The Medieval Period

1- The "Arabisation" of Tunisia:

Unlike the preceding invaders, the Arabs were not satisfied to occupy the coast and undertook to conquer the interior of the country. In 670, Oqba Ibn Nafaa founded in Kairouan the capital of Ifriqiya. After having once more valiantly resisted, the Berber ones, after the defeat of Kahina, converted with the religion of their new conquerors. However, refusing the assimilation, they were numerous to reject the dominant religion and to adhere to the kharidjism, heresy born in the East, proclaiming the equality of all the Moslems, without distinction of races nor of classes. In 745, the Berber kharidjites seized Kairouan. It was part of the province of Umayyad until 750, Abbasid until 800, Aghlabide until 909, then Ifriqiya fell into the hands of the Shiites Fatimids (909-973). When the latter left for Egypt, Tunisia fell to Berber Bulukkin (or Bologgin) ibn Ziri. In the middle of the 6th century, when Zirides broke with the Shiism, Fatimide took revenge and released the nomads Banou Hilal (Hilaliens) on the country. Weakened, Ifriqiya fell into decline. It found its stability and prosperity only under Hafsides (1236).

The Islam:

Islam is the religion founded by the Prophet Muhammad. The word is sometimes said to mean "" but it is sal?m that is the word for peace. Islam means ", resignation" i.e. to the will of God. Both are from the same root, slm, " be safe and sound, unharmed" and many other meanings. This is related to Hebrew shalom, "" and the Ancient Egyptian root snb, "" The D?ru-l’?m, the " of Islam" means the predominantly Islamic part of the world, especially the part covered by Islamic states.

Islamic rulers were not thus rulers in the modern sense, but neither were Mediaeval Christian rulers. In some ways Islamic rulers seem more secular than Christian ones, since their military origin was usually recent and conspicuous (the Maml?ks are the most obvious), while Christian rulers (like the Kings of France) might claim authority directly from God. Other differences were more important. European states had a legal tradition from Roman law that was independent of Christianity, while Islam had developed its own system of law. European judges were thus secular officials, while Islamic Judges were religious jurists. Such jurists were also the principal institutional existence of Islam, which otherwise had no priests or religious hierarchy. The Imam in Orthodox Islam might be learned (an ‘?lim, "Knower"), might even be a Judge (a Q?d?), but essentially is just the leader of the Prayer, with no particular religious authority. The institutional distinction in the West between Church and State made it relatively easy to separate these institutions. This separation was not only less easy in Islam but the trend in recent years has actually reversed, with a reinstitution of Islamic Law in states that had previously adopted secular law codes.

Other comparisons have been made between the characters of Muhammad, Jesus, and Moses, since Muhammad commanded armies, had multiple marriages, etc. Muhammad, indeed, had the responsibilities of rule, with a hostile enemy, Mecca, nearby. This involved battles. Jesus wasn’t in any such position. His Kingdom, as he said, was not of this world. Moses did have the responsibilities of rule, though actual fighting didn’t begin until the Israelites crossed the Jordan. Moses didn’t go with them, and Joshua then handled the military business. Since Joshua was instructed by God to annihilate the people he found in the Promised Land, Muhammad comes off rather well in comparison, since the war with Mecca ended in a negotiated settlement where the only losers were the idols in the Ka’aba (though there had been a fair amount of killing in the conflict, and Muhammad had in the meantime expelled the Jews from Medina). As for his marriages, Muhammad seemed to have been genuinely devoted to his wife Khad?ja, an older widow whom he married after helping her run her business. Khad?ja was one of the first who believed that Muhammad was actually receiving a divine revelation. He married no other until after she died. I do not know how to judge the subsequent marriages. At least some of them seem to have been honorary, with the widows of fallen companions.His favourite wife, ‘?’isha, was betrothed to him at six. It was she who laid him to rest in the floor of their house in Medina, and the last person to set foot there for many centuries, as the Prophet’s Mosque was built around it. One might think the Prophet was simply heir to some of the understandable temptations of power, but this explanation is generally not allowed in Islamic tradition, since the Prophet is viewed as necessarily morally perfect.

The Aghlabids: (800-909)

The Aghlabids were originally the faithful Abbasid governors of Tunisia and only gradually lost control. Their greatest independent project was the conquest of Sicily, 827-878, which remained in Islam until the arrival of the Normans.

