The Rustamid dynasty () (or ''Rustumids'', ''Rostemids'') was an

Ibadi Ibadism (, ) is a school of Islam concentrated in Oman established from within the Kharijites. The followers of the Ibadi sect are known as the Ibadis or, as they call themselves, The People of Truth and Integrity (). Ibadism emerged around 6 ...

dynasty of Persian origin which ruled a state that was centered in present-day

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

. The dynasty governed as a Muslim

theocracy Theocracy is a form of autocracy or oligarchy in which one or more deity, deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries, with executive and legislative power, who manage the government's ...

for a century and a half from its capital Tahert (present day Tagdemt) until the

Ismaili Ismailism () is a branch of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor ( imām) to Ja'far al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the Twelver Shia, who accept ...

Fatimid Caliphate The Fatimid Caliphate (; ), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa and West Asia, i ...

defeated it. Rustamid authority extended over what is now central and western Algeria, parts of southern

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

, and the

Jebel Nafusa The Nafusa Mountains () () is a mountain range in the western Tripolitania region of northwestern Libya. It also includes the regions around the escarpment formed where the northern end of the Tripolitanian Plateau meets the Mediterranean coasta ...

and

Fezzan Fezzan ( , ; ; ; ) is the southwestern region of modern Libya. It is largely desert, but broken by mountains, uplands, and dry river valleys (wadis) in the north, where oases enable ancient towns and villages to survive deep in the otherwise in ...

regions in

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

as far as Zawila.

History

The Ibāḍī movement reached North Africa by 719, when the missionary Salma ibn Sa'd was sent from the Ibādī ''jama'a'' of

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

Kairouan Kairouan (, ), also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan ( , ), is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by the Umayyads around 670, in the period of Caliph Mu'awiya (reigned 661� ...

. By 740, their efforts had converted the major

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

tribes of Huwara around Tripoli, in the Nafusa Mountains and at

Zenata The Zenata (; ) are a group of Berber tribes, historically one of the largest Berber confederations along with the Sanhaja and Masmuda. Their lifestyle was either nomadic or semi-nomadic. Society The 14th-century historiographer Ibn Khaldun repo ...

in western

Tripolitania Tripolitania (), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province of Libya. The region had been settled since antiquity, first coming to prominence as part of the Carthaginian empire. Following the defeat ...

. In 757 (140 AH), a group of four Basra-educated missionaries including ʻAbd ar-Rahmān ibn Rustam proclaimed an Ibāḍī imamate in Tripolitania, starting an abortive state led by Abu l-Khattab Abdul-A'la ibn as-Samh which lasted until the

Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes ...

dispatched Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath al-Khuza'i to suppress it in 761.

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

was conquered by the Abbasids from Kharijite control and Abul-Khattab Abdul-A'la ibn as-Samh was killed. On his death, the Tripolitanian Ibādiyya elected Abu l-Hatim al-Malzuzi as Imām; he was killed in 772 after launching a second unsuccessful revolt in 768. After this, the center of power shifted to

, and, in 777, ʻAbd ar-Rahmān ibn Rustam, an Ifriqiyan-born convert to the Ibāḍī movement of Persian origin and one of the four founders of the

imamate The term imamate or ''imamah'' (, ''imāmah'') means "leadership" and refers to the office of an ''imam'' or a Muslim theocratic state ruled by an ''imam''. Theology *Imamate in Shia doctrine, the doctrine of the leadership of the Muslim commu ...

, was elected Imām; after this, the post remained in his family, a practice which the Ibādiyya justified by noting that he came from no tribe, and thus his election as imam would not favour the domination of one Ibadi tribe over the others. The new imamate was centered on the newly built capital of Tahert (or Tahart), near present-day

Tiaret Tiaret () or Tahert () is a major city in northwestern Algeria that gives its name to the wider farming region of Tiaret Province. Both the town and region lie south-west of the capital of Algiers in the western region of the Hautes Plaines, i ...

. Several Ibādī tribes displaced from

and

settled there and strong fortifications were built.

Al-Bakri Abū ʿUbayd ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Muḥammad ibn Ayyūb ibn ʿAmr al-Bakrī (), or simply al-Bakrī (c. 1040–1094) was an Arab Andalusian historian and a geographer of the Muslim West. Life Al-Bakri was born in Huelva, the ...

mentions that after the establishment of Tahert, tribes within the area congregated around the vicinity of Tahert as the town was conceived of as a military base of the Imam and leader of the Ibadi tribes. The town was surrounded by a strong wall, it had a fortress, a commercial center, regular supply of water, gardens of fruit and vegetables and it was foremost a religious and economic center of the region. It eventually became a center along the caravan trade route to the Near East, this economic prosperity resulted in the later settlement of non-Ibadite Muslims and Christians. The Rustamids fought the Kairouan-based

Aghlabids The Aghlabid dynasty () was an Arab dynasty centered in Ifriqiya (roughly present-day Tunisia) from 800 to 909 that conquered parts of Sicily, Southern Italy, and possibly Sardinia, nominally as vassals of the Abbasid Caliphate. The Aghlabids ...

of Ifriqiya in 812, but otherwise reached a ''

modus vivendi ''Modus vivendi'' (plural ''modi vivendi'') is a Latin phrase that means "mode of living" or " way of life". In international relations, it often is used to mean an arrangement or agreement that allows conflicting parties to coexist in peace. In ...

