History of medieval Tunisia
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History of Tunisia |
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The medieval era of Tunisia began with what would eventually return
During this time there arose in Maghrib two strong local successive movements dedicated to Muslim purity in its practice. The
Berber sovereignty
Following the
Initially the local agents of the Fatimids managed to inspire the allegiance of
The independent Zirid dynasty has been viewed historically as a Berber kingdom; the Zirids were essentially founded by a leader among the Sanhaja Berbers.[6] Concurrently, the Sunni Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba were opposing and battling against the Shi'a Fatimids.[7] Perhaps because Tunisians have long been Sunnis themselves, they may currently evidence faint pride in the Fatimid Caliphate's rôle in Islamic history. In addition to their above grievances against the Fatimids (per the Banu Hilal), during the Fatimid era the prestige of cultural leadership within al-Maghrib shifted decisively away from Ifriqiya and instead came to be the prize of al-Andalus.[8]
During the interval of generally disagreeable Shi'a rule, the Berber people appear to have ideologically moved away from a popular antagonism against the Islamic east (al-Mashriq), and toward an acquiescence to its Sunni orthodoxy, though of course mediated by their own
Tunis under the
Berber language history
Result of migrations
Twenty or so Berber languages[14][15][16] (also called Tamazight) are spoken in North Africa. Berber speakers were once predominant over all this large area, but as a result of Arabization and later local migrations, today Berber languages are reduced to several large regions (in Morocco, Algeria, and the central Sahara) or remain as smaller language islands.[17][18] Several linguists characterize the Berber spoken as one language with many dialect variations, spread out in discrete regions, without ongoing standardization.[19] The Berber languages may be classified as follows (with some more widely known languages or language groups shown in italics).[20][21] Ethnic historical correspondence is suggested by the designation |Tribe|.[22]
- I. Guanche [extinct] - (Canary Islands).
- II. Old Libyan [extinct] - (West of ancient Egypt).
- III. Berber Proper.
- A. ).
- B. |Sanhaja|
- C. Western: Zenaga - (Mauritania & Senegal). |Sanhaja|
- D. Northern Berber languages - (Maghrib).
Nota Bene: The classification and nomenclature of Berber languages lack complete consensus.[24]
Script, writings
The
Berber, however, no longer is widely spoken in present-day Tunisia; e.g., centuries ago many of its
Berber tribal affiliations
The grand tribal identities of Berber antiquity were said to be the
Berber tribal identities survived undiminished during the long period of dominance by the city-state of Carthage. Under centuries of Roman rule also tribal ways were maintained. The sustaining social customs would include: communal self-defense and group liability, marriage alliances, collective religious practices, reciprocal gift-giving, family working relationships and wealth.
During the initial centuries of the Islamic era, it was said that the Berbers tribes were divided into two blocs, the Butr (Zanata and allies) and the Baranis (Sanhaja, Masmuda, and others).
In their medieval Islamic history the Berbers may be divided into three major tribal groups: the
Medieval events in
Zirid Berber succession
Under the Fatimids
The
For a time the region enjoyed great prosperity and the early Zirid court famously enjoyed luxury and the arts. Yet political affairs were turbulent. Bologguin's war against the
Even though in this period the Maghrib often fell into conflict, becoming submerged in political confusion, the Fatimid province of Ifriqiya at first managed to continue in relative prosperity under the Zirid Berbers. Agriculture thrived (grains and olives), as did the artisans of the city (weavers, metalworkers, potters), and the Saharan trade,. The holy city of
Independence
In 1048, for both economic and popular reasons, the Zirids dramatically broke with the
In retaliation, the Fatimid political leaders sent against the Zirids an invasion of nomadic Arabians, the Banu Hilal, who had already migrated into upper Egypt. These warrior bedouins were induced by the Fatimids to continue westward into Ifriqiya.[73] Ominously, westward toward Zirid Ifriqiya came the entire Banu Hilal, along with them the Banu Sulaym, both Arab tribes quitting upper Egypt where they had been pasturing their animals.[74]
The arriving
In Tunisia as the Banu Hilali tribes looted the rural areas, the local sedentary populace were forced to take refuge in the main coastal cities as well as in fortified towns in northern Tunisia (Such as Tunis, Sfax, Mahdia, Bizerte...). During this time, Tunisia underwent rapid urbanisation as famines depopulated the countryside and industry shifted from agriculture to manufactures.[78][79] The prosperous agriculture of central and northern Ifriqiya gave way to pastoralism for a time; consequently the economic well-being went into steep decline.
Even after the fall of the Zirids, the Banu Hilal were a source of disorder, as in the 1184 insurrection of the Banu Ghaniya.[80][81] These rough Arab newcomers, however, did constitute a second large wave of Arab immigration into Ifriqiya, and thus accelerated the process of Arabization. Use of the Berber languages decreased in rural areas as a result of the Bedouin ascendancy.[82] Substantially weakened, Sanhaja Zirid rule lingered, with civil society disrupted, and the regional economy now in chaos.