THE T.?HIRID AMIRS OF KHUR?S?N
T.?hir I 821-822
T.alh.a 822-845
T.?hir II 845-862
Muhammad 862-873
Occupied by S.aff?rids

The T.?hirids were the faithful Abbasid governors of Khur?s?n, only losing control when the S.aff?rids seized the region. T.?hirids were also governors of Baghdad and Iraq under the Abbasids. For many years, Muhammad continued as the nominal governor of Khur?s?n while living in Iraq. His brother al-H.usayn briefly returned in 876.

Les Fatimids: (909-1159)

In 969 the Fatimids invaded Egypt from Tunis and moved the seat of their Shiite caliphate to a new city they built just north of Fustat. The caliph, al-Muiz, and his general, Jawhar, named the city al-Qahirah, " Victorious" Cairo. The Fatimids lasted until 1171 when Salah al-Din ousted them.

There is also a famous and (because there is a similar story connected with the founding of Alexandria) probably apocryphal account of the naming of the new city. Jawhar had erected, so the tale goes, a network of bells to alert workmen all over the area to commence digging at the exact moment astrologers had determined most propitious. But, a crow landed on the ropes and set the bells ringing early causing work to begin while the planet Mars was still ascendant. Hence, the name al-Qahirah after the name of the planet Mars, al-
Qahir: Cairo.

The Fatimids had initially set themselves up as rivals to the Sunni caliphate in Tunis in 909. Following his general, Jawhar, into Fustat four years later, al-Muiz was confronted by representatives of the city’ ulema (religious scholars) who challenged him to present his credentials, that is, they wanted him to prove his descent from the Shiite line stretching back to Ali, the prophet’ son-in-law. Al-Muiz pulled out his sword and declared, " is my pedigree!" Then, throwing gold coins to the crowd, he shouted, " is my proof!" Arthur Goldschmidt, (A Concise History of the Middle East, Cairo, 1983, 81), says that both the scholars and the crowd found the demonstration persuasive. The oldest street in Fatimid Cairo, along which one will see more palaces per square inch than practically anywhere in the world, bears the name of the caliph, " Muiz al-Din Allah." The locals call the street bayn al qasrayn, (" the two palaces"), a reference to the two chief palaces of the Fatimid caliphs; the palace of al-Muiz at the north end, and the palace of al-Aziz at the southwest end. This is the setting for many of Naguib Mahfouz’ novels, including the Cairo Trilogy and Midaq Alley.

The years 975 to 996 mark the caliphate of al-Aziz, the first Fatimid to reign from Cairo. Fatimid power reached its height during his reign.The Persian Ismaili missionary, Nasir al-Khusraw, who lived in Egypt from 1046 to 1049 during the time of the caliph al-Mustansir (shortly before the economic and political decline set in), left a glowing report of Fatimid luxury and prosperity in Cairo. He claimed that the caliphal palace could house 30,000. Nasir once saw the young caliph riding a mule clad in a simple white quftan and turban, fanned by an attendant wielding a gem-studded parasol. The caliph personally owned 20,000 houses in Cairo, mostly of brick and rising to five or six stories, and many shops as well. Nasir says that shops and homes were always left unlocked. In old Fustat there were seven great mosques, and eight in Cairo. The country seemed to be enjoying a high degree of tranquility, peace, and prosperity leading Nasir to declare, "I could neither limit nor estimate its wealth and nowhere have I seen such prosperity as I saw there." (Philip Hitti, History of the Arabs from the Earliest Times to the Present, tenth edition (New York: St. Martin’ Press, 1970), 626).

Nasir also reports that the great mosques of Cairo were bought and sold by the families of various rulers. The caliph’ family, for example, had purchased from the now poor descendants of both Amr and Ibn Tulun the two great mosques bearing their names (mosques could be passed down within families). Al-Hakim paid 30,000 dinars for the mosque of Ibn Tulun, and later purchased the minaret for an additional 5,000 dinars. He paid much more for the Amr mosque: 100,000 dinars.

Nasir tells us that the Amr mosque was the centre of the spiritual and intellectual life of the city. It was regularly filled to capacity (5,000 people). At night, it was lit up by 100 lamps, and on feast days by 700. Recitations from the Qur’ and religious instruction took place in the great courtyard. The wall near the prayer niche bore white marble plaques upon which was inscribed the entire Qur’ in beautiful calligraphy.

