The Banu Ghaniya were an

Almoravid The Almoravid dynasty ( ar, المرابطون, translit=Al-Murābiṭūn, lit=those from the ribats) was an imperial Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire in the 11th century tha ...

Sanhaja Berber dynasty. Their first leader, Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Yusuf, a son of Ali ibn Yusuf al-Massufi and the Almoravid Princess Ghaniya, was appointed as governor of the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...

in 1126. Following the collapse of the Almoravid power at the hand of the

Almohads The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the unity of God) was a North African Berber Muslim empire ...

in the 1140s, the Banu Ghaniya continued to govern the

as independent

emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...

s until about 1203, with a brief interruption in the 1180s. Later leaders (Ali ibn Ishaq and Yahya) made a determined attempt to reconquer the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

(and in particular

Ifriqiya Ifriqiya ( '), also known as al-Maghrib al-Adna ( ar, المغرب الأدنى), was a medieval historical region comprising today's Tunisia and eastern Algeria, and Tripolitania (today's western Libya). It included all of what had previously ...

), taking Bougie, Constantine and

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques d ...

, and conquering most of modern Tunisia from about 1180 onwards. They were influential in the downfall of the Almohad Empire in Eastern Maghrib. In Tunisia Ali ibn Ishaq adhered to the

Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttal ...

and was formally appointed by Al-Mustadi with the title of "heir of the Almoravids".

Emirs

* Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Yusuf 1126–1165 (deposed) *

Ishaq ibn Muhammad Ishak, Ishaq or Eshaq may refer to: * Ishak (name), list of people with this given name or surname * Isaaq, a Somali clan-family in the Horn of Africa * Ishaaq bin Ahmed, the semi-legendary forefather and common ancestor of the Isaaq clan-family ...

(son) 1165–1183 *

Muhammad ibn Ishaq Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq ibn Yasār ibn Khiyār (; according to some sources, ibn Khabbār, or Kūmān, or Kūtān, ar, محمد بن إسحاق بن يسار بن خيار, or simply ibn Isḥaq, , meaning "the son of Isaac"; died 767) was an 8 ...

(son) 1183–1184 *To Almohad 1184 *Ali ibn Ishaq (known as

Ali ibn Ghaniya ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

) 1184–1188, emir (by conquest) of Bougie (1185–1186)

(1186) and

Gafsa Gafsa ( aeb, ڨفصة '; ar, قفصة qafṣah), originally called Capsa in Latin, is the capital of Gafsa Governorate of Tunisia. It lends its Latin name to the Mesolithic Capsian culture. With a population of 111,170, Gafsa is the ninth-la ...

(1186–1187), warlord in

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

1187–1188 ** Tashfin ibn Ishaq, emir of

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bale ...

(in opposition to 'Ali) 1185–1187 **'Abdallah ibn Ishaq (known as

'Abdallah ibn Ghaniya Abdallah ibn Ishaq ibn Muhammad ibn Ghaniya, known as Abdallah ibn Ghaniya ( ar, عبد الله بن غانية) (died 1203) was a member of the Banu Ghaniya dynasty who fought against the Almohad Caliphate in the late twelfth and early thirteenth ...

), emir of Majorca 1187–1203 *Yahya ibn Ishaq (known as

Yahya ibn Ghaniya Yahya may refer to: * Yahya (name), a common Arabic male given name * Yahya (Zaragoza), 11th-century ruler of Zaragoza * John the Baptist in Islam, also known as Yaḥyā ibn Zakarīyā See also * Tepe Yahya Tapeh Yahya () is an archaeological ...

) 1188–1202/1203 warlord in Tunis 1188–1212

References

Bibliography

* * * * * Oriental islands of Al-Andalus Berber dynasties {{Al-Andalus-stub