Kingdom of Tlemcen

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Zayyanid Kingdom of Tlemcen
مملكة تلمسان (
Arabic
)
1235–1556
Flag of Zayyanid Tlemcen
One of the flags attributed to Zayyanid Tlemcen
Abu Yahya I bin Zayyan
• 1318-1337
Abu Tashufin I
• 1359-1389
Abu Hammu II
• 1468–1504
Abu Abdallah IV
• 1550–1556
Al Hassan ben Abu Muh
History 
1235
1248
1264
1299-1307
1329
1337-1348
1352-1359
1411
• Conflicts with the Spaniards
1504–1512
1556
CurrencyDinar
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Almohad Caliphate
Spanish Oran
Regency of Algiers
Kingdom of Ait Abbas
Kingdom of Kuku
Emirate of Algiers
Part of a series on the
History of Algeria
Prehistory


  • Related:
    Archeology of Algeria
Antiquity
Middle Ages
Modern times
Regency of Algiers (16th–19th centuries)

French Algeria (19th–20th centuries)

Algerian War (1954–1962)

Contemporary era
1960s–80s

1990s–2000s

2010s to present

Related topics

The Kingdom of Tlemcen or Zayyanid Kingdom of Tlemcen (

Tuat to the south and the Soummam in the east.[5][6][7]

The Tlemcen Kingdom was established after the demise of the

Marinids to the west, centred on Fez, and the Hafsids to the east, centred on Tunis
.

Tlemcen was a hub for the north–south trade route from

Tuat, Tamentit, and Draa regions which was governed by Abdallah Ibn Moslem ez Zerdali, a sheikh of the Zayyanids.[11][12][5]

History

Rise to power (13th century)

The Bānu ʿabd āl-Wād, also called the Bānu Ziyān or Zayyanids after

Yaghmurasen Ibn Zyan, the founder of the dynasty, were a Berber clan who had long been settled in the Central Maghreb. Although contemporary chroniclers asserted that they had a noble Arab origin, Ibn Zayyan reportedly spoke in Zenati dialect and denied the lineage that genealogists had attributed to him.[13][14][15] Yaghmurasen would in fact have responded yessen rabi, which means in Berber "god only knows", to this claim.[16] The town of Tlemcen, called Pomaria by the Romans, is about 806m above sea level in fertile, well-watered country.[17]

Tlemcen was an important centre under the Almoravid dynasty and its successors the Almohad Caliphate, who began a new wall around the town in 1161.[18]

Ibn Zayyan was governor of Tlemcen under the Almohads.[19] He inherited leadership of the family from his brother in 1235.[20] When the Almohad empire began to fall apart, in 1235, Yaghmurasen declared his independence.[19] The city of

Ziyyanid sultans.[21] Its flag was a white crescent pointing upwards on a blue field.[22] The kingdom covered the less fertile regions of the Tell Atlas. Its people included a minority of settled farmers and villagers, and a majority of nomadic herders.[19]

Yaghmurasen was able to maintain control over the rival Berber groups, and when faced with the outside threat of the

Alfonso X.[23] According to Ibn Khaldun, "he was the bravest, most dreaded and honourable man of the 'Abd-la-Wadid family. No one looked after the interest of his people, maintained the influence of the kingdom and managed the state administration better than he did."[20] In 1248 he defeated the Almohad Caliph in the Battle of Oujda during which the Almohad Caliph was killed. In 1264 he managed to conquer Sijilmasa, therefore bringing Sijilmasa and Tlemcen, the two most important outlets for trans-Saharan trade under one authority.[24][25] Sijilmasa remained under his control for 11 years.[26] Before his death he instructed his son and heir Uthman to remain on the defensive with the Marinid kingdom, but to expand into Hafsid territory if possible.[20]

14th century

For most of its history the kingdom was on the defensive, threatened by stronger states to the east and the west. The nomadic Arabs to the south also took advantage of the frequent periods of weakness to raid the centre and take control of pastures in the south.