Outside the mosque of Amr, Nasir says, there were souqs (bazaars). His entry for December 18, 1048 tells us what he saw for sale that day: red roses, jasmine, water lilies, narcissi, bitter and sweet oranges, lemons, apples, melons, bananas, fresh cherry plums, fresh dates, raisins, sugar cane, aubergines, marrows, mangel-wurzels, turnips, celery, fresh broad beans, cucumbers, onions, garlic, beet roots, and carrots. Nasir says he was astonished to see all these items available on the same day in the same season. Getting around in Fatimid Cairo was facilitated, Nasir says, by a regular ferry service across the river. The ferry service was especially busy on Sundays when a famous weekly market took place in Giza attracting huge crowds. Inside the city, the mode of transport was mule or donkey. According to Nasir, 50,000 of these animals were available, each for a small fee. Only soldiers rode horses.
The river itself was one of the chief sources of diversion and pleasure in the city. Lined with kiosks and cafes the river’ banks welcomed patrons who leisurely sipped fresh water and listened to music as they watched the sunset.

Intellectual pursuits and scholarly work were heavily restricted under the Shiite Fatimids, but there were areas of brilliance. The court of al-Hakim sponsored the great Ali Ibn-Yunus, the foremost astronomer Egypt ever produced, as well as Abu Ali al-Hasan Ibn al-Haytham, or, "," the principal Muslim physicist and researcher on optics. Alhazen’ work deeply influenced such European thinkers as Roger Bacon, Johanes Kepler and Leonardo da Vinci. Another member of al-Hakim’ court was Ammar Ibn- Ali al-Mawsili who pioneered methods of ophthalmologic surgery, especially in the extraction of cataracts. The royal caliphal library, begun in the days of al-Aziz, was said to have contained 200,000 books, including 2,400 illustrated Qur’an.

Though the library was looted by the Turks in 1068, even in the time of Salah al-Din it boasted 100,000 volumes. Nasir has left us a richly detailed and vivid account of Fatimid Cairo’s most colourful festival marking the annual late summer inundation, the yearly flooding of the Nile. His description gives us a strong sense of the fascination, wonder, and awe the river has inspired in those who have lived and continue to live on its banks and demonstrates that its pleasures did not die with the pharaohs. But, not only do we learn about this wonderful festival, we also learn a great deal about the makeup of the Fatimide court and about the rich life of the city. Cairo was, as it is today, a kaleidoscopic city of many races, cultures, and heritages. The arts were officially promoted and sponsored, and artists, poets, and scholars were generously supported on state salaries.

The Zirid: (972)

Also called Banu Ziri, the Muslim dynasty of Sanhajah Berbers whose various branches ruled in Ifriqiya (Tunisia and eastern Algeria) and Granada (972-1152). Rising to prominence in the mountains of Kabylie, Algeria, where they established their first capital, Ashir, the Zirides became allies of the Fatimids of al-Qayrawan. Their loyal support prompted the Fatimid caliph al-Mu’, when moving to his new capital of Cairo (972), to appoint Yusuf Buluggin I ibn Ziri governor of al-Qayrawan and any other territory the Zirids might reclaim from their enemies, the Zanatah tribesmen. The Zirid state under Buluggin accordingly expanded its boundaries westward as far as Sabtah (now Ceuta, a Spanish exclave in Morocco) on the Strait of Gibraltar; in the reign of Badis ibn al-Mansur (995-1016) it was divided between the Zirids at al-Qayrawan in the east and their kinsmen, the Hammadids, at Qal’ (in Algeria). In 1048, encouraged by economic prosperity, the Zirids under al-Mu’ (1016-62) declared themselves independent of the Fatimids and their Shi’ doctrine. The Fatimids responded, in 1052, by sending the Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym Bedouins into the Maghreb. Cut off from traditional routes to the east, North Africa fell into a state of anarchy-the countryside was devastated, the peasant economy was ruined, and many settled communities reverted to nomadism. The Zirids, forced to abandon al-Qayrawan, retreated to Mahdiyah, but in their shattered state were not able to survive coastal attacks by the Sicilian Normans and finally fell in 1148. In 1067 the Hammadids managed to relocate in Beja?a (Bougie), where they carried on a lively trade until conquered by the Almohads in 1152.

Another group of Zirids, who had gone to Spain to serve in the Berber army of the Umayyad al-Muzaffar (1002-08), established themselves as an independent dynasty (1012-90) in Granada under Zawi ibn Ziri. At the beginning of the 11th century, the Zirids were given the province of Ilbira by the Spanish Umayyad caliph Sulayman al-Musta’in and by 1038 had extended this kingdom to include Jaén and Cabra. M?laga was taken from the Hammudids c. 1058 by Badis ibn Habbus and became the second centre of Zirid rule in Spain. Despite their support of the Almohad Yusuf ibn Tashufin at the Battle of Zallaqah in 1086, they were overthrown by the Almohades in 1090.

