Al-Mansur ibn al-Nasir () (died January 1105) was the sixth ruler of the

Hammadids 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 ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

(1088–1105).

Biography

Al-Mansur ibn al-Nasir succeeded his father Nasir ibn Alnas in 1088. In 1090, he left the Kal'a ( Beni Hammad Fort), the traditional capital of the Hammadids, to settle in Béjaïa (Bougie) with his troops and his court, which he considered less accessible to the Nomads. He left the region because of the destruction caused by the arrival of the Banu Hilal. His father had already prepared this transfer by transforming a fishing port into a city he calls An-Nasiriya but which was to assume the name of Bougie, the name of a tribe that inhabited this region. Al-Mansur built public buildings, palaces, a water distribution network and gardens in Bejaia. The Hammadid kingdom thus abandoned its nomadic origins and became sedentary. The Kal'a was not completely abandoned by al-Mansur and he even embellished it with a number of palaces. The Hammadids therefore had two capitals joined by a royal road at this time. At Al-Mansur's accession to the throne, Balbar ibn Alnas, Al-Mansur's uncle and governor of

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I * Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine g ...

, rebelled. Al Mansur sent him an army commanded by Abu Yakni ibn Muhsin to which he gave the control of

Annaba Annaba (), formerly known as Bon, Bona and Bône, is a seaport city in the northeastern corner of Algeria, close to the border with Tunisia. Annaba is near the small Seybouse River and is in the Annaba Province. With a population of about 263,65 ...

and Constantine. Abu Yakni then captured Balbar and sent him to Qal'a Beni Hammad, and gave the command of Annaba to his brother Ouighlan. Several years later, in 1094 (487 AH), Abu Yakni rebelled in turn and formed a coalition against the Hammadid central government, composed of the

Zirids The Zirid dynasty (), Banu Ziri (), was a Sanhaja Berber dynasty from what is now Algeria which ruled the central Maghreb from 972 to 1014 and Ifriqiya (eastern Maghreb) from 972 to 1148. Descendants of Ziri ibn Manad, a military leader of th ...

, the

Banu Hilal The Banu Hilal () was a confederation of Arab tribes from the Najd region of the central Arabian Peninsula that emigrated to the Maghreb region of North Africa in the 11th century. They ruled the Najd, and campaigned in the borderlands between I ...

and the

Almoravids The Almoravid dynasty () was a Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire that stretched over the western Maghreb and Al-Andalus, starting in the 1050s and lasting until its fall to the Almo ...

. Abu Yakni tasked Ouighlan to go to Mahdia and offer Tamim ibn al-Mu'izz the possession of Annaba. Tamim accepted and Ouighlan came back to Annaba with Tamim's son Abu al Futuh. Ouighlan and Abu Yakni were rallying Arabs and were corresponding with the Almoravids. However Al-Mansur acted fast and took back Annaba after a 7-month long siege, all while taking prisoner Abu al Futuh who was sent to Qal'a Beni Hammad. Constantine was swiftly assieged and Abu Yakni fled to a Qal'a in the Aures. Abu Yakni had given control to an Athbajid chief, Sulaysal bin al Ahmar, who sold the city to the Hammadids. Abu Yakni was repeteadly attacking Constantine but he was assieged in his Qal'a, was captured and put to death.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mansur Ibn Nasir 11th-century births 1105 deaths Hammadids 11th-century monarchs in Africa 12th-century monarchs in Africa 11th-century Berber people 12th-century Berber people