Editing History of Algeria (section)

== Medieval Muslim Algeria ==
{{main|Medieval Muslim Algeria}}
From the 8th century [[Umayyad conquest of North Africa]] led by [[Musa bin Nusayr]], Arab colonization started. The 11th century invasion of migrants from the Arabian peninsula brought oriental tribal customs. The introduction of [[Islam]] and [[Arabic language|Arabic]] had a profound impact on North Africa. The new religion and language introduced changes in social and economic relations, and established links with the Arab world through acculturation and assimilation.

The second Arab military expeditions into the Maghreb, between 642 and 669, resulted in the spread of Islam. The [[Umayyad dynasty|Umayyads]] (a Muslim dynasty based in Damascus from 661 to 750) recognised that the strategic necessity of dominating the Mediterranean dictated a concerted military effort on the North African front. By 711 Umayyad forces helped by Berber converts to Islam had conquered all of North Africa. In 750 the [[Abbasids]] succeeded the Umayyads as Muslim rulers and moved the [[caliphate]] to [[Baghdad]]. Under the Abbasids, Berber [[Kharijites]] [[Sufri]] [[Banu Ifran]] were opposed to [[Umayyad]] and [[Abbasids]]. After, the [[Rustumids]] (761–909) actually ruled most of the central Maghrib from [[Tahirt]], southwest of Algiers. The imams gained a reputation for honesty, piety, and justice, and the court of Tahirt was noted for its support of scholarship. The Rustumid imams failed, however, to organise a reliable standing army, which opened the way for Tahirt's demise under the assault of the [[Fatimid dynasty]].

The Fatimids left the rule of most of Algeria to the [[Zirids]] and [[Hammadid]] (972–1148), a Berber dynasty that centered significant local power in Algeria for the first time, but who were still at war with [[Banu Ifran]] (kingdom of [[Tlemcen]]) and [[Maghrawa|Maghraoua]] (942-1068).<ref>Ibn Khaldun, History of Berber, party Zenata and Sanhadja</ref> This period was marked by constant conflict, political instability, and economic decline. Following a large incursion of Arab Bedouin from Egypt beginning in the first half of the 11th century, the use of Arabic spread to the countryside, and sedentary Berbers were gradually Arabised.

The [[Almoravid]] ("those who have made a religious retreat") movement developed early in the 11th century among the Sanhaja Berbers of southern Morocco. The movement's initial impetus was religious, an attempt by a tribal leader to impose moral discipline and strict adherence to Islamic principles on followers. But the Almoravid movement shifted to engaging in military conquest after 1054. By 1106, the Almoravids had conquered the Maghreb as far east as Algiers and [[Morocco]], and Spain up to the [[Ebro River]].

Like the Almoravids, the [[Almohads]] ("unitarians") found their inspiration in [[Almohad reforms|Islamic reform]]. The Almohads took control of Morocco by 1146, captured Algiers around 1151, and by 1160 had completed the conquest of the central Maghrib. The zenith of Almohad power occurred between 1163 and 1199. For the first time, the Maghrib was united under a local regime, but the continuing wars in Spain overtaxed the resources of the Almohads, and in the Maghrib their position was compromised by factional strife and a renewal of tribal warfare.

In the central Maghrib, the [[Abdalwadid]] founded a dynasty that ruled the [[Kingdom of Tlemcen]] in Algeria. For more than 300 years, until the region came under Ottoman suzerainty in the 16th century, the Zayanids kept a tenuous hold in the central Maghrib. Many coastal cities asserted their autonomy as municipal republics governed by merchant oligarchies, tribal chieftains from the surrounding countryside, or the privateers who operated out of their ports. Nonetheless, [[Tlemcen]], the "pearl of the Maghrib," prospered as a commercial center.

=== Berber dynasties ===
According to historians of the Middle Ages, the Berbers were divided into two branches, both going back to their ancestors Mazigh. The two branches, called Botr and Barnès were divided into tribes, and each Maghreb region is made up of several tribes. The large Berber tribes or peoples are [[Sanhaja]], [[Houara]], [[Zenata]], [[Masmuda]], [[Kutama]], [[Awarba]], [[Barghawata]] ... etc. Each tribe is divided into sub tribes. All these tribes had independent and territorial decisions.<ref name="ReferenceC">{{cite book |last1=Khaldūn |first1=Ibn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3RBAAAAIAAJ&q=in+khaldoun&pg=PR2 |title=Histoire des Berbères et des dynasties musulmanes de l'Afrique Septentrionale - Ibn Khaldūn - Google Livres |year=1852 |language=fr |access-date=2012-12-25}}</ref>

Several Berber dynasties emerged during the Middle Ages: - In North and West Africa, in Spain ([[al-Andalus]]), [[Sicily]], Egypt, as well as in the southern part of the Sahara, in modern-day Mali, Niger, and Senegal. The medieval historian [[Ibn Khaldun]] described the follying Berber dynasties: [[Zirid dynasty|Zirid]], [[Banu Ifran]], [[Maghrawa]], [[Almoravid dynasty|Almoravid]], [[Hammadid dynasty|Hammadid]], [[Almohad Caliphate]], [[Marinid dynasty|Marinid]], [[Zayyanid dynasty|Zayyanid]], [[Wattasid dynasty|Wattasid]], [[Meknes]], [[Hafsid dynasty]], [[Fatimid Caliphate|Fatimids]].<ref name="ReferenceC" />

The invasion of the [[Banu Hilal]] [[Arab]] tribes in the 11th century sacked [[Kairouan]], and the area under [[Zirid dynasty|Zirid]] control was reduced to the coastal region, and the Arab conquests fragmented into petty [[Bedouin]] [[emirate]]s.{{efn|On the Banu Hilal invasion, see Ibn Khaldoun (v.1).}}

=== Maghrawa Dynasty ===
{{main|Maghrawid Dynasty}}The Maghrawa or Meghrawa ([[Arabic language|Arabic]]: '''المغراويون''') were a large [[Zenata]] [[Berber people|Berber]] tribal [[confederation]] whose cradle and seat of power was the territory located on the [[Chlef]] in the north-western part of today's [[Algeria]], bounded by the [[Ouarsenis]] to the south, the [[Mediterranean Sea]] to the north and [[Tlemcen]] to the west. They ruled these areas on behalf of the ''[[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad]]'' [[Caliphate of Cordoba]] at the end of the 10th century and during the first half of the 11th century. The [[Maghrawa]] confederation of [[Zenata|zanata]] Berbers supposedly originated in the region of modern [[Algeria]] between Tlemcen and Tenes.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Park |first1=Thomas K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8KiCl5-MxMMC |title=Historical Dictionary of Morocco |last2=Boum |first2=Aomar |date=2006-01-16 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-6511-2 |language=en}}</ref>[[File:Maghrawa Dynasty.jpg|thumb|Lands controlled by the Maghrawa in the first half of the 11th century]]The confederation of Maghrawa were the majority people of the central Maghreb among the [[Zenata]] ([[Gaetuli]]). Both nomadic and sedentary, the Maghrawa lived under the command of Maghrawa chiefs or Zenata. Algiers has been the territory of the Maghrawa since ancient times.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mercier |first=Ernest |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IX_LQF1FcCEC |title=Histoire de l'Afrique Septentrionale (Berbérie) Depuis les Temps les Plus Reculés Jusqu'à la Conquête Française (1830) |year=1999 |publisher=Adegi Graphics LLC |isbn=978-1-4212-5345-9 |language=fr}}</ref> The name Maghrawa was transcribed into Greek by historians. The great kingdom of the Maghrawa was located between Algiers, [[Cherchell]], Ténès, Chlef, Miliana and [[Médéa]]. The Maghrawa imposed their domination in the Aurès.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mercier |first=Ernest |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IX_LQF1FcCEC&pg=PA187 |title=Histoire de l'Afrique Septentrionale (Berbérie) Depuis les Temps les Plus Reculés Jusqu'à la Conquête Française (1830) |year=1999 |publisher=Adegi Graphics LLC |isbn=978-1-4212-5345-9 |language=fr}}</ref><sup>[''[[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers#Chronological items|when?]]'']</sup> Chlef and its surroundings were populated by the Maghrawa according to [[Ibn Khaldun]].<ref name="Ibn Khaldoun">Ibn Khaldoun, History of Berber</ref> The Maghrawa settled and extended their domination throughout the [[Dahra Range|Dahra]] and beyond Miliana to the [[Tafna Beni Saf|Tafna wadi]] near Tlemcen,<sup>[''[[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers#Chronological items|when?]]'']</sup> and were found as far away as [[Mali]].<sup>[''[[Wikipedia:Citation needed|citation needed]]'']</sup>

The Maghrawa were one of the first Berber tribes to submit to [[Islam]] in the 7th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ilahiane |first=Hsain |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aRYuDgAAQBAJ |title=Historical Dictionary of the Berbers (Imazighen) |date=2017-03-27 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4422-8182-0 |language=en}}</ref> They supported [[Uqba ibn Nafi]] in his campaign to the [[Atlantic]] in 683. They defected from [[Sunni Islam]] and became [[Kharijites|Kharijite]] Muslims from the 8th century, and allied first with the [[Idrisid]]s, and, from the 10th century on, with the [[Caliphate of Córdoba|Umayyads of Córdoba]] in [[Al-Andalus]]. As a result, they were caught up in the Umayyad-[[Fatimid]] conflict in [[Morocco]] and [[Algeria]]. Although they won a victory over the allies of the Fatimids in 924, they soon allied with them. When they switched back to the side of Córdoba, the [[Zirids]] briefly took control over most of Morocco,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Naylor |first=Phillip C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rN-EBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA84 |title=North Africa, Revised Edition: A History from Antiquity to the Present |date=2015-01-15 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-0-292-76190-2 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Ibn Khaldoun" /> and ruled on behalf of the Fatimids. In 976/977 the Maghrawa conquered Sijilmasa from the [[Midrarid dynasty|Banu Midrar]],<ref name="Boum-2016">{{Cite book |last1=Boum |first1=Aomar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=glgzDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA319 |title=Historical Dictionary of Morocco |last2=Park |first2=Thomas K. |date=2016-06-02 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4422-6297-3 |language=en}}</ref> and in 980 were able to drive the [[Miknasa]] out of [[Sijilmasa]] as well.<ref name="Ibn Khaldoun" />

The Maghrawa reached their peak under [[Ziri ibn Atiyya]] (to 1001), who achieved supremacy in [[Fez, Morocco|Fez]] under Umayyad [[suzerainty]], and expanded their territory at the expense of the [[Banu Ifran]] in the northern Maghreb – another Zenata tribe whose alliances had shifted often between the Fatimids and the Umayyads of Córdoba.<ref name="Golvin-1957">{{Cite book |last=Golvin |first=Lucien |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y6YwAAAAMAAJ |title=Le Magrib central à l'époque des Zirides: recherches d'archéologie et d'histoire |date=1957 |publisher=Arts et métiers graphiques |language=fr}}</ref> Ziri ibn Atiyya conquered as much as he could of what is now northern Morocco and was able to achieve supremacy in Fez by 987.<ref name="Boum-2016"/> In 989 he defeated his enemy, Abu al-Bahār, which resulted in Ziri ruling from [[M'zab|Zab]] to [[Sous]] Al-Aqsa, in 991 achieving supremacy in the western Maghreb.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1kgMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA141 |title=Histoire des souverains du Maghreb (Espagne et Maroc) et annales de la ville de Fès |date=1860 |publisher=Impr. Impériale |language=fr}}</ref><ref name="Boum-2016"/> As a result of his victory he was invited to Córdoba by [[Almanzor|Ibn Abi 'Amir al-Mansur]] (also [[Latinisation of names|Latinized]] as Almanzor), the [[regent]] of Caliph [[Hisham II]] and ''de facto'' ruler of the Caliphate of Córdoba.<ref name="Ibn Khaldoun" /> Ziri brought many gifts and Al-Mansur housed him in a lavish palace, but Ziri soon returned to North Africa.<ref name="Kennedy-2014">{{Cite book |last=Kennedy |first=Hugh |url=https://openlibrary.org/books/OL38289098M/Muslim_Spain_and_Portugal |title=Muslim Spain and Portugal: A Political History of Al-Andalus |date=2014 |publisher=Taylor & Francis Group |isbn=978-1-317-87041-8|ol=38289098M }}</ref><ref name="Golvin-1957" /> The Banu Ifran took advantage of his absence and, under Yaddū, managed to capture Fez.<ref name="Ibn Khaldoun" /><sup>[''[[Wikipedia:Citing sources#What information to include|full citation needed]]'']</sup> After a bloody struggle, Ziri reconquered Fez in 993 and displayed Yaddū's severed head on its walls.<sup>[''[[Wikipedia:Citation needed|citation needed]]'']</sup>