The city of Tlemcen was several times attacked or besieged by the Marinids, and large parts of the kingdom were occupied by them for several decades in the fourteenth century.[19]

Ruins of the Mansura Mosque, begun by the Marinids in 1303 during their siege of Tlemcen[27]: 185 

The Marinid Abu Yaqub Yusuf an-Nasr besieged Tlemcen from 1299 to 1307. During the siege he built a new town, al-Mansura, diverting most of the trade to this town.[28] The new city was fortified and had a mosque, baths and palaces. The siege was raised when Abu Yakub was murdered in his sleep by one of his eunuchs.[9]

When the Marinids left in 1307, the Zayyanids promptly destroyed al-Mansura.[28] The Zayyanid king Abu Zayyan I died in 1308 and was succeeded by Abu Hammu I (r. 1308–1318). Abu Hammu was later killed in a conspiracy instigated by his son and heir Abu Tashufin I (r. 1318–1337). The reigns of Abu Hammu I and Abu Tashufin I marked the second apogee of the Zayyanids, a period during which they consolidated their hegemony in the central Maghreb.[26] Tlemcen recovered its trade and its population grew, reaching about 100,000 by around the 1330s.[28] Abu Tashufin initiated hostilities against Ifriqiya while the Marinids were distracted by their internal struggles. He besieged Béjaïa and sent an army into Tunisia that defeated the Hafsid king Abu Yahya Abu Bakr II, who fled to Constantine while the Zayyanids occupied Tunis in 1325.[9][29][30]

The Marinid sultan Abu al-Hasan (r. 1331–1348) cemented an alliance with Hafsids by marrying a Hafsid princess. Upon being attacked by the Zayyanids again, the Hafsids appealed to Abu al-Hasan for help, providing him with an excuse to invade his neighbour.[31] The Marinid sultan initiated a siege of Tlemcen in 1335 and the city fell in 1337.[28] Abu Tashufin died during the fighting.[9] Abu al-Hasan received delegates from Egypt, Granada, Tunis and Mali congratulating him on his victory, by which he had gained complete control of the trans-Saharan trade.[31] In 1346 the Hafsid Sultan, Abu Bakr, died and a dispute over the succession ensued. In 1347 Abu al-Hasan annexed Ifriqiya, briefly reuniting the Maghrib territories as they had been under the Almohads.[32]

However, Abu al-Hasan went too far in attempting to impose more authority over the Arab tribes, who revolted and in April 1348 defeated his army near Kairouan. His son, Abu Inan Faris, who had been serving as governor of Tlemcen, returned to Fez and declared that he was sultan. Tlemcen and the central Maghreb revolted.[32] The Zayyanid Abu Thabit I (1348–1352) was proclaimed king of Tlemcen.[9] Abu al-Hasan had to return from Ifriqiya by sea. After failing to retake Tlemcen and being defeated by his son, Abu al-Hasan died in May 1351.[32] In 1352 Abu Inan Faris recaptured Tlemcen. He also reconquered the central Maghreb. He took Béjaïa in 1353 and Tunis in 1357, becoming master of Ifriqiya. In 1358 he was forced to return to Fez due to Arab opposition, where he fell sick and was killed.[32]

The Zayyanid king

Abu Hammu Musa II (r. 1359–1389) next took the throne of Tlemcen. He pursued an expansionist policy, pushing towards Fez in the west and into the Chelif valley and Béjaïa in the east.[19] He had a long reign punctuated by fighting against the Marinids or various rebel groups.[9] The Marinids reoccupied Tlemcen in 1360 and in 1370.[6] In both cases, the Marinids found they were unable to hold the region against local resistance.[33] Abu Hammu attacked the Hafsids in Béjaïa again in 1366, but this resulted in Hafsid intervention in the kingdom's affairs. The Hafsid sultan released Abu Hammu's cousin, Abu Zayyan, and helped him in laying claim to the Zayyanid throne. This provoked an internecine war between the two Zayyanids until 1378, when Abu Hammu finally captured Abu Zayyan in Algiers.[34]
: 141 

The historian Ibn Khaldun lived in Tlemcen for a period during the generally prosperous reign of Abu Hammu Musa II, and helped him in negotiations with the nomadic Arabs. He said of this period, "Here [in Tlemcen] science and arts developed with success; here were born scholars and outstanding men, whose glory penetrated into other countries." Abu Hammu was deposed by his son, Abu Tashfin II (1389–94), and the state went into decline.[35]

Decline (late 14th to 16th centuries)

A man of Tlemcen

In the late 14th and the 15th centuries, the state was increasingly weak and became intermittently a vassal of

