Aghlabid dynasty الأغالبة (Arabic) Banū al-Aghlab
800–909
Maximal extent of Aghlabid authority[a]
Status	Vassal of the Abbasid Caliphate
Capital	Kairouan, with royal court at:[1][2] al-Abbasiyya (800–876) Raqqada (876–909)
Common languages	Arabic
Religion	Sunni Islam (Hanafi, Mu'tazila)
Government	De jure caliphal governorate Emirate De facto autonomous Emirate from Caliphate[3][4][5]
Emir
• 800–812	Ibrahim I ibn al-Aghlab ibn Salim
• 903–909	Abu Mudhar Ziyadat Allah III ibn Abdallah
History
• Established	800
• Overthrown by the Fatimids	909
• Disestablished	909
Currency	Aghlabid Dinar[6]
Preceded by Succeeded by Abbasid Caliphate Fatimid Caliphate

Historical Arab states and dynasties
Ancient Arab states Kingdom of Qedar 800 BC–300 BC Kingdom of Lihyan 600 BC–100 BC Nabataean Kingdom 400 BC–106 AD Kingdom of Osroene 132 BC–244 AD Emesene Dynasty 64 BC–300s AD Kingdom of Hatra 100s–241 AD Tanukhids 196–1100 AD Ghassanids 220–638 AD Salihids 300s–500s AD Lakhmids 300s–602 AD Kingdom of Kinda 450 AD–550 AD
Arab empires and caliphates Rashidun 632–661 Umayyads 661–750 Abbasids 750–1258 Fatimids 909–1171
Eastern dynasties Emirate of Armenia 654–884 Emirate of Tbilisi 736–1122 Emirate of Crete 824–961 Dulafids 840–897 Habbarids 854–1011 Kaysites 860–964 Shirvanshah 861–1538 Alavids 864–928 Hamdanids 890–1004 Rawadids 955–1071 Mazyadids 961–1150 Jarrahids 970–1107 Uqaylids 990–1096 Numayrids 990–1081 Mirdasids 1024–1080 Munqidhites 1025–1157 Ma'nids 1517–1697 Turabays 1480–1677 Harfushs 1517–1865 Shihabs 1697–1842
Western dynasties and caliphates Salihids 710–1019 Umayyads of Córdoba 756–929 Muhallabids 771–793 Idrisids 788–974 Aghlabids 800–909 Sulaymanids 814–922 Emirate of Sicily 831–1091 Caliphate of Córdoba 929–1031 Kanzids 1004–1412 Bakrids 1012–1051 Tujibids 1013–1039 Amirids 1020–1086 Abbadids 1023–1091 Yahsubids 1023–1062 Hammudids 1026–1057 Muzaynids 1027–1063 Jawharids 1031–1091 Hudids 1039–1110 Sumadihids 1041–1091 Tahirids 1049–1078 Nasrids 1230–1492 Saadids 1554–1659 Senussids 1837–1969
Arabian Peninsula Imamate of Oman 751–1970 Ziyadids 819–1138 Yufirids 847–997 Ukhaidhirds 865–1066 Rassids 897–1962 Qarmatians 899–1077 Wajihids 926–965 Sharifate of Mecca 968–1925 Sulayhids 1047–1138 Sulaymanids 1063–1174 Uyunids 1076–1253 Zurayids 1083–1174 Nabhanids 1154–1624 Mahdids 1159–1174 Rasulids 1229–1454 Usfurids 1253–1320 Jarwanids 1305–1487 Kathirids 1395–1967 Tahirids 1454–1526 Jabrids 1463–1521 Qasimids 1597–1872 Ya'arubids 1624–1742 Upper Yafa 1800–1967 Muscat and Oman 1820–1970 Rashidids 1836–1921 Qu'aitids 1858–1967 Emirate of Beihan 1903–1967 Idrisids 1906–1934 Mutawakkilite Kingdom 1926–1970
East Africa Makhzumi dynasty (Shewa) 896–1279 Nabahani dynasty (Pate Island) 1203–1894 Mahdali dynasty (Kilwa) 1277–1495 Mazrui dynasty (Mombasa) 1746–1828 Sultanate of Zanzibar 1856–1964 Nabahani dynasty (Wituland) 1858–1895 Tippu Tip's State 1860–1887
Current monarchies 'Alawis (Morocco) 1631–present Al Qasimi (Ras al Khaymah) 1727–present Al Qasimi (Sharjah) 1727–present Al Saud (Saudi Arabia) 1744–present Al Said (Oman) 1749–present Al Sabah (Kuwait) 1752–present Al Nahyan (Abu Dhabi) 1761–present Al Mualla (Umm al-Quwain) 1775–present Al Khalifa (Bahrain) 1783–present Al Nuaimi (Ajman) 1810–present Al Maktoum (Dubai) 1833–present Al Thani (Qatar) 1868–present Al Sharqi (Fujairah) 1900–present Hashemites (Jordan) 1921–present
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The Aghlabids (Arabic: الأغالبة) were an Arab dynasty centered in Ifriqiya from 800 to 909 that conquered parts of Sicily, Southern Italy, and possibly Sardinia, nominally as vassals of the Abbasid Caliphate.^[7] The Aghlabids were from the Najdi tribe of Banu Tamim and adhered to the Mu'tazilite rationalist doctrine within Hanafi Sunni Islam, which they imposed as the state doctrine of Ifriqiya.^[8]: 57 They ruled until 909 when they were conquered by the new power of the Fatimids.

