The Zayyanid dynasty ( ar, زيانيون, ''Ziyānyūn'') or Abd al-Wadids ( ar, بنو عبد الواد, ''Bānu ʿabd āl-Wād'') was a Berber

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 ( ...

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

that ruled the

Kingdom of Tlemcen The Kingdom of Tlemcen or Zayyanid Kingdom of Tlemcen ( ar, الزيانيون) was a Berber kingdom in what is now the northwest of Algeria. Its territory stretched from Tlemcen to the Chelif bend and Algiers, and at its zenith reached Sijil ...

, mainly in modern

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

centered on the town of

Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ar, تلمسان, translit=Tilimsān) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran, and capital of the Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the p ...

in northwest Algeria. The Zayyanid dynasty's rule lasted from

1235 Year 1235 ( MCCXXXV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events * Connacht in Ireland is finally conquered by the Hiberno-Norman Richard Mór de Burgh; Felim Ua Conchobair is expe ...

to 1557

History

On the collapse of the Almohad Caliphate's rule around 1236, the kingdom of Tlemcen became independent under the rule of the Zayyanids, and

Yaghmurasen Ibn Zyan Yaghmurasen Ibn Zyan (1206 – February/March 1283, ar, يغمراسن إبن زيان, long name: ''Yaghmurasan ben Ziyan ben Thabet ben Mohamed ben Zegraz ben Tiddugues ben Taaullah ben Ali ben Abd al-Qasem ben Abd al-Wad'') was the founder of ...

. Ibn Zyan was able to maintain control over the rival Berber groups, and when faced with the outside threat of the

Marinid The Marinid Sultanate was a Berber Muslim empire from the mid-13th to the 15th century which controlled present-day Morocco and, intermittently, other parts of North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia) and of the southern Iberian Peninsula (Spain) ar ...

s, he formed an alliance with the

Sultan of Granada ) , common_languages = Official language:Classical ArabicOther languages: Andalusi Arabic, Mozarabic, Berber, Ladino , capital = Granada , religion = Majority religion:Sunni IslamMinority religions:Roman ...

and the

King of Castile This is a list of kings and queens of the Kingdom and Crown of Castile. For their predecessors, see List of Castilian counts. Kings and Queens of Castile Jiménez dynasty House of Ivrea The following dynasts are descendants, in the ...

Alfonso X Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Germ ...

. After ibn Zyan's death, the Marinid sultan besieged

for eight years and finally captured it in 1337–48, with

Abu al-Hasan 'Ali Abu Al-Hasan 'Ali ibn 'Othman (c. 1297 – 24 May 1351), () was a sultan of the Marinid dynasty who reigned in Morocco between 1331 and 1348. In 1333 he captured Gibraltar from the Castilians, although a later attempt to take Tarifa in 1339 end ...

as the new ruler. After a period of self-rule, it was governed again by the Marinid dynasty from 1352 to 1359 under Abu Inan Faris. The Marinids reoccupied it periodically, particularly in 1360 and 1370. In both cases, the Marinids found that they were unable to hold the region against local resistance.I. Hrbek (1997), The disintegration of political unity in the Maghrib, in Joseph Ki-Zerbo & Djibril T Niane (eds.) (1997), General History of Africa, vol. IV: Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century (abridged ed.) UNESCO, James Curry Ltd., and Univ. Calif. Press., pp. 34–43. but these episodes appear to have marked the beginning of the end of the Zayyanid dynasty. During the rule of Abu Malek the Zayyanids captured Fez and then all of Morocco and installed a ruler as a vassal of Tlemcen, thereby making Morocco a Zayyanid vassal. In the 15th century, expansion eastward was attempted, but proved disastrous, as consequences of these incursions they were so weakened that over the following two centuries, the Zayyanid kingdom was intermittently a vassal of

Hafsid The Hafsids ( ar, الحفصيون ) were a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Berber descentC. Magbaily Fyle, ''Introduction to the History of African Civilization: Precolonial Africa'', (University Press of America, 1999), 84. who ruled Ifriqiya (western ...

Ifriqiya, Marinid

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

, or Aragon. 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 The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

to be a crusade. The Spanish failed to take the city in the first attack, although the strategic vulnerability of Tlemcen caused the kingdom's weight to shift toward the safer and more heavily fortified corsair base at Algiers. In 1554, the

became a

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its int ...

of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, which later deposed the Zayyanid dynasty and annexed the country to the

Regency of Algiers The Regency of Algiers ( ar, دولة الجزائر, translit=Dawlat al-Jaza'ir) was a state in North Africa lasting from 1516 to 1830, until it was conquered by the French. Situated between the regency of Tunis in the east, the Sultanate o ...

List of rulers

Dates and most alternate names taken from John Stewart's ''African States and Rulers'' (1989).

References

External links

Britannica.com: The ʿAbd al-Wādid DynastyQantara-med.org: The Abdelwadids (1236–1554)
– ''by Yassir Benhima''. {{Authority control Medieval Algeria Countries in medieval Africa Sunni dynasties Tlemcen Province Zenata 16th century in Algeria States and territories established in 1236 States and territories disestablished in 1556 13th-century establishments in Africa 1550s disestablishments in Africa

History

List of rulers

See also

References

External links