Emirate of Tlemcen
The Ifranid Emirate of Tlemcen[1] or Ifranid Kingdom of Tlemcen,[2][3][4] was a Kharijite state,[5][3] founded by Berbers of the Banu Ifran in the eighth century,[6] with its capital at Tlemcen in modern Algeria.[6]
Emirate of Tlemcen | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 742–790 | |||||||||
 Flag | |||||||||
| Status | Emirate | ||||||||
| Capital | Tlemcen | ||||||||
| Common languages | Berber, Arabic | ||||||||
| Religion | Sufri Islam | ||||||||
| Government | Emirate, tribal confederacy | ||||||||
• Until 790 | Abu Qurra | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Revolt against the Umayyads | 742 | ||||||||
• Establishment | 742 | ||||||||
• Annexed by the Rustamids | 790 | ||||||||
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| Today part of |  Algeria | ||||||||
Part of a series on the |
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| History of Algeria |
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Background
After the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb, there were a number of Berber revolts against the Umayyad caliphate. These mid-eighth century revolts were associated with Kharijite teachings, which won over a good part of the Maghreb with their puritanism and egalitarian message.[7] As a result of one of these, the Rustamid dynasty founded a kingdom at Tahert.
Foundation of the Emirate
Around the same time, a revolt of the Zenata tribe of the Banu Ifran broke out. The rebels proclaimed their leader Abu Qurra to be the Caliph, and he established a Sufri state in Tlemcen.[7][8] Although the founding of this city is sometimes attributed to the Ifranides, the site had already been occupied by the Roman city of Pomaria.[6] Little is known of the internal affairs of the new state, but it was of considerable military significance.[2]
Expansion
In 767, united with the Kharijites of Tahert and Nafusa Mountains, Abu Qurra launched an expedition to the east, surrounded the Abbasid governor in the fortress of Tobna in the Aures and reached as far as Kairouan.[8] Back in Tlemcen, he allied himself with the Maghrawa and had to confront the expansionist aims of the Idrisides.[7][8] The Abbasids sent a strong army under the new governor, Yazid ibn Hatim al-Muhallabi, who defied the Kharijites in Ifriqiya, but the rest of the Maghreb escaped his authority.[7][2]
Legacy
The kingdom did not last long: in accordance with the strict rules of Sufrites, Abu Qurra would not allow his descendants to found a dynasty.[9] He welcomed Idris I, recognizing his kingdom and breaking with the Rustamids. Idris I negotiated the surrender of Tlemcen with the Maghrawa. One of his descendants, Muhammed Sulayman, established the "Sulaymanid kingdom" in the region, a state that dominated the cities and lasted until the time of the Fatimids in 931.[10] Tlemcen became a distinguished city, growing in connection with the Sunni Arab culture of Al-Andalus; in the countryside however, the Ifranides retained their heterodox faith. In 955 their leader Yala Ibn Mohamed revolted against the Fatimids.[10]
Bibliography
- Gilbert Meynier (2010). L'Algérie, cœur du Maghreb classique: De l'ouverture islamo-arabe au repli (698-1518) (in French). Paris: La Découverte. ISBN 9782707152312.
- Philippe Sénac (21 September 2011). Le monde musulman: des origines au Xe siècle (in French). Armand Colin. ISBN 9782200274139.
References
- Philippe Sénac; Armand Colin (2011). Le monde musulman: des origines au Xe siècle [The Muslim World: From Its Origins to the 10th Century] (in French). p. 177. ISBN 9782200274139 – via Google Books.
- Charles-André Julien (1994). Histoire de l'Afrique du Nord: Des origines à 1830 [History of North Africa: From Its Origins to 1830]. Paris: Édition Payot. pp. 365–366. ISBN 9782228887892.
- Alain Romey (1982). Histoire, mémoire et sociétés: L'exemple de N'goussa: oasis berbérophone du Sahara (Ouargala) [History, Memory and Societies: The Example of N'goussa: Berber-speaking Oasis of the Sahara (Ouargala)]. University of Tunis. ISBN 9782296271937.
- Chems Eddine Chitour (2004). Algérie: le passé revisité [Algeria: The Past Revisited]. Casbah Editions. p. 51. ISBN 9789961644966.
- Leïla Babès (2011). L'utopie de l'islam: La religion contre l'État [The Utopia of Islam: Religion Against the State]. Armand Colin. p. 122. ISBN 9782200276409.
- C. Agabi (2001). Ifren (Beni). Encyclopédie berbère. 24. Edisud. pp. 3657–3659.
- Gilbert Meynier (2010). L'Algérie, cœur du Maghreb classique: De l'ouverture islamo-arabe au repli (698-1518) [Algeria, Heart of the Classical Maghreb: From the Islamo-Arab Opening to the Retreat]. Paris: La Découverte. p. 25. ISBN 9782707152312.
- (Meynier 2010, p. 27)
- Mohamed Talbi (1982). Dirasat fi tarij Ifriqiyya wa-fi al-hadara al-islamiyya fi al-'asr al-wasit (in Arabic). University of Tunis. p. 58. Retrieved January 1, 2018 – via Google Books.
- (Meynier 2010, p. 28).