A period of peace followed, in which Ziri founded the city of [[Oujda]] in 994 and made it his capital.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ricard |first=Prosper |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tzcMAQAAIAAJ |title=Maroc |date=1950 |publisher=Hachette |language=fr}}</ref><ref name="Golvin-1957" /> However, Ziri was loyal to the Umayyad caliphs in Cordoba and increasingly resented the way that Ibn Abi 'Amir was holding Hisham II captive while progressively usurping his power. In 997 Ziri rejected Ibn Abi 'Amir's authority and declared himself a direct supporter of Caliph Hisham II.<ref name="Kennedy-2014" /><ref name="Golvin-1957" /> Ibn Abi 'Amir sent an invasion force to Morocco.<ref name="Kennedy-2014" /> After three unsuccessful months, Ibn Abi 'Amir's army was forced to retreat to the safety of [[Tangiers]], so Ibn Abi 'Amir sent a powerful reinforcements under his son [[Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan|Abd al-Malik]].<sup>[''[[Wikipedia:Citation needed|citation needed]]'']</sup> The armies clashed near Tangiers, and in this battle, Ziri was stabbed by an African soldier who reported to Abd al-Malik that he had seriously wounded the Zenata leader. Abd al-Malik pressed home the advantage, and the wounded Ziri fled, hotly pursued by the Caliph's army. The inhabitants of Fez would not let him enter the city, but opened the gates to Abd al-Malik on 13 October 998. Ziri fled to the Sahara, where he rallied the Zenata tribes and overthrew the unpopular remnants of the [[Idrisid dynasty]] at [[Tiaret]]. He was able to expand his territory to include Tlemcen and other parts of western Algeria, this time under Fatimid protection. Ziri died in 1001 of the after-effects of the stab wounds. He was succeeded by his son Al-Mu'izz, who made peace with Al-Mansur, and regained possession of all his father's former territories.<sup>[''[[Wikipedia:Citation needed|citation needed]]'']</sup>

A revolt against the Andalusian Umayyads was put down by Ibn Abi 'Amir, although the Maghrawa were able to regain power in Fez. Under the succeeding rulers al-Muizz (1001–1026), Hamman (1026–1039) and Dunas (1039), they consolidated their rule in northern and central Morocco.<sup>[''[[Wikipedia:Citation needed|citation needed]]'']</sup>

Internal power struggles after 1060 enabled the [[Almoravid dynasty]] to conquer the Maghrawa realm in 1070 and put an end to their rule. In the mid 11th century the Maghrawa still controlled most of Morocco, notably most of the Sous and [[Draa River]] area as well as [[Aghmat]], Fez and Sijilmasa.<ref name="Boum-2016" /> Later, Zenata power declined. The Maghrawa and Banu Ifran began oppressing their subjects, shedding their blood, violating their women, breaking into homes to seize food and depriving traders of their goods. Anyone who tried to ward them off was killed.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Willis |first=John Ralph |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=52mbA5bGB_cC&pg=PA94 |title=Studies in West African Islamic History |date=1979 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-0-7146-1737-4 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Zirid Dynasty ===
{{main|Zirid Dynasty}}
[[File:Zirid control circa 980 (version 2).png|thumb|Maximum extent of the Zirid Kingdom]]
The Zirid dynasty ({{langx|ar|الزيريون|translit=az-zīriyyūn}}), Banu Ziri ({{langx|ar|بنو زيري|translit=banū zīrī}}), or the Zirid state ({{langx|ar|الدولة الزيرية|translit=ad-dawla az-zīriyya}})<ref>{{Cite book |last=محمد، |first=صلابي، علي محمد |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VbxIAAAAMAAJ&q=%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A9+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9 |title=الدولة العبيدية في ليبيا |date=1998 |publisher=دار البيارق، |language=ar}}</ref> was a [[Sanhaja]] [[Berbers|Berber]] [[dynasty]] from modern-day [[Algeria]] which ruled the central [[Maghreb]] from 972 to 1014 and [[Ifriqiya]] (eastern Maghreb) from 972 to 1148.<ref name="Britanica">{{Cite news |title=Zirid Dynasty {{!}} Muslim dynasty |newspaper=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://global.britannica.com/topic/Zirid-Dynasty |url-status=dead |access-date=2016-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229165604/https://global.britannica.com/topic/Zirid-Dynasty |archive-date=29 February 2020}}</ref><ref name="Qantara-1152">{{Cite web |website=Qantara |title=Les Zirides et les Hammadides (972-1152) |url=http://www.qantara-med.org/qantara4/public/show_document.php?do_id=596 |access-date=2016-11-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303182235/http://www.qantara-med.org/qantara4/public/show_document.php?do_id=596 |archive-date=3 March 2016}}</ref>

Descendants of [[Ziri ibn Manad]], a military leader of the [[Fatimid Caliphate]] and the eponymous founder of the dynasty, the Zirids were [[emir]]s who ruled in the name of the Fatimids. The Zirids gradually established their autonomy in Ifriqiya through military conquest until officially breaking with the Fatimids in the mid-11th century. The rule of the Zirid emirs opened the way to a period in North African history where political power was held by Berber dynasties such as the [[Almoravid dynasty]], [[Almohad Caliphate]], [[Zayyanid dynasty]], [[Marinid Sultanate]] and [[Hafsid dynasty]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hrbek |first1=Ivan |title=Africa from the Seventh to the Eleventh Century |author2=Unesco International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History of Africa |year=1992 |publisher=J. Currey |isbn=9780852550939 |pages=172 |language=en |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qDFcD0BuekQC&q=zirid+map&pg=PA172}}</ref>

Under [[Buluggin ibn Ziri]] the Zirids extended their control westwards and briefly occupied [[Fez, Morocco|Fez]] and much of present-day [[Morocco]] after 980, but encountered resistance from the local [[Zenata|Zenata Berbers]] who gave their allegiance to the [[Caliphate of Cordoba]].{{sfn|Meynier|2010|p=158}}{{sfn|Julien|1994|p=295}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Simon |first=Jacques |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V31-r9820IQC&pg=PA165 |title=L'Algérie au passé lointain: de Carthage à la régence d'Alger |year=2011 |publisher=Harmattan |isbn=9782296139640 |pages=165 |language=fr}}</ref><ref name="RingWatson2014">{{cite book |author1=Trudy Ring |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6XMBAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA36 |title=Middle East and Africa: International Dictionary of Historic Places |author2=Noelle Watson |author3=Paul Schellinger |date=5 March 2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-25986-1 |page=36}}</ref> To the east, Zirid control was extended over [[Tripolitania]] after 978{{Sfn|Abun-Nasr|1987|p=67}} and as far as [[Ajdabiya]] (in present-day Libya).{{sfn|Fage|Oliver|1975|p=15}}<ref name="Fehervari-2002a">{{Cite book |last=Fehérvári |first=Géza |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M6cuAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Qairawan+and+not+Cairo+that+ruled+both+Surt+and+Ajdabiya%22 |title=Excavations at Surt (Medinat Al-Sultan) Between 1977 and 1981 |publisher=Department of Antiquities |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-900971-00-3 |pages=17 |language=en}}</ref> One member of the dynastic family, [[Zawi ibn Ziri]], revolted and fled to [[al-Andalus]], eventually founding the [[Taifa of Granada]] in 1013, after the collapse of the Caliphate of Cordoba.<ref name="Qantara-1152" /> Another branch of the Zirids, the [[Hammadid dynasty|Hammadids]], broke away from the main branch after various internal disputes and took control of the territories of the central Maghreb after 1015.<ref name="Bosworth-2004a">{{Cite book |last=Bosworth |first=Clifford Edmund |title=The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mKpz_2CkoWEC&q=new+islamic+dynasties |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=2004 |isbn=9780748696482 |location= |pages=13 |chapter=The Zirids and Hammadids}}</ref> The Zirids proper were then designated as Badicides and occupied only Ifriqiya between 1048 and 1148.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Idris |first=Hady Roger |year=1968 |title=L'invasion hilālienne et ses conséquences |url=http://www.persee.fr/doc/ccmed_0007-9731_1968_num_11_43_1452 |journal=Cahiers de civilisation médiévale |volume=11 |issue=43 |pages=353–369 |doi=10.3406/ccmed.1968.1452}}</ref> They were based in [[Kairouan]] until 1057, when they moved the capital to [[Mahdia]] on the coast.{{Sfn|Abun-Nasr|1987|pp=69-70}} The Zirids of Ifriqiya also intervened in [[Sicily]] during the 11th century, as the [[Kalbids]], the dynasty who governed the island on behalf of the Fatimids, fell into disorder.<ref name="Rizzitano-2007">{{Cite book |last=Rizzitano |first=U. |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition |publisher=Brill |year=1960–2007 |isbn=9789004161214 |editor-last=Bearman |editor-first=P. |location= |pages= |chapter=Kalbids |editor-last2=Bianquis |editor-first2=Th. |editor-last3=Bosworth |editor-first3=C.E. |editor-last4=van Donzel |editor-first4=E. |editor-last5=Heinrichs |editor-first5=W.P.}}</ref>

The Zirids of Granada surrendered to the Almoravids in 1090,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bosworth |first=Clifford Edmund |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mKpz_2CkoWEC&pg=PA37 |title=The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual |year=2004 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |isbn=9780748621378 |pages=37–38 |language=en}}</ref> but the Badicides and the Hammadids remained independent during this time. Sometime between 1041 and 1051 the Zirid ruler [[al-Mu'izz ibn Badis]] renounced the Fatimid Caliphs and recognized the [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] Muslim [[Abbasid Caliphate]].{{Sfn|Abun-Nasr|1987|pp=68-69}} In retaliation, the Fatimids instigated the migration of the [[Banu Hilal]] tribe to the Maghreb, dealing a serious blow to Zirid power in Ifriqiya.{{Sfn|Abun-Nasr|1987|pp=69-70}}{{Sfn|Tibi|2002|p=514}} In the 12th century, the [[Hilalian invasion of Ifriqiya|Hilalian invasions]] combined with the attacks of the [[Normans]] of Sicily along the coast further weakened Zirid power. The last Zirid ruler, [[Abu'l-Hasan al-Hasan ibn Ali|al-Hasan]], surrendered Mahdia to the Normans in 1148, thus ending independent Zirid rule.{{Sfn|Tibi|2002|p=514}} The [[Almohad Caliphate]] conquered the central Maghreb and Ifriqiya by 1160, ending the Hammadid dynasty in turn and finally unifying the whole of the Maghreb.{{sfn|Meynier|2010|p=158}}{{sfn|Baadj|2015|p=56-57}}