Normans in coastal Tunisia
Normans from Sicily raided the east coast of Ifriqiya for the first time in 1123.[83][84][85] After some years of attacks, in 1148 Normans under George of Antioch conquered all the coastal cities of Tunisia: Bona (Annaba), Mahdia, Sfax, Gabès, and Tunis.[86]
"By the early 12th century, Sicily and Ifrīqiya were linked through their economic interdependence. From 1135, Al-Mahdīya became a de facto Sicilian protectorate, and in the 1140s much of coastal Ifrīqiya was subjected to Roger II's overlordship while the Zirid state ceased to exist."[87]
Indeed, the Norman king Roger II of Sicily was able to create a coastal dominion of the area between Bona and Tripoli that lasted from 1135 to 1160 and was supported mainly by the last local Christian communities.[88]
These communities, usually Christian North African populations (Roman Africans), holding to their religion since the Roman Empire, still spoke the African Romance in a few places like Gabès and Gafsa: the most important testimony of the existence of the African Romance comes from the 12th-century Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi, who wrote that the people of Gafsa (in central-south Tunisia) used a language that he called al-latini al-afriqi ("the Latin of Africa";).
Berber Islamic movements
In the medieval
The
The rival Almohads were also a Berber Islamic movement, whose founder was from the Masmuda tribe. They defeated and supplanted the Amoravids and themselves established a large empire, which embraced the region of Ifriqiya, formerly ruled by the Zirids.[97]
Almohads (al-Muwahiddin)
Mahdi of the Unitarians
The
The mahdi Ibn Tumart also had championed the idea of strict Islamic law and morals displacing unorthodox aspects of Berber custom.
Empire of a unified Maghrib
Following the Mahdi Ibn Tumart's death,
Meanwhile, the anarchy in Zirid Ifriqiya (Tunisia) made it a target for the Norman kingdom in
With the capture of Tunis, Mahdia, and later Tripoli, the Almohad state reached from Morocco to Libya. "This was the first time that the Maghrib became united under one local political authority."[131] "Abd al-Mu'min briefly presided over a unified North African empire--the first and last in its history under indigenous rule".[132] It would be the high point of Maghribi political unity. Yet twenty years later, by 1184, the revolt in the Balearic Islands by the Banu Ghaniya (who claimed to be heirs of the Almoravids) had spread to Ifriqiya and elsewhere, causing severe problems for the Almohad regime, on and off for the next fifty years.[133]
Religion and culture
Ibn Tumart had refused to recognize the
The Muslim philosophers
"There is no better indication of the importance of the Almohad empire than the fascination it has exerted on all subsequent rulers in the Magrib."
The Almohad empire (like its predecessor the Almoravid) eventually weakened and dissolved. Except for the Muslim Kingdom of Granada, Spain was lost. In Morocco, the Almohads were to be followed by the
Hafsid dynasty of Tunis
The
Political chronology
Abu Hafs 'Umar Inti
For an historic moment, the son of Abu Zakariya and self-declared caliph of the Hafsids,
Since their origins with Abu Zakariya the Hafsids had represented their regime as heir to the Almohad movement founded by the Mahdi
In 1270 King
Toward the end, internal disarray within the Hafsid dynasty created vulnerabilities, while a great power struggle arose between Spaniard and Turk over control of the Mediterranean. The Hafsid dynasts became pawns, subject to the rival strategies of the combatants. By 1574 Ifriqiya had been incorporated into the Ottoman Empire.[155]
Society and culture
After an hiatus under the
Bedouin Arabs continued to arrive into the 13th century.
From
As a result of the initial prosperity, Al-Mustansir (r.1249-1277) had transformed the capital city of
Commerce and trade
Tunisia under the early Hafsids, as well as the entire Maghrib, enjoyed a general prosperity due to the rise of the
The principal maritime customs ports were then:
Tunis exported grain, dates, olive oil, wool and leather, wax, coral, salt fish, cloth, carpets, arms, and also perhaps black slaves. Imports included cabinet work, arms, hunting birds, wine, perfumes, spices, medical plants, hemp, linen, silk, cotton, many types of cloth, glass ware, metals, hardware, and jewels.[172]
To achieve public order in the urban markets, the muhtasib would enforce fair commercial dealing (merchants truthfully quoting the local
Beginning in the 13th century, from
Ibn Khaldun
Life and career
A major social philosopher, Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406) is recognized as a pioneer in sociology, historiography, and related disciplines. Although having Yemeni ancestry, his family enjoyed centuries-long residency in al-Andalus before leaving in the 13th century for Ifriqiyah. As a native of Tunis, he spent much of his life under the Hafsids, whose regime he served on occasion.
