Buluggin ibn Ziri, often transliterated Bologhine, in full ʾAbū al Futūḥ Sayf ad Dawlah Bulukīn ibn Zīrī ibn Manād aṣ Ṣanhājī ( ar, أبو الفتوح سيف الدولة بلكين بن زيري بن مناد الصنهاجي; died 984) was the first ruler of the

Sanhaja The Sanhaja ( ber, Aẓnag, pl. Iẓnagen, and also Aẓnaj, pl. Iẓnajen; ar, صنهاجة, ''Ṣanhaja'' or زناگة ''Znaga'') were once one of the largest Berber tribal confederations, along with the Zanata and Masmuda confederations. Ma ...

Berber dynasty of

Zirids The Zirid dynasty ( ar, الزيريون, translit=az-zīriyyūn), Banu Ziri ( ar, بنو زيري, translit=banū zīrī), or the Zirid state ( ar, الدولة الزيرية, translit=ad-dawla az-zīriyya) was a Sanhaja Berber dynasty from ...

in Ifriqiya (972–984).

Bologhine Bologhine is a suburb of the city of Algiers in northern Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coo ...

, a suburb in the city of Algiers, is named after him.

Biography

Buluggin was born in the region of

Titteri The Titteri ( ar, جبل التيطري, ber, Tittri) is a historical region in Algeria. It is located in the mountainous area of the southern Tell Atlas in the Atlas Mountains. Geography The Titteri was a former administrative division of the R ...

, in what is now

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. While his father Ziri ibn Menad was emir of the central

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

, Buluggin ibn Ziri founded the city of Algiers on the site of the ancient Roman

Icosium Icosium ( grc, Ἰκόσιον, Ikósion) was a Berber city that was part of Numidia which became an important Roman colony and an early medieval bishopric (now a Latin titular see) in the casbah area of actual Algiers. History Legends I ...

in 960, but also

Médéa Médéa ( ber, Lemdiyyet, ar, المدية ''al-Madiya''), population 123,535 (1998 census) is the capital city of Médéa Province, Algeria. It is located roughly 68 km south of Algiers. The present-day city is situated on the site o ...

and

Miliana Miliana ( ar, مليانة) is a commune in Aïn Defla Province in northwestern Algeria. It is the administrative center of the daïra, or district, of the same name. It is approximately southwest of the Algerian capital, Algiers.r/sup>, which ...

. He also rebuilt the villages destroyed by the various revolts. On the death of his father, in a battle against

Kharidjite The Kharijites (, singular ), also called al-Shurat (), were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the c ...

Berber tribes in 971, the

Fatimid The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids, a dyna ...

Caliph Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah appointed Buluggin ibn Ziri as

Emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...

of the Maghreb. In addition to the attributions of his father Menad Abu Ziri, he received the regions of Zab and

M'Sila M'sila (also spelled Msila) ( ar, المسيلة); is the capital of M'Sila Province, Algeria, and is co-extensive with M'sila District. It has a population of 132,975 as per the 2008 census. M'sila University is also located in this city. Hist ...

that the defector Jaʿfar ibn ʿAlī ruled. The honours bestowed on him would provoke the jealousy of the

Kutama The Kutama ( Berber: ''Ikutamen''; ar, كتامة) was a Berber tribe in northern Algeria classified among the Berber confederation of the Bavares. The Kutama are attested much earlier, in the form ''Koidamousii'' by the Greek geographer Ptolemy. ...

s. Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah left the governance of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

to members of his family. Buluggin continued the fight against the

Zenata The Zenata ( Berber language: Iznaten) are a group of Amazigh (Berber) tribes, historically one of the largest Berber confederations along with the Sanhaja and Masmuda. Their lifestyle was either nomadic or semi-nomadic. Etymology ''Iznaten ( ...

s. The

Maghrawa The Maghrawa or Meghrawa ( ar, المغراويون) were a large Zenata 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 t ...

asked for the help of the Umayyads of Cordoba to take back their territory and their cities. Buluggin then took control of almost all of the Maghreb under orders of the Fatimid Caliph. Buluggin defeated the

, the

Hawwara Hawwara ( Berber: ''Ihuwwaren'', ), also spelled Huwwara, Howwara, Hewwara or Houara, is a large tribal confederation of Berbers and Arabized Berbers spread widely in the Maghreb, with descendants in Upper Egypt and Sudan. Hawwara are amongst t ...

