Ifriqiya (Arabic: إفريقية, romanized: Ifrīqiya, lit. 'Africa') was a medieval historical region comprising today's Tunisia, Constantinois (roughly eastern Algeria), and Tripolitania (roughly western Libya), particularly the region between the sea and the edges of the Sahara. It included all of what had previously been the Byzantine province of Africa Proconsularis and extended beyond it, but did not include the Mauretanias.
Ifriqiya is bordered to the west by the Central Maghreb, with which the borders are fluid depending on the chroniclers and the era. For most of its early history, the capital of Ifriqiya was Qayrawan (Kairouan), but in some periods it moved to Mahdiya (Mahdia) and later it remained at Tunis.
Etymology
The name Ifriqiya was an Arabic derivation from Latin Africa. Some historical Arabic sources attributed the name to more legendary etymologies, such as being derived from a king of Yemen named Ifriqis or Ifriqish, who purportedly conquered the Maghreb in ancient times, or to a son of Abraham named Ifriq.
Definition
The boundaries of what was known as Ifriqiya were not precise and changed between authors or historical periods. The Mediterranean Sea and the border areas of the Sahara were normally the northern and southern boundaries, respectively. The eastern boundary was typically between Tripolitania (western Libya) and Cyrenaica (eastern Libya), as the latter was attached administratively to Egypt in the early Islamic period. The western boundary was more variable, due mainly to the changing political borders over time. Some writers, like al-Bakri, considered Ifriqiya to be nearly equivalent to all of the Maghreb up to present-day Morocco, but most of them distinguished it from the central Maghreb and placed its boundary in northeastern Algeria, near places such as Béjaïa, Miliana, or Dellys.
Generally, Arabic writers came to split the wider Maghreb into three parts: the Maghrib al-Aqsa (the "Far West") corresponding roughly to present-day Morocco, the Maghrib al-Awsat (the "Middle West") corresponding generally to northern Algeria, and Ifriqiya. The eastern Maghreb was also known as the Maghrib al-Adna (the "Near West"), which encompassed more generally present-day Tunisia and northern Libya.
History
The province of Ifriqiya was created in 703 CE when the Umayyads seized North Africa from the Byzantine Empire. Although Islam existed throughout the province, there was still considerable religious tension and conflict between the invading Arabs and the native Berbers. The beliefs and perceptions of people also shifted from area to area. This contrast was at its greatest between coastal cities and villages. Muslim ownership of Ifriqiya changed hands numerous times in its history with the collapse of the Umayyads paving the way for the Aghlabids, who acted as agents of the Abbasids in Baghdad.
They were then overthrown by the Fatimids in 909, when they lost their capital of Raqqada and the Fatimids went on to control all of Ifriqiya in 969, when they took control of Egypt. The Fatimids slowly lost control over Ifriqiya as their regents, the Zirids, became more and more autonomous until the mid-11th century when they fully separated.
Religious divisions paved the way for the Almohads to take over western Ifriqiya (Maghreb) in 1147 and all of Ifriqiya by 1160. This empire was to last until the early 13th century where it was then replaced by the Hafsids, an influential clan that boasted many of Ifriqiya's governors. The Hafsids in 1229 declared their independence from the Almohads and organised themselves under Abu Zakariya, who built the Hafsid empire around its new capital, Tunis.
Records of Arabic oral traditions imply that the Muslims first migrated to Africa feeling persecuted in their Arab homeland. However, Muslim military incursions into Africa began around seven years after the death of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad in 632. This campaign into Africa was led by the General Amr ibn al-As and Muslim control of Africa rapidly spread after the initial seizure of Alexandria.
Islam slowly took root in the East African coast due to cross-cultural links established between Muslim traders and the natives of the African coast. The political situation in Islamic Africa was like any other, filled with a chaotic and constant power struggle between movements and dynasties. A key factor in the success of any hopeful party was securing the wealth to fund a push for dominance. One source of great wealth was the lucrative gold-mining areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. The existence of these gold mines made expansion into Africa very worthwhile. The Muslim Empires pushed for influence and control of both the Northern and Southern parts of Africa. By the end of the 11th century, Islam had firmly established itself along the Mediterranean. Like the Europeans, Muslims felt the brutal effects of the Black Death in the 14th century when it arrived in Western Africa (Maghreb) through Europe. Maghreb and Ifriqiya were largely under the rule of the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 18th centuries. Around the end of the 19th century, Islam accounted for 1/3rd of the religious population of Africa.
List of rulers
Conquest phase
- Cyrenaica and Tripolitana conquered in 643 by Amr ibn al-As, organised as new province with regional capital at Barqa; first governors uncertain.
- Mu'awiya ibn Hudayj, c.665–666 — ruled from Barqa
- Uqba ibn Nafi, 666–674 — conquered south Tunisia (Byzacena), founded Kairouan (670)
- Abu al-Muhajir Dinar, 674–681
- Uqba ibn Nafi, (restored), 681–683 — led cavalcade to Morocco, ostensibly brought the entire Maghreb under submission.
- Uqba killed. Arabs expelled from Byzacena, which was then occupied by Awraba Berber chieftain Kusaila, 683–686.
- Zuhayr ibn Qays, 683–689 — initially only Barqa, retook Byzacena in 686.
- Zuhayr killed. Berbers under Kahina retake Byzacena in 689. No clear Arab governor, 689–92
- Hassan ibn al-Nu'man al-Ghassani, 692–703 — initially only Barqa. Captured Carthage in 695 (lost again), then again in 698 (final). Permanent conquest of Ifriqiya, organised as a new province, separately from Egypt, directly under the Umayyad Caliph, with capital at Kairouan.
Umayyad Governors of Ifriqiya
- Musa ibn Nusair al-Lakhmi, 703–715
- (During conquest of Spain, Abd Allah ibn Musa was regent in Kairouan, while Musa was in al-Andalus, 712–715)
- Muhammad ibn Yazid, 715–718
- Ismail ibn Abd Allah ibn Abi al-Muhajir, 718–720
- Yazid ibn Abi Muslim, 720–721
- Muhammad ibn Yazid (restored), 721
- Bishr ibn Safwan al-Kalbi, 721–727
- Ubayda ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami, 727–32
- Uqba ibn Qudama (temporary), 732–734
- Ubayd Allah ibn al-Habhab al-Mausili, 734–41. (Berber Revolt begins 740)
- Kulthum ibn Iyad al-Qushayri, 741
- Balj ibn Bishr al-Qushayri (de jure, in Córdoba) and Abd al-Rahman ibn Uqba al-Ghifari (de facto, in Kairouan), 741–42
- Handhala ibn Safwan al-Kalbi, 742–44
Fihrid Emirs of Ifriqiya
Abbasid governors in Kairouan
Aghlabid Emirs of Ifriqiya
Fatimid Caliphs in Ifriqiya
(Invasion of the Banu Hilal (1057) — Kairouan destroyed, Zirids reduced to the main coastal cities, rural areas fragments into petty Bedouin emirates)
(Ifriqiyan coast annexed by Norman Sicily (1143–1160))
(All of Ifriqiya conquered and annexed by the Almohads (1160))
Hafsid governors of Ifriqiya