''; this displeased Ibādī tribes on the Aghlabid border, who launched a few rebellions. In 873, a

succession crisis A succession crisis is a crisis that arises when an order of succession fails, for example when a monarch dies without an indisputable heir. It may result in a war of succession. Examples include (see List of wars of succession): * The Wars of Th ...

occurred as the Third Imam

Abu Bakr Abd Allah ibn Abi Quhafa (23 August 634), better known by his ''Kunya (Arabic), kunya'' Abu Bakr, was a senior Sahaba, companion, the closest friend, and father-in-law of Muhammad. He served as the first caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruli ...

, fearing the loss of his title to his older brother Mohammed Abu-l-Yaqzan, attempted to assassinate him. However, his plot failed, leading to the population uprising against Abu Bakr, resulting in his overthrow and death In 874. Consequently, Mohammed Abu-l-Yaqzan assumed the title. After Abdu l-Wahhāb, the Rustamids grew militarily weak; they were easily conquered by the Ismaili Fatimids in 909, upon which many Ibāḍis – including the last Imām – fled to the Sedrata tribe of

Ouargla Ouargla (Berber: Wargrən, ) is the capital city of Ouargla Province in the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria. It has a flourishing petroleum industry and hosts one of Algeria's universities, the University of Ouargla. The commune of Ouargla had ...

, whence they would ultimately emigrate to Mzab.

Society and culture

The Rustamid dynasty, "developed a cosmopolitan reputation in which Christians, non-Kharijite Muslims, and adherents of different sects of

Kharijites The Kharijites (, singular ) 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 conflict with his challeng ...

lived".John P. Entelis, ''Algeria: The Revolution Institutionalized'', page 14 On the intellectual field, the Rustamids had many scholars and learned men, such as

Abd al-Rahman ibn Rustam Abd al-Rahman ibn Rustam () was a Persian ''imam'' and the founder of Rustamid dynasty, which existed in Algeria from about 776 or 778 CE to 908 CE. He was also the founder of Tiaret. History Origin Abd al-Rahman was probably born in Iraq. H ...

, Abd al-Wahhab ibn Abd al-Rahman, Aflah ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab, dan Abu al-Yaqzhan ibn Aflah, Mahdi an-Nafusi, ‘Abd Allah al-Lamthi, and Mahmud ibn Bakr. ‘Abd ar-Rahman had an exegesis of the Qur’an. ‘Abd al-Wahhab wrote his Masa'il Nafusah on Islamic jurisprudence. Aflah mastered Arabic literature, mathematics, and astronomy. Abu al-Yaqzhan wrote about 40 works. Because of their intellectual enthusiasm, the Rustamids vigorously transferred valuable works from the Mashriq to the Maghrib, especially to the library of al-Ma‘shumah (in Tahert) and that of Khizanah Nafusah (in Jabal Nafusah). Moreover, Tahert was famous as ‘Iraq al-Maghrib, al-‘Iraq ash-Shaghir, Balkh al-Maghrib, or Little Basra. Apart from these achievements, the Rustamids also had significant contribution to Islamization in the Maghrib and Bilad as-Sudan. For about two centuries (130–340 AH / 750–950 AD), the Kharijite people gained control of trade routes in the Maghrib and Bilad as-Sudan. Many Ibadite merchants made journeys along the vast area, such as Tahert, Wargla, Nafzawa, Jabal Nafusah, Tadmakkat, Gao, and Ghana. By this economic activity, the Ibadites took advantages of trading business and preaching Islam at the same time.Ahmad Choirul Rofiq, "Moderation and Civilization: A Historical Analysis on the Moderate Policy of the Rustamid Dynasty" in

Rustamid Imams

''(Bānū-Bādūsyān)'' (776–788) * Abd al-Wahhab ibn Abd al-Rahman (788–824) * Aflah ibn ʿAbdi l-Wahhab (824–872) * Abu Bakr ibn Aflah (872–874) * Muhammad Abu l-Yaqzan ibn Aflah (874–894) * Yusuf Abu Hatim ibn Muhammad (894–895) * Yaʿqub ibn Aflah (895–899) * Yusuf Abu Hatim ibn Muhammad, again (899–906) * Yaqzan ibn Muhammad Abi l-Yaqzan (906–909)

Family tree

References

Sources