The Hilalian invasion of Ifriqiya () refers to the migration of

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

tribes of

Banu Hilal The Banu Hilal ( ar, بنو هلال, translit=Banū Hilāl) was a confederation of Arabian tribes from the Hejaz and Najd regions of the Arabian Peninsula that emigrated to North Africa in the 11th century. Masters of the vast plateaux of th ...

Ifriqiya Ifriqiya ( '), also known as al-Maghrib al-Adna ( ar, المغرب الأدنى), was a medieval historical region comprising today's Tunisia and eastern Algeria, and Tripolitania (today's western Libya). It included all of what had previously ...

. It was organised by the

Fatimids The Fatimid Caliphate was an Isma'ilism, Ismaili Shia Islam, 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 ea ...

with the goal of punishing the Zirids for breaking ties with them and pledging allegiance to the

Abbasid Caliphs The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The family came to ...

Background

Since the

Fatimid conquest of Egypt The Fatimid conquest of Egypt took place in 969, as the troops of the Fatimid Caliphate under the general Jawhar captured Egypt, then ruled by the autonomous Ikhshidid dynasty in the name of the Abbasid Caliphate. The Fatimids launched repeated ...

in 969, then under the rule of the

Ikhshidids The Ikhshidid dynasty (, ) was a Turkic mamluk dynasty who ruled Egypt and the Levant from 935 to 969. Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid, a Turkic mamluk soldier, was appointed governor by the Abbasid Caliph al-Radi. The dynasty carried the Arabic t ...

, vassals of the

Abbasids The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

, the Fatimids began to lose control over their possessions in the

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, ...

. In 972, the

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 ...

declared independence from the Fatimids and recognised the

as caliphs. As retaliation, the Fatimids sent devastating

invasions into the Maghreb to punish the Zirids and Hammadids.

Invasion

After devastating

Cyrenica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika ( ar, برقة, Barqah, grc-koi, Κυρηναϊκή ��παρχίαKurēnaïkḗ parkhíā}, after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between ...

in 1050, the Banu Hilal advanced westwards towards the Zirids. The Hilalians proceeded to sack and devastate Ifriqiya, they defeated the Zirids decisively in the

Battle of Haydaran The Battle of Haydaran () or the Battle of Jabal Haydaran () was an armed conflict which took place on 14 April 1052 between the Arab tribes of Banu Hilal and the Zirid dynasty in modern-day South-East Tunisia, it was part of the Hilalian invas ...

on April 14, 1052. The Hilalians then expelled the Zenatas from southern Ifriqiya and forced the Hammadids to pay an annual tribute, placing the Hammadids under Hilalian vassalage. The city of Kairouan was looted by the Banu Hilal in 1057 after it was abandoned by the Zirids.

Aftermath

As a result of the invasion, the

and

Hammadids The Hammadid dynasty () was a branch of the Sanhaja 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 m ...

were expelled to the coastal regions of Ifriqiya, with the Zirids being forced to move their capital from

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 th ...

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 Sfax (; ar, صفاقس, Ṣafāqis ) is a city in Tunisia, located ...

, and their rule limited to a coastal strip around Mahdia, meanwhile the Hammadid rule was limited to a coastal strip between

Ténès Ténès ( ar, تنس; from Berber TNS 'camping') is a town in Algeria located around 200 kilometers west of the capital Algiers. , it has a population of 65,000 people. History Ténès was founded as a Phoenician port in or before the 8th cen ...

and

El Kala El Kala ( ar, القالة, Latin ''Thinisa in Numidia'') is a seaport of Algeria, in El Tarf Province, 56 miles (90 km) by rail east of Annaba and 10 miles (16 km) west of the Tunisian frontier. It is the centre of the Algerian and Tuni ...

as vassals of Banu Hilal and eventually being forced to move their capital from Beni Hammad to

Béjaïa Béjaïa (; ; ar, بجاية‎, Latn, ar, Bijāya, ; kab, Bgayet, Vgayet), formerly Bougie and Bugia, is a Mediterranean port city and commune on the Gulf of Béjaïa in Algeria; it is the capital of Béjaïa Province, Kabylia. Béjaïa is ...

in 1090 following increasing pressure from

References

Sources

* {{Encyclopaedia of Islam, New Edition, volume=2, title=Fāṭimids, last=Canard, first=M., authorlink=Marius Canard, pages=850—862 1050s 11th century in Ifriqiya Banu Hilal Hammadids Kairouan Zirid dynasty Zenata

Background

Invasion

Aftermath

See also

References

Sources