History

Independence and consolidation

In 800, the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid appointed Ibrahim I ibn al-Aghlab, son of a Khurasanian Arab commander from the Banu Tamim tribe,^[9][10] as hereditary Emir of Ifriqiya, in response to the anarchy that had reigned in that province following the fall of the Muhallabids. At that time there were perhaps 100,000 Arabs living in Ifriqiya, although the Berbers still constituted the great majority.^[11] Most of the Arab immigrants had come from Syria and Iraq, both of which had consistently contributed a significant number of migrants to the Maghreb region from the start.^[12]

Ibrahim was to control an area that encompassed what is now eastern Algeria, Tunisia and Tripolitania.^[13] The territory granted to Ibrahim was not demarcated, as it theoretically encompassed the entire Maghreb west of Cyrenaica, including any newly conquered territories.^[12] Although independent in all but name, his dynasty never ceased to recognise Abbasid overlordship. The Aghlabids paid an annual tribute of 800,000 dirhams to the Abbasid Caliph and their suzerainty was referenced in the khutba at Friday prayers.^[12]

After the pacification of the country Ibrahim ibn al-Aghlab established a residence at a new capital, al-Abbasiyya, founded outside Kairouan in 800^[14] and built between 801 and 810.^[15] This was done partly to distance himself from the opposition of the Malikite jurists and theologians, who condemned what they saw as the luxurious life of the Aghlabids (not to mention the fact that the Aghlabids were Mu'tazilites in theology, and Hanafis in fiqh), and disliked the unequal treatment of the Muslim Berbers.^[16] Additionally, border defenses such as ribats were set up, including in coastal cities like Sousse (Susa) and Monastir. The Aghlabids also built up the irrigation of the area and enhanced the public buildings and mosques of Ifriqiya.^[13] Slaves were obtained through the trans-Saharan trade, through Mediterranean commerce, and from raids on other lands like Sicily and Italy.^[15]

The Aghlabid army was composed of two main elements. The first was the jund, or Arab troops descended from the Arab tribesmen who had participated in the early Muslim conquests of North Africa.^[15] The other component of the army was recruited from slaves, put in place partly to counterbalance to the power of the jund. It was recorded that 5,000 black Zanj slaves were stationed in Abbasiya as part of its garrison.^[15] Under Ziyadat Allah I (r. 817–838) came a revolt of Arab troops (the jund) in 824, the last but most serious episode of confrontation between them and the Aghlabid emirs.^{[17][8]: 55} The rebellion was led by a commander named Mansur ibn Nasr al-Tunbudhi, who owned a fortress near Tunis. By September 824 the rebels had occupied Tunis and Kairouan, but the Aghlabids managed to repel them from Kairouan a month later and killed Mansur. Another chief, Amir ibn Nafi', took over leadership of the rebels and inflicted a severe defeat on Ziyadat Allah's forces. Eventually, the emir was able to gain the upper hand with the help of the Ibadite Berbers of the Nafwaza region and finally crushed the rebellion in 827.^{[17][8]: 55}

