Khalifa al-Zanati (Arabic: خليفة الزناتي) one of the main characters in the
Bani Hilal epic
Epic commonly refers to:
* Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation
* Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale
Epic(s) ...
, where he appears as the
Berber
Berber or Berbers may refer to:
Ethnic group
* Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa
* Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages
Places
* Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile
People with the surname
* Ady Berber (1913–196 ...
king of
Tunis
Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...
.
The epic says that during the siege of
Bani Hilal to Tunis he asked their knights for duels every day and killed many of them, not even
Abu Zayd al-Hilali was able to defeat him. His destiny was to be killed by
Dhieb bin Ghanim who thrust a spear into his eyes.
The epic also says that one of the reasons of his defeat was the betrayal of his daughter Sadaa who fell in love with Maree, a Hilalian prince held captive in her fathers prison.
The historical Khalifa Al-Zanati may have been a general serving the ruler of
Tlemcen
Tlemcen (; ) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran and is the capital of Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the port of Rachgoun. It had a population of ...
in present-day Algeria.
References
History of North Africa
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