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

Zirid dynasty 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 t ...

in the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ), also known as the Arab Maghreb () and Northwest Africa, is the western part of the Arab world. The region comprises western and central North Africa, including Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. The Maghreb al ...

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

Kutama The Kutama (Berber: ''Ikutamen''; ) were 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. The Kutama p ...

Berbers belonged located in the Central Maghreb (

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 ...

). As an ally of the

Fatimids The Fatimid Caliphate (; ), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimid dynasty, Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa ...

, he assisted in the defeat of the rebellion of

Abu Yazid Abū Yazīd Makhlad ibn Kaydād Dajjal (; – 19 August 947), was a member of the Ibadi sect. He opposed the Ismaili Shia rule of the Fatimids in North Africa and sought to restore Ibadi dominance in the region. Known as the Man on the Donke ...

(943–947) by Caliph al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah, and was rewarded with the governorship of the western provinces, an area that roughly corresponds with modern

north of the

Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

. Ziri had the residence of Achir built south of the future site of

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

in 935. He summoned masons and joiners from M'sila and Tubna 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 founded the cities of

, Miliana and Médéa (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 M'sila (Ja'far Ibn 'Ali al-andalusi al-Maghrawi) in June-July 971. He was succeeded as governor by his son Buluggin ibn Ziri, who in 972 became Viceroy of

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

(972–984) when the Fatimids transferred their court to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ziri ibn Manad 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