Marinid Morocco, or the Crown of Aragon.[36] In 1386 Abu Hammu moved his capital to Algiers, which he judged less vulnerable, but a year later his son, Abu Tashufin, overthrew him and took him prisoner. Abu Hammu was sent on a ship towards Alexandria but he escaped along the way when the ship stopped in Tunis. In 1388, he recaptured Tlemcen, forcing his son to flee. Abu Tashufin sought refuge in Fez and enlisted the aid of the Marinids, who sent an army to occupy Tlemcen and reinstall him on the throne. As a result, Abu Tashufin and his successors recognized the suzerainty of the Marinids and paid them an annual tribute.[34]
: 141 

During the reign of the Marinid sultan

captured Fez in 1423. Abu Malek installed Muhammad, a Marinid prince, as a Zayyanid vassal in Fez.[10]: 287 [37]: 47–49  The Wattasids, a family related to the Marinids, continued to govern from Salé, where they proclaimed Abd al-Haqq II, an infant, as the successor to the Marinid throne, with Abu Zakariyya al-Wattasi as regent. The Hafsid sultan, Abd al-Aziz II, reacted to Abu Malek's rising influence by sending military expeditions westward, installing his own Zayyanid client king (Abu Abdallah II) in Tlemcen and pursuing Abu Malek to Fez. Abu Malek's Marinid puppet, Muhammad, was deposed and the Wattasids returned with Abd al-Haqq II to Fez, acknowledging Hafsid suzerainty.[10]: 287 [37]: 47–49  The Zayyanids remained vassals of the Hafsids until the end of the 15th century, when the Spanish expansion along the coast weakened the rule of both dynasties.[34]
: 141 

By the end of the 15th century the Crown of Aragon had gained effective political control, intervening in the dynastic disputes of the amirs of Tlemcen, whose authority had shrunk to the town and its immediate neighbourship.[35]

Tlemcen was captured in 1551 by the Ottomans of the Regency of Algiers, led by Hassan Pasha. The last Zayyanid sultan, Hasan al-Abdallah, escaped to Oran under Spanish protection.[34]: 156–157  He was baptized and lived under the name of Carlos[38] until his death a few years later. Zayyanid rule thus came to an end.[34]: 156–157 

Under the Ottoman Empire Tlemcen quickly lost its former importance, becoming a sleepy provincial town.

Arab nomads for the military.[3]

Economy

Zayyanid gold dinar [fr], minted in Tlemcen, 4.61g

The city of Tlemcen displaced Tahert (

Fez and Ifriqiya
.

Another major route from

Atlas mountains, while the route to Tlemcen was easier for the caravans.[40]
Yaghmurasan made an attempt to capture Sijilmasa in 1257, and succeeded in 1264, holding the town for almost ten years. The Marinids then took Sijilmasa, but most of the trade continued to flow through Tlemcen.[28]

The city of Tlemcen became an important centre, with many schools, mosques and palaces.[14] Tlemcen also housed a European trading centre (funduk) which connected African and European merchants.[41] In particular, Tlemcen was one of the points through which African gold (arriving from south of the Sahara via Sijilmasa or Taghaza) entered the European hands.[41] Consequently, Tlemcen was partially integrated into the European financial system. So, for example, Genoese

bills of exchange circulated there, at least among merchants not subject to (or not deterred by) religious prohibitions.[42]

Tlemcen housed several well-known madrasas and numerous wealthy religious foundations, becoming the principal intellectual centre of the central Maghreb. At the

souq around the Great Mosque, merchants sold woolen fabrics and rugs from the East, slaves and gold from across the Sahara, local earthenware and leather goods, and a variety of Mediterranean maritime goods "redirected" to Tlemcen by corsairs—in addition to the intentional European imports available at the funduk.[43]
Merchant houses based in Tlemcen, such as the al-Maqqari maintained regular branch offices in Mali and the Sudan.[44][45]

Architecture

Further information: Zayyanid architecture
Great Mosque of Tlemcen, built under Almoravid sultan Yusuf ibn Tashfin. Around 1236 Yaghmurasan added a minaret, a new dome, and rebuilt the courtyard.

