Descendants of Ziri ibn Menad, a military leader of the Fatimid Caliphate and the eponymous founder of the dynasty, the Zirids were Emirs who ruled in the name of the Fatimids. The Zirids gradually established their autonomy in Ifriqiya through military conquest until officially breaking with the Fatimids in the mid-11th century. The rule of the Zirid emirs opened the way to a period in North African history where political power was held by Berber dynasties such as the Almoravid dynasty, Almohad Caliphate, Zayyanid dynasty, Marinid Sultanate and Hafsid dynasty.[9]
Continuing their conquests to Fez and much of modern-day Morocco in 980, the Zirids encountered resistance from the local Zenata Berbers, who gave their allegiance to the Caliphate of Cordoba.[6][10][11] Various Zirid branches did however rule the central Maghreb and during their reign the Zirids were able to gain control over territories from the Atlantic coast of Morocco to Ajdabiya in Libya as well as control over territory in Spain and suzerainty over the Emirate of Sicily.[12][13][14][15] One branch of the Zirids, at the beginning of the 11th century, following various family disputes, broke away as the Hammadids and took control of the territories of the central Maghreb. The Zirids proper were then designated as Badicides and occupied only Ifriqiyah between 1048 and 1148.[16] Part of the dynasty fled to al-Andalus and later founded, in 1019, the Taifa of Granada on the ruins of the Caliphate of Cordoba.[8] The Zirids of Granada were again defeated by the expansion of the Almoravids, who annexed their kingdom in 1090,[17] while the Badicides and the Hammadids remained independent. Following the recognition of the Sunni Muslim Abbasid Caliphate and the assertion of Ifriqiya and the Central Maghreb as independent kingdoms of Sunni obedience in 1048, the Fatimids reportedly masterminded the migration of the Hilalians to the Maghreb. In the 12th century, the Hilalian invasions combined with the attacks of the Normans of Sicily on the littoral weakened Zirid power. The Almohad Caliphate finally conquered the central Maghreb and Ifriqiya in 1152, thus unifying the whole of the Maghreb and ending the Zirid dynasties.[10]
History
The Zirids were SanhajaBerbers originating from the area of modern Algeria, albeit they advertised their ancestry to Himyarite kings[18] as a title to nobility,[19] and this was taken up by court historians of this period.[18] In the 10th century this tribe served as vassals of the Fatimid Caliphate, defeating the Kharijite rebellion of Abu Yazid (943-947), under Ziri ibn Manad (935-971). Ziri was installed as the governor of central Maghreb and founded the gubernatorial residence (his capital)[20] at Ashir, south-east of Algiers, with Fatimid support. In 959 Ziri successfully conquered Fez and Sijilmasa in Morocco. On his return home he paraded the amir of Fez as well as the “Caliph” Ibn Wasul of Sijilmasa in cages in a very humiliating manner.[21][22][23]
When the Fatimids moved their capital to Egypt in 972, Ziri's son Buluggin ibn Ziri (971-984) was appointed viceroy of Ifriqiya. He conquered Fez and held most of Morocco by 980.[24] Most of Morocco which was obtained through the conquest by Jawhar the Sicilian, Ziri Ibn Manad and a Sanhaja army, had already previously been under the rule of the Zirids after the Fatimids left the eastern Maghreb to the Bani Ziri, this lasted until it was taken by an Umayyad general in 973.[25][26] Buluggin ibn Ziri had also led a successful expedition to Barghawata in which he brought back a large number of Moroccan slaves; when his lieutenant paraded them in the streets the people of Ifriqiya were shocked as they had never seen such a large number of slaves before.[27] In 984 Buluggin died in Sijilmasa from an illness and his successor decided to abandon Morocco in 985.[28][29][30] The removal of the fleet to Egypt made the retention of KalbidSicily impossible, while Algeria broke away under the governorship of Hammad ibn Buluggin, Buluggin's son.[30]
The relationship with their Fatimid overlords varied - in 1016 thousands of Shiites lost their lives in rebellions in Ifriqiya, and the Fatimids encouraged the defection of Tripolitania from the Zirids, but nevertheless the relationship remained close. In 1049 the Zirids broke away completely by adopting Sunni Islam and recognizing the Abbasids of Baghdad as rightful Caliphs, a move which was popular with the urban Arabs of Kairouan.[5][31]
The Zirid period of Tunisia is considered a high point in its history, with agriculture, industry, trade and learning, both religious and secular, all flourishing, especially in their capital, Kairouan.[32] Management of the area by later Zirid rulers was neglectful as the agricultural economy declined, prompting an increase in banditry among the rural population.[32]
