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  • Before 1400: The Ancient and Medieval Worlds (4)

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Article

Buluggin, ibn Ziri  

A. K. Bennison

Article

Publication History:

Published in print:
08 December 2011
Published online:
30 September 2012

chief of the Sanhaja, military leader, also known as Abuʾl-Futuh Yusuf, was the son of Ziri ibn Manad, a chief of the Sanhaja, one of the main Berber peoples of the Maghrib. Many Sanhaja tribes joined the Shiʿi Fatimids when they were based in Ifriqiya (909–972 CE), while the majority of the Zanata Berber tribes offered their support to the Sunni Umayyads of Cordoba. The Kharijites of the Maghrib also opposed the Fatimids, creating a situation of permanent conflict among the tribes of the region. In 324/936 Ziri constructed the fortified town of Ashir, which al-Nuwayri describes as populated by merchants dealing in agricultural products, religious scholars, and jurists. Ziri became a prominent client of the Fatimids after they assisted the Fatimid caliph al-Qaʾim during the Kharijite siege of al-Mahdiyya in 334–5/946.

According to chroniclers Buluggin was the youngest of Ziri s ten or twelve sons but the most able ...

Article

Salih ibn Tarif  

Brian H. Biffle

Article

Publication History:

Published in print:
08 December 2011
Published online:
30 September 2012

second king of the Barghwata people and self-proclaimed prophet. The Barghwata peoples of Tamasna, located on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, comprised one of several Berber communities in southern and central Morocco. These small, localized kingdoms existed among numerous independent Berber peoples who lived in prestate political communities. The Berber population was diverse and included pastoralists, peasants, and camel-herding nomads. The Berbers were known under several names, including Masmuda, Sanhaja, and Zenata. The Barghwata established their kingdom in the mid-eighth century after participating in the Kharidit insurrection of Maisara. The Barghwata remained under the rule of the descendants of Salih ibn Tarif until the middle of the eleventh century when they were conquered by the Almoravids.

Salih ibn Tarif succeeded his father Tarif ibn Shamaʾun ibn Yaʾkub ibn Ishak to become the second king of the Barghwata His reign coincided with that of the caliphate of the Ummayad Hisham ibn ...

Article

Tacfarinas  

Duane W. Roller

Article

Publication History:

Published in print:
08 December 2011
Published online:
30 September 2012

leader of the Musulamii, a Numidian tribe, was active from 17 to 24 CE in opposing the power of the established governments in north central Africa, in other words, the Romans and the Mauretanian allied kingdom of Juba II. His career is known solely from the Annals of Tacitus, the point of view of the Romans who defeated him, and thus the data must be considered with caution.

Tacfarinas is an early example of the indigenous leader skilled in Roman ways who used his knowledge to fight against Roman power. As the Roman Empire spread, increasing numbers of peoples on its frontier became accustomed to Roman civilization without accepting Roman political control. In North Africa there was also the constant conflict between the agriculturalists—both indigenous and European settlers—and the transhumant peoples who found their routes blocked by the agrarian population, a historic problem still apparent today in many areas.

Tacfarinas ...

Article

Yaghmurasan  

Stephen Cory

Article

Publication History:

Published in print:
08 December 2011
Published online:
30 September 2012

was founder of the Zanata Berber Zayyanid dynasty and leader of the Banu ʿAbd al-Wad people, which ruled over portions of modern Algeria from the mid-thirteenth to the early sixteenth centuries. Although not as well known as their cousins, the Marinids, who ruled Morocco during roughly the same time period, the Banu ʿAbd al-Wad built a sophisticated capital in Tlemcen, whose cultural life, scholarship, and architecture are said to have rivaled that of the Marinid capital in Fez.

Yaghmurasan’s political fortunes arose as Almohad power declined in the central Maghreb. Following their 1212 defeat at Las Navas de Tolosa in southern Spain the Almohads began to lose control over their North African empire As central governance weakened the Almohads were replaced by regional Berber allies the Almohads were Berbers as well who were increasingly able to exercise independent authority the Hafsids in Ifriqiya present day Tunisia the Marinids in ...