==== Origins and establishment ====
The Zirids were [[Sanhaja]] [[Berbers]], from the [[Sedentary lifestyle|sedentary]] Talkata tribe,{{Sfn|Abun-Nasr|1987|p=64}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ilahiane |first=Hsain |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0E8qp_k515oC&dq=talkata+zirid&pg=PA149 |title=Historical Dictionary of the Berbers (Imazighen) |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-8108-6490-0 |pages=149 |language=en}}</ref> originating from the area of modern [[Algeria]]. In the 10th century this tribe served as vassals of the [[Fatimid Caliphate]], an [[Isma'ilism|Isma'ili]] [[Shia Islam|Shi'a]] state that challenged the authority of the [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid caliphs]]. The [[progenitor]] of the Zirid dynasty, [[Ziri ibn Manad]] (r. 935–971) was installed as governor of the central [[Maghreb]] (roughly north-eastern Algeria today) on behalf of the Fatimids, guarding the western frontier of the Fatimid Caliphate.{{Sfn|Brett|2017|p=54, 63}}{{Sfn|Abun-Nasr|1987|p=19}} With Fatimid support Ziri founded his own capital and palace at [[Achir|'Ashir]], south-east of [[Algiers]], in 936.<ref name="Brett-2008">{{Cite book |last=Brett |first=Michael |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three |publisher=Brill |year=2008 |isbn=9789004161658 |editor-last=Fleet |editor-first=Kate |location= |pages= |chapter=Ashīr |editor-last2=Krämer |editor-first2=Gudrun |editor-last3=Matringe |editor-first3=Denis |editor-last4=Nawas |editor-first4=John |editor-last5=Rowson |editor-first5=Everett}}</ref>{{Sfn|Abun-Nasr|1987|p=66}}{{Sfn|Brett|2017|p=54}} He proved his worth as a key ally in 945, during the [[Kharijite]] rebellion of [[Abu Yazid]], when he helped break Abu Yazid's siege of the Fatimid capital, [[Mahdia]].{{Sfn|Tibi|2002|p={{page needed|date=April 2023}}}}<ref name="Bosworth-2004b">{{Cite book |last=Bosworth |first=Clifford Edmund |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mKpz_2CkoWEC&q=new+islamic+dynasties |title=The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=2004 |isbn=9780748696482 |location= |pages=13 |chapter=The Zirids and Hammadids}}</ref> After playing this valuable role, he expanded 'Ashir with a new palace circa 947.<ref name="Brett-2008" />{{sfn|Ettinghausen|Grabar|Jenkins-Madina|2001|p=188}} In 959 he aided [[Jawhar al-Siqilli|Jawhar al-Siqili]] on a Fatimid military expedition which successfully conquered [[Fez, Morocco|Fez]] and [[Sijilmasa]] in present-day Morocco. On their return home to the Fatimid capital they paraded the [[emir]] of Fez and the “Caliph” Ibn Wasul of Sijilmasa in cages in a humiliating manner.<ref name="Halm1996">{{cite book |author=Halm |first=Heinz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=usUjj9OV9l0C&pg=PA399 |title=The Empire of the Mahdi: The Rise of the Fatimids |publisher=Brill |year=1996 |isbn=90-04-10056-3 |page=399}}</ref><ref>Messier, Ronald A.; Miller, James A. (2015). The Last Civilized Place: Sijilmasa and Its Saharan Destiny. University of Texas Press. {{ISBN|9780292766655}}</ref><ref>Pellat, Charles (1991). "Midrār". In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, New Edition, Volume VI: Mahk–Mid. Leiden: E. J. Brill. {{ISBN|978-90-04-08112-3}}</ref> After this success, Ziri was also given [[Tiaret|Tahart]] to govern on behalf of the Fatimids.{{Sfn|Brett|2017|p=75}} He was eventually killed in battle against the [[Zenata|Zanata]] in 971.{{Sfn|Abun-Nasr|1987|p=66}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kennedy |first=Hugh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NFfJAwAAQBAJ&dq=ziri+971+zanata&pg=PA103 |title=Muslim Spain and Portugal: A Political History of al-Andalus |publisher=Routledge |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-317-87041-8 |pages=103 |language=en}}</ref>

When the Fatimids moved their capital to [[Egypt]] in 972, Ziri's son [[Buluggin ibn Ziri]] (r. 971–984) was appointed viceroy of [[Ifriqiya]]. He soon led a [[Zirid conquest of Morocco|new expedition]] west and by 980 he had conquered Fez and most of Morocco, which had previously been retaken by the [[Caliphate of Córdoba|Umayyads of Cordoba]] in 973.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Naylor |first=Phillip C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rN-EBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA84 |title=North Africa, Revised Edition: A History from Antiquity to the Present |publisher=University of Texas Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-292-76190-2 |pages=84 |language=en}}</ref>{{Sfn|Abun-Nasr|1987|pp=67, 75}} He also led a [[Zirid expedition to Barghawata|successful expedition]] to [[Barghawata]] territory, from which he brought back a large number of slaves to Ifriqiya.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hady Roger |first=Idris |url=http://www.asadlis-amazigh.com/fr/wp-content/uploads/livres/La%20berberie%20orientale%20sous%20les%20Zirides%201.pdf |title=La berbérie oriental sous les Zirides |publisher=Adrien-Maisonneuve |year=1962 |pages=57 58 |access-date=2023-02-23 |archive-date=2021-08-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831175434/http://www.asadlis-amazigh.com/fr/wp-content/uploads/livres/La%20berberie%20orientale%20sous%20les%20Zirides%201.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 978 the Fatimids also granted Buluggin overlordship of [[Tripolitania]] (in present-day [[Libya]]), allowing him to appoint his own governor in [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]]. In 984 Buluggin died in Sijilmasa from an illness and his successor decided to abandon Morocco in 985.{{sfn|Tibi|2002|p=514}}<ref name="AkyeampongGates2012">{{cite book |author1=Emmanuel Kwaku Akyeampong |author2=Henry Louis Gates |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=39JMAgAAQBAJ&pg=RA1-PA9 |title=Dictionary of African Biography |date=2 February 2012 |publisher=OUP USA |isbn=978-0-19-538207-5 |page=9}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=6XMBAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA36 Middle East and Africa: International Dictionary of Historic Placesedited by Trudy Ring, Noelle Watson, Paul Schellinger]</ref>

==== Buluggin's successors and the first divisions ====
After Buluggin's death, rule of the Zirid state passed to his son, [[Al-Mansur ibn Buluggin]] (r. 984–996), and continued through his descendants. However, this alienated the other sons of Ziri ibn Manad who now found themselves excluded from power. In 999 many of these brothers launched a rebellion in 'Ashir against [[Badis ibn al-Mansur]] (r. 996–1016), Buluggin's grandson, marking the first serious break in the unity of the Zirids.<ref name="Handler-1974">{{Cite book |last=Handler |first=Andrew |title=The Zirids of Granada |publisher=University of Miami Press |year=1974 |isbn=0870242164 |pages=8–14 |language=en}}</ref> The rebels were defeated in battle by [[Hammad ibn Buluggin]], Badis' uncle, and most of the brothers were killed. The only remaining brother of stature, [[Zawi ibn Ziri]], led the remaining rebels westwards and sought new opportunity in [[al-Andalus]] under the [[Caliphate of Córdoba|Umayyads Caliphs of Cordoba]], the former enemies of the Fatimids and Zirids.<ref name="Handler-1974" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Catlos |first=Brian A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JuVuAwAAQBAJ&dq=zawi+ibn+ziri&pg=PT49 |title=Infidel Kings and Unholy Warriors: Faith, Power, and Violence in the Age of Crusade and Jihad |publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-374-71205-1 |pages=27 |language=en}}</ref> He and his followers eventually founded an independent kingdom in al-Andalus, the [[Taifa of Granada|''Taifa'' of Granada]], in 1013.<ref name="Kennedy-1996">{{Cite book |last=Kennedy |first=Hugh |title=Muslim Spain and Portugal: A Political History of al-Andalus |publisher=Routledge |year=1996 |isbn=9781317870418 |location= |pages=141–142}}</ref><ref name="Rodgers-2021">{{Cite book |last1=Rodgers |first1=Helen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ugRqEAAAQBAJ |title=City of Illusions: A History of Granada |last2=Cavendish |first2=Stephen |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-0-19-764406-5 |pages=11–15 |language=en}}</ref>

After 1001 Tripolitania broke away under the leadership of Fulful ibn Sa'id ibn Khazrun, a [[Maghrawa]] leader who founded the [[Banu Khazrun]] dynasty, which endured until 1147.<ref name="Oman-2007">{{Cite book |last1=Oman |first1=G. |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition |last2=Christides |first2=V. |last3=Bosworth |first3=C.E. |publisher=Brill |year=1960–2007 |isbn=9789004161214 |editor-last=Bearman |editor-first=P. |location= |pages= |chapter=Ṭarābulus al-G̲h̲arb |editor-last2=Bianquis |editor-first2=Th. |editor-last3=Bosworth |editor-first3=C.E. |editor-last4=van Donzel |editor-first4=E. |editor-last5=Heinrichs |editor-first5=W.P.}}</ref>{{Sfn|Abun-Nasr|1987|p=67}}<ref name="Fehervari-2002b">{{Cite book |last=Fehérvári |first=Géza |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M6cuAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Qairawan+and+not+Cairo+that+ruled+both+Surt+and+Ajdabiya%22 |title=Excavations at Surt (Medinat Al-Sultan) Between 1977 and 1981 |publisher=Department of Antiquities |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-900971-00-3 |pages=17 |language=en}}</ref> Fulful fought a protracted war against [[Badis ibn al-Mansur]] and sought outside help from the Fatimids and even from the Umayyads of Cordoba, but after his death in 1009 the Zirids were able to retake Tripoli for a time. The region nonetheless remained effectively under control of the Banu Khazrun, who fluctuated between practical autonomy and full independence, often playing the Fatimids and the Zirids against each other.<ref name="Lewicki-2007">{{Cite book |last=Lewicki |first=T. |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition |publisher=Brill |year=1960–2007 |isbn=9789004161214 |editor-last=Bearman |editor-first=P. |location= |pages= |chapter=Mag̲h̲rāwa |editor-last2=Bianquis |editor-first2=Th. |editor-last3=Bosworth |editor-first3=C.E. |editor-last4=van Donzel |editor-first4=E. |editor-last5=Heinrichs |editor-first5=W.P.}}</ref><ref name="Garnier-2020">{{Cite book |last=Garnier |first=Sébastien |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three |publisher=Brill |year=2020 |isbn=9789004161658 |editor-last=Fleet |editor-first=Kate |location= |pages= |chapter=Libya until 1500 |editor-last2=Krämer |editor-first2=Gudrun |editor-last3=Matringe |editor-first3=Denis |editor-last4=Nawas |editor-first4=John |editor-last5=Rowson |editor-first5=Everett}}</ref>{{Sfn|Abun-Nasr|1987|p=67}}{{Sfn|Brett|2017|p=128, 142}} The Zirids finally lost Tripoli to them in 1022.{{Sfn|Brett|2017|p=174}}

Badis appointed Hammad ibn Buluggin as governor of 'Ashir and the western Zirid territories in 997.{{Sfn|Baadj|2015|p=40}} He gave Hammad a great deal of autonomy, allowing him to campaign against the Zanata and control any new territories he conquered.{{sfn|Tibi|2002|p={{page needed|date=April 2023}}}}{{Sfn|Abun-Nasr|1987|p=69}} Hammad constructed his own capital, the [[Qal'at Bani Hammad]], in 1008, and in 1015 he rebelled against Badis and declared himself independent altogether, while also recognizing the Abbasids instead of the Fatimids as caliphs. Badis besieged Hammad's capital and nearly subdued him, but died in 1016 shortly before this could be accomplished. His son and successor, [[al-Mu'izz ibn Badis]] (r. 1016–1062), defeated Hammad in 1017, which forced the negotiation of a peace agreement between them. Hammad resumed his recognition of the Fatimids as caliphs but remained independent, forging a new [[Hammadid dynasty|Hammadid]] state which controlled a large part of present-day Algeria thereafter.{{Sfn|Abun-Nasr|1987|p=69}}