When the Zirids renounced Shia Islam and recognized the Abbasid Caliphate in 1048, the Fatimids sent the Arab tribes of the Banu Hilal and the Banu Sulaym to Ifriqiya. The Zirids attempted to stop their advance towards Ifriqiya, they sent 30,000 Sanhaja cavalry to meet the 3,000 Arab cavalry of Banu Hilal in the Battle of Haydaran of 14 April 1052.[33] Nevertheless, the Zirids were decisively defeated and were forced to retreat, opening the road to Kairouan for the Hilalian Arab cavalry.[34][35][36] The Zirids were defeated, and the land laid waste by the Bedouin conquerors. The resulting anarchy devastated the previously flourishing agriculture, and the coastal towns assumed a new importance as conduits for maritime trade and bases for piracy against Christian shipping, as well as being the last holdout of the Zirids.[5]
After the loss of Kairouan in 1057 the rule of the Zirids was limited to a coastal strip with Mahdia as the capital, while several Bedouin Emirates formed inland. In 1074 the Zirid Emir sent a naval expedition to Calabria where they ravaged the Italian coasts, plundered Nicotera and enslaved many of its inhabitants. The next year (1075) another Zirid raid resulted in the capture of Mazara in Sicily, however the Zirid Emir rethought his involvement in Sicily and decided to withdraw abandoning what they had briefly held.[37] In 1087, the Zirid capital, Mahdia, was sacked by the Pisans.[38] According to Ettinghausen, Grabar, and Jenkins-Madina, the Pisa Griffin is believed to have been part of the spoils taken during the sack.[39] Between 1146 and 1148 the Normans of Sicily conquered all the coastal towns, and in 1152 the last Zirids in Algeria were superseded by the Almohad Caliphate.
The Zirid realm (dark green) after the secession of the Hammadids (1018) and before the influx of Banu Hilal tribes (1052)
Economy
The Zirid period was a time of great economic prosperity. The departure of the Fatimids to Cairo, far from ending this prosperity, saw its amplification under the Zirid and Hammadid rulers. Referring to the government of the Zirid Emir al-Mu'izz ibn Badis, the historian Ibn Khaldun reports: "It [has] never [been] seen by the Berbers of that country a kingdom more vast and more flourishing than his own." The northern regions produced wheat in large quantities, while the region of Sfax was a major hub of olive production and the cultivation of the date was an important part of the local economy in Biskra. Other crops such as sugar cane, saffron, cotton, sorghum, millet and chickpea were grown. The breeding of horses and sheep flourished and fishing provided plentiful food. The Mediterranean was also an important part of the economy, even though it was, for a time, abandoned after the departure of the Fatimids, when the priority of the Zirid Emirs turned to territorial and internal conflicts. Their maritime policy enabled them to establish trade links, in particular for the importation of the timber necessary for their fleet, and enabled them to begin an alliance and very close ties with the Kalbid Emirs of Sicily. They did, however, face blockade attempts by the Venetians and Normans, who sought to reduce their wood supply and thus their dominance in the region.[40]
The Arab chronicler Ibn Hawqal visited and described the city of Algiers in the Zirid era: "The city of Algiers is built on a gulf and surrounded by a wall. It contains a large number of bazaars and a few sources of good water near the sea. It is from these sources that the inhabitants draw the water they drink. In the outbuildings of this town are very extensive countryside and mountains inhabited by several tribes of the Berbers. The chief wealth of the inhabitants consists of herds of cattle and sheep grazing in the mountains. Algiers supplies so much honey that it forms an export object, and the quantity of butter, figs and other commodities is so great that it is exported to Kairouan and elsewhere".[40]
Culture
Literature
Surat Al-An'am of “The Nurse’s Quran” (مصحف الحاضنة), executed in fine Kufic script and reportedly commissioned by a nursemaid named Fatima serving an unidentified Zirid sultan in the early 11th century.[41]
Abd al-Aziz ibn Shaddad was a Zirid chronicler and prince.[42] He wrote Kitab al-Jam' wa 'l-bayan fi akhbar al-Qayrawan (كتاب الجمع والبيان في أخبار القيروان) about the history of Qayrawan.[42]