In 838/839 (224 AH) the southwestern province of Qastiliya (the Djerid region), largely inhabited by Ibadi Muslims, revolted,^[18] prompting the Aghlabids to recapture Tozeur, its main city, that year.^[19]

Conquest of Sicily

In 827, soon after Ziyadat Allah defeated the rebellion, the Aghlabid conquest of Sicily began. Asad ibn al-Furat, a qadi from Kairouan, was appointed as commander of the Aghlabid forces.^{[20][21]: 135–136} The pretense for this invasion was an internal revolt in Byzantine Sicily led by a military commander named Euphemios who requested support from the Aghlabids.^[22]

Despite the political differences and rivalry between the Aghlabids, who served under the Abbasid Caliphate, and the Umayyad Emirate of Cordoba, the Muslims of al-Andalus (in the Iberian Peninsula) also sent a fleet under Asba' ibn Wakil to aid the Aghlabid conquest of Sicily. Ibn Kathir recorded that a joint force of 300 Umayyad and Aghlabid ships were present.^[23] The Aghlabid garrison at Mineo managed to get into contact with the Andalusian Umayyads, who immediately agreed to the alliance, provided that Asba' was recognized as the overall commander, and, together with fresh troops from Ifriqiya, they marched on Mineo. Theodotus^[who?] retreated to Enna and the siege of Mineo was broken in July or August 830.^{[24][25][26][full citation needed]} The combined Ifriqiyan and Andalusian army then torched Mineo and laid siege to another town, possibly Calloniana (modern Barrafranca). However, a plague broke out in their camp, causing the death of Asba' and many others. The town fell later, in autumn, but the Arabs' numbers were depleted to the point where they were forced to abandon it and retreat west. Theodotus launched a pursuit and inflicted heavy casualties, and, thereafter, most of the Andalusians departed the island. However, Theodotus too was killed at this time, possibly in one of these skirmishes.^{[27][28][full citation needed]}

The conquest of Sicily proceeded slowly and at an uneven pace, progressing roughly from west to east through multiple campaigns over many years.^[29][30] Palermo was conquered in 831 and became the capital of Muslim rule on the island and the base for further conquests.^[30][31] Messina was besieged and captured in 842 or 843, possibly with the support of some Neapolitans, and became a base for further campaigns into the Italian mainland.^{[32]: 26 [33][34]} Syracuse was captured in 878.^[30] The conquest of the island was not fully completed until 902, when Taormina was conquered.^{[30][35]: 107} Even after this, however, some patches of local Byzantine/Christian resistance continued until 967, long after the Aghlabid dynasty had ended.^{[29][36]: 207}

Italian Peninsula

Even as the conquest of Sicily was ongoing, the Aghlabids began campaigning on the Italian mainland. Their invasions of Calabria and Apulia, as well as their attacks on other central Mediterranean islands, were probably undertaken as an extension of their conquest of Sicily, aiming to aid the latter by attacking other Byzantine positions in the region.^{[37]: 476 [38]: 208} The first major expeditions to the peninsula took place between 835 and 843.^[38]: 208 Amantea was taken in 839 or 846 and occupied until 886, when the Byzantines retook it.^{[38]: 208 [39]: 249} Taranto was captured in 840 and occupied until 880.^[38]: 208 Bari was captured by Muslims either in 840 or 847.^[37] Rome was raided by a Muslim force in 846, although it is not certain that the raiders came from Aghlabid territory.^{[40]: 26 [41]: 122} Another attack towards Rome took place in 849, leading to a great naval battle near Ostia during which a fleet of Muslim ships was destroyed, marking a halt to Muslim advances on the peninsula.^{[32]: 35 [34]}