==== Apogee in Ifriqiya ====
The Zirid period of Ifriqiya is considered a high point in its history, with agriculture, industry, trade and learning, both religious and secular, all flourishing, especially in their capital, [[Qayrawan]] (Kairouan).<ref name="locfatamids2">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Brill |first=E.J. |year=1987 |title=Fatamids |encyclopedia=Libya: Encyclopedia of Islam |publisher=Library of Congress |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wpM3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA852 |access-date=5 March 2011 |isbn=9004082654}}</ref> The early reign of [[al-Mu'izz ibn Badis]] (r. 1016–1062) was particularly prosperous and marked the height of their power in Ifriqiya.{{Sfn|Tibi|2002|p={{page needed|date=April 2023}}}} In the eleventh century, when the question of Berber origin became a concern, the dynasty of al-Mu'izz started, as part of the Zirids' propaganda, to emphasize its supposed links to the [[Himyarite Kingdom|Himyarite kings]] as a title to nobility, a theme that was taken the by court historians of the period.{{sfn|Baadj|2015|p=12}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brett |first=Michael |title=The Fatimids and Egypt |date=2019-05-03 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c1KWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT132 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-76474-5 |language=en}}</ref> Management of the area by later Zirid rulers was neglectful as the agricultural economy declined, prompting an increase in banditry among the rural population.<ref name="locfatamids2" /> The relationship between the Zirids their Fatimid overlords varied - in 1016 thousands of [[Shiites]] died in rebellions in Ifriqiya, and the Fatimids encouraged the defection of Tripolitania from the Zirids, but nevertheless the relationship remained close. In 1049 the Zirids broke away completely by adopting Sunni Islam and recognizing the Abbasids of [[Baghdad]] as rightful Caliphs, a move which was popular with the urban [[Arabs]] of Kairouan.<ref name="ihr">Idris H. Roger, L'invasion hilālienne et ses conséquences, in : Cahiers de civilisation médiévale (43), July–September 1968, pp.353-369. [http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/ccmed_0007-9731_1968_num_11_43_1452]</ref><ref name="locfatamids">{{cite web |last=Berry |first=LaVerle |title=Fatamids |url=http://countrystudies.us/libya/10.htm |access-date=5 March 2011 |work=Libya: A Country Study |publisher=Library of Congress}}</ref>

In [[Sicily]] the [[Kalbids]] continued to govern on behalf of the Fatimids but the island descended into political disarray during the 11th century,<ref name="Rizzitano-2007"/> inciting the Zirids to intervene on the island. In 1025 (or 1021<ref name="Granara-2019">{{Cite book |last=Granara |first=William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J2idDwAAQBAJ&dq=zirids+sicily+1036&pg=PA32 |title=Narrating Muslim Sicily: War and Peace in the Medieval Mediterranean World |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-78673-613-0 |pages=32–33 |language=en}}</ref>), al-Mu'izz ibn Badis sent a fleet of 400 ships to the island in response to the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]] reconquering [[Calabria]] (in southern Italy) from the Muslims, but the fleet was lost in a powerful storm off the coast of [[Pantelleria]].{{sfn|Tibi|2002|p={{page needed|date=April 2023}}}}<ref name="Granara-2019" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Granara |first=William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BgEMEAAAQBAJ&dq=zirid+sicily+storm&pg=PT6 |title=Ibn Hamdis the Sicilian: Eulogist for a Falling Homeland |publisher=Simon and Schuster |year=201 |isbn=978-1-78607-847-6 |language=en}}</ref> In 1036, the Muslim population of the island request aid from al-Mu'izz to overthrow the Kalbid emir Ahmad ibn Yusuf al-Akhal, whose rule they considered flawed and unjust.<ref name="Rizzitano-2007" /> The request also contained a pledge to recognize al-Mu'izz as their ruler.<ref name="Granara-2019" /> Al-Mu'izz, eager to expand his influence after the fragmentation of Zirid North Africa, accepted and sent his son, 'Abdallah, to the island with a large army.<ref name="Granara-2019" /><ref name="Rizzitano-2007" />{{Sfn|Brett|2017|p=174-175}} Al-Akhal, who had been in negotiations with the Byzantines, requested help from them. A Byzantine army intervened and defeated the Zirid army on the island, but it then withdrew to Calabria, allowing 'Abdallah to finish off al-Akhal.<ref name="Rizzitano-2007" /> Al-Akhal was besieged in [[Palermo]] and killed in 1038.<ref name="Granara-2019" /><ref name="Rizzitano-2007" /><ref name="Bosworth-2004b" /> 'Abdallah was subsequently forced to withdraw from the island, either due to the ever-divided Sicilians turning against him or due to another Byzantine invasion in 1038, led by [[George Maniakes]].{{Sfn|Brett|2017|p=174-175}}<ref name="Granara-2019" /> Another Kalbid amir, al-Hasan al-Samsam, was elected to govern Sicily, but Muslim rule there disintegrated into various petty factions leading up to the [[Norman conquest of southern Italy|Norman conquest]] of the island in the second half of the 11th century.{{Sfn|Brett|2017|p=175}}<ref name="Rizzitano-2007" /><ref name="Granara-2019" />

==== Hilalian invasions and withdrawal to Mahdia ====
The Zirids renounced the Fatimids and recognized the Abbasid Caliphs in 1048-49,{{Sfn|Tibi|2002|p={{page needed|date=April 2023}}}} or sometime between 1041 and 1051.{{sfn|Fage|Oliver|1975|p=15}}<ref name="Bosworth-2004b" />{{efn|Different historical sources give different dates for the occurrence of this decision, ranging from 1041 and 1051.{{Sfn|Abun-Nasr|1987|pp=68-69}}}} In retaliation, the Fatimids sent the Arab tribes of the [[Banu Hilal]] and the [[Banu Sulaym]] to the Maghreb.{{Sfn|Tibi|2002|p={{page needed|date=April 2023}}}}{{Sfn|Abun-Nasr|1987|p=69}} The Banu Sulaym settled first in Cyrenaica, but the Banu Hilal continued towards Ifriqiya.{{Sfn|Abun-Nasr|1987|p=69}} The Zirids attempted to stop their advance towards Ifriqiya, they sent 30,000 Sanhaja cavalry to meet the 3,000 Arab cavalry of Banu Hilal in the [[Battle of Haydaran]] of 14 April 1052.<ref name="Idris">{{Citation |last=Idris |first=H. R. |title=Ḥaydarān |date=2012-04-24 |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/haydaran-SIM_2834 |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition |publisher=Brill |language=en |access-date=2021-09-26}}</ref> Nevertheless, the Zirids were decisively defeated and were forced to retreat, opening the road to Kairouan for the Hilalian Arab cavalry.<ref name="Idris" /><ref name="Idris-1968">{{Cite journal |last=Idris |first=Hady Roger |date=1968 |title=L'invasion hilālienne et ses conséquences |journal=Cahiers de civilisation médiévale |volume=11 |issue=43 |pages=353–369 |doi=10.3406/ccmed.1968.1452 |issn=0007-9731}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Schuster |first=Gerald |year=2009 |title=Reviewed work: Die Beduinen in der Vorgeschichte Tunesiens. Die " Invasion " der Banū Hilāl, Gerald Schuster |journal=Arabica |publisher=Brill |volume=56 |issue=4/5 |pages=487–492 |doi=10.1163/057053909X12475581297885 |jstor=25651679}}</ref> The resulting anarchy devastated the previously flourishing agriculture, and the coastal towns assumed a new importance as conduits for maritime trade and bases for piracy against Christian shipping, as well as being the last holdout of the Zirids.<ref name="Idris-1968" /> The [[Hilalian invasion of Ifriqiya|Banu Hilal invasions]] eventually forced al-Mu'izz ibn Badis to abandon Kairouan in 1057 and move his capital to Mahdia, while the Banu Hilal largely roamed and pillaged the interior of the former Zirid territories.{{Sfn|Abun-Nasr|1987|pp=69-70}}{{Sfn|Tibi|2002|p={{page needed|date=April 2023}}}}

As a result of the Zirid withdrawal, various local principalities emerged in different areas. In [[Tunis]], the shaykhs of the city elected Abd al-Haqq ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Khurasan (r. 1059-1095) as local ruler. He founded the local Banu Khurasan dynasty that governed the city thereafter, alternately recognizing the Hammadids or the Zirids as overlords depending on the circumstances.<ref name="Sebag-2007">{{Cite book |last=Sebag |first=P. |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition |publisher=Brill |year=1960–2007 |isbn=9789004161214 |editor-last=Bearman |editor-first=P. |location= |pages= |chapter=Tūnis |editor-last2=Bianquis |editor-first2=Th. |editor-last3=Bosworth |editor-first3=C.E. |editor-last4=van Donzel |editor-first4=E. |editor-last5=Heinrichs |editor-first5=W.P.}}</ref><ref name="Valerian-2021">{{Cite book |last=Valérian |first=Dominique |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three |publisher=Brill |year=2021 |isbn=9789004161658 |editor-last=Fleet |editor-first=Kate |location= |pages= |chapter=Khurāsān, Banū |editor-last2=Krämer |editor-first2=Gudrun |editor-last3=Matringe |editor-first3=Denis |editor-last4=Nawas |editor-first4=John |editor-last5=Rowson |editor-first5=Everett}}</ref> In [[Gabès|Qabis]] (Gabès), the Zirid governor, al-Mu'izz ibn Muhammad ibn Walmiya remained loyal until 1062 when, outraged by the expulsion of his two brothers from Mahdia by al-Mu'izz ibn Badis, he declared his independence and placed himself under the protection of Mu'nis ibn Yahya, a chief of Banu Hilal.<ref name="Talbi-2007">{{Cite book |last=Talbi |first=M. |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition |publisher=Brill |year=1960–2007 |isbn=9789004161214 |editor-last=Bearman |editor-first=P. |location= |pages= |chapter=Ḳābis |editor-last2=Bianquis |editor-first2=Th. |editor-last3=Bosworth |editor-first3=C.E. |editor-last4=van Donzel |editor-first4=E. |editor-last5=Heinrichs |editor-first5=W.P.}}</ref>{{sfn|Baadj|2015|p=38}} [[Sfax|Sfaqus]] (Sfax) was declared independent by the Zirid governor, Mansur al-Barghawati, who was murdered and succeeded by his cousin Hammu ibn Malil al-Barghawati.{{sfn|Baadj|2015|p=39}}