The Almohades: (1130-1269)

ALMOHADES (properly Muwahhadis, i.e. " Unitarians", the name being corrupted through the Spanish), a Muhammedan religious power which founded the fifth Moorish dynasty in the 12th century, and conquered all northern Africa as far as Egypt, together with Muslim Spain. It originated with Mohammed ibn Tumart, a member of the Masmuda, a Berber tribe of the Atlas. Ibn Tumart was the son of a lamplighter in a mosque and had been noted for his piety from his youth; he was small, ugly, and misshapen and lived the life of a devotee-beggar. As a youth he performed the pilgrimage to Mecca, from where he was expelled on account of his severe strictures on the laxity of others, and from there wandered to Baghdad, where he attached himself to the school of the orthodox doctor al Ashari. But he created a system of his own by combining the teaching of his master with parts of the doctrines of others, and mysticism imbibed from the great teacher Ghazali. His main principle was a rigid Unitarianism that denied the independent existence of the attributes of God, as being incompatible with his unity, and therefore a polytheistic idea. Mohammed in fact represented a revolt against the anthropomorphism of commonplace Muhammedan orthodoxy, but he was a rigid predestinarian and a strict observer of the law. After his return to Morocco at the age of twenty-eight, he began preaching and agitating, heading riotous attacks on wine-shops and on other manifestations of laxity. He even went so far as to assault the sister of the Murabti (Almoravide) amir’Ali III., in the streets of Fez, because she was unveiled in the manner of Berber women. ‘Ali allowed him to escape unpunished as he was very deferential to any exhibition of piety.Ibn Tumart, who had been driven from several other towns for exhibitions of over zealousness, now took refuge among his own people, the Masmuda, in the Atlas. It is highly probable that his influence would not have outlived him, if he had not found a lieutenant in ‘ el Kumi, another Berber, from Algeria, who was undoubtedly a soldier and statesman of a high order. Ibn Tumart died in 1128 at the monastery or ribat he had founded in the Atlas at Tinmal, following a severe defeat by the Murabtis. However ‘ kept his death secret for two years, till his own influence was established. He then came forward as the lieutenant of the Mahdi Ibn Tumart. Between 1130 and his death in 1163, ‘ not only rooted out the Murabtis, but extended his power over all northern Africa as far as Egypt, becoming amir of Morocco in 1149. Muhammedan Spain followed the fate of Africa, and in 1170 the Muwahhadis transferred their capital to Seville, a step followed by the founding of the great mosque. This was superseded by the cathedral, the tower of which they erected in 1184 to mark the accession of Ya’ el Mansur. From the time of Yusef II, however, they governed their co-religionists in Spain and Central North Africa through lieutenants, their dominions outside Morocco being treated as provinces. When their amirs crossed the Straits it was to lead a jehad against the Christians and to return to their capital, Marrakesh.

The Muwahhadi princes had a longer and a more distinguished career than the Murabtis or "" Yusef II or " Ya’" (1163-1184), and Ya’ I or " Mansur" (1184-1199), the successors of Abd-el-Mumin, were both able men. They were fanatical, and their tyranny drove numbers of their Jewish and Christian subjects to take refuge in the growing Christian states of Portugal, Castile and Aragon. But in the end they became less fanatical than the Murabtis, and Ya’ el Mansur was a highly accomplished man, who wrote in fine Arabic style and protected the philosopher Averroes. His title of El Mansur, " Victorious", was earned by the defeat he inflicted on Alphonso VIII of Castile at Alarcos in 1195. But the Christian states in Spain were becoming too well- organized to be overrun by the Muhommedan, and the Muwahhadis made no permanent advance against them. In 1212 Mohammed III, "" (1190-1214), the successor of El Mansur, was utterly defeated by the allied five Christian princes of Spain, Navarre and Portugal, at Las Navas de Tolosa in the Sierra Morena. All the Moorish dominions in Spain were lost in the next few years, partly by the Christian conquest of Andalusia, and partly by the revolt of the Muhommedan of Granada, who put themselves under the protection of the Christian kings and became their vassals.

