Hammadid Ruler

The Hammadid dynasty (), also known as the Hammadid Emirate or the Kingdom of Bejaia, was a medieval Islamic kingdom in the central Maghreb, encompassing what is now Algeria. It was established at the beginning of the 11th century when Hammad ibn Buluggin declared himself emir, thus splitting the Zirid domains into two separate dynasties. Under the reign of Emir Al Nasir, the emirate briefly became the most important state in the Maghreb, and reached its greatest territorial extent, stretching from Tlemcen in the west to Tunis in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the desert oasis and Oued Righ in the south. While they briefly controlled the principality of Fez in the west and cities like Sfax, Kairouan, Laribus, and Tripoli to the east.

At first, Hammad built a fortified city that would serve as the capital for his newly declared kingdom. Later, upon the arrival of the Arabic Banu Hilal tribes, the capital would be replaced by another city, newly built by Emir Al Nasir ibn Alnas, called ''Al-Nāsiriyyah'' (from ) and later renamed to Bejaia; it was the official capital of the Emirate by 1090 during the rule of Al-Mansur. Both cities grew to become among the largest and most prosperous centers of the Maghreb, with Bejaia housing more than 100,000 inhabitants. The Hammadids subsequently clashed with the Almoravids in the west and their cousins the Zirids in the east. The latter weakened with the rise of the prominent Normans in Sicily, who also confronted the Hammadids for the domination of Ifriqiya (now Tunisia). However, the Hammadids faced another challenge on their western borders with the growing force of the Almohad Caliphate, and their emirate was finally annexed by the Almohads in 1152 after a brief clash with them.

History

Establishment

In 987 and 989, al-Mansur ibn Buluggin, the emir of the Berber Zirid dynasty, appointed his uncle Hammad ibn Buluggin as governor of Ashir and western Zirid lands. Hammad subsequently defended the territory against Zenata incursions and was granted additional lands by al-Mansur's successor Badis ibn Mansur. In 1007 and 1008, forces under Hammad left Ashir and built a new citadel-capital, Qal'at Bani Hammad (also called ''Al Qal'a of Beni Hammad''), in M'Sila Province in the Hodna Mountains; a thriving city sprang up around the fortress.

In 1014, Hammad declared his independence from Zirid suzerainty and switched his spiritual allegiance from the Shi'a Fatimid caliphs to the Sunni Abbasid caliphs of Baghdad. The Zirids failed to quash the rebellion and recognized Hammadid legitimacy in 1017, in a peace with al-Mu'izz that was sealed by Hammad's son and successor Qaid ibn Hammad (). The peace was further sealed by marriage, with al-Mu'izz's sister marrying one of Hammad's sons. According to historian Hady Roger Idris, it appears that the Hammadids agreed to recognize Fatimid suzerainty again at this time, but at some later point in his reign, perhaps around the same time as the Zirids did in the 1040s, Qa'id ibn Hammad repudiated Fatimid suzerainty again.

In 1039, Qaid ibn Hammad was attacked by Hammama, the ruler of Fes, but Hammama soon returned to Fez, requested peace, and declared his submission to the Hammadids.

Al-Mu'izz subsequently also broke with the Fatimids and changed his allegiance to the Abbasids. The Fatimid caliph, al-Mustansir, sent Bedouin Arab allies, the Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym, into a mass migration and invasion of the lands in what is now Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria, culminating in al-Mu'izz's defeat in 1053 and the subsequent reduction of the Zirids to a small, insignificant territory based in Mahdia. Amidst the chaos, the Hammadids reverted their allegiance to the Fatimids and managed to negotiate an alliance with the Bedouin tribes.

Although the Hammadids and Zirids entered into an agreement in 1077 in which Zirid ruler Tamim's daughter married into the Hammadids, this did not end the rivalry between the dynasties.Amar S. Baadj, ''Saladin, the Almohads and the Banū Ghāniya: The Contest for North Africa (12th and 13th centuries)'' (Brill: 2013), p. 45. A common pattern was for Hammadids and Zirids to support "rival coalitions of Arab tribes to fight their proxy wars."Amar S. Baadj, ''Saladin, the Almohads and the Banū Ghāniya: The Contest for North Africa (12th and 13th centuries)'' (Brill: 2013), p. 34, footnote 20. The Hammidid–Zirid rivalry also influenced the choice of which caliph to recognize; historian Amar S. Baadj writes, "It would appear that the principle which the Hammadids followed in the course of their relations with Baghdad and Cairo was that of opposing the Zirids. Whenever the Zirids recognized one of two rival caliphs, the Hammadids would declare their submission to the other."Amar S. Baadj, ''Saladin, the Almohads and the Banū Ghāniya: The Contest for North Africa (12th and 13th centuries)'' (Brill: 2013), p. 46.