Ibn Khaldun entered into a political career early on, working under a succession of different rulers of small states, whose designs unfolded amid shifting rivalries and alliances. At one point he rose to
Social philosophy
The history and historiography written by Ibn Khaldun was informed in theory by his learning as a faylasuf [philosopher].[181] Yet it was his participation in the small unstable governments of the region that inspired many of his key insights. His history seeks to account for the apparent cyclical progression of historical states of the Maghrib, whereby: (a) a new ruling association comes to power with strong loyalties, (b) which over the course of several generations fall apart, (c) leading to the collapse of the ruling strata. The social cohesion necessary for the group's initial rise to power, and for the group's ability to maintain it and exercise it, Ibn Khaldun called Asabiyyah.[182]
His seven-volume Kitab al-'Ibar [Book of Examples][183] (shortened title) is a telescoped "universal" history, which concentrates on the Persian, Arab, and Berber civilizations. Its lengthy prologue, called the Muqaddimah [Introduction], presents the development of long-term political trends and events as a field for the study, characterizing them as human phenomena, in quasi-sociological terms. It is widely considered to be a gem of sustained cultural analysis. Unfortunately Ibn Khaldun did not attract sufficient interest among local scholars, his studies being neglected in Ifriqiyah; however, in the Persian and Turkish worlds he acquired a sustained following.[184]
In the later books of the Kitab al-'Ibar, he focuses especially on the history of the Berbers of the Maghrib. The perceptive Ibn Khaldun in his narration eventually arrives at historical events he himself witnessed or encountered.[185] As an official of the Hafsids, Ibn Khaldun experienced first hand the effects on the social structure of troubled regimes and the long-term decline in the region's fortunes.
See also
- History of Tunisia
- Umayyad conquest of North Africa
- Ifriqiya
- Aghlabiddynasty
- Fatimid Caliphate
- Zirid dynasty
- Almohad dynasty
- Hafsid dynasty
- Ibn Khaldun
References
- ^ Geography and Climate information are presented in the History of Tunisia preview.
- ^ For reference to authorities, see text following.
- ^ cf., Perkins, Tunisia (1986) pp. 28-29, 34, 36-37, 39-40.
- ^ Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (1971) at 83-84.
- ^ For additional references to authorities re the Fatimids, see the preceding article subsection History of early Islamic Tunisia#Fatimids: Shi'a Caliphate and the text following below.
- ^ Perkins, Tunisia (1986) at 39-40.
- ^ Laroui, The History of the Maghrib (1970, 1977) at 134, 138, 141, 147.
- ^ Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (1971) at 90.
- ^ Abdullah Laroui, L'Histoire du Maghreb. Un essai de synthese (Paris: François Maspero 1970), translated as The History of the Maghrib. An interpretive essay (Paris 1970; Princeton Univ. 1977) at 105-106.
- ^ During this period, especially under the Hafsids, "the process of Arabization accelerated. ...the use of Arabic spread, and Arab-Berber cultural and racial distinctions became increasingly blurred." Perkins, Tunisia (Westview 1986) at 49.
- A.H.). A nation is based on its members having "the awareness of forming part of a human community that works out and is responsible for its own destiny." For example, Italy is not a continuation of the Roman Empire, but a new entity. Américo Castro, The Spaniards. An introduction to their history ([1954]; retitled and augmented, University of California 1971) at 41-42, 124 (Italy and France); quote at 41-42. Spain's history, e.g., chapters II and XIV.
- ^ Perkins, Tunisia (Westview 1986) at 49.
- ^ Cf., Julien, History of North Africa (Paris 1931, 1961; London 1970) at 133-135.
- ^ Basset, André (1969) [1952]. La langue berbère. Oxford Univ.
- ^ Joseph R. Applegate, "The Berber Languages" at 96-118, in Afroasiatic. A Survey edited by Carleton T. Hodge (The Hague: Mouton 1971).
- ^ David L. Appleyard, "Berber Overview" at 23-26, in Selected Comparative-Historical Afrasian Linguistic Studies in memory of Igor M. Diakonoff, edited by M. Lionel Bender, Gabor Takacs, and David L. Appleyard (Muenchen: LINCOM 2003).
- ^ a b Cf., Joseph R. Applegate, "The Berber Languages" at 96-118, 96-97, in Afroasiatic. A Survey (1971).
- ^ Yet modern Arab dialects of the interior are "heavily infused with Berber words, particularly place-names taken from Berber terms for flora, fauna, and tools." LaVerle Berry and Robert Rinehart, "The Society and its Environment" 71-143, at 88, in Tunisia. A country study (Washington, D.C: American University, 3rd. ed., 1987).
- ^ David L. Appleyard, "Berber Overview" at 23-26, 23, in Selected Comparative-Historical Afrasian Linguistic Studies in memory of Igor M. Diakonoff, edited by M. Lionel Bender, Gabor Takacs, and David L. Appleyard (Muenchen: LINCOM 2003), citing André Basset, La langue Berbère (London 1961), and Wolf (1981). Dialects are said to number in the hundreds, if not thousands.
- ^ Schema by Alexander Militarev, as presented in Merritt Ruhlen, A Guide to the World's Languages (Stanford Univ. 1987) at 92, 93.
- I. M. Diakonoff, Afrasian Languages (1988) at 19-20.