Many of the Muslim forces that operated on the peninsula or occupied some of its cities seem to have had only tenuous allegiances to the Aghlabid dynasty.^[40]: 49 Some Muslim mercenaries even entered into the service of Naples or local Lombard rulers at various times.^{[40]: 19–26, 49–54} The early Muslim occupiers of Bari, for example, appear to have served as mercenaries of Radelchis I of Benevento. The Emirate of Bari, which existed from 847 to 871,^[38]: 209 had its own rulers whose relations to the Aghlabids are not clearly known.^[37]

Malta, Sardinia and Corsica

Elsewhere in the central Mediterranean, the Aghlabids conquered the island of Malta in 870.^[42]: 208 They also attacked or raided Sardinia and Corsica.^{[9][43]: 153, 244} Some modern references state that Sardinia came under Aghlabid control around 810 or after the beginning of the conquest of Sicily in 827.^{[44][45][46][47]} Historian Corrado Zedda argues that the island hosted a Muslim presence during the Aghlabid period, possibly a limited foothold along the coasts that forcibly coexisted with the local Byzantine government.^[48] Historian Alex Metcalfe argues that the available evidence for any Muslim occupation or colonisation of the island during this period is limited and inconclusive, and that Muslim attacks were limited to raids.^[43] According to Fabio Pinna, most Sardinian historians and archaeologists studying this period of the island's history have reached the same conclusion, denying that a Muslim conquest and occupation of Sardinia took place, due to insufficient supporting evidence from archaeology and local historical records.^{[49][50][51][52][53][54][55]}

Apogee in Ifriqiya

The expansion campaign into Sicily, which Ziyadat Allah launched right after defeating the jund rebellion that started in 824, gave the restless Arab troops of Ifriqiya a new outlet for their military energies. It also brought in new revenues to the Aghlabid state.^[56] At home, the Aghlabid emirs faced significant criticism from Maliki religious scholars, who held great influence as religious elites in the region. They dealt with this problem by drawing the Maliki scholars into the orbit of the state and granting them appointments to high religious offices. They also countered criticism of their wealth and privilege by publicly dispensing charity to the poor and sponsoring the construction and expansion of mosques.^{[8]: 55–58} All of these factors led to greater internal stability and peace in Ifriqiya after 827.^{[56][8]: 58} Agriculture and trans-Saharan trade were further developed under Aghlabid rule, leading to economic expansion and a growing urban population.^[8]: 58

The Aghlabid kingdom reached its high point under Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Aghlabi (856–863).^{[citation needed]} Ifriqiya was a significant economic power thanks to its fertile agriculture, aided by the expansion of the Roman irrigation system. It became the focal point of trade between the Islamic world and Byzantium and Italy, especially the lucrative slave trade. Kairouan became the most important centre of learning in the Maghreb, most notably in the fields of theology and law, and a gathering place for poets.^{[citation needed]} The Aghlabid emirs sponsored building projects, notably the rebuilding of the Great Mosque of Kairouan, and the kingdom developed an architectural style which combined Abbasid and Byzantine architecture.^[57] In 876 Ibrahim II ibn Ahmad moved his residence from al-Abbasiya to a new palace-city that he founded, called Raqqada. The new city contained a mosque, baths, market, and several palaces. For the rest of his life, Ibrahim II resided in a palace called Qasr al-Fath (Arabic: قصر الفتح, lit. 'Palace of Victory'), which also remained the residence of his successors (except for some periods where they moved to Tunis).^[58]

Decline and fall

The decline of the dynasty began under Ibrahim II (875–902). An attack by the Tulunids of Egypt had to be repelled and a revolt of the Berbers put down with much loss of life.^{[citation needed]} In 893 there began amongst the Kutama Berbers the movement of the Isma'ili Fatimids, led by Abu Abdallah al-Shi'i, the dā'ī of the future caliph Abdallah al-Mahdi, although it took almost a decade before they were able to seriously threaten Aghlabid power.^[35]