The fanaticism of the Muwahhadis did not prevent them from encouraging the establishment of Christians even in Fez, and after the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa they occasionally entered into alliances with the kings of Castile. In Africa they were successful in expelling the garrisons placed in some of the coast towns by the Norman kings of Sicily. The history of their decline differs from that of the Murabtis, whom they had displaced. They were not assailed by a great religious movement, but destroyed piecemeal by the revolt of tribes and districts. Their most effective enemies were the Beni Marln ("Merinides") who founded the next Moroccan dynasty, the sixth. The last representative of the line, Idrls IV, "El Wathik" was reduced to the possession of Marrakesh, where he was murdered by a slave in 1269.

The Hafsides: (1236)

After the split of the Hafsids from the Almohads under Abu Zakariya (1229-1249), he organised the administration in Ifriqiya and built Tunis up as the economic and cultural centre of the empire. At the same time, many muslims from Andalucia, fleeing the Reconquista of Castille and Aragon, were absorbed. His successor Muhammad I al-Mustansir (1249-1277) took the title of caliph.
In the 14th century the empire underwent a temporary decline. Although the Hafsids succeeded in subjugating the empire of the Abdalwids of Tlemcen for a time, it was twice conquered by the Merinids of Morocco between 1347 and 1357. These however could not defeat the Bedouin, so the Hafsids were able to regain their empire. At the same time, epidemics of plague caused a considerable fall in population, to further weaken the rule of the Hafsids.

Under the Hafsids, piracy against Christian shipping grew stronger in the 14th century, particularly under Abd al-Aziz II (1394-1434). The profits were used for a great building programme and for the support of art and culture. However piracy also provoked retaliation from Aragon and Venice, who attacked Tunisian coastal cities several times. Under Utman (1435-1488) the Hafsids reached their last zenith, as the caravan trade through the Sahara and with Egypt was developed, as well as sea trade with Venice and Aragon. The Bedouins and the cities of the empire became largely independent, so that the Hafsids controlled only Tunis and Constantine.

In the 16th century the Hafsids increasingly became caught up in the power struggle between Spain and the Ottoman Empire-supported Corsairs. The latter conquered Tunis in 1574 and toppled the Hafsids, who had at times accepted Spanish sovereignty over them.

2- The Ottoman Period:

Established in the 14th century, out of the Byzantine Empire and the State seldjoukide, the Ottoman Empire extended from the Mediterranean to the shore of the Black Sea two and a half centuries later. Its civilization, a subtle balance between various religions and cultures, was one of most important in the world. However, after the brilliance of Soliman the Magnificent’s reign, the Empire, suffering internal difficulties, was weakened and raised the " of the East" with the European diplomats.

The Tunisian state was rebuilt by the imposition of Ottoman rule in the late 16th century. The Ottomans made Tunisia a province of their empire in 1574, and garrisoned Tunis with 4,000 janissaries recruited from Anatolia, reinforced by Christian converts to Islam from Italy, Spain, and Provence. In 1591 the local janissary officers replaced the Sultan’s appointee with one of their own men, called the Dey. While the Dey dominated Tunis, a Corsican-born Tunisian tax collector (Bey) named Murad (d. 1640) and his descendants, dominated the rest of the country. The struggle for power made allies of the Dey, the janissaries, and bedouin tribes against the Beys, the towns, and the fertile region of the countryside. The Muradid Beys eventually triumphed, and ruled until 1705, when Hussein ibn Ali came to power. The period from 1705 to 1957 witnessed the reign of the Husseinite Beys, including the highly effective Hammouda Pasha (1781 – 1813). In theory, Tunisia continued to be a vassal of the Ottoman empire – the Friday prayer was pronounced in the name of the Ottoman Sultan, money was coined in his honour, and an annual ambassador brought gifts to Istanbul – but the Ottomans never again demanded obedience.

From the Ottomans to the French:

At the end of the 16th century, the Ottomans, who held the most interest in the western Mediterranean, retook Tunisia as one their provinces, after Tunis had been taken by the Spaniards in 1535. After some years of Turkish administration, the country was controlled by a bey (1590), then by the beylicale dynasty founded by Murad 1st (1612-1631). The country experienced economic advancement under Muradides, then during the first decades of the reign of their successors, Husaynides (1705-1957). But in the 18th century, the diversion towards the Atlantic of a great part of the commercial traffic as well as bad management by the beylicale resulted in the financial ruin of a regency coveted by the Europeans. In 1881, on the pretext of an incursion into Khroumire in Algeria, Jules Ferry sent an expeditionary force leading to the treaty of Bardo (May 12, 1881).

Author

This article was kindley researched for Tunisia.com by Makrem Ben Salem.

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