s (branch of the Branis), the Nefzawas (branch of the Zenatas) and the Mazata. The prisoners were resettled in great numbers in the settlement of Ashir. The Fatimids transferred their court from

Mahdia Mahdia ( ar, المهدية ') is a Tunisian coastal city with 62,189 inhabitants, south of Monastir and southeast of Sousse. Mahdia is a provincial centre north of Sfax. It is important for the associated fish-processing industry, as well as w ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

. Buluggin was then appointed viceroy of Ifriqiya with

Kairouan Kairouan (, ), also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan ( ar, ٱلْقَيْرَوَان, al-Qayrawān , aeb, script=Latn, Qeirwān ), is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by t ...

as its capital. The Fatimids had taken the treasury and

fleet Fleet may refer to: Vehicles *Fishing fleet *Naval fleet *Fleet vehicles, a pool of motor vehicles *Fleet Aircraft, the aircraft manufacturing company Places Canada * Fleet, Alberta, Canada, a hamlet England * The Fleet Lagoon, at Chesil Beach ...

with them to Egypt, so the first priority of the Zirid government was to consolidate its rule. However, the loss of the fleet meant loss of control over the

Kalbids The Kalbids () were a Muslim Arab dynasty in the Emirate of Sicily, which ruled from 948 to 1053. They were formally appointed by the Fatimids, but gained, progressively, ''de facto'' autonomous rule. History In 827, in the midst of internal ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. Buluggin took Fez, Sijilmasa and most of Morocco to the Atlantic coast. During a campaign in Morocco, he fought against the Bargawata. The

Caliphate of Córdoba The Caliphate of Córdoba ( ar, خلافة قرطبة; transliterated ''Khilāfat Qurṭuba''), also known as the Cordoban Caliphate was an Islamic state ruled by the Umayyad dynasty from 929 to 1031. Its territory comprised Iberia and parts o ...

was, however, able to retain the fortresses of

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territorie ...

and

Tangiers Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capi ...

. Nevertheless, Buluggin remained a vassal of the Fatimids, to whom he had to pay tribute, and he remained surrounded by advisors who were there to support him as much as to watch over him. The Fatimids took with them wealth and military equipment. The absolute priority of the Zirids was therefore to strengthen their power, but the displacement of the Fatimid fleet towards

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

made the conservation of the Kalbide territories in Sicily impossible. Bologhine Ziri received from the Caliph the titles of ''Abu al-Futuh'', "Father of Victories" and ''Sayf ad-Dawla'' "Sword of Empire". In 977, Abu Mansur Nizar al-Aziz Billah, the successor of Al-Muizz li-Dîn Allah, attributed to Bologhine the cities of Tripoli, Ajdabiya and Sirte in addition to his previous attributions. He conquers Fez, Sijilmassa and but stopped before Ceuta. When he saw the square, which he considered impregnable, and the reinforcements of the Zenatas coming from

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

by sea, he turned back. He punished the sovereign of the Barghawata, who was declared prophet, in an expedition in 979 in which he brought back a large number of Moroccan slaves; while his lieutenant paraded them in the streets the people of Ifriqiya were shocked as they had never seen such a large number of slaves before. Little is known about the personal life of Buluggin however chroniclers state that he had many women around him and that prior to his rule of the Maghreb he had 400 concubines and one day he received the good tidings of the birth of seventeen children.Akyeampong, Emmanuel Kwaku; Jr, Professor Henry Louis Gates (2012-02-02)
Dictionary of African Biography. Oxford University Press
p. 232. . In May 984, Bologhine died, and his son

Al-Mansur Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr (; ar, أبو جعفر عبد الله بن محمد المنصور‎; 95 AH – 158 AH/714 CE – 6 October 775 CE) usually known simply as by his laqab Al-Manṣūr (المنصور) w ...

succeeded him in all his attributions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buluggin ibn Ziri 984 deaths 10th-century Berber people 10th-century people from the Fatimid Caliphate 10th-century rulers in Africa Vassal rulers of the Fatimid Caliphate Sanhaja Year of birth unknown Zirid emirs of Ifriqiya City founders 10th-century people of Ifriqiya