| Hintata Hin Tata | |
|---|---|
| Tribal confederation | |
| Ethnicity | Berber (Masmuda) |
| Location | Marrakesh,Morocco |
| Demonym(s) | Hintati |
| Branches | Banu (Ait) Galgaʾiya, Banu (Ait) Lamazdur, Banu (Ait) Tagurtant, Banu (Ait) Taklawwuh-tin, Banu (Ait) Talwuh-rit, Banu (Ait) Tumsidin, Banu (Ait) Wawazgit, Banu (Ait) Yigaz, and their allies the Mazala |
TheHintata orHin Tata were aBerber tribal confederation belonging to the tribal groupMasmuda of theHigh Atlas,Morocco. They were historically known for their political power in the region ofMarrakesh between the twelfth century and sixteenth century. Having helped theAlmohads come to power, the Hintata have always been very close to theAlmohad caliphs and during theMarinid period, controlled the region of Marrakesh from theJabal Hintata, in the High Atlas, coming to reign independently on fifteenth century and early sixteenth century. TheHafsid dynasty of Tunis were a descendant of the Hintata.
The hintata were composed of nine clans. These clans were the Banu (Ait) Galgaʾiya, the Banu (Ait) Lamazdur, the Banu (Ait) Tagurtant, the Banu (Ait) Taklawwuh-tin, the Banu (Ait) Talwuh-rit, the Banu (Ait) Tumsidin, the Banu (Ait) Wawazgit, the Banu (Ait) Yigaz, and their allies the Mazala.[1]
The Hintata entered the historical scene at the beginning of the twelfth century, when their principalsheikhs, Wanudin ibn Yansilt, Namir ibn Dawud, Abu Magalifa and Faska U-Mzal, supported theAlmohad Mahdi,Ibn Tumart, from 1123. The latter, Faska, henceforth got his name changed by the Almohad Mahdi to the name of afamous companion of the Islamic ProphetMuhammad and,[2][3][4] under his new name ofAbu Hafs Umar ibn Yahya, contributed to the triumph of the Almohads, occupying important positions in their government—having been mainly the closest collaborator of caliph 'Abd al-Mu'min—until his death in 1181. This hintatasheikh, Abu Hafs 'Umar, was the ancestor of theHafsids—his grandson,Abu Zakariyya Yahya was the founder of this dynasty—the governors of Tunis since 1224, where they settled as an independent dynasty from 1229 to 1573.[2][4][5]
The Hintata formed an elite military unit in the Almohad armies, which participated in the Almohad expansion in North Africa and the Al-andalus. They also passed inal-Andalus, where they are expressly mentioned participating in some campaigns, like theSiege of Santarém in 1184, conducted with troops brought from the Maghreb by the caliphAbu Ya'qub, who ended with his defeat and his death in front ofSantarem. However, the presence of the Hintata did not leave any trace in the toponymy of the Iberian Peninsula. The Hintata were involved in dynastic struggles between Almohad claimants in the first half of the 13th century. A grandson of the hintatisheikh Abu Hafs Umar, called Ibn al Shahid, supported from the Maghreb the Almohad caliphal-'Adil, insurgent in Murcia in 1224, until he occupied Marrakesh, where he was murdered in 1227. Then Ibn al-Shahid proposedYahya ibn al-Nasir as caliph, withdrawing his previous agreement withal-Ma'mun, who, when he entered Marrakesh in 1229, ordered the execution of a hundredsheikhs, in particular of the Hintata and Tinmal, as well as their families.[2]
After the fall of the Almohad, the Hintata retained their power since one of their families, the Awlad Yunus, a family that seems to descend from the Almohad general Abu Hafs 'Umar, rendered political and fiscal services to theMarinids. After being defeated in the civil war with his son SultanAbu Inan Faris in 1350, the marinid sultanAbu al-Hasan Ali ibn Othman took refuge in jabal Hintata, where he was protected by 'Amir ibn Muhammad ibn 'Ali, thesheikh of Hintāta, the dethroned Sultan died at Jabal Hintata the following year. When the Sultan Abu 'Inan died in 1358, the kingdom was divided between several of his sons. The south of the Maghreb fell to Muhammad al-Mu'tamid who settled in Marrakesh, supported and advised by thissheikh of the Hintata, 'Amir, who in 1360 received the visit, in the "Hintata mountain", of the vizier and writerIbn al-Khatib, who gave a complimentary description of him and his people, "supporters of the da'wa [Almohad], close friends of the Marinid dynasty".[2][6]
Later, in return for their participation in the dynastic intrigues of Marinids,Sheikh 'Amir was officially recognized as"governor of the whole of the Maghreb beyondUmm Rabbi'a" by the powerful vizier al-Yabani, a title he held until 1362. At the same time, the marinid vizier entrusted him with the custody of the prince Abu l-Fadl, who had been charged with governing Marrakesh. Thus was set up, under the protection of the Marinids, an era of domination of the south of the Maghreb by the Hintata. They were under the direction of the Awlad Yunus branch which, along with other local dynasties, "ruled in the mountains to the account of the Sultan while waiting to make themselves independent ". In fact, 'Amir eventually rose up against the Marinids who arrested him and then executed him in 1370. However, his family managed to stay at the head of the tribe, more and more detached from the central power, which was gradually declining.[7][8]
The Hintata, "kings of Marrakesh", saw their power reduced to this single city and its surrounding territory, while they had to face, without much success, thePortuguese. On 23 April 1515,Nuno Fernandes de Ataide, led an unsuccessful attack on Marrakesh, because of the support of Saadians. These latter dynasty allowed the Hintata to maintain their power over the city for another ten years, until they themselves occupied Marrakesh, killing Muḥammad ibn al-Nasir Bu-Shantuf, the last Hintataamir, whose family was sent toTaroudant. The Hintata have since disappeared from Maghrebi historical sources and the traces of this confederation vanished.[9][8]
In contemporary times, the name "Hintata" is no longer used in Morocco where, nevertheless, some of their clans, as is the case of Gaygāya, who in turn acquired the quality of a tribe. Some families still retain the traditional memory of their belonging to the Hintata, especially in the city ofSfax,Tunisia.[9]