Al-Mui'zz ibn Badis was succeeded by his son, [[Tamim ibn al-Mu'izz]] (r. 1062-1108), who spent much of his reign attempting to restore Zirid power in the region. In 1063 he repelled a siege of Mahdia by the independent ruler of Sfax while also capturing the important port of [[Sousse|Sus]] (Sousse).{{sfn|Baadj|2015|p=31}} Meanwhile, the Hammadid ruler [[Nasir ibn Alnas|al-Nasir ibn 'Alannas]] (r. 1062-1088) began to intervene in Ifriqiya around this time, having his sovereignty recognized in Sfax, Tunis, and Kairouan. Tamim organized a coalition with some of the Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym tribes and succeeded in inflicting a heavy defeat on al-Nasir at the Battle of Sabiba in 1065. The war between the Zirids and Hammadids continued until 1077, when a truce was negotiated, sealed by a marriage between Tamim and one of al-Nasir's daughters.{{sfn|Baadj|2015|p=31-32}} In 1074 Tamim sent a naval expedition to [[Calabria]] where they ravaged the Italian coasts, plundered [[Nicotera]] and enslaved many of its inhabitants. The next year (1075) another Zirid raid resulted in the capture of [[Mazara del Vallo|Mazara]] in Sicily; however, the Zirid emir rethought his involvement in Sicily and decided to withdraw, abandoning what they had briefly held.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=Gordon S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7fbdYk0-gisC&pg=PA176 |title=The Norman Conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily |publisher=McFarland |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-7864-5127-2 |pages=176 |language=en}}</ref> In 1087, the Zirid capital, Mahdia, was sacked by the [[Pisa]]ns.{{sfn|Ettinghausen|Grabar|Jenkins-Madina|2001|p=210}} According to [[Richard Ettinghausen|Ettinghausen]], [[Oleg Grabar|Grabar]], and Jenkins-Madina, the [[Pisa Griffin]] is believed to have been part of the spoils taken during the sack.{{sfn|Ettinghausen|Grabar|Jenkins-Madina|2001|p=302}} In 1083 Mahdia was besieged by a chief of the Banu Hilal, Malik ibn 'Alawi. Unable to take the city, Malik instead turned to Kairouan and captured that city, but Tamim marched out with his entire army and defeated the Banu Hilal forces, at which point he also brought Kairouan back under Zirid control.{{sfn|Baadj|2015|p=32}} He went on to capture Gabès in 1097 and Sfax in 1100.{{sfn|Baadj|2015|p=32}} Gabès, however, soon declared itself independent again under the leadership of the Banu Jami', a family from the Riyahi branch of the Banu Hilal.{{sfn|Baadj|2015|p=38}}<ref name="Talbi-2007" />

Tamim's son and successor, Yahya ibn Tamim (r. 1108-1116), formally recognized the Fatimid caliphs again and received an emissary from Cairo in 1111.{{sfn|Baadj|2015|p=32}} He captured an important fortress near [[Carthage]] called Iqlibiya and his fleet launched raids against [[Sardinia]] and [[Genoa]], bringing back many captives.{{sfn|Baadj|2015|p=32}} He was assassinated in 1116 and succeeded by his son, 'Ali ibn Yahya (r. 1116-1121).{{sfn|Baadj|2015|p=32}} 'Ali continued to recognize the Fatimids, receiving another embassy from Cairo in 1118.{{sfn|Baadj|2015|p=32-33}} He imposed his authority on Tunis, but failed to recapture Gabès from its local ruler, Rafi' ibn Jami', whose counterattack he then had to repel from Mahdia.{{sfn|Baadj|2015|p=32-33}}<ref name="Talbi-2007" /> He was succeeded by his son al-Hasan in 1121, the last Zirid ruler.<ref name="Bosworth-2004b" />

==== End of Zirid rule ====
During the 1130s and 1140s the Normans of Sicily began to capture cities and islands along the coast of Ifriqiya.{{Sfn|Abun-Nasr|1987|p=92}} [[Djerba|Jerba]] was captured in 1135 and Tripoli was captured in 1146. In 1148, the Normans captured Sfax, Gabès, and Mahdia.{{Sfn|Abun-Nasr|1987|p=92}}<ref name="Oman-2007"/> In Mahdia, the population was weakened by years of famine and the bulk of the Zirid army was away on another campaign when the Norman fleet, commanded by [[George of Antioch]], arrived off the coast. Al-Hasan decided to abandon the city, leaving it to be occupied, which effectively ended the Zirid dynasty's rule.{{Sfn|Tibi|2002|p={{page needed|date=April 2023}}}}{{sfn|Baadj|2015|p=35}} Al-Hasan fled to the citadel of al-Mu'allaqa near Carthage and stayed there for a several months. He planned to flee to the Fatimid court in Egypt but the Norman fleet blocked his way, so instead he headed west, making for the [[Almohad Caliphate|Almohad]] court of '[[Abd al-Mu'min]] in [[Marrakesh]]. He obtained permission from Yahya ibn al-'Aziz, the Hammadid ruler, to cross his territory, but after entering Hammadid territory he was detained and placed under [[house arrest]] in Algiers.{{Sfn|Tibi|2002|p={{page needed|date=April 2023}}}}{{sfn|Baadj|2015|p=35}} When 'Abd al-Mu'min captured Algiers in 1151, he freed al-Hasan, who accompanied him back to Marrakesh. Later, when 'Abd al-Mu'min conquered Mahdia in 1160, placing all of Ifriqiya under Almohad rule, [[Abu'l-Hasan al-Hasan ibn Ali|al-Hasan]] was with him.{{sfn|Baadj|2015|p=56-57}}{{Sfn|Tibi|2002|p={{page needed|date=April 2023}}}} 'Abd al-Mu'min appointed him governor of Mahdia, where he remained, residing in the suburb of Zawila, until 'Abd al-Mu'min's death in 1163. The new Almohad caliph, [[Abu Yaqub Yusuf|Abu Ya'qub Yusuf]], subsequently ordered him to come back to Marrakesh, but al-Hasan died along the way in [[Tamasna]] in 1167.{{Sfn|Tibi|2002|p={{page needed|date=April 2023}}}}<ref name="Bosworth-2004b" />

=== Hammadid Dynasty ===
{{main|Hammadid dynasty}}[[File:Carte des Hammadides et leurs voisins v.1050 (English cropped).png|thumb|Hammadid territory circa 1050 (in green), and extended territories (dotted line) controlled in certain periods]]The Hammadid dynasty ([[Arabic language|Arabic]]: الحمّاديون) was a branch of the [[Sanhaja]] [[Berbers|Berber]] [[dynasty]] that ruled an area roughly corresponding to north-eastern modern [[Algeria]] between 1008 and 1152. The state reached its peak under [[Nasir ibn Alnas]] during which it was briefly the most important state in Northwest Africa.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Baadj |first=Amar S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BvTjCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA43 |title=Saladin, the Almohads and the Banū Ghāniya: The Contest for North Africa (12th and 13th centuries) |date=2015-08-11 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-29857-6 |language=en}}</ref>

The Hammadid dynasty's first capital was at [[Qalaat Beni Hammad]]. It was founded in 1007, and is now a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]]. When the area was sacked by the [[Banu Hilal]] tribe, the Hammadids moved their capital to [[Béjaïa]] in 1090.

=== Almohad Caliphate ===
The Almohad Caliphate ({{IPAc-en|IPA|ˈ|æ|l|m|ə|h|æ|d}}; {{langx|ar|خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ}} or {{lang|ar|دَوْلَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ}} or {{lang|ar|ٱلدَّوْلَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِيَّةُ}} from

{{langx|ar|ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ|translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn|lit=those who profess the [[Tawhid|unity of God]]}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of ALMOHAD |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Almohad |access-date=2021-01-09 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Almohad definition and meaning {{!}} Collins English Dictionary |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/almohad |access-date=2021-01-09 |website=www.collinsdictionary.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Bennison-2016a">{{cite book |last=Bennison |first=Amira K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=19JVDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA299 |title=Almoravid and Almohad Empires |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-7486-4682-1 |pages=299–300, 306}}</ref>{{Rp|246}}) was a [[North Africa]]n [[Berbers|Berber]] [[Muslim]] empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the [[Iberian Peninsula]] ([[Al Andalus]]) and [[North Africa]] (the [[Maghreb]]).<ref name="EB-2021">{{Cite web |title=Almohads {{!}} Berber confederation |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Almohads |access-date=2021-05-05 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref><ref name="BoweringCrone2013">{{cite book |author1=Gerhard Bowering |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q1I0pcrFFSUC&pg=PA34 |title=The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought |author2=Patricia Crone |author3=Mahan Mirza |author4=Wadad Kadi |author5=Muhammad Qasim Zaman |author6=Devin J. Stewart |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-691-13484-0 |page=34}}</ref><ref name="Oxford Bibliographies 2020">{{cite web |date=6 Jan 2020 |title=Almohads - Islamic Studies |url=https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195390155/obo-9780195390155-0217.xml |access-date=11 Feb 2020 |website=Oxford Bibliographies}}</ref>

The [[Almohad doctrine|Almohad docrtine]] was founded by [[Ibn Tumart]] among the Berber [[Masmuda]] tribes, but the Almohad caliphate and its ruling dynasty were founded after his death by [[Abd al-Mu'min|Abd al-Mu'min al-Gumi]],{{Sfn|Abun-Nasr|1987|pp=87, 94, and others}}<ref name="Bennison-2016b">{{Cite book |last=Bennison |first=Amira K. |title=The Almoravid and Almohad Empires |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-7486-4682-1 |location= |pages=58 and after}}</ref><ref name="Hopkins-1986">{{Cite book |last=Hopkins |first=J.F.P. |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-1/ibn-tumart-SIM_3078 |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition |publisher=Brill |year=1986 |isbn=978-90-04-16121-4 |editor-last=Bearman |editor-first=P. |volume=3 |location= |pages=958–960 |chapter=Ibn Tūmart |orig-date=1971 |editor2-last=Bianquis |editor2-first=Th. |editor3-last=Bosworth |editor3-first=C.E. |editor4-last=van Donzel |editor4-first=E. |editor5-last=Heinrichs |editor5-first=W.P.}}</ref><ref name="Levi-Provencal-1986">{{Cite book |last=Lévi-Provençal |first=Évariste |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/abd-al-mumin-SIM_0109 |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition |publisher=Brill |year=1986 |isbn=978-90-04-16121-4 |editor-last=Bearman |editor-first=P. |volume=1 |location= |pages=78–80 |chapter='Abd al- Mu'min |orig-date=1960 |editor2-last=Bianquis |editor2-first=Th. |editor3-last=Bosworth |editor3-first=C.E. |editor4-last=van Donzel |editor4-first=E. |editor5-last=Heinrichs |editor5-first=W.P.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xowm255qOzQC&pg=PA180 |title=The Cambridge Companion to Arabic Philosophy |date=2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-52069-0 |editor-last=Adamson |editor-first=Peter |language=en |editor-last2=Taylor |editor-first2=Richard C.}}</ref> which was born in the [[Hammadid dynasty|Hammadid]] region of [[Tlemcen]], [[Algeria]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fierro |first=Maribel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7bMbEAAAQBAJ |title='Abd al-Mu'min: Mahdism and Caliphate in the Islamic West |date=2021-11-04 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-0-86154-192-8 |language=en}}</ref> Around 1120, Ibn Tumart first established a Berber state in [[Tinmel]] in the [[Atlas Mountains]].<ref name="EB-2021" /> Under Abd al-Mu'min (r. 1130–1163) they succeeded in overthrowing the ruling [[Almoravid dynasty]] governing Morocco in 1147, when he conquered [[Marrakesh]] and declared himself [[caliph]]. They then extended their power over all of the [[Maghreb]] by 1159. Al-Andalus soon followed, and all of Muslim [[Iberia]] was under Almohad rule by 1172.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Buresi |first1=Pascal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hl5_--mK8q4C |title=Governing the Empire: Provincial Administration in the Almohad Caliphate (1224–1269) |last2=El Aallaoui |first2=Hicham |publisher=Brill |year=2012 |isbn=978-90-04-23333-1 |series=Studies in the History and Society of the Maghrib |volume=3 |location=Leiden}}</ref>

The turning point of their presence in the Iberian Peninsula came in 1212, when [[Muhammad an-Nasir|Muhammad III, "al-Nasir"]] (1199–1214) was defeated at the [[Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa]] in the [[Sierra Morena]] by an alliance of the Christian forces from [[Kingdom of Castile|Castile]], [[Crown of Aragon|Aragon]] and [[Kingdom of Navarre|Navarre]]. Much of the remaining territories of al-Andalus were lost in the ensuing decades, with the cities of [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]] and [[Seville]] falling to the Christians in 1236 and 1248 respectively.

The Almohads continued to rule in Africa until the piecemeal loss of territory through the revolt of tribes and districts enabled the rise of their most effective enemies, the [[Marinid]]s, from northern Morocco in 1215. The last representative of the line, [[Idris al-Wathiq]], was reduced to the possession of Marrakesh, where he was murdered by a slave in 1269; the Marinids seized Marrakesh, ending the Almohad domination of the Western Maghreb.

