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Arab Moslem Era

History Arab Moslem Era

In the fifth and the sixth centuries AD, Roman influence was replaced by that of, first, the Vandals and later the Byzantines. In the seventh century AD, Islamic conquest reached Tunisia. The city of Kairouan became the center of religious life and the site of one of Islam's most ancient and holiest mosques. In the ensuing centuries, Islamic civilization enriched Tunisia during five long dynasties both Arab and Ottoman. High points during this period were the establishment in Tunis of the Great Mosque and Islamic University of Zitouna; the flourishing of great thinkers such as Ibn Khaldoun, historian and father of modern sociology, who produced works which still influence scholarship ; and the arrival of Muslim Andalusian immigrants expelled from Spain in 1492. By the 16th century, Tunisia was under Ottoman control, and a dynasty of Beys governed the country.

Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire, and the Beys

Ottoman Empire (1299-1918), here to 1683. 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 some 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 the city of Tunis, a Corsican-born Tunisian tax collec

Aghlabid Dynasty under Abbassids

Aghlabid Dynasty under the Abbasids

Aghlabid Dynasty at its greatest extent, which also included Sicily & some of southern Italy.

During the years immediately preceding the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate of Damascus (661-750), revolts arose among the Kharijite Berbers in Morocco which eventually disrupted the stability of the entire Maghrib. Although the Kharijites failed to establish lasting institutions, the results of their revolt persisted. Direct rule by the Caliphs over Ifriqiya became untenable, even following the rapid establishment of the new Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad in 750. Also, after several gener

Almohads (Al-Muwahiddin)

Almohads (al-Muwahiddin)

Almohad Empire (1147-1269) at it greatest extent. Anarchy in Ifriqiya (Tunisia) made it a target for the Norman kingdom in Sicily, which between 1134 and 1148 seized Mahdia, Gabes, Sfax, and the island of Jerba. The only strong Muslim power then in the Maghreb was that of the newly emerging Almohads, led by their caliph a Berber Abd al-Mu'min. He responded with several military counters which by 1160 forced the Normans to retreat.

Fatimids

Fatimids

The Fatimid Empire (909-1171) at its greatest extent.

As the Fatimids grew in strength and numbers nearby to the west, they began to launch frequent attacks on the Aghlabid regime in Ifriqiya, which of course contributed to its political instability and general unrest. The Fatimids eventually managed to capture Kairouan in 909, forcing the last of the Aghlabid line, Ziyadat Allah III, to evacuate the palace at Raqadda.

Hafsid dynasty

Hafsid dynasty of Tunis

tunis_hafsid_flag The Hafsid dynasty (1230-1574) succeeded Almohad rule in Ifriqiya, while claiming to represent the true spiritual heritage of its founder, the Mahdi Ibn Tumart (c.1077-1130). Under the Hafsids, Tunisia would eventually regain for a time cultural primacy in the Maghrib.

Umayyad Caliphate

Umayyad Caliphate

By 661 the Umayyads had taken firm control of the new Muslim state, which it ruled from Damascus. The Caliph Mu'awiya could see the foreign lands west of Egypt in terms of the Muslim contest with the Byzantine Empire.

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