In 902 Ibrahim II became the only Aghlabid emir to personally lead a military campaign in Sicily and the Italian mainland.^[41]: 119 While he was away in Sicily, Abu Abdallah struck the first significant blow against Aghlabid authority in North Africa by attacking and capturing the city of Mila (present-day eastern Algeria). This news triggered a serious response from the Aghlabids, who sent a punitive expedition of 12,000 men from Tunis in October of the same year. Abu Abdallah's forces were forced to flee their base at Tazrut and re-establish themselves at Ikjan.^{[35]: 106–107}

Ibrahim II died in October 902 while besieging Cosenza in Italy and was succeeded by Abdallah II. On 27 July 903 Abdallah was assassinated and his son Ziyadat Allah III took power, basing himself in Tunis.^{[35]: 107–108} These internal Aghlabid troubles gave Abu Abdallah the opportunity to recapture Mila and then go on to capture Setif by October or November 904.^{[35]: 108 [8]: 61} Further Aghlabid attempts to crush his movement had little success. In 907, in response to the growing threat, Ziyadat Allah III moved his court back to Raqqada, which he fortified.^{[35]: 109–111} Later in 907 the heavily fortified city of Baghaya, on the southern Roman road between Ifriqiya and the central Maghreb, fell to the Kutama.^{[35]: 112–113} This opened a hole in the wider defensive system of Ifriqiya and created panic in Raqqada. Ziyadat Allah III stepped up anti-Fatimid propaganda, recruited volunteers, and took measures to defend the weakly-fortified city of Kairouan.^{[35]: 113–115} In 908 he personally led his army in an indecisive battle against the Kutama army near Dar Madyan (probably a site between Sbeitla and Kasserine), with neither side gaining the upper hand. During the winter of 908-909 Abu Abdallah conquered the region around Chott el-Jerid. An Aghlabid counterattack against Baghaya failed.^{[35]: 115–117}

On 25 February 909, Abu Abdallah set out from Ikjan with an army of 200,000 men for a final invasion of Kairouan. The remaining Aghlabid army, led by an Aghlabid prince named Ibrahim Ibn Abi al-Aghlab, met them near al-Aribus on 18 March. The battle lasted until the afternoon, when a contingent of Kutama horsemen outflanked the Aghlabid army and finally caused a rout.^[35]: 118 When news of the defeat reached Raqqada, Ziyadat Allah III packed his valuable treasures and fled towards Egypt. The population of Kairouan looted the abandoned palaces of Raqqada. When Ibn Abi al-Aghlab arrived on the scene after his defeat, he called on the population to mount a last-ditch resistance, but they refused.^{[35]: 119–120} On 25 March 909 (Saturday, 1 Rajab 296), Abu Abdallah entered Raqqada and took up residence here. That same year his forces retrieved the Fatimid caliph, Abdallah al-Mahdi, from Sijilmasa (in the western Maghreb) and brought him to Ifriqiya, thus establishing the Fatimid Caliphate.^{[35]: 119–120 [59]}

Religion

The Aghlabids adhered to the Mu'tazilite theological movement within Hanafi Sunni Islam. The Aghlabids adopted the Mu'tazilite rationalist doctrine after it became the official doctrine of the Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad during the reign of caliph Al-Ma'mun (813–833). The officialization of this doctrine faced strong opposition from the Maliki majority of Ifriqiya, particularly due to the Mu'tazilite rejection of the orthodox belief that the Qur'an was God's eternal word and therefore uncreated. Although the Aghlabids recognized the political influence of the Maliki religious leaders, they were both unable and unwilling to alter their governmental system to align with their beliefs.^[8]: 57 The qāḍī (judge) of Kairouan adhered to the Hanafi school and endorsed the concept of Khalq al-Qur'an (createdness of the Qur'an). The Aghlabids consistently favored Iraqis as their higher-ranking judges, while the viziers had affiliations with the Maliki school.^[60]