==== Origins ====
[[File:Abdalmumin ben ali nedroma statue.jpg|thumb|Statue of Abd al Mumin in [[Tlemcen]], [[Algeria]]]]
The Almohad movement originated with [[Ibn Tumart]], a member of the [[Masmuda]], a [[Berber people|Berber]] tribal confederation of the [[Atlas Mountains]] of southern Morocco. At the time, [[Morocco]], western [[Algeria]] and Spain ([[al-Andalus]]), were under the rule of the [[Almoravids]], a [[Sanhaja]] Berber dynasty. Early in his life, Ibn Tumart went to Spain to pursue his studies, and thereafter to [[Baghdad]] to deepen them. In Baghdad, Ibn Tumart attached himself to the theological school of [[al-Ash'ari]], and came under the influence of the teacher [[al-Ghazali]]. He soon developed his own system, combining the doctrines of various masters. Ibn Tumart's main principle was a strict unitarianism (''[[tawhid]]''), which denied the independent existence of the [[God in Islam#Other attributes|attributes of God]] as being incompatible with His unity, and therefore a polytheistic idea. Ibn Tumart represented a revolt against what he perceived as [[anthropomorphism]] in Muslim orthodoxy. His followers would become known as the ''al-Muwaḥḥidūn'' ("Almohads"), meaning those who affirm the unity of God.

After his return to the [[Maghreb]] c.&nbsp;1117, Ibn Tumart spent some time in various [[Ifriqiya]]n cities, preaching and agitating, heading riotous attacks on wine-shops and on other manifestations of laxity. He laid the blame for the latitude on the ruling dynasty of the Almoravids, whom he accused of obscurantism and impiety. He also opposed their sponsorship of the [[Maliki]] school of jurisprudence, which drew upon consensus (''[[ijma]]'') and other sources beyond the [[Qur'an]] and [[Sunnah]] in their reasoning, an anathema to the stricter [[Zahiri]]sm favored by Ibn Tumart. His antics and fiery preaching led fed-up authorities to move him along from town to town. After being expelled from [[Bejaia]], Ibn Tumart set up camp in Mellala, in the outskirts of the city, where he received his first disciples – notably, al-Bashir (who would become his chief strategist) and [[Abd al-Mu'min]] (a Zenata Berber, who would later become his successor).

In 1120, Ibn Tumart and his small band of followers proceeded to [[Morocco]], stopping first in [[Fez, Morocco|Fez]], where he briefly engaged the Maliki scholars of the city in debate. He even went so far as to assault the sister{{citation needed|date=December 2009}} of the [[Almoravid]] emir ʿAli ibn Yusuf, in the streets of [[Fez, Morocco|Fez]], because she was going about unveiled, after the manner of Berber women. After being expelled from Fez, he went to [[Marrakesh]], where he successfully tracked down the Almoravid emir [[Ali ibn Yusuf]] at a local mosque, and challenged the emir, and the leading scholars of the area, to a doctrinal debate. After the debate, the scholars concluded that Ibn Tumart's views were blasphemous and the man dangerous, and urged him to be put to death or imprisoned. But the emir decided merely to expel him from the city.

Ibn Tumart took refuge among his own people, the Hargha, in his home village of Igiliz (exact location uncertain), in the [[Sous]] valley. He retreated to a nearby cave, and lived out an ascetic lifestyle, coming out only to preach his program of puritan reform, attracting greater and greater crowds. At length, towards the end of [[Ramadan]] in late 1121, after a particularly moving sermon, reviewing his failure to persuade the Almoravids to reform by argument, Ibn Tumart 'revealed' himself as the true [[Mahdi]], a divinely guided judge and lawgiver, and was recognized as such by his audience. This was effectively a declaration of war on the Almoravid state.

On the advice of one of his followers, Omar Hintati, a prominent chieftain of the [[Hintata]], Ibn Tumart abandoned his cave in 1122 and went up into the [[High Atlas]], to organize the Almohad movement among the highland [[Masmuda]] tribes. Besides his own tribe, the Hargha, Ibn Tumart secured the adherence of the Ganfisa, the Gadmiwa, the Hintata, the Haskura, and the Hazraja to the Almohad cause. Around 1124, Ibn Tumart erected the [[ribat]] of [[Tinmel]], in the valley of the Nfis in the High Atlas, an impregnable fortified complex, which would serve both as the spiritual center and military headquarters of the Almohad movement.

For the first eight years, the Almohad rebellion was limited to a guerilla war along the peaks and ravines of the High Atlas. Their principal damage was in rendering insecure (or altogether impassable) the roads and mountain passes south of Marrakesh – threatening the route to all-important [[Sijilmassa]], the gateway of the [[trans-Saharan trade]]. Unable to send enough manpower through the narrow passes to dislodge the Almohad rebels from their easily defended mountain strong points, the Almoravid authorities reconciled themselves to setting up strongholds to confine them there (most famously the fortress of [[Tasghîmût]] that protected the approach to Aghmat, which was conquered by the Almohads in 1132<ref name="Bennison-2016a" />), while exploring alternative routes through more easterly passes.

Ibn Tumart organized the Almohads as a commune, with a minutely detailed structure. At the core was the ''Ahl ad-dār'' ("House of the Mahdi:), composed of Ibn Tumart's family. This was supplemented by two councils: an inner Council of Ten, the Mahdi's privy council, composed of his earliest and closest companions; and the consultative Council of Fifty, composed of the leading ''sheikh''s of the Masmuda tribes. The early preachers and missionaries (''ṭalaba'' and ''huffāẓ'') also had their representatives. Militarily, there was a strict hierarchy of units. The Hargha tribe coming first (although not strictly ethnic; it included many "honorary" or "adopted" tribesmen from other ethnicities, e.g. Abd al-Mu'min himself). This was followed by the men of Tinmel, then the other Masmuda tribes in order, and rounded off by the black fighters, the ''ʻabīd''. Each unit had a strict internal hierarchy, headed by a ''mohtasib'', and divided into two factions: one for the early adherents, another for the late adherents, each headed by a ''mizwar'' (or ''amzwaru''); then came the ''sakkakin'' (treasurers), effectively the money-minters, tax-collectors, and bursars, then came the regular army (''jund''), then the religious corps – the [[muezzin]]s, the ''hafidh'' and the ''hizb'' – followed by the archers, the conscripts, and the slaves.{{sfn|Julien|1994|p=100}} Ibn Tumart's closest companion and chief strategist, al-Bashir, took upon himself the role of "[[political commissar]]", enforcing doctrinal discipline among the Masmuda tribesmen, often with a heavy hand.

[[File:Almohad_Expansion.png|thumb|upright=1.35|Phases of the expansion of the Almohad state]]
In early 1130, the Almohads finally descended from the mountains for their first sizeable attack in the lowlands. It was a disaster. The Almohads swept aside an Almoravid column that had come out to meet them before [[Aghmat]], and then chased their remnant all the way to [[Marrakesh]]. They laid siege to Marrakesh for forty days until, in April (or May) 1130, the Almoravids sallied from the city and crushed the Almohads in the bloody [[Battle of al-Buhayra]] (named after a large garden east of the city). The Almohads were thoroughly routed, with huge losses. Half their leadership was killed in action, and the survivors only just managed to scramble back to the mountains.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tPsUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA592 |title=The Encyclopedia of Islam, Volume 6, Fascicules 107–108 |publisher=Brill |year=1989 |isbn=978-90-04-09082-8 |series=The Encyclopaedia of Islam |page=592 |access-date=2019-02-01}}</ref>

Ibn Tumart died shortly after, in August 1130. That the Almohad movement did not immediately collapse after such a devastating defeat and the death of their charismatic Mahdi, is likely due to the skills of his successor, Abd al-Mu'min.<ref name="Bennison-2016c">{{Cite book |last=Bennison |first=Amira K. |title=The Almoravid and Almohad Empires |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=2016}}</ref>{{Rp|70}} Ibn Tumart's death was kept a secret for three years, a period which Almohad chroniclers described as a ''[[Occultation (Islam)|ghayba]]'' or "occultation". This period likely gave Abd al-Mu'min time to secure his position as successor to the political leadership of the movement.<ref name="Bennison-2016c" />{{Rp|70}} Although a [[Zenata]] Berber from Tagra (Algeria),<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=CurSh3Sh_KMC&pg=PA4 Dictionary of World Biography: The Middle Ages - Page 4]</ref> and thus an alien among the Masmuda of southern Morocco, Abd al-Mu'min nonetheless saw off his principal rivals and hammered wavering tribes back to the fold. In an ostentatious gesture of defiance, in 1132, if only to remind the emir that the Almohads were not finished, Abd al-Mu'min led an audacious night operation that seized Tasghîmût fortress and dismantled it thoroughly, carting off its great gates back to Tinmel.{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}} Three years after Ibn Tumart's death he was officially proclaimed "Caliph".<ref name="Brill-1873">{{Cite book |last= |first= |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three |publisher=Brill |year= |editor-last=Fleet |editor-first=Kate |location= |pages= |chapter=Almohads |issn=1873-9830 |editor2-last=Krämer |editor2-first=Gudrun |editor3-last=Matringe |editor3-first=Denis |editor4-last=Nawas |editor4-first=John |editor5-last=Rowson |editor5-first=Everett}}</ref>

In order to neutralise the Masmudas, to whom he was a stranger, Abd al-Mumin relied on his tribe of origin, the Kumiyas (a Berber tribe from [[Oran Province|Orania]]), which he integrated massively into the army and within the Almohad power.{{sfn|Fage|Oliver|1975|p=344}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Remaoun |first=Hassan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KzhyAAAAMAAJ&q=l'organisation+almohade,+en+s'appuyant+sur+sa+tribu+d'origine,+les+Koumya+de+Nedroma,+et+sur+les+Hilaliens+qu'il+int%C3%A9gra+dans+l'arm%C3%A9e+r%C3%A9guli%C3%A8re. |title=L'Algérie: histoire, société et culture |date=2000 |publisher=Casbah |isbn=978-9961-64-189-7 |language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Larousse |first=Éditions |title=Almohades en arabe al-Muwaḥḥidūn - LAROUSSE |url=https://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie/groupe-personnage/Almohades/104942 |access-date=2021-08-20 |website=www.larousse.fr |language=fr}}</ref> He thus appointed his son as his successor and his other children as governors of the provinces of the Caliphate.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Magill |first1=Frank Northen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CurSh3Sh_KMC&dq=hilalian+almohads&pg=PA5 |title=Dictionary of World Biography: The Middle Ages |last2=Aves |first2=Alison |date=1998 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-57958-041-4 |language=en}}</ref> The Kumiyas would later form the bodyguard of Abd al Mumin and his successor.{{Sfn|Abun-Nasr|1987|p=94}} In addition, he also relied on Arabs, representatives of the great [[Banu Hilal|Hilalian]] families, whom he deported to Morocco to weaken the influence of the Masmuda sheikhs. These moves have the effect of advancing the Arabisation of the future Morocco.{{sfn|Meynier|2010|p={{page needed|date=April 2023}}}}
[[File:Almohad1200.png|thumb|Almohad dynasty and surrounding states, c. 1200.]]

==== Al-Andalus ====
Abd al-Mu'min then came forward as the lieutenant of the Mahdi Ibn Tumart. Between 1130 and his death in 1163, Abd al-Mu'min not only rooted out the Almoravids, but extended his power over all northern Africa as far as [[Egypt]], becoming amir of [[Marrakesh]] in 1147.

