Kutama
The Kutama (
The Kutama played a pivotal role in establishing the
Ancient history
The Kutama are attested in the form Koidamousii, by the Greek geographer Ptolemy, whose African documentation seems to date from the years 100-110. They were then in the region of the Ampsaga river (oued el-Kebir) in Mauretania Caesariensis. He locates them upstream of the Khitouae tribe and downstream of the Todoukae tribe, themselves located near the sources of the river.[3] In the second century, they formed part of the Bavares tribal confederation, which gave a hard time to the Roman power, both in Mauretania Caesarean, then Sitifian after 303, and in Numidia. This political and military opposition did not prevent a certain romanization, at least punctually, thus the creation of the milestone respublica Vahartanensium, probably linked to the need for a road crossing of the massif which is hardly attested until the reign of Hadrian. In 411, their chief town Ceramusa or Ceramudensis plebsis is attested as the seat of a bishopric. The same episcopal seat was occupied by a certain Montanus of Cedamusa during the vandal era. In the 6th century, during the byzantine rule, the kutama are attested by a Christian inscription, where a king of the Ucutumani—the Berber prefix u- is indicating parentage—is said in Latin Dei servus (slave of God). This inscription was discovered at the Fdoulès pass, south of Igilgili, at one of the last passes before the descent to Milevum.[4]
Post-classical history
Early Islamic history
The oldest accounts of the muslim conquest of the Maghreb, Ibn Abd al-Hakam and Khalifah ibn Khayyat, do not speak of them, any more than al-Ya'qubi (d. 897) and Ibn al-Faqih (d. after 903). Their name appears for the first time among that of other Berber tribes in the al-Masālik of Ibn Khordadbeh (d. 885). The tribe was not very important at that time.
The Kutama probably had embraced Islam, first as
Aghlabid era
Little is known about the Kutama for the rest of the eighth century, after the advent of the Aghlabids at Kairouan in 789. The Kutama contented themselves with ignoring the Aghlabid authorities and welcoming the rebel soldiers in their inaccessible mountains. Their large population and the isolation in their mountains caused them not to suffer any oppression on the part of this dynasty.[5]
Fatimid era
Conversion to Isma'ilism
At the end of the 9th century, in Mecca in 893/4 some Kutama notables met the
It was probably around this time that their geographic expansion began. The territory that the Kutama occupied from this time seems much more extensive than it was in Roman times; it then encompassed the northern mountain ranges that stretch from
Conquest of the Aghlabid emirate
Abu Abdallah formed a powerful army and launched his troops against the Aghlabid fortresses in
Rise to prominence under the early Fatimids
The Kutama were the mainstay and elite of the early Fatimid armies.
On the other hand, this dominion of the semi-civilized Kutama was greatly resented, not only by the other Berber tribes, but chiefly by the Arab and Arabicized inhabitants of the cities.
Decline
After the move of the seat of the caliphate to Egypt in 973, a large number of Kutama accompanied the dynasty east. However, the forays into the Levant in the 970s revealed the inadequacies of an army based solely on the Kutama, and from 978, the Fatimids began incorporating ethnic groups, notably the Turks and Daylamites, from the eastern Islamic lands into their army.[20] In combination with the increasing difficulty of renewing their pool of Kutama recruits after c. 987/88, these events challenged the position of the Kutama in the army. Thereafter, a fierce rivalry developed between the Kutama and the "Easterners" (Mashāriqa).[21]
In 996, on the accession of
Thereafter the position of the Kutama steadily declined,[25] so that in November 1025, during an official review, the once numerous and proud Kutama were reduced to demanding bread to sate their hunger.[26] Shortly after, they were unable to mobilize even 100 horsemen at short notice.[27] On the other hand, the Persian traveller Nasir Khusraw mentions that there were 20,000 Kutama horsemen during his visit to Egypt in 1047.[25]
During the chaos of the years 1062–1073, the Kutama allied themselves with the Sudān against the Turks and the Daylamites.[25] The last remnants of the Kutama were dismissed from the Fatimid army after Badr al-Jamali came to power in 1073.[25]
References
- ^ Registre des Provinces et Cités d’Afrique, éd. et trad. S. Lancel, in Victor de Vita, Belles Lettres, Paris, 2002, p. 270, Sitif., n° 29. Ptolémée, Géographie, IV, 2, 5, éd. C. Müller.
- ^ "صلاح الدين ومؤامرات الفاطميين (3) مؤامرة الجند السودان". www.alrased.net. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
- ^ Desanges 2008, p. 4269.
- ^ Laporte 2005, pp. 4179–4181.
- ^ a b c Laporte 2005, p. 4181.
- ^ a b c Laporte 2005, p. 4182.
- ^ Laporte 2005, p. 4183.
- ^ Lewicki 1988, p. 298.
- ^ Beshir 1978, p. 38.
- ^ African Foreign Policy and Diplomacy from Antiquity to the 21st Century, Volume 11: Pg 92
- ^ An Atlas of African HistoryHistory by J. D. FageFage: Pg 11
- ^ Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life: Africa: Pg 329
- ^ Algeria, a Country StudyBy American University (Washington, D.C.). Foreign Area Studies: Pg 15
- ^ Beshir 1978, pp. 37–38.
- ^ Lev 1987, pp. 344, 345.
- ^ Halm 1991, p. 162.
- ^ Halm 1991, pp. 162, 293.
- ^ a b Halm 1991, p. 158.
- ^ Halm 1991, pp. 158–162, 187.
- ^ Lev 1987, pp. 344, 345–346.
- ^ Lev 1987, pp. 344, 346.
- ^ Lev 1987, pp. 344–346.
- ^ Daftary 2007, pp. 178–179.
- ^ Lev 1987, pp. 345–346.
- ^ a b c d Beshir 1978, p. 39.
- ^ Lev 1987, p. 346.
- ^ Lev 1987, p. 347.
Sources
- ISBN 978-90-04-07819-2.
- Beshir, B. (1978). "Fatimid Military Organization". S2CID 162316006.
- ISBN 978-0-521-61636-2.
- ISBN 9782744907074.
- ISBN 3-406-35497-1.
- Laporte, J.-P. (2005). "Ketama, Kutama". In Salem, Chaker (ed.). Encyclopédie berbère. Vol. 27 | Kairouan – Kifan Bel-Ghomari. Aix-en-Provence: Edisud. ISBN 9782744905384.
- Lev, Yaacov (1987). "Army, Regime, and Society in Fatimid Egypt, 358–487/968–1094". S2CID 162310414.
- Lewicki, T. (1988). El fasi, M.; Hrbek, Ivan (eds.). Africa from the Seventh to the Eleventh Century. UNESCO. ISBN 978-92-3-101709-4.