Nonetheless, the Aghlabids were able to bolster their religious standing and counter criticisms directed against them. Some Malikis were persecuted for rejecting Mu'tazilite beliefs, such as Sahsun, who suffered persecution during the reign of Muhammad I ibn al-Aghlab (841–856) for rejecting the Mu'tazilite concept that the Qur'an was created. The Aghlabids also displayed great generosity in their spending on religious buildings, such Al-Zaytuna Mosque, which they had reconstructed by 864.^[8]: 57

As Sunni Muslims, the Aghlabids were vassals of the Abbasid caliphs of Baghdad, representing the influence and presence of the Abbasids throughout Ifriqiya. The Aghlabids maintained strained relations with the Rustamid dynasty of Tahert, who adhered to the Kharijite Ibadi sect. Their relations with the Idrisid dynasty of Fez were always tense, as the Idrisids were Zaydi Shi'ites who had expansionist ambitions on the relatively weak Rustamid state. Furthermore, the Aghlabids held a hostile stance towards the Umayyads in the Emirate of Cordoba.^[61]

Architecture

The Aghlabids were major builders and erected many of the oldest Islamic-era monuments in present-day Tunisia, including military structures like the Ribat of Sousse and the Ribat of Monastir, religious buildings like the Great Mosque of Sousse and the Great Mosque of Sfax, and practical infrastructure works like the Aghlabid Reservoirs of Kairouan.^[62] Much of their architecture, even their mosques, had a heavy and almost fortress-like appearance, but they nonetheless left an influential artistic legacy.^[62][63][64]

One of the most important Aghlabid monuments is the Great Mosque of Kairouan, which was completely rebuilt by the emir Ziyadat Allah I in 836, although various additions and repairs were effected later which complicate the chronology of its construction.^[62] The mosque features an enormous rectangular courtyard, a large hypostyle prayer hall, and a thick three-story minaret (tower from which the call to prayer was issued). The minaret is the oldest surviving one in North Africa and its shape may have been modeled on existing Roman lighthouses.^[65][66] The mihrab (niche symbolizing the direction of prayer) of the prayer hall is among the oldest examples of its kind, richly decorated with marble panels carved in high-relief vegetal motifs and with ceramic tiles with overglaze and luster.^[62][67] Next to the mihrab is the oldest surviving minbar (pulpit) in the world, made of richly-carved teakwood panels. Both the carved panels of the minbar and the ceramic tiles of the mihrab are believed to be imports from Abbasid Iraq.^[62] An elegant dome in front of the mihrab wall is an architectural highlight of this period. Its light construction contrasts with the bulky structure of the surrounding mosque and the dome's drum is elaborately decorated with a frieze of blind arches, squinches carved in the shape of shells, and carved low-relief motifs.^[62]

The Mosque of Ibn Khayrun (also known as the "Mosque of the Three Doors") possesses an external façade featuring carved Kufic inscriptions and vegetal motifs, which some scholars have called the oldest decorated external façade in Islamic architecture^[63] and which may contain the oldest foundation inscription crediting a private individual (rather than a ruler) for a mosque's construction.^[68] The al-Zaytuna Mosque in Tunis, which was founded earlier around 698, also owes its overall current form to the Aghlabid emir Abu Ibrahim Ahmad (r. 856–863).^{[69][70]: 38}

Aghlabid rulers

• Ibrahim I ibn al-Aghlab ibn Salim (800–812)
• Abdallah I ibn Ibrahim (812–817)
• Ziyadat Allah I ibn Ibrahim (817–838)
• al-Aghlab Abu Iqal ibn Ibrahim (838–841)
• Abu 'l-Abbas Muhammad I ibn al-Aghlab Abi Affan (841–856)
• Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Aghlabi (856–863)
• Ziyadat Allah II ibn Abil-Abbas (863)
• Abu 'l-Gharaniq Muhammad II ibn Ahmad (863–875)
• Abu Ishaq Ibrahim II ibn Ahmad (875–902)
• Abu 'l-Abbas Abdallah II ibn Ibrahim (902–903)
• Abu Mudhar Ziyadat Allah III ibn Abdallah (903–909)

Family tree