Everything about Aghlabids totally explained
The
Aghlabid dynasty of emirs, members of the
Arab tribe of
Bani Tamim, ruled
Ifriqiya (northern Africa), nominally on behalf of the
Abbasid Caliph, for about a century, until overthrown by the new power of the
Fatimids.
In
800, the Abbasid Caliph
Harun al-Rashid appointed
Ibrahim I ibn al-Aghlab as hereditary
Emir of Ifriqiya as a response to the anarchy that had reigned in that province following the fall of the
Muhallabids. He was to control an area that encompassed eastern
Algeria,
Tunisia and
Tripolitania. Although independent in all but name, his dynasty never ceased to recognise Abbasid overlordship.
A new capital
al-Abbasiyya was founded outside
Kairouan, partly to escape the opposition of the
Malikite jurists and theologians, who condemned what they saw as the godless life of the Aghlabids, and disliked the unequal treatment of the Muslim
Berbers. Additionally, border defenses (
Ribat) were set up in
Sousse and
Monastir.
Under
Ziyadat Allah I (
817-
838) came the crisis of a revolt of Arab troops in
824, which wasn't quelled until
836 with the help of the Berbers. The
conquest of Byzantine Sicily from
827 under
Asad ibn al-Furat was an attempt to keep the unruly troops under control - it was only achieved slowly, and only in 902 was the last Byzantine outpost taken. Plundering raids into mainland
Italy took place until well into the 10th century. Gradually the
Aghlabids lost control of the Arab forces in Sicily and a new dynasty, the
Kalbids, emerged there.
The Aghlabid kingdom reached its high point under
Ahmad ibn Muhammad (
856-
863). Ifriqiya was a significant economic power thanks to its fertile agriculture, aided by the expansion of the
Roman irrigation system. It became the focal point of trade between the Islamic world and Byzantium and Italy, especially the lucrative slave trade. Kairuan became the most important centre of learning in the
Maghreb, most notably in the field of
Theology and
Law, and a gathering place for poets.
The decline of the dynasty began under
Ibrahim II ibn Ahmad (
875-
902). Control over
Calabria was lost to Byzantium, an attack by the
Tulunids of
Egypt had to be repelled and a revolt of the Berbers put down with much loss of life. In addition, in
893 there began amongst the
Kutama Berbers the movement of the
Shiite Fatimids, through the mission of
Ubaydalla Said, which in
909 led to the overthrow of the Aghlabids.
Aghlabid rulers
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