[[Al-Andalus]] followed the fate of Africa. Between 1146 and 1173, the Almohads gradually wrested control from the Almoravids over the Moorish principalities in Iberia. The Almohads transferred the capital of Muslim Iberia from [[Córdoba, Andalusia|Córdoba]] to [[Seville]]. They founded a great mosque there; its tower, the [[Giralda]], was erected in 1184 to mark the accession of Ya'qub I. The Almohads also built a palace there called Al-Muwarak on the site of the modern day [[Alcázar of Seville]].
[[File:Sevilla_Almohade.JPG|thumb|The Almohads transferred the capital of Al-Andalus to [[Seville]].]]
The Almohad princes had a longer and more distinguished career than the Almoravids. The successors of Abd al-Mumin, [[Abu Yaqub Yusuf]] (Yusuf I, ruled 1163–1184) and [[Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur]] (Yaʻqūb I, ruled 1184–1199), were both able men. Initially their government drove many Jewish and Christian subjects to take refuge in the growing Christian states of Portugal, Castile, and [[Aragon]]. Ultimately they became less fanatical than the Almoravids, and Ya'qub al-Mansur was a highly accomplished man who wrote a good [[Arabic language|Arabic]] style and protected the philosopher [[Averroes]]. In 1190–1191, he [[Almohad campaign against Portugal (1190–1191)|campaigned in southern Portugal]] and won back territory lost in 1189. His title of "''al-Manṣūr''" ("the Victorious") was earned by his victory over [[Alfonso VIII of Castile]] in the [[Battle of Alarcos]] (1195).

From the time of [[Yusuf II]], however, the Almohads governed their co-religionists in Iberia and central North Africa through lieutenants, their dominions outside [[Morocco]] being treated as provinces. When Almohad emirs crossed the Straits it was to lead a [[jihad]] against the Christians and then return to Morocco.<ref>{{cite book |last=Barton |first=Simon |title=A History of Spain |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-230-20012-8 |location=London |pages=63–66}}</ref>

==== Holding years ====
[[File:Abu_Yaqub_Yusef_Coin.png|thumb|upright=1.35|Coin minted during the reign of [[Abu Yaqub Yusuf]]]]
In 1212, the Almohad Caliph [[Muhammad an-Nasir|Muhammad 'al-Nasir']] (1199–1214), the successor of al-Mansur, after an initially successful advance north, was defeated by an alliance of the four Christian kings of [[Kingdom of Castile|Castile]], [[Aragón]], [[Kingdom of Navarre|Navarre]], and Portugal, at the [[Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa]] in the [[Sierra Morena]]. The battle broke the Almohad advance, but the Christian powers remained too disorganized to profit from it immediately.

Before his death in 1213, al-Nasir appointed his young ten-year-old son as the next [[caliph]] [[Yusuf II, Almohad Caliph|Yusuf II "al-Mustansir"]]. The Almohads passed through a period of effective [[Regent|regency]] for the young caliph, with power exercised by an oligarchy of elder family members, palace bureaucrats and leading nobles. The Almohad ministers were careful to negotiate a series of truces with the Christian kingdoms, which remained more-or-less in place for next fifteen years (the [[Siege of Alcácer do Sal|loss of Alcácer do Sal]] to the [[Kingdom of Portugal]] in 1217 was an exception).

In early 1224, the youthful caliph died in an accident, without any heirs. The palace bureaucrats in [[Marrakesh]], led by the ''[[Vizier|wazir]]'' Uthman ibn Jam'i, quickly engineered the election of his elderly grand-uncle, [[Abdul-Wahid I, Almohad Caliph|Abd al-Wahid I 'al-Makhlu']], as the new Almohad caliph. But the rapid appointment upset other branches of the family, notably the brothers of the late al-Nasir, who governed in [[al-Andalus]]. The challenge was immediately raised by one of them, then governor in [[Murcia]], who declared himself Caliph [[Abdallah al-Adil]]. With the help of his brothers, he quickly seized control of al-Andalus. His chief advisor, the shadowy Abu Zayd ibn Yujjan, tapped into his contacts in Marrakesh, and secured the [[Deposition (politics)|deposition]] and assassination of Abd al-Wahid I, and the expulsion of the al-Jami'i [[clan]].

This [[coup]] has been characterized as the pebble that finally broke al-Andalus. It was the first internal coup among the Almohads. The Almohad clan, despite occasional disagreements, had always remained tightly knit and loyally behind dynastic precedence. Caliph al-Adil's murderous breach of dynastic and constitutional propriety marred his acceptability to other Almohad ''[[sheikh]]s''. One of the recusants was his cousin, Abd Allah al-Bayyasi ("the [[Baeza, Spain|Baezan]]"), the Almohad governor of [[Jaén, Spain|Jaén]], who took a handful of followers and decamped for the hills around Baeza. He set up a rebel camp and forged an alliance with the hitherto quiet [[Ferdinand III of Castile]]. Sensing his greater priority was Marrakesh, where recusant Almohad ''sheikh''s had rallied behind Yahya, another son of al-Nasir, al-Adil paid little attention to this little band of misfits.

=== Zayyanid Dynasty ===
{{main|Kingdom of Tlemcen}}
[[File:Hafsids Bougie Algeria 1249 1276 ornemental Kufic.JPG|thumb|Coin of the [[Hafsids]] with ornamental [[Kufic]], [[Béjaïa|Bougie]], [[Algeria]], 1249–1276.]]
[[File:Zayyanid Kingdom at the beginning of the 14th century.png|thumb|left|The kingdom of Tlemcen at the beginning of the 14th century.<ref>{{cite web | title=Religious motivations or feudal expansionism? The Crusade of James II of Aragon against Nasrid Almeria in 1309-10 | website=Complutense University of Madrid | url=http://capire.es/eikonimago/index.php/demedioaevo/article/download/232/355 | last=Baydal Sala | first=Vicent | date=19 Nov 2017 | access-date=7 July 2020 | archive-date=2 November 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102231721/http://capire.es/eikonimago/index.php/demedioaevo/article/download/232/355 | url-status=dead }}</ref>]]
The Kingdom of Tlemcen or Zayyanid Kingdom of Tlemcen ({{langx|ar|الزيانيون}}) was a [[Berbers|Berber]]<ref name="al-Wadid-2016">{{Cite web |title=Abd al-Wadid Dynasty {{!}} Berber dynasty |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Abd-al-Wadid-dynasty |access-date=2016-07-22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Appiah |first1=Anthony |last2=Gates |first2=Henry Louis |year=2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A0XNvklcqbwC |title=Encyclopedia of Africa |isbn=9780195337709 |language=en}}</ref> kingdom in what is now the northwest of [[Algeria]]. Its territory stretched from [[Tlemcen]] to the [[Chelif River|Chelif bend]] and [[Algiers]], and at its zenith reached [[Sijilmasa]] and the [[Moulouya River]] in the west, [[Tuat]] to the south and the [[Soummam River|Soummam]] in the east.<ref name="books.google.co.uk3">[https://books.google.com/books?id=wR_2DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA70 الدولة الزيانية في عهد يغمراسن: دراسة تاريخية وحضارية 633 هـ - 681 هـ / 1235 م - 1282 مخالد بلع] ربي Al Manhal</ref><ref name=qantara>{{cite web |website=Qantara |url=http://www.qantara-med.org/qantara4/public/show_document.php?do_id=603&lang=en |title=The Abdelwadids (1236-1554) |access-date=2013-05-15 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-11-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112233419/http://www.qantara-med.org/qantara4/public/show_document.php?do_id=603&lang=en}}</ref><ref name="Simon 17523">[https://books.google.com/books?id=V31-r9820IQC&pg=PA175 L'Algérie au passé lointain – De Carthage à la Régence d'Alger, p175]</ref>

The Tlemcen Kingdom was established after the demise of the [[Almohad Caliphate]] in 1236, and later fell under [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] rule in 1554. It was ruled by sultans of the [[Zayyanid dynasty]]. The capital of the Tlemcen kingdom centred on [[Tlemcen]], which lay on the primary east–west route between [[Morocco]] and [[Ifriqiya]]. The kingdom was situated between the realm of the [[Marinid Sultanate|Marinids]] the west, centred on [[Fez, Morocco|Fez]], and the [[Hafsid dynasty|Hafsids]] to the east, centred on [[Tunis]].

Tlemcen was a hub for the north–south trade route from [[Oran]] on the [[Mediterranean]] coast to the [[Sudan (region)|Western Sudan]]. As a prosperous trading centre, it attracted its more powerful neighbours. At different times the kingdom was invaded and occupied by the Marinids from the west,{{sfn|Despois|Marçais|Colombe|Emerit|1986|p=367}} by the Hafsids from the east, and by [[Kingdom of Aragon|Aragonese]] from the north. At other times, they were able to take advantage of turmoil among their neighbours: during the reign of [[Abu Tashufin I|Abu Tashfin I]] (r. 1318–1337) the Zayyanids occupied Tunis and in 1423, under the reign of Abu Malek, they briefly [[Zayyanid Capture of Fez|captured]] Fez.{{sfn|Tarabulsi|2006|p=84}}<ref name="Garrot-1910">{{Cite book |last=Garrot |first=Henri |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p-xAAAAAYAAJ&q=1411 |title=Histoire générale de l'Algérie |date=1910 |publisher=Impr. P. Crescenzo |language=fr}}</ref>{{Rp|page=287}} In the south the Zayyanid realm included [[Tuat]], [[Tamentit]] and the [[Draa River|Draa]] region which was governed by Abdallah Ibn Moslem ez Zerdali, a sheikh of the Zayyanids.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=omgQAQAAIAAJ&q=ziyyanide Ksour et saints du Gourara: dans la tradition orale, l'hagiographie et les chroniques locales]. Rachid Bellil. C.N.R.P.A.H.</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=kyBO8X1WQdUC&dq=Abd-Allah-Ibn-Moslem-ez-Zerdali&pg=PA306 Histoire es berbères, 4]: et des dynasties musulmanes de l'afrique septentrionale. Abd al-Rahman b. Muhammad Ibn Jaldun. Imprimerie du Gouvernement.</ref><ref name="books.google.co.uk3" />

==== Rise to power (13th century) ====
The ''Bānu ʿabd āl-Wād'', also called the ''Bānu Ziyān'' or Zayyanids after [[Yaghmurasen Ibn Zyan]], the founder of the dynasty, were leaders of a [[Berbers|Berber]] group who had long been settled in the Central [[Maghreb]]. Although contemporary chroniclers asserted that they had a noble Arab origin, he reportedly spoke in [[Zenati languages|Zenati dialect]] and denied the lineage that genealogists had attributed to him.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Khaldoun |first=Ibn |year=1856 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=81X9xomfVLcC |title=Histoire es berbères, 3: et des dynasties musulmanes de l'afrique septentrionale |publisher=Imprimerie du Gouvernement |translator=[[William McGuckin de Slane]] |language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Bel. |first=A. |year=1993 |chapter='Abdalwadides |title=First Encyclopaedia of Islam: 1913-1936 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-09796-4 |page=65 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GEl6N2tQeawC&pg=PA65 |access-date=2013-05-15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Piquet |first=Victor |year=1937 |language=fr |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_bAjAAAAMAAJ |title=Histoire des monuments musulmans du Maghreb |publisher=Impr. R. Bauche}}</ref> The town of Tlemcen, called Pomaria by the Romans, is about 806m above sea level in fertile, well-watered country.{{sfn|Murray|1874|p=209}}

Tlemcen was an important centre under the [[Almoravid dynasty]] and its successors the [[Almohad Caliphate]], who began a new wall around the town in 1161.{{sfn|Murray|1874|p=210}}

Yaghmurasen ibn Zayyan (1235–83) of the ''Bānu ʿabd āl-Wād'' was governor of Tlemcen under the Almohads.{{sfn|Niane|1984|p=93}} He inherited leadership of the family from his brother in 1235.{{sfn|Tarabulsi|2006|p=83}} When the Almohad empire began to fall apart, in 1235, Yaghmurasen declared his independence.{{sfn|Niane|1984|p=93}} The city of [[Tlemcen]] became the capital of one of three successor states, ruled for centuries by successive [[Ziyyanid]] sultans.{{sfn|Ruano|2006|p=309}} Its flag was a white crescent pointing upwards on a blue field.{{sfn|Hrbek|1997|pp=34-43}} The kingdom covered the less fertile regions of the [[Tell Atlas]]. Its people included a minority of settled farmers and villagers, and a majority of nomadic herders.{{sfn|Niane|1984|p=93}}