- ^ Refer to the discussion on Berber ethnic identities at the end of the prior section Berber background. In general long-standing tribal loyalties can compare to the composite language classifications, yet any match will not always correspond due to changing tribal alliances over time, episodic adoptations of a region's majority speech by newly arrived or minority tribal groups, and otherwise. It is notorious that the attempt to connect a language and an ethnic identity will be a hit-and-miss proposition.
- ^ Algeria, Libya, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.
- Agurzil (revised by Ayadho) differs at the margins. The two classification schemata presented there, one by Maarten Kossmann (1999), and another by Ethnologuebased on Aikhenvald and Militarev (1991), also differ somewhat. Another complicating factor is the dialect continua between adjacent oral cultures; at their borders, such neighboring speech regions of related idioms may blend and merge.
- triliteral roots from FNR which signifies the Phoenician people. P. Salama, "The Sahara in Classical antiquity" 286-295, at 289-290, in General History of Africa, volume II, Ancient Civilizations of Africa (UNESCO 1990) Abridged Edition. Many alphabets seem to derive via the Phoenician.
- ^ David Diringer, Writing (London: Thames and Hudson 1962) at 124, 132, 141.
- ^ Brent and Fentress (1996). The Berbers. p. 37. A chart shows the Berber letters and sound values of ancient Libyan and modern Tifinagh. Brent and Fentress (1996) at 220.
- ^ Joseph R. Applegate, "The Berber Language" at 96-118, 115, in Hodge (ed.), Afroasiatic. A Survey (1971). Boustrophic writing was more common in the ancient world.
- ^ Over 150 words, the text dates from the era of the Berber King Masinissa. Brent and Fentress (1996). The Berbers. pp. 39–40.
- Celt-Iberiancoin from Spain of the first century B.C. inscribed with Libyan letters. Ibid. at 93.
- ^
The Tuareg of the central Sahara use Tifinagh for writing their language Tamachek. In Algeria it is also widely written by the Kabyle for their language. Brent and Fentress (1996). The Berbers. p. 37. Until recently, its most frequent modern usage seemed to be within the family, e.g., domestic messages, personal and household ornament, magic symbolism, love letters and other notes of intimacy. Lately, public use of Tifinagh in Berber regions has been markedly increasing. Fischer, A History of Writing (2001) at 93. Brent & Fentress (1996) at 208-209, 212. Currently on the agenda in various Berber communities are considerations to expand the language's use, making its application more comprehensive. Ibid. (1996) at 281. Evidently, a variant of Tifinagh now enjoys official status in Morocco.
- ^ Abun-Nasr, Jamil M. (1971). A History of the Maghrib. Cambridge University. pp. 8–9, 10.
- ^ Berry and Rhinehart, "The Society and its Environment" at 84-85, 86, in Tunisia. A Country Study (3rd ed., 1986).
- Agurzil (found at the top of the Berber languagespage).
- ^ Barbara F. Grimes, editor, Ethnologue (Dallas 12th ed. 1990) at 305-307, indicates 5,700,000 speakers of Berber out of a total Moroccan population of 26,250,000, or about 22%.
- ^ Grimes, ed., Ethnologue (12th ed. 1990) at 153-155, states that 14% speak Berber out of a total Algerian population of 25,700,000, or about 3,600,000.
- ^ Generally, see Joseph R. Applegate, "The Berber Languages" 96-118, at 96-97, in Afroasiatic. A Survey edited by Carleton T. Hodge (The Hague: Mouton 1971).
- ^ David L. Appleyard, "Berber Overview" at 23-26, 23, in Selected Comparative-Historical Afrasian Linguistic Studies in memory of Igor M. Diakonoff, edited by M. Lionel Bender, Gabor Takacs, and David L. Appleyard (Muenchen: LINCOM 2003). Today Berber speakers said to total about 12 million.
- Muhammad Awzal (1670–1748). Awzal wrote Berber using a Maghribi variant of the Arabic script.
- ^ René Basset, Moorish Literature (New York: P.F.Collier & Son 1901) contains Berber ballads, tales, stories, folk-lore, and traditions.
- ^ Leo Frobenius and Douglas C. Fox, African Genesis (Berkeley: Turtle Island Foundation 1983) at 45-105, contains Berber (Kabyle) legends and folk tales, originally published by Leo Frobenius in Volksmärchen und Volksdichtungen Afrikas (Jena: Eugen Diederichs Verlag 1921–1924).
- ^ Sallust (86-35), Bellum Iugurthinum (c.42 B.C.), 19-20, translated by S.A.Handford as The Jugurthine War (Penguin 1963) at 55-56.
- ^ Laroui, The History of the Maghrib (1970, 1977) at 55, 60, 65.
- ^ Brett and Fentress, The Berbers (1989) at 41-42.
- ^ Cf., Steven C. Caton, "Anthropological Theories of Tribe and State Formation in the Middle East: Ideology and the Semiotics of Power" in Khoury and Kostiner, Tribes and State Formation in the Middle East (Univ.of California 1990) at 74-108, 85-90.