Architecture under the Zayyanids was similar to that found under contemporary dynasties to the west, the Marinids and the

Madrasa Tashfiniya, founded by Abu Tashfin I (r. 1318–1337) and later demolished by French colonial authorities in the 19th century, was celebrated for its rich decoration, especially zellij tile decoration with advanced arabesque and geometric motifs whose style was repeated in some subsequent Marinid monuments.[27]: 187 [50]
: 526 

A central alcove in the Mechouar Palace today. The current building is a 2010 reconstruction, but fragments of original zellij paving remain inside the alcove and elsewhere.[47]: 140–142 

The Zayyanids installed their government in a citadel or

Arabic: قلعة المشور, romanized: Qal'at al-Mashwār) to which his successors added.[47]: 137 [51]: 223  Few remains from the Zayyanid period have survived today, but historical sources and archeological excavations have demonstrated the existence of several palaces and residences during that time. Abu Tashfin I built at least three of them, named Dar al-Surur, Dar Abi Fihr, and Dar al-Mulk. Most of the palaces took the form of courtyard buildings, often with a fountain or water basin at their center, gardens, and rich decoration including zellij and carved stucco.[47]: 137–144 [52]: 108 [51]: 223–224  Some regional characteristics are also attested in their design, such as the placement of a central alcove at the back of a large audience chamber, which has precedents in the Zirid palace of 'Ashir and earlier Fatimid palaces further east.[47]: 140  One of the royal palaces was reconstructed in 2010–2011 on top of the former ruins, but fragments of original zellij paving have been documented and preserved.[47]: 140–142 [53] In 1317 Abu Hammu Musa I built the Mechouar Mosque as the official mosque of the palace, though only the minaret and the overall floor plan from the original mosque remain today.[51]: 223 [47]: 108–111  Another palace, stood next to the Great Mosque of Tlemcen and was known as the Qasr al-Qadim ("Old Palace"), most likely the former residence of Almoravid governors in Tagrart. Yaghmurasan used it as royal residence before his move to the Meshouar in the mid-13th-century, but it appears to have been remained in use under subsequent Zayyanid rulers. It too was partly demolished and replaced by other structures during the 19th century and afterwards.[47]
: 145–146 

Attached to the Qasr al-Qadim was the first royal necropolis (or rawda) of the Zayyanids, which remained the burial site of Zayyanid rulers up until the mid-14th century at least.

Ottoman period. Excavations have revealed the existence of more rich zellij decoration, of the same style as that of the Tashfiniya Madrasa, which covered some of the tombs.[47]
: 111–113 

List of Zayyanid rulers

Main article: Zayyanid dynasty § List of rulers

Chronology of events

See also

Notes

  1. ^ This flag is shown in European portolan charts from the mid-14th century century and prior to 1488.[1]

