Ziri ibn Manad or Ziri son of Mennad (died in 971) was the founder of the

Zirid dynasty The Zirid dynasty ( ar, الزيريون, translit=az-zīriyyūn), Banu Ziri ( ar, بنو زيري, translit=banū zīrī), or the Zirid state ( ar, الدولة الزيرية, translit=ad-dawla az-zīriyya) was a Sanhaja Berber dynasty from m ...

in 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, ...

. Ziri ibn Mennad was a chief of the Takalata branch of the Sanhajah confederation, to which the

Kutama The Kutama ( Berber: ''Ikutamen''; ar, كتامة) was a Berber tribe in northern Algeria classified among the Berber confederation of the Bavares. The Kutama are attested much earlier, in the form ''Koidamousii'' by the Greek geographer Ptolemy. ...

Berbers belonged located in the Central Maghreb (

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

). As an ally of the Fatimids, he assisted in the defeat of the rebellion of

Abu Yazid Abu Yazid Makhlad ibn Kaydad (; – 19 August 947), known as the Man on the Donkey (), was an Ibadi Berber of the Banu Ifran tribe who led a rebellion against the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia and eastern Algeria) starting ...

(943–947) by Caliph

al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah Abu Tahir Isma'il ( ar, أبو طاهر إسماعيل, Abū Ṭāhir ʾIsmāʿīl; January 914 – 18 March 953), better known by his regnal name al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah (), was the third caliph of the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifriqiya, ruling from ...

, and was rewarded with the governorship of the western provinces, an area that roughly corresponds with modern

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

north of the Sahara. Ziri had the residence of

Achir Achir ( ar, آشير) or Ashir is an ancient city in Algeria, first capital of the Muslim dynasty of the Zirids, under Fatimid suzerainty, located at an altitude of 4,593 feet in the Titteri Mountains, in the current Algerian commune of Kef Lak ...

built south of the future site of Algiers in 935. He summoned masons and joiners from

M'sila M'sila (also spelled Msila) ( ar, المسيلة); is the capital of M'Sila Province, Algeria, and is co-extensive with M'sila District. It has a population of 132,975 as per the 2008 census. M'sila University is also located in this city. Hist ...

and

Tubna Tubna ( ar, تبنة, also spelled ''Tibna'' or ''Tebnah'') is a village in southern Syria, administratively part of the Daraa Governorate in the Hauran region. It is located 58 km south Damascus and 42 km from Daraa. History Tubna w ...

to build the fortress, which, once finished, was filled with scholars, merchants and lawyers. He minted money and began to pay his troops in cash. His son

Buluggin ibn Ziri Buluggin ibn Ziri, often transliterated Bologhine, in full ʾAbū al Futūḥ Sayf ad Dawlah Bulukīn ibn Zīrī ibn Manād aṣ Ṣanhājī ( ar, أبو الفتوح سيف الدولة بلكين بن زيري بن مناد الصنهاجي; die ...

founded the cities of Algiers,

Miliana Miliana ( ar, مليانة) is a commune in Aïn Defla Province in northwestern Algeria. It is the administrative center of the daïra, or district, of the same name. It is approximately southwest of the Algerian capital, Algiers.r/sup>, which ...

and

Médéa Médéa ( ber, Lemdiyyet, ar, المدية ''al-Madiya''), population 123,535 (1998 census) is the capital city of Médéa Province, Algeria. It is located roughly 68 km south of Algiers. The present-day city is situated on the site o ...

(Lamdiya), and rebuilt the settlements destroyed in the revolt. In 959 Ziri successfully conquered Fez in Morocco. On his return home he paraded the amir of Fez as well as the “Caliph” Ibn Wasul of Sijilmasa in cages in a very humiliating manner.Pellat, Charles (1991). "Midrār". In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, New Edition, Volume VI: Mahk–Mid. Leiden: E. J. Brill. Ziri ibn Manad was killed in battle against the lord of

(Ja'far Ibn 'Ali al-andalusi al-Maghrawi) in June-July 971. He was succeeded as governor by his son

, who in 972 became Viceroy of Ifriqiya (972–984) when the Fatimids transferred their court to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

. 971 deaths 10th-century Berber people 10th-century people from the Fatimid Caliphate Governors of the Fatimid Caliphate People killed in action Sanhaja Year of birth unknown Zirid dynasty

References

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