- ^ See subsection on Ibn Khaldun, in Hafsid dynasty section of History of medieval Tunisia.
- ^ Laroui, The History of the Maghrib (1970, 1977) at 64-66.
- ^ Philip S. Khoury and Joseph Kostiner, "Introduction: Tribes and the Complexities of State Formation in the Middle East" at 1-22, in Khoury and Kostiner, Tribes and State Formation in the Middle East (Univ.of California 1990) at 1-22.
- ^ Ernest Gellner, "Tribalism and State in the Middle East" in Anthropology and Politics. Revolutions in the Sacred Grove (Oxford: Blackwell 1995) at 180-201, 180-185.
- ^ Generally, Marshall D. Sahlins, Tribesmen (Prentice-Hall 1968).
- ^ Abdallah Laroui, L'Histoire du Maghreb: Un essai de synthèse (Paris: Librairie François 1970), translated by Ralph Manheim as The History of the Maghrib (Princeton Univ. 1977) at 64.
- ^ H. Mones, "The conquest of North Africa and Berber resistance" at 118-129, 118, in General History of Africa, Volume III, Africa from the Seventh to the Eleventh Century (UNESCO 1992).
- ^ Singular of Baranis is Burnus, from which burnous, understood as a long garment. "Abtar" signifies cut short, hence a short tunic. Brent and Fentress, The Berbers (1996) at 131. E.F.Gautier is cited for the conjecture per farmers and nomads.
- ^ Brett and Fentress, The Berbers (1996) at 131.
- ^ Book of Genesis, at 10:1 & 6. The Hebrew Bible apparently does not list Barr as a descendant of Ham. Chapter 10 of the Book of Genesis is known as The Table of Nations.
- ^ H.T.Norris, Saharan Myth and Saga (Oxford Univ. 1972) at 26, 30, citing René Basset (1900 & 1901). Yet Norris also notes that E.F.Gautier (1942) found an echo in the 6th century Byzantine historian Procopius of the Himyarite myth, and conjectured an ancient Canaanite Völkerwanderungen, finding common cultural symbols. Norris (1972) at 30.
- ^ H.T.Norris, The Berbers in Arabic Literature (Beirut: Librairie du Liban 1982), "Berber Lineages" at 32-43.
- ^ Brett and Fentress, The Berbers (1996) at 120-126, 130, 131-132; cf., 135 ff.
- ^ See History of early Islamic Tunisia#Berber rôle.
- ^ Abun-Nasr remarks that "[T]hese divisions do not seem to coincide entirely either with the ethnic groupings or distinctions of dialect." Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (1971) at 8.
- ^ For Masmuda descendent population, cf., Grimes (ed.), Ethnologue (12th ed. 1992) at 307.
- ^ a b Generally, Jamil M. Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (Cambridge Univ. 1971) at 8-9.
- ^ a b Brett and Fentress, The Berbers (1996) at 131-132.
- ^ Perkins, Tunisia (1986) at 34 (Fatamid), 36 (Zirid).
- ^ H. Mones, "The conquest of North Africa and Berber resistance" at 118-129, 118-120, in General History of Africa, Volume III, Africa from the Seventh to the Eleventh Century (UNESCO 1992).
- ^ Brett and Fentress, The Berbers (1996) at 130-132, 134-135.
- ^ The Kotama tribe was also a member of the parent Sanhaja confederacy.
- ^ Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (Cambridge University 1971) at 83 (Ziri in Morocco), 84.
- ^ Perkins, Tunisia (1986) at 36 & 39.
- ^ Julien, History of North Africa (Paris 1931, 1961; London 1970) at 64-66 (Ziri's Achir).
- ^ Perkins, Tunisia (1986) at 40-41, 42.
- ^ Perkins, Tunisia at 39-40, 41.
- ^ Julien, Charles-Andre (1970) [1931]. History of North Africa. pp. 68, 72–74.
- ^ I. Hrbek, "The emergence of the Fatimids" in General History of Africa, volume III, at 163-175, 173-174 (Paris: UNESCO; Berkeley: Univ.of California 1992, abridged edition).
- ^ Negative view of the Banu Hilal, of course, is challenged; cf., Aziz al-Azmeh, Ibn Khaldun in Modern Scholarship at 218-222. The Maghriban Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406) wrote strongly disapproving of the Banu Hilal.
- ^ H. T. Norris, The Berbers in Arab Literature (Beirut: Librairie du Liban 1982) at 209-226 (the chapter The Hilaliyya). Encouraged by the Fatimids, these stories evidently arose in upper Egypt among the pastoral Arabs left behind, who gloried in rumors of conquest by their cousin Arabs in the far west. Norris (1982) at 218-219.
- ^ Cf. Laroui, The History of the Maghrib at 147-156.
- ^ Abulafia, "The Norman Kingdom of Africa", 29.
- ^ Abulafia, "The Norman Kingdom of Africa", 27.
- ^ Julien, History of North Africa, at 116.
- ^ Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406) viewed the Banu Hilal as destroying locust. Perkins, Tunisia at 41-42.
