Editing History of Algeria (section)

==== 14th century ====
For most of its history the kingdom was on the defensive, threatened by stronger states to the east and the west. The nomadic Arabs to the south also took advantage of the frequent periods of weakness to raid the centre and take control of pastures in the south.

The city of Tlemcen was several times attacked or besieged by the [[Marinid dynasty|Marinids]], and large parts of the kingdom were occupied by them for several decades in the fourteenth century.{{sfn|Niane|1984|p=93}}

[[File:Colonnes_provenant_de_la_mosquée_de_Mansourah.JPG|left|thumb|Ruins of the [[Mansourah Mosque|Mansura Mosque]], begun by the Marinids in 1303 during their siege of Tlemcen<ref name="Bloom-2020">{{Cite book |last=Bloom |first=Jonathan M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IRHbDwAAQBAJ |title=Architecture of the Islamic West: North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, 700-1800 |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2020 |isbn=9780300218701 |page=185}}</ref>]]
The Marinid [[Abu Yaqub Yusuf an-Nasr]] besieged Tlemcen from 1299 to 1307. During the siege he built a new town, al-Mansura, diverting most of the trade to this town.{{sfn|Niane|1984|p=94}} The new city was fortified and had a mosque, baths and palaces. The siege was raised when Abu Yakub was murdered in his sleep by one of his eunuchs.{{sfn|Tarabulsi|2006|p=84}}

When the Marinids left in 1307, the Zayyanids promptly destroyed al-Mansura.{{sfn|Niane|1984|p=94}} The Zayyanid king Abu Zayyan I died in 1308 and was succeeded by [[Abu Hammu I]] (r. 1308–1318). Abu Hammu was later killed in a conspiracy instigated by his son and heir [[Abu Tashufin I]] (r. 1318–1337). The reigns of Abu Hammu I and Abu Tashufin I marked the second apogee of the Zayyanids, a period during which they consolidated their hegemony in the central Maghreb.<ref name="Messier-2009"/> Tlemcen recovered its trade and its population grew, reaching about 100,000 by around the 1330s.{{sfn|Niane|1984|p=94}} Abu Tashufin initiated hostilities against Ifriqiya while the Marinids were distracted by their internal struggles. He besieged [[Béjaïa]] and sent an army into Tunisia that defeated the Hafsid king [[Abu Yahya Abu Bakr II]], who fled to [[Constantine, Algeria|Constantine]] while the Zayyanids occupied [[Tunis]] in 1325.{{sfn|Tarabulsi|2006|p=84}}<ref name="Dhina-1984">[https://books.google.com/books?id=o3SRAAAAIAAJ&q=prit+tunis+1325 Les états de l'Occident musulman aux XIIIe, XIVe et XVe siècles: institutions gouvernementales et administratives] Atallah Dhina Office des Publications Universitaires,</ref><ref name="Slim-2003">[https://books.google.com/books?id=qpdyAAAAMAAJ&q=tashfin+1325 Histoire générale de la Tunisie, Volume 2] Hédi Slim, Ammar Mahjoubi, Khaled Belkhodja, Hichem Djaït, Abdelmajid Ennabli Sud éditions,</ref>

The Marinid sultan [[Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Othman|Abu al-Hasan]] (r. 1331–1348) cemented an alliance with Hafsids by marrying a Hafsid princess. Upon being attacked by the Zayyanids again, the Hafsids appealed to Abu al-Hasan for help, providing him with an excuse to invade his neighbour.{{sfn|Fage|Oliver|1975|p=357}} The Marinid sultan initiated a siege of Tlemcen in 1335 and the city fell in 1337.{{sfn|Niane|1984|p=94}} Abu Tashufin died during the fighting.{{sfn|Tarabulsi|2006|p=84}} Abu al-Hasan received delegates from Egypt, Granada, Tunis and Mali congratulating him on his victory, by which he had gained complete control of the trans-Saharan trade.{{sfn|Fage|Oliver|1975|p=357}} In 1346 the Hafsid Sultan, Abu Bakr, died and a dispute over the succession ensued. In 1347 Abu al-Hasan annexed Ifriqiya, briefly reuniting the Maghrib territories as they had been under the Almohads.{{sfn|Fage|Oliver|1975|p=358}}

However, Abu al-Hasan went too far in attempting to impose more authority over the Arab tribes, who revolted and in April 1348 defeated his army near [[Kairouan]]. His son, [[Abu Inan Faris]], who had been serving as governor of Tlemcen, returned to Fez and declared that he was sultan. Tlemcen and the central Maghreb revolted.{{sfn|Fage|Oliver|1975|p=358}} The Zayyanid [[Abu Thabit I]] (1348-1352) was proclaimed king of Tlemcen.{{sfn|Tarabulsi|2006|p=84}} Abu al-Hasan had to return from Ifriqiya by sea. After failing to retake Tlemcen and being defeated by his son, Abu al-Hasan died in May 1351.{{sfn|Fage|Oliver|1975|p=358}} In 1352 Abu Inan Faris recaptured Tlemcen. He also reconquered the central Maghreb. He took [[Béjaïa]] in 1353 and [[Tunis]] in 1357, becoming master of Ifriqiya. In 1358 he was forced to return to Fez due to Arab opposition, where he fell sick and was killed.{{sfn|Fage|Oliver|1975|p=358}}

The Zayyanid king [[Abu Hammu Musa II]] (r. 1359–1389) next took the throne of Tlemcen. He pursued an expansionist policy, pushing towards Fez in the west and into the [[Chelif River|Chelif]] valley and Béjaïa in the east.{{sfn|Niane|1984|p=93}} He had a long reign punctuated by fighting against the Marinids or various rebel groups.{{sfn|Tarabulsi|2006|p=84}} The Marinids reoccupied Tlemcen in 1360 and in 1370.<ref name=qantara/> In both cases, the Marinids found they were unable to hold the region against local resistance.{{sfn|Hrbek|1997|pp=39}} Abu Hammu attacked the Hafsids in Béjaïa again in 1366, but this resulted in Hafsid intervention in the kingdom's affairs. The Hafsid sultan released Abu Hammu's cousin, Abu Zayyan, and helped him in laying claim to the Zayyanid throne. This provoked an internecine war between the two Zayyanids until 1378, when Abu Hammu finally captured Abu Zayyan in Algiers.{{sfn|Abun-Nasr|1987|p=141}}

The historian [[Ibn Khaldun]] lived in Tlemcen for a period during the generally prosperous reign of Abu Hammu Musa II, and helped him in negotiations with the nomadic Arabs. He said of this period, "Here [in Tlemcen] science and arts developed with success; here were born scholars and outstanding men, whose glory penetrated into other countries." Abu Hammu was deposed by his son, Abu Tashfin II (1389–94), and the state went into decline.{{sfn|Niane|1984|p=95}}