu Yazid (see above). The Zirid
Zirid
The Zirid dynasty were a Sanhadja Berber dynasty, originating in modern Algeria, initially on behalf of the Fatimids, for about two centuries, until weakened by the Banu Hilal and finally destroyed by the Almohads. Their capital was Kairouan...
dynasty would eventually become the sovereign power in Ifiqiya.
See also
- History of ancient TunisiaHistory of ancient TunisiaHistory of ancient Tunisia has been divided into three articles:*Early History of Tunisia**Berber background**Accounts of the Berbers**Ancient Berber religion**Berber tribal affiliations**Berber language history**Sea traders from the east...
- Umayyad conquest of North AfricaUmayyad conquest of North AfricaThe Umayyad conquest of North Africa continued the century of rapid Arab Muslim expansion following the death of Muhammad in 632 CE. By 640 the Arabs controlled Mesopotamia, had invaded Armenia, and were concluding their conquest of Byzantine Syria. Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad caliphate....
- IfriqiyaIfriqiyaIn medieval history, Ifriqiya or Ifriqiyah was the area comprising the coastal regions of what are today western Libya, Tunisia, and eastern Algeria. This area included what had been the Roman province of Africa, whose name it inherited....
- AghlabidAghlabidThe Aghlabids were a dynasty of emirs, members of the Arab tribe of Bani Tamim, who ruled Ifriqiya, nominally on behalf of the Abbasid Caliph, for about a century, until overthrown by the new power of the Fatimid.-History:...
dynasty - Fatimid Caliphate
- Zirid dynasty
- Almohad dynasty
- Hafsid dynastyHafsid dynastyThe Hafsids were a Berber dynasty ruling Ifriqiya from 1229 to 1574. Their territories were stretched from east of modern Algeria to west of modern Libya during their zenith.-History:...
- Ibn KhaldunIbn KhaldunIbn Khaldūn or Ibn Khaldoun was an Arab Tunisian historiographer and historian who is often viewed as one of the forerunners of modern historiography, sociology and economics...
- History of modern TunisiaHistory of modern TunisiaIn its modern history, Tunisia has become a sovereign republic, called the al-Jumhuriyyah at-Tunisiyyah. Tunisia has over ten million citizens, almost all of Arab-Berber descent. The Mediterranean Sea is to the north and east, Libya to the southeast, and Algeria to the west. Tunis is the capital...