The Zirid dynasty was responsible for various constructions and renovations throughout the Maghreb. Zirid and Hammadid architecture in North Africa was closely linked to Fatimid architecture,[43]: 83 but also influenced Norman architecture in Sicily.[44][43]: 100 The Zirid palace at 'Ashir, built in 934 by Ziri ibn Manad (who served the Fatimids), is one of the oldest palaces in the Maghreb to have been discovered and excavated.[45] As independent rulers, however, the Zirids of Ifriqiya built relatively few grand structures. They reportedly built a new palace at al-Mansuriyya, a former Fatimid capital near Kairouan, but it has not been found by modern archeologists.[45]: 123 Buluggin ibn Ziri commissioned the production of a minbar for the Mosque of the Andalusians in Fez. The minbar, whose original fragments are now preserved in a museum, bears an inscription that dates it to the year 980, around the time of Buluggin's military expedition to this region.[46]: 249 In Kairouan the Great Mosque was restored by Al-Mu'izz ibn Badis. The wooden maqsura within the mosque today is believed to date from this time.[43]: 87 It is the oldest maqsura in the Islamic world to be preserved in situ and was commissioned by al-Mu῾izz ibn Badis in the first half of the 11th century (though later restored). It is notable for its woodwork, which includes an elaborately carved Kufic inscription dedicated to al-Mu'izz.[47][48] Under Al-Mu’izz the Zirids had also built the Sidi Abu Marwan mosque in Annaba.[49]
The Hammadids, for their part, built an entirely new fortified capital at Qala'at Bani Hammad, founded in 1007. Although abandoned and destroyed in the 12th century, the city has been studied by modern archeologists and is one of the best-preserved medieval Islamic capitals in the world.[45]: 125
Zirid rulers
The regnal dates of rulers are indicated first according to the Islamic calendar and then with the corresponding Gregorian dates in parentheses.
After the death of Almanzor in Medinaceli on 12 August 1002 (25 Ramadan 392), a civil war broke out in Al-Andalus, and General Zawi ibn Ziri destroyed several cities, such as Medina Azahara in 1011 and Córdoba in 1013. He founded the Taifa of Granada and the city of Granada itself,[51][52][53][54] and then declared himself its first emir. He died of poison in Algiers in 1019.
In 1013 the Zirids founded the Albaicín District in Granada which is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. During the rule of Zawi, an Umayyad pretender al-Murtada attempted to conquer Granada, however he was defeated.[55]
During the reign of Badis Ibn Habus he defeated the Abbadids of Seville one of the strongest taifas and also defeated the taifa of Almeria and took control of its territory.[56][57] He also defeated the Hammudids and conquered the Taifa of Malaga.[58]
The arts and civil construction under the rule of the Zirid governors and emirs in Al-Andalus, mainly in the Taifa of Granada, were very important. An example is the Cadima Alcazaba in Albayzin, Granada, and part of the old wall surrounding Granada.
— Royal house —Zirid dynasty
Direct Fatimid rule over central Maghreb and Ifriqya
Emir of Maghreb vassal of the Fatimids 972 – 1048
Independence from the Fatimid Caliphate
Maghreb under Zirids (972-1048)
Emirs of Ifriqiya (loss of central Maghreb to the benefit of Hammadids) Badicid branch 1048 – 1148
Norman conquest
Secession from the Zirid Emirate of Ifriqiya
Emirs of central MaghrebHammadid branch 1014 – 1152
Almohad conquest
New title
Emirs of Granada[59]Zawid branch 1013 – 1090
Almoravid conquest
Preceded byHammudid dynasty
Emirs of Malaga[59]Zawid branch 1058 – 1090
Photo gallery
The ruins of Achir, a fortress founded by Ziri ibn Menad, the eponym of the Zirid dynasty
^Messier, Ronald A.; Miller, James A. (2015). The Last Civilized Place: Sijilmasa and Its Saharan Destiny. University of Texas Press. ISBN9780292766655
^Pellat, Charles (1991). "Midrār". In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, New Edition, Volume VI: Mahk–Mid. Leiden: E. J. Brill. ISBN978-90-04-08112-3
^M. Bloom, Jonathan; S. Blair, Sheila, eds. (2009). "Maqsura". The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture. Oxford University Press. ISBN9780195309911.
![Zirid territory (green) at its maximum extent around the year 980 [1][2]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ad/ZiridDynasty1.jpg/500px-ZiridDynasty1.jpg)
![Surat Al-An'am of “The Nurse’s Quran” (مصحف الحاضنة), executed in fine Kufic script and reportedly commissioned by a nursemaid named Fatima serving an unidentified Zirid sultan in the early 11th century.[41]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Bifolium_Mushal_al-Hadina_Quran_Met_2007.191.jpg/440px-Bifolium_Mushal_al-Hadina_Quran_Met_2007.191.jpg)