References

Citations

  1. ^ de Vries, Hubert (2015) [2011]. "AL DJAZAIR - Algeria". Heraldica civica et militara. Archived from the original on 2023-04-03. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  2. ^ Baydal Sala, Vicent (19 Nov 2017). "Religious motivations or feudal expansionism? The Crusade of James II of Aragon against Nasrid Almeria in 1309-10". Complutense University of Madrid. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Abd al-Wadid Dynasty | Berber dynasty". Archived from the original on 2016-08-06. Retrieved 2016-07-22.
  4. ISBN 9780195337709. Archived
    from the original on 2023-01-11. Retrieved 2016-07-22.
  5. ^ a b الدولة الزيانية في عهد يغمراسن: دراسة تاريخية وحضارية 633 هـ - 681 هـ / 1235 م - 1282 م‬‎‫خالد بلع Archived 2023-06-07 at the Wayback Machine ربي‬ ‪Al Manhal
  6. ^ a b "The Abdelwadids (1236–1554)". Qantara. Archived from the original on 2013-11-12. Retrieved 2013-05-15.
  7. ^ L'Algérie au passé lointain – De Carthage à la Régence d'Alger, p175
  8. ^ Despois et al. 1986, p. 367.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Tarabulsi 2006, p. 84.
  10. ^ a b c d Garrot, Henri (1910). Histoire générale de l'Algérie (in French). Impr. P. Crescenzo.
  11. ^ Ksour et saints du Gourara: dans la tradition orale, l'hagiographie et les chroniques locales Archived 2023-06-07 at the Wayback Machine. Rachid Bellil. C.N.R.P.A.H.
  12. ^ Histoire es berbères, 4 Archived 2023-06-07 at the Wayback Machine: et des dynasties musulmanes de l'afrique septentrionale. Abd al-Rahman b. Muhammad Ibn Jaldun. Imprimerie du Gouvernement.
  13. ^ Khaldoun, Ibn (1856-01-01). Histoire es berbères, 3: et des dynasties musulmanes de l'afrique septentrionale (in French). Translated by William McGuckin de Slane. Imprimerie du Gouvernement. Archived from the original on 2022-03-10. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  14. ^ a b Bel. 1993, p. 65.
  15. ^ Piquet, Victor (1937). Histoire des monuments musulmans du Maghreb (in French). Impr. R. Bauche. Archived from the original on 2022-03-10. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  16. ISBN 978-9961-69-047-5
    .
  17. ^ John Murray 1874, p. 209.
  18. ^ John Murray 1874, p. 210.
  19. ^ a b c d e Niane 1984, p. 93.
  20. ^ a b c Tarabulsi 2006, p. 83.
  21. ^ Ruano 2006, p. 309.
  22. ^ Hrbek 1997, pp. 34–43.
  23. ISBN 978-1-59339-837-8
    .
  24. ^
    ISBN 978-92-3-101710-0. Archived
    from the original on 2023-06-07. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
  25. ISBN 978-2-7298-4268-0. Archived
    from the original on 2023-04-09. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
  26. ^
    ISSN 1873-9830
    .
  27. ^
    ISBN 9780300218701
    .
  28. ^ a b c d e f Niane 1984, p. 94.
  29. ^ Les états de l'Occident musulman aux XIIIe, XIVe et XVe siècles: institutions gouvernementales et administratives Archived 2023-06-07 at the Wayback Machine Atallah Dhina Office des Publications Universitaires,
  30. ^ Histoire générale de la Tunisie, Volume 2 Archived 2023-06-07 at the Wayback Machine Hédi Slim, Ammar Mahjoubi, Khaled Belkhodja, Hichem Djaït, Abdelmajid Ennabli Sud éditions,
  31. ^ a b Fage & Oliver 1975, p. 357.
  32. ^ a b c d Fage & Oliver 1975, p. 358.
  33. ^ Hrbek 1997, pp. 39.
  34. ^
    ISBN 0521337674. Archived
    from the original on 2023-07-20. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  35. ^ a b Niane 1984, p. 95.
  36. ^ Hrbek 1997, pp. 41.
  37. ^ a b c d Société archéologique, historique et géographique du département de Constantine Auteur du texte (1919). "Recueil des notices et mémoires de la Société archéologique de la province de Constantine". Gallica. Archived from the original on 2022-01-18. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  38. ISBN 9780748696482
    .
  39. ^ Wingfield 1868, p. 261.
  40. ^ Fage & Oliver 1975, p. 356.
  41. ^ a b Talbi 1997, p. 29.
  42. ^ Braudel 1979, p. 66.
  43. ^ Idris 1997, pp. 44–49.
  44. ^ Niane 1997, p. 245-253.
  45. ^ Kasaichi 2004, p. 121-137.
  46. ISBN 9780195309911
    .
  47. ^
    ISBN 9782701805252
    .
  48. ^ Marçais, Georges (1954). L'architecture musulmane d'Occident. Paris: Arts et métiers graphiques. pp. 192–197.
  49. ^
    hdl:10261/122812
    .
  50. ISBN 9782350314907
    .
  51. ^
    ISBN 9780190624552
    .
  52. ^ Bourouiba, Rachid (1973). L'art religieux musulman en Algérie (in French). Algiers: S.N.E.D.
  53. S2CID 242181689. Archived
    from the original on 2022-07-26. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
  54. ^ Caverly 2008, p. 45.
  55. ^ a b c d e f g Political Chronologies of the World, pp. 1–18.
  56. ^ a b Marçais 1986, p. 93.
  57. ^ J. M., Barral (1974). Orientalia Hispanica: Arabica-Islamica (in French). Brill Archive. p. 37.
  58. ^ Cheikh Mohammed Abd'al-Djalil al-Tenessy; M. l'abbé J.-J.-L. Bargès (1887). Complément de l'histoire des Beni-Zeiyan, rois de Tlemcen (406) (in French). Paris: E. Leroux. p. 612. Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  59. ISBN 978-0-8108-6480-1. Archived
    from the original on 2023-01-29. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
  60. ISBN 978-1-137-01347-7.[permanent dead link
    ‍]
  61. ISBN 978-1-59884-336-1. Archived
    from the original on 2022-07-09. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
  62. ^ Bargès 1887, p. 451.
  63. ^ Ruff 1998, p. 91.
  64. ^ de Vera 1884, p. 160.
  65. ^ Ruff 1998, p. 95–96.
  66. ^ de Vera 1884, p. 161.

Sources

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kingdom_of_Tlemcen&oldid=1280347515"