Yaghmurasen was able to maintain control over the rival Berber groups, and when faced with the outside threat of the [[Marinid dynasty]], he formed an alliance with the [[Emir of Granada]] and the King of Castile, [[Alfonso X]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title='Abd al-Wadid |year=2010 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica Vol. I: A-Ak - Bayes |edition=15th |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |location=Chicago, IL |isbn=978-1-59339-837-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/newencyclopaedia2009ency/page/16 16] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/newencyclopaedia2009ency}}</ref> According to [[Ibn Khaldun]], "he was the bravest, most dreaded and honourable man of the 'Abd-la-Wadid family. No one looked after the interest of his people, maintained the influence of the kingdom and managed the state administration better than he did."{{sfn|Tarabulsi|2006|p=83}} In 1248 he defeated the Almohad Caliph in the [[Battle of Oujda]] during which the Almohad Caliph was killed. In 1264 he managed to conquer Sijilmasa, therefore bringing Sijilmasa and Tlemcen, the two most important outlets for trans-Saharan trade under one authority.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=TpjwF--kPL4C&pg=PA94 Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century - Page 94]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=RdEtAQAAIAAJ Histoire de l'Afrique: des origines à nos jours - Page 211]</ref> Sijilmasa remained under his control for 11 years.<ref name="Messier-2009">{{Cite book |last=Messier |first=Ronald A. |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three |journal=The Encyclopaedia of Islam |publisher=Brill |year=2009 |editor-last=Fleet |editor-first=Kate |location= |pages= |chapter=ʿAbd al- Wādids |issn=1873-9830 |editor-last2=Krämer |editor-first2=Gudrun |editor-last3=Matringe |editor-first3=Denis |editor-last4=Nawas |editor-first4=John |editor-last5=Rowson |editor-first5=Everett}}</ref> Before his death he instructed his son and heir Uthman to remain on the defensive with the [[Marinid dynasty|Marinid kingdom]], but to expand into [[Hafsid dynasty|Hafsid]] territory if possible.{{sfn|Tarabulsi|2006|p=83}}

==== 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}}

==== Decline (late 14th and 15th centuries) ====
[[File:A_man_of_Tlemcen.jpg|thumb|A man of Tlemcen]]
In the late 14th century and the 15th century, the state was increasingly weak and became intermittently a vassal of [[Hafsid dynasty|Hafsid]] [[Ifriqiya]], Marinid [[Morocco]] or the [[Crown of Aragon]].{{sfn|Hrbek|1997|pp=41}} In 1386 Abu Hammu moved his capital to Algiers, which he judged less vulnerable, but a year later his son, Abu Tashufin, overthrew him and took him prisoner. Abu Hammu was sent on a ship towards Alexandria but he escaped along the way when the ship stopped in Tunis. In 1388 he recaptured Tlemcen, forcing his son to flee. Abu Tashufin sought refuge in Fez and enlisted the aid of the Marinids, who sent an army to occupy Tlemcen and reinstall him on the throne. As a result, Abu Tashufin and his successors recognized the suzerainty of the Marinids and paid them an annual tribute.{{Sfn|Abun-Nasr|1987|p=141}}

During the reign of the Marinid sultan [[Abu Said Uthman III|Abu Sa'id]], the Zayyanids rebelled on several occasions and Abu Sa'id had to reassert his authority.<ref name="Societe archeologique-1919">{{Cite web |last=Société archéologique |first=historique et géographique du département de Constantine Auteur du texte |date=1919 |title=Recueil des notices et mémoires de la Société archéologique de la province de Constantine |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6139627s |access-date=2022-01-18 |website=Gallica |language=EN}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=33–39}} After Abu Sa'id's death in 1420 the Marinids were plunged into political turmoil. The Zayyanid emir, Abu Malek, used this opportunity to throw off Marinid authority and [[Zayyanid Capture of Fez|captured Fez]] in 1423. Abu Malek installed Muhammad, a Marinid prince, as a Zayyanid vassal in Fez.<ref name="Garrot-1910"/>{{Rp|page=287}}<ref name="Societe archeologique-1919" />{{Rp|pages=47–49}} The [[Wattasid dynasty|Wattasids]], a family related to the Marinids, continued to govern from [[Salé]], where they proclaimed [[Abd al-Haqq II]], an infant, as the successor to the Marinid throne, with [[Abu Zakariya Yahya al-Wattasi|Abu Zakariyya al-Wattasi]] as [[regent]]. The Hafsid sultan, [[Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz II|Abd al-Aziz II]], reacted to Abu Malek's rising influence by sending military expeditions westward, installing his own Zayyanid client king (Abu Abdallah II) in Tlemcen and pursuing Abu Malek to Fez. Abu Malek's Marinid puppet, Muhammad, was deposed and the Wattasids returned with Abd al-Haqq II to Fez, acknowledging Hafsid suzerainty.<ref name="Garrot-1910" />{{Rp|page=287}}<ref name="Societe archeologique-1919" />{{Rp|pages=47–49}} The Zayyanids remained vassals of the Hafsids until the end of the 15th century, when the Spanish expansion along the coast weakened the rule of both dynasties.{{Sfn|Abun-Nasr|1987|p=141}}

By the end of the 15th century the [[Kingdom of Aragon]] had gained effective political control, intervening in the dynastic disputes of the amirs of Tlemcen, whose authority had shrunk to the town and its immediate neighbourship.{{sfn|Niane|1984|p=95}} When the Spanish took the city of [[Oran]] from the kingdom in 1509, continuous pressure from the Berbers prompted the Spanish to attempt a counterattack against the city of Tlemcen (1543), which was deemed by the [[Papacy]] to be a crusade. The Spanish under Martin of Angulo had also suffered a prior [[Spanish Expedition to Tlemcen (1535)|defeat in 1535]] when they attempted to install a client ruler in Tlemcen. The Spanish failed to take the city in the first attack, but the strategic vulnerability of Tlemcen caused the kingdom's weight to shift toward the safer and more heavily fortified corsair base at [[Algiers]].

Tlemcen was [[Campaign of Tlemcen (1551)|captured in 1551]] by the [[Ottoman Empire]] under [[Hasan Pasha (son of Barbarossa)|Hassan Pasha]]. The last Zayyanid sultan's son escaped to Oran, then a Spanish possession. He was baptized and lived a quiet life as Don Carlos at the court of [[Philip II of Spain]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

Under the Ottoman Empire Tlemcen quickly lost its former importance, becoming a sleepy provincial town.{{sfn|Wingfield|1868|p=261}} The failure of the kingdom to become a powerful state can be explained by the lack of geographical or cultural unity, the constant internal disputes and the reliance on irregular [[Arab-Berber]] nomads for the military.<ref name="al-Wadid-2016"/>

=== Kingdom of Beni Abbas ===
{{main|Kingdom of Beni Abbas}}
{{Expand section|date=June 2023}}
[[File:Kingdom of Beni Abbas.jpg|thumb|Kingdom of Beni Abbas in the 16th century during the reign of Ahmed Amokrane]]

=== Kingdom of Kuku ===
{{main|Kingdom of Kuku}}
{{Expand section|date=June 2023}}
[[File:Map of Kabyle Kingdoms and Algiers.png|thumb|Kingdom of Kuku (blue) just east of Algiers]]

=== Christian conquest of Spain ===
{{main|Reconquista}}
The final triumph of the 700-year [[Reconquista|Christian conquest of Spain]] was marked by the fall of [[Granada]] in 1492. Christian Spain imposed its influence on the Maghrib coast by constructing fortified outposts and collecting tribute. But Spain never sought to extend its North African conquests much beyond a few modest enclaves. Privateering was an age-old practice in the Mediterranean, and North African rulers engaged in it increasingly in the late 16th and early 17th centuries because it was so lucrative. Until the 17th century the [[Barbary pirates]] used galleys, but a [[Dutch people|Dutch]] renegade of the name of [[Zymen Danseker]] taught them the advantage of using sailing ships.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Stolen Village: Baltimore and the Barbary Pirates |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mVmNAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT49 |first = Des |last = Ekin|publisher =The O'Brien Press|year=2012|isbn = 9781847174314}}</ref>

Algeria became the privateering city-state par excellence, and two privateer brothers were instrumental in extending Ottoman influence in Algeria. At about the time Spain was establishing its [[presidio]]s in the Maghrib, the Muslim privateer brothers [[Aruj]] and [[Hayreddin Barbarossa|Khair ad Din]]—the latter known to Europeans as [[Hayreddin Barbarossa|Barbarossa]], or Red Beard—were operating successfully off Tunisia. In 1516 Aruj moved his base of operations to Algiers but was killed in 1518. Khair ad Din succeeded him as military commander of Algiers, and the Ottoman sultan gave him the title of beglerbey (provincial governor).

=== Spanish enclaves ===
The Spanish expansionist policy in North Africa began with the Catholic Monarchs and the regent [[Cardinal Cisneros|Cisneros]], once the ''Reconquista'' in the Iberian Peninsula was finished. That way, several towns and outposts in the Algerian coast were conquered and occupied: [[Mers El Kébir]] (1505), [[Oran]] (1509), [[Algiers]] (1510) and [[Bejaia|Bugia]] (1510). The [[Spanish conquest of Oran (1509)|Spanish conquest of Oran]] was won with much bloodshed: 4,000 Algerians were massacred, and up to 8,000 were taken prisoner. For about 200 years, Oran's inhabitants were virtually held captive in their fortress walls, ravaged by famine and plague; Spanish soldiers, too, were irregularly fed and paid.<ref name=Ring>{{cite book|last1=Ring|first1=Trudy|title=Middle East and Africa: International Dictionary of Historic Places|date=2014|publisher=Routledge|page=558}}</ref>

The Spaniards left Algiers in 1529, Bujia in 1554, Mers El Kébir and Oran in 1708. The Spanish returned in 1732 when the armada of the [[José Carrillo de Albornoz, 1st Duke of Montemar|Duke of Montemar]] was victorious in the Battle of Aïn-el-Turk and [[Spanish conquest of Oran (1732)|retook Oran and Mers El Kébir]]; the Spanish massacred many Muslim soldiers.<ref>{{cite book |title=Middle East and Africa: International Dictionary of Historic Places |date=2014 |publisher=Routledge |page=559}}</ref> In 1751, a Spanish adventurer, named John Gascon, obtained permission, and vessels and fireworks, to go against Algiers, and set fire, at night, to the Algerian fleet. The plan, however, miscarried. In 1775, [[Charles III of Spain]] sent a large force to attack Algiers, under the command of [[Alejandro O'Reilly]] (who had led Spanish forces in crushing French rebellion in Louisiana), resulting in a disastrous defeat. The Algerians suffered 5,000 casualties.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Clodfelter|first1=Micheal|title=Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492-2015, 4th ed|date=2017|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0786474707|page=75}}</ref> The Spanish navy [[Bombardment of Algiers (1784)|bombarded Algiers in 1784]]; over 20,000 cannonballs were fired, much of the city and its fortifications were destroyed and most of the Algerian fleet was sunk.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jamieson |first1=Alan G. |author1-link=Alan G. Jamieson|title=Lords of the Sea: A History of the Barbary Corsairs |date=2013 |publisher=Reaktion Books |page=176}}</ref>

Oran and Mers El Kébir were held until 1792, when they were sold by the king [[Charles IV of Spain|Charles IV]] to the [[History of Ottoman Algeria|Bey of Algiers]].