Aghlabid

The emirate aglábida between 800 and 909.

The Aghlabids or Banu al-Aglab were a dynasty of Sunni Muslim Arab emirs from North Africa, whose power was centered in Ifriqiya (Tunisia), where the founder Ibrahim I ibn Aglab established in the year 800 an emirate nominally dependent on the Abbasid Caliphate that became a military power in the central Mediterranean, extending to northern Algeria, Tripolitania (Libya), Sicily, Sardinia and southern Italy. Its capital was located in Kairouan. His power ended in the year 909, when the Fatimids raised theirs in the Maghreb and expanded into North Africa.

Its members belonged to the Banu Tamim branch of the Arab tribe (the legendary founder of the dynasty was an al-Tamimi), the same lineage as that of the Prophet Muhammad, who after conquering Persia settled in Khorasan, in present-day Iran, and spread to North Africa.

History

Ibrahim I ibn Aglab, governor of the Valley of M'Zab (Algeria) since 787, was appointed in the year 800 by the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid, hereditary emir of Ifriquiya as a response to the anarchy that reigned in that province of the Caliphate of Baghdad after the fall of the Muhallábidas and the attack of the Berber towns in the process of Islamization. Ibrahim took control of an area covering eastern Algeria, Tunisia and Tripolitania. Although he was independent in all but name, his dynasty never failed to recognize the Abbasid caliphate. He established his new palatial capital at El Abasiya, on the outskirts of Kairouan, in part to escape opposition from Malikite jurists and theologians, who consistently condemned the "sinful" lifestyle of the Aghlabids and they disapproved of their discriminatory treatment of Muslim Berbers.

The Aghlabids had to fight within the limits of their emirate against the Berber people and to do so they facilitated, protected and enhanced the settlement of Arab immigrants from the Middle East in regular waves, establishing hundreds of border defenses (ribats).

Under the government of the Aghlabid emirs, maritime expeditions to plunder and conquer the Christian shores of the Mediterranean were launched from Ifriquiya. His first objective was the island of Sicily. Taking advantage of existing rivalries, they responded to the call for help from a Byzantine commander, Eufemio de Messina, and conquered Mazara (827) and Palermo (831). Little by little they took over the rest of the island, eventually taking Syracuse in 878. The Muslim conquest of Sicily lasted for seventy-five years as a result of fierce resistance from Byzantine Christian garrisons and rivalries that pitted the Arab warlords against each other. In 902 the last Byzantine position fell to the Aghlabids, the town of Taormina. However, they did not enjoy the conquest much as they gradually lost control of forces based in Sicily, and a new dynasty, the Kalbids, rose against the Aghlabid power, separating Sicily from the influence of Ifriquiya.

They also seized the island of Malta (868) and subjected Sardinia to tribute, making the Aghlabids masters of the western Mediterranean by the end of the century IX.

As for looting expeditions, they focused on Italy. They sacked Taranto, Brindisi, conquered Bari (841) and, going up the Tiber River, sacked the outskirts of Rome (846). Despite being defeated at the Battle of Ostia, they continued to sack Montecassino, Subiaco and Tivoli. Even Pope John VIII paid them tribute.

With these profits, they carried out important construction works: the Cairuan mosque underwent important reforms and extensions that have given it its final appearance, the hydraulic systems inherited from the Romans were improved and the cities were embellished with the loot obtained.

During the government of Ahmed Abú Ibrahim (856-863) the emirate of Ifriquiya reached its zenith: more than two thousand ribats or fortresses such as Monastir, Susa, etc. were built. and several palatial residences such as El Abbasiyya and Raqqada. Ifriquiya became an economic power thanks to its important rainfed and irrigated agriculture. In times of the Roman Empire, (the province of Africa had been the granary of Rome until the arrival of the Vandals in Carthage). Ifriquiya also became a focus of trade between the Islamic world, Byzantium and Italy, especially in the lucrative slave trade. Kairouan became a major center of Islamic learning in the Maghreb, especially in the areas of Islamic law and theology. It was also a meeting place for poets and other artistic manifestations.

The decline of the dynasty began under the reign of Ibrahim II Abu Ishaq (875-902). He lost control of Calabria to Byzantium, repelled an attack by the Tulunids from Egypt, and harshly put down a Berber rebellion. At the end of the IX century, the Arab tribe of the Ismailis in Syria led the Aghlabid regime into an unstable situation, coinciding with the rebellion of the Ketama Berber tribe. By then the Aghlabid state was in full decline: weakened by palace intrigues and tribal rebellions, in the west its authority barely reached Constantine. Beyond lay the steppe dominated by its equally weak Rustumid rivals.

The rebellion of the kutama Berbers and the end of the Aglabi Emirate: the campaigns of the early century X.

In 893, the rebellion of the Shiite Fatimids was launched by the mission in which Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah, a local Ismaili leader in eastern Algeria, declared himself the Mahdi i>, the "divine guide" and caliph or imam. He legitimized her claim by declaring himself a descendant of Muhammad through the branch of the prophet's daughter, Fatima az-Zahra, and her husband, Ali ibn Abi Talib, the prophet's cousin. This happened in Kairouan and the Aghlabids did not resist the expansion of the Fatimids, who absorbed them in the year 909. The last Aghlabid emir, Ziyadat Allah III Abu Mudar ibn Abdallah, fled to Egypt accompanied by a thousand of his eunuchs saqaliba, each carrying a thousand dinars from their lord.

The Aghlabids continued to rule Malta until 1048.

Society

The Grand Mosque of Cairouan and the Olive Tree Mosque of Tunis became highly valued centers of higher education in the Islamic world for the excellence of their doctors in Islamic law.

Subject to the payment of a tax called jaray and with the observance of certain social restrictions, Christians and Jews in Ifriqiya were able to manage to maintain their religion and places of worship after the invasion Arab. At that time, there was a notable Christian community in Tunis and Kairouan and with existing archbishoprics in Tozeur, Mahdia and Carthage. In 893 a schism divided the bishops of Africa, who sent delegates to Rome to submit their controversy to the Pope.

Notable members of the dynasty