- ^ Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib at 80-86.
- ^ Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (Cambridge University 1971) at 84-86.
- ^ Perkins, Tunisia (1986) at 36-37 & 39, and 43 (Normans from Sicily).
- ^ Julien, History of North Africa (Paris 1931, 1961; London 1970) at 66-72.
- ^ "Conquest of Tunis by Roger II". Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ^ Dalli, Charles. "Bridging Europe and Africa: Norman Sicily's Other Kingdom | Charles Dalli". malta.academia.edu. Retrieved 2016-05-31.
- ^ "IFRIQIYYA in "Federiciana" | Ruggero II in Tunisia (in Italian)". treccani.it. Retrieved 2016-05-31.
- ^ a b Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (1971) at 119.
- region, in the pre-Sahara of Algeria.
- H.A.R. Gibb, Modern Trends in Islam (Univ. of Chicago 1947) at 25-26, per excerpt in Lenczowski, editor, The Political Awakening of the Middle East (Prentice-Hall 1970) at 30.
- ^ Predominantly Berbers of the Sanhaja confederacy, then located across the far west Sahara, the early Almoravids were first led chiefly by the Lamtuna tribe. Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (1971) at 92-96, 101.
- ^ A Ribat [Arabic: "a post", "a hospice", "a fort", from verb rabata, "to bind"] often was a fort on the frontier of Islam. Those at such a fort were called al-murabitum, i.e., "those who stand together for the defense of religion" or "ones bound (to religious duty)". Cyril Glassé, The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam (HarperSanFrancisco 1989) at 335, and 39.
- ^ Roger Le Tourneau, The Almohad Movement in North Africa in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries (Princeton University 1969) at 11-15.
- ^ Cyril Glassé, The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam (HarperSanFrancisco 1989) at 39-40.
- ^ Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (1971) at 94.
- ^ Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (1971) at 103.
- ^ Cyril Glassé, The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam (San Francisco: HarperCollins 1989) at 38-39.
- ^ Le Tourneau, The Almohad Movement (Princeton Univ. 1969) at 3, 41, 48-49, 92.
- ^ "Almohad" is from the Spanish for the Arabic al-Muwahhidun. Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (1971) at 105 n.1.
- ^ Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (1971) at 103, stating that although Ibn Tumart was clearly influenced by al-Ghazali, the two never personally met (citing Goldziher).
- ^ Roger Le Tourneau, The Almohad Movement in North Africa in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries (Princeton Univ. 1969) at 3-11, 25-26.
- ^ Le Tourneau reports (and criticizes) the story that the Almoravids (with Maliki legal backing) burned the book Revival of Religious Sciences by Al-Ghazali (1058–1111), which was said to have antagonized Ibn Tumart. Le Tourneau, The Almohad Movement in North Africa (1969) at 6-8, 14
- shi'a. Le Tourneau, The Almohad Movement (1969) at 28-29.
- Ignaz Goldziher.
- ^ "Every member of the community had to belong to a tribe" under the control of their chief. Too, only Berbers of the Masmuda tribe could claim the title muwahiddin (Almohad). Abun-Nasr A History of the Maghrib (1971) at 105, 110.
- ^ Le Tourneau, The Almohad Movement (1969) at 31-34.
- ^ Laroui, The History of the Maghrib (1970, 1977) at 178-179.
- ^ Laroui The History of the Maghrib (1970, 1977) at 179-180.
- ^ Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (1971) at 105-106.
- ^ Le Tourneau, The Almohad Movement (1969) at 20.
- ^ E.g., Ibn Tumart condemned unveiled women and musical instruments. Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (1971) at 104.
- ^ Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (1971) at 106.
- ^ In Al-Andalus the Maliki school had turned inward to develop only those issues already present in its own fiqh; this had led to the burning of al-Ghazali's book. Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (1971) at 99.
- ^ Laroui, A History of the Maghrib (1970, 1977) at 169.
- ^ Le Tourneau The Almohad Movement (1969) at 14.
- ^ Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (1971) at 104.
- Zahiri madhhab. The Venture of Islam at II:269. The Zahiris, not now one of the recognized four, taught a "literal" interpretation of the sources of law.
- ^ Abd al-Mu'min was the first non-Arab to take the caliphal title amir al-mu'minin [commander of the faithful]. Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (1971) at 111.
- ^ Le Tourneau, The Almohad Movement (1969) at 25-26.
- FatimidEgypt. Isaac Husik, A History of Medieval Jewish Philosophy (Macmillan 1916, reprint Philadelphia 1940) at 238.
- ^ Due to Almohad severity, many Jews eventually chose to enter Christian Spain. Yitzhak Baer, A History of the Jews in Christian Spain translated from Hebrew (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society 1961) at I:46-49.
- Andalucia(southern Spain). Joseph Callaghan, A History of Medieval Spain (Cornell Univ. 1975) at 234, 245-249.
- ^ Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (1971) at 109, 111.
- ^ The Normans ruled Sicily for over one hundred years until 1194, when Hohenstaufen rule began. Hearder, Italy. A Short History at 55, 58, 68.
