| Buluggin ibn Ziri | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emir of Maghreb | |||||
A statue of Buluggin ibn Ziri on the heights of theCasbah of Algiers | |||||
| Reign | 2 October 972 – 25 May 984[1] | ||||
| Successor | Al-Mansur ibn Buluggin | ||||
| Born | Titteri region (present-day Algeria) | ||||
| Died | 25 May 984 in Sijilmasa[2] or Ouarekcen[3] | ||||
| Issue | Al-Mansur ibn Buluggin Hammad ibn Buluggin Ibrahim ibn Buluggin Yattufat ibn Buluggin[4] | ||||
| |||||
| Dynasty | Zirids | ||||
| Father | Ziri ibn Manad | ||||
| Religion | Islam | ||||
Buluggin ibn Ziri, often transliteratedBologhine, in fullʾAbū al Futūḥ Sayf ad Dawlah Bulukīn ibn Zīrī ibn Manād aṣ Ṣanhājī (Arabic:أبو الفتوح سيف الدولة بلكين بن زيري بن مناد الصنهاجي; died 25 May 984) was the first leader (r. 972–984) of theSanhajaBerber dynasty ofZirids to serve as viceroy ofIfriqiya under theFatimid Caliphs, founding a dynasty that continued to rule the region after him.[5][6]
Bologhine, a suburb in the city of Algiers, is named after him.
Buluggin was born in the region ofTitteri, in what is nowAlgeria.[7] While his fatherZiri ibn Menad was emir of the centralMaghreb, Buluggin ibn Ziri founded the city ofAlgiers on the site of the ancient RomanIcosium in 960, but alsoMédéa andMiliana. He also rebuilt the villages destroyed by the various revolts.[8]
On the death of his father, in a battle againstKharidjite Berber tribes in 971, theFatimid CaliphAl-Mu'izz li-Din Allah appointed Buluggin ibn Ziri asEmir of the Maghreb on Wednesday 2 October 972 (20 Dhu al Hijjah 361 AH).[9] In addition to the attributions of his father Menad Abu Ziri, he received the regions of Zab andM'Sila that the defector Jaʿfar ibn ʿAlī ruled.[10] The honours bestowed on him would provoke the jealousy of theKutamas.[11] Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah left the governance ofSicily to the Kalbids andTripoli to Abd Allah ibn Yakhlof Al Kutami.[12]
Buluggin continued the fight against theZenatas. TheMaghrawa asked for the help of theUmayyads of Cordoba to take back their territory and their cities. Buluggin then took control of almost all of the Maghreb under orders of the Fatimid Caliph.[11] Buluggin defeated theMaghrawa, theHawwaras (branch of the Branis), the Nefzawas (branch of the Zenatas) and the Mazata. The prisoners were resettled in great numbers in the settlement of Ashir.[11]
The Fatimids transferred their court fromMahdia toCairo. Buluggin was then appointed viceroy ofIfriqiya withKairouan as its capital.[13][verification needed][14] The Fatimids had taken the treasury andfleet with them to Egypt, so the first priority of the Zirid government was to consolidate its rule. However, the loss of the fleet meant loss of control over theKalbids inSicily. Buluggin took Fez, Sijilmasa and most of Morocco to the Atlantic coast.[15] During a campaign in Morocco, he fought against theBargawata. TheCaliphate of Córdoba was, however, able to retain the fortresses ofCeuta andTangiers. Nevertheless, Buluggin remained a vassal of the Fatimids, to whom he had to pay tribute, and he remained surrounded by advisors who were there to support him as much as to watch over him. The Fatimids took with them wealth and military equipment. The absolute priority of the Zirids was therefore to strengthen their power, but the displacement of the Fatimid fleet towardsEgypt made the conservation of the Kalbide territories in Sicily impossible.
Bologhine Ziri received from the Caliph the titles ofAbu al-Futuh, "Father of Victories" andSayf ad-Dawla "Sword of Empire".[12][16] In 977,Abu Mansur Nizar al-Aziz Billah, the successor of Al-Muizz li-Dîn Allah, attributed to Bologhine the cities of Tripoli, Ajdabiya and Sirte in addition to his previous attributions.[12] He conquers Fez, Sijilmassa and but stopped before Ceuta. When he saw the square, which he considered impregnable, and the reinforcements of the Zenatas coming fromAndalusia by sea, he turned back.[16] He punished the sovereign of the Barghawata, who was declared prophet, in anexpedition in 979 in which he brought back a large number of Moroccan slaves; while his lieutenant paraded them in the streets the people of Ifriqiya were shocked as they had never seen such a large number of slaves before.[17]
Little is known about the personal life of Buluggin. However, chroniclers state that prior to his rule of the Maghreb he had 400 concubines and seventeen children.[18]
On Sunday 25 May 984 (21 Dhu al Hijjah 373 AH), Bologhine died and his sonAl-Mansur succeeded him.
| Preceded byasFatimid caliph | Zirid emir ofIfriqiya 972–984 | Succeeded by |