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Ifriqiya (Arabic:إفريقية,romanized: Ifrīqya,lit. 'Africa') was a medievalhistorical region comprising today'sTunisia, easternAlgeria, andTripolitania (roughly westernLibya), particularly the region between the sea and the edges of theSahara.[1][2][3][4] It included all of what had previously been the Byzantine province ofAfrica Proconsularis and extended beyond it,[5] but did not include theMauretanias.[6]
Ifriqiya is bordered to the west by theCentral Maghreb, with which the borders are fluid depending on the chroniclers and the era.[6] For most of its early history, the capital of Ifriqiya wasQayrawan (Kairouan),[4][6] but in some periods it moved to Mahdiya (Mahdia) and later it remained atTunis.[6]
The name Ifriqiya was an Arabic derivation from LatinAfrica.[4] 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.[6]
The boundaries of what was known as Ifriqiya were not precise and changed between authors or historical periods.[6][4] The Mediterranean Sea and the border areas of the Sahara were normally the northern and southern boundaries, respectively.[6][4] The eastern boundary was typically betweenTripolitania (western Libya) andCyrenaica (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 asBéjaïa,Miliana, orDellys.[6]
Generally, Arabic writers came to split the wider Maghreb into three parts: theMaghrib al-Aqsa (the "Far West") corresponding roughly to present-day Morocco, theMaghrib al-Awsat (the "Middle West") corresponding generally to northern Algeria, andIfriqiya.[6] The eastern Maghreb was also known as theMaghrib al-Adna (the "Near West"), which encompassed more generally present-day Tunisia and northern Libya.[7][8]
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The province of Ifriqiya was created in 703 CE when theUmayyads seized North Africa from theByzantine 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 theAghlabids, who acted as agents of theAbbasids in Baghdad.
They were then overthrown by theFatimids in 909, when they lost their capital ofRaqqada 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, theZirids, became more and more autonomous until the mid-11th century when they fully separated.
Religious divisions paved the way for theAlmohads 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 theHafsids, an influential clan that boasted many of Ifriqiya's governors. The Hafsids in 1229 declared their independence from the Almohads and organised themselves underAbu Zakariya, who built the Hafsid empire around its new capital,Tunis.[9]
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 GeneralAmr 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 ofSub-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 theEuropeans, Muslims felt the brutal effects of theBlack Death in the 14th century when it arrived in Western Africa (Maghreb) through Europe. Maghreb and Ifriqiya were largely under the rule of theOttoman 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.[10]
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(Invasion of theBanu Hilal (1057) — Kairouan destroyed,Zirids reduced to the main coastal cities, rural areas fragments into pettyBedouinemirates)[16]
(Ifriqiyan coast annexed byNorman Sicily (1143–1160))
(All of Ifriqiya conquered and annexed by theAlmohads (1160))[18]
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