- ^ Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (Cambridge Univ. 1971) at 109, 110.
- ^ Cf., Haskins, The Normans in European History (New York 1915, reprint Norton Library 1966) at 192.
- ^ Roger Le Tourneau, The Almohad Movement in North Africa in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries (Princeton Univ. 1969) at 48-57, 92.
- ^ Laroui, The History of the Maghrib (1970, 1977) at 186-187.
- ^ Laroui, The History of the Maghrib (1970, 1977), at 201, 217. Italian merchants, as well as those of Aragon, came to predominate in the western Mediterranean trade of the Maghrib starting in the Almohad era.
- ^ Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (1971) at 110.
- ^ Perkins, Tunisia. Crossroads of the Islamic and European Worlds (1986) at 44.
- ^ Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (1971) at 114-118.
- ^ Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (1971) at 111, 114.
- ^ Cf., Le Tourneau, The Almohad Movement (1969) at 94-96.
- ^ Abdallah Laroui, The History of the Maghrib (Princeton Univ. 1977) at 188-189.
- ^ Cyril Grasse, A Concise Encyclopedia of Islam (San Francisco 1991) at 174-175, 176-177, and 38-39.
- ^ Abdallah Laroui, L'Histoire du Maghreb (Paris: Librairie François Masero 1970), translated as The History of the Maghrib (Princeton Univ. 1977) at 201.
- ^ Cf., Abdallah Laroui, L'Histoire du Maghreb (Paris: Librairie François Masero 1970), translated as The History of the Maghrib (Princeton Univ. 1977) at 186-192.
- ^ Sufis mystical orders spread after the collapse of the Almohad regime. Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (1971) at 119.
- ^ Cyril Grasse, A Concise Encyclopedia of Islam (San Francisco 1989, 1991) at 38-39.
- 'Abd al-Mu'min (r.1132-1163), his vizier, and brother of the next caliph Abu Ya'qub Yusuf (r.1163-1184). Le Tourneau, The Almohad Movement in North Africa at 67-68; cf., Julien, History of North Africa at 114-115.
- ^ Le Tourneau, The Almohad Movement in North Africa (Princeton Univ. 1969) at 24, 27, 32-33, 41, 65-66; Julien, History of North Africa at 102, 108, 115, 120, 141; Laroui, History of the Maghrib at 179-180, 183-184, 188.
- ^ Abu Zakariya later was also known as Yahya I.
- ^ Julien, History of North Africa (Paris: 1952; London: 1970) at 141.
- ^ Abdallah Laroui, L'Histoire du Maghreb: Un essai de synthese (Paris: Librairie François Maspero 1970), translated as History of the Maghrib. An interpretive essay (Princeton Univ. 1977) at 178, 182, 195.
- ^ Julien, History of North Africa at 141-142, 154.
- ^ The honorific surname of al-Mustansir was given to Abu 'Abd Allah, son of Abu Zakariya. (In Tunisian history there was earlier another Abu 'Abd Allah, namely the Isma'ili dai who prepared the way for the Fatimid Mahdi; and there was also another Fatimid caliph known as al-Mustansir.)
- ^ Hodgson, The Venture of Islam 2: 291-292, 477. In 1261 Baybars had become sultan of Egypt and he revived the Abbasid Caliphate.
- ^ Julien, History of North Africa at 142-143.
- ^ Julien, History of North Africa (Paris 1952; London 1970) at 154-156. Julien draws on the Masalik, a 27-volume Arabic encyclopedia of the 14th century written by al-'Umari.
- ^ Steven Runciman, History of the Crusades (Cambridge Univ. 1954; Harper reprint 1967) at 291-292.
- ^ Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (1971) at 229-231.
- ^ Julien, History of North Africa (1952, 1970) at 147-151.
- ^ Perkins, Tunisia (1986) at 48-52.
- ^ Ibn Tumart is said not to have followed any recognized madhhab [see the Almohads or al-Muwahiddin era, the Rule over the Maghrib section, above]; yet the Almohads may have followed the Zahiri school of law (Hodgson, Venture of Islam at II:269), which is now extinct.
- ^ Maghribi students were drawn to Iraq by the teachings left by Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (died 1209). By the end of the 13th century, Ibn Zaytun Haskuni Mishaddali had introduced transformations in Maliki fiqh which were incorporated in the Hafsid restoration. Mahsin Mahdi, Ibn Khaldun's Philosophy of History at 30-31.
- ^ Hodgson, Venture of Islam at II:478.
- ^ Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (1971) at 150.
- ^ The new arrivals being the Banu Suaim. As to the Banu Hilal, most had by this period moved on to Morocco. Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (1971) at 129, 144-145.
- ^ Laroui, History of the Maghrib at 211-212 (Banu Hilal), cf. 216.
- ^ Julien, History of North Africa at 145-146 (Beni Sulaim).
- ^ Cf., Perkins, Tunisia (1986) at 53.
- ^ Julien, History of North Africa at 151-153.