Apogee

Buluggin ibn Muhammad (r. 1055–1062), a subsequent Hammadid ruler, invaded northern Morocco in 1062 and briefly took Fez for a few months, but was then assassinated by his paternal cousin An-Nasir ibn Alnas, who succeeded him as emir. The Hammadid dynasty peaked during al-Nasir's reign.Amar S. Baadj, ''Saladin, the Almohads and the Banū Ghāniya: The Contest for North Africa (12th and 13th centuries)'' (Brill: 2013), pp. 42-47. Under his reign the Hammadids established their control across large parts of the Maghreb. Al-Nasir captured Constantine and Algiers, then established Hammadid influence far to the east in Sfax, where the local ruler acknowledged Hammadid suzerainty, as well as in Susa and Tripoli. At the request of local ''shaykh''s, he was also able to install a loyal governor in Tunis until 1067. Between 1067 and 1072 he built Béjaïa, developing it from a small fishing village into a large, fortified town and port. The Hammadids also expanded south deep into the Sahara, with Ouargla forming the southernmost city of their territory. They briefly extended their authority further to the Oued Mya.

In the 11th century, the Hammadids came under increasing pressure from the Banu Hilal, who had settled in the Plains of Constantine and increasingly threatened Qal'at Bani Hammad. While initially allied to the Bedouins, the Hammadids later became their puppets, allocating half of their harvest yields to them and buying off tribesmen in order to secure the safety of trade routes. Qal'at Bani Hammad was eventually eclipsed by Béjaïa. In 1090, with the Banu Hilal menace rising, the Hammadids moved their capital to Béjaïa, yielding their southern territories to the Hilalians. The Hammadids maintained control of a small but prosperous coastal territory between Ténès and El Kala. E.J. Brill's ''First Encyclopaedia of Islam'' (1927) states that the Qal'at Bani Hammad "was not completely abandoned by al-Mansur and he even embellished it with a number of palaces. The Hammadid kingdom had therefore at this point two capitals joined by a royal road." Renamed al-Nasiriya to honor the emir, Béjaïa developed into a sophisticated trading city; under al-Nasir and his son and successor al-Mansur ibn Nasir, large gardens, palaces, a Great Mosque, and other landmarks were constructed in the town.

An-Nasir corresponded with Pope Gregory VII and expanded commercial opportunities for Italian traders in Béjaïa. The city then flourished as a trading port and a prominent intellectual centre where even Abu Madyan and the Andalusian Shaykh Abu Ali Hassan bin Ali Muhammad taught. Leonardo Fibonacci had also studied in Béjaïa; his father was appointed as collector of customs in Béjaïa and brought Leonardo with him. In Béjaïa Fibonacci was introduced to the Arabic numerical system and computational method; he later introduced this numerical system to Europe. He was also introduced to a book of algebra written by al-Khwarizmi.

Decline

In 1103–1104 the Hammadids defeated the Almoravids and took control of Tlemcen. During the reign of al-Mansur's son Abd al-Aziz ibn Mansur (r. 1105–1121), Béjaïa had about 100,000 people, and the Hammadids consolidated their power in the city. The dynasty suffered a decline after this point; efforts to develop more sea power in the Mediterranean were foiled by the Normans, who by the 12th century had conquered Sicily and had also occupied a number of settlements on the coast of Tunisia and Algeria. However, Abd al-Aziz did expel the Hilalians from Hodna and capture Jerba.

The last dynastic emir was Yahya ibn Abd al-Aziz (r. 1121–1152). Yahya repulsed Bedouin incursions and subdued uprisings by Berber clans, but during his reign the Genoese also raided Béjaïa (1136), and the Kingdom of Sicily occupied the settlement of Djidjelli and destroyed a pleasure palace that had been built there. Tunis, whose Khurasanid rulers had previously vacillated between recognizing Zirid and Hammadid authority, was annexed in 1128 and controlled by Hammadid governors until 1148.

Yahya tried to establish good relations with the Fatimids in the early 1140s, but ultimately he recognized the Abbasids instead and minted coins in al-Muqtafi's name. In 1144 and 1145, he dispatched Hammadid forces to join the Almoravids in fighting, unsuccessfully, the Berber Almohads led by Abd al-Mu'min.

In 1145, Abd al-Mu'min conquered Tlemcen and Oran. In 1151, he marched against the Hammadids. The Almohads took Algiers in 1152 and captured Béjaïa later the same year, crushing Hammadid forces at the gates of the city. This marked a major military triumph for Abd al-Mu'min.Heather J. Empey, "The Mothers of the Caliph's Sons: Women as Spoils of War During the Early Almohad Period" in ''Concubines and Courtesans: Women and Slavery in Islamic History'' (eds. Matthew S. Gordon & Kathryn A. Hain: Oxford University Press, 2017), p. 151. Yahya fled to Constantine, but surrendered several months later. He died in comfortable exile in Salé, Morocco, in 1163. Abd al-Mu'min enslaved the women and children of Hammadid loyalists who had fought against him, but did not sack Béjaïa because the city had surrendered.

Some 30 years after the collapse of the Hammadids, the dynasty had a brief revival in 1184, when 'Ali ibn Ghaniya—a member of the Banu Ghaniya

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