- ^ Benjamin M. Liu and James T. Monroe, Ten Hispano-Arabic Strophic Songs in the Modern Oral Tradition (University of California 1989) at 2 & 35; al-Tifasi's text translated at 36-69.
- ^ Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (1971) at 141.
- ^ Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (Oxford Univ. 1971) at 87
- ^ Julien, History of North Africa at 159-161.
- Fatimids in Egypt took over the trade to India from the Persian Gulf ports. In 996 there were said to be at least 160 Italian merchants in Cairo. Tunis was a major center of this east-west Mediterranean trade, which continued for four hundred years. Ibid. at 195-196. While Cairo sent west the spices of India and raw flax, Tunis chiefly sent silk, olive oil, and soap east. Ibid. at 197-198.
- ^ Two commercial letters originally in Arabic sent from Tunis and addressed to merchants of Pisa, dated 1201, can be found in Robert S. Lopez and Irving W. Raymond, Medieval Trade in the Mediterranean World. Illustrative documents translated with introductions and notes (Columbia Univ. 1955, 2001) at 384-388 'Solidarity of Muslim and Christian Merchants,' docs. no. 190 and no. 191.
- ^ Wm. Spencer, Algiers in the Age of the Corsairs (1976) at 8-11.
- ^ Julien, History of North Africa at 158-159.
- bartering
- vigilanteaction, e.g., breaking into homes to smash bottles of alcohol. Such private initiative also challenges the legitimacy of the government to keep public order.
- ^ John L. Esposito, The Oxford Dictionary of Islam (Oxford Univ. 2003) at 114, 213.
- ^ Julien, A History of North Africa (1952, 1970) at 158.
- ^ Knut S. Vikor, Between God and the Sultan. A History of Islamic Law (Oxford Univ. 2004) at 197-198.
- ^ E.g., Laroui, History of the Maghrib at 221.
- ^ Julien, A History of North Africa (Paris 1952; London 1970) at 148. Abu al-'Abbas was the father of the celebrated amir Abu Faris (1394–1434).
- ^ Muhsin Mahdi, Ibn Khaldun's Philosophy of History (London: George Allen & Unwin 1957; reprint Univ. Chicago 1964) at 53-62 (in Egypt), at 58-60 (Timur); Cyril Glassé, The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam (HarperSanFrancisco 1991), "Ibn Khaldun" at 171-172. Ibn Khaldun lost his wife and children at sea (on their journey to Egypt) in 1384. Simon, Ibn Khaldun's Science of Human Nature at 33.
- Ibn Rushd. Erwin Rosenthal (Political Thought in Medieval Islam (1958) at 104-105) states that he favored and shared the views of al-Ghazali.
- ^ Heinrich Simon, Ibn Khalduns Wissenschaft von der Menschlichen Kultur (Leipzig 1959), translated by Fuad Baali as Ibn Khaldun's Science of Human Culture (Lahore: Ashraf 1978) at 68-88, presents a discussion of this key concept, wherein asab means "to bind", asabatun means "the group", asabah means the "paternal relationship" in the law of inheritance [at 68 and 68n1], and asabiyah means "the nature of the group" [68-69].
- ^ Muhsin Mahdi, in his Ibn Khaldun's Philosophy of History at 63-71, discusses the subtleties of this title. Ibar can mean "instructive examples" [64], "bridge" or medium of explanation [66], or "bridge between meanings" [71].
- ^ Muhsin Mahdi, Ibn Khaldun's Philosophy of History. A study in the philosophic foundations of the science of culture (London: George Allen & Unwin 1957); Heinrich Simon, Ibn Khalduns Wissenschaft von der Menschlichen Kultur (Leipzig 1959), translated by Fuad Baali as Ibn Khaldun's Science of Human Culture (Lahore: Ashraf 1978); Erwin I. J. Rosenthal, Political Thought in Medieval Islam (Cambridge Univ. 1958), Chapter IV, "The Theory of the Power-State: Ibn Khaldun's study of civilization" at 84-109; Hodgson, The Venture of Islam at volume II: 476, 478-484 (at 481 n.13, Hodgson criticizes the translation of the Maqaddimah by Franz Rosenthal); Abdullah Laroui, The History of the Maghrib (1970, 1977) at 218-223; Cyril Glassé, The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam (HarperSanFrancisco 1991), "Ibn Khaldun" at 171-172; R. Idris, "Society in the Maghrib after the disappearance of the Almohad" in J.KiZerbo & D.T.Niane (editors), General History of Africa (Univ. of California/UNESCO 1997) volume IV: 44-49, 48-49.
- ^ There is said to be danger in contemporary use of his local histories, because Ibn Khaldun reluctantly employed highly nuanced "folk Maghribi archetypes" that conflate Berber and Arab tribal identities with static genres de vie (socio-economic life styles), creating "mythological entities" and a chaos of meaning. Aziz al-Azmeh, Ibn Khaldun in Modern Scholarship (London 1981) at 215-222. Compare: Laroui, The History of the Maghrib at 218-223.