History of Tunisia
EARLY HISTORY OF TUNISIA
Early History
Berber origins, culture, society
Punic Era
Phoenicia, Carthage; Berbers, Romans
Roman Era
Africa Province; Berbers; Vandals
MEDIEVAL HISTORY OF TUNISIA
Early Islamic Era
Ifriqiya: Umayyad, Abassid, Fatimid
Medieval Era
Berber states: Zirid, Almohad, Hafsid
Ottoman Era
Beylerbey; Muradid, Husaynid; Reform
French Era
Protectorate; Independence movement
MODERN HISTORY OF TUNISIA
Modern Era
Republic: Bourghiba, Ben Ali
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The medieval era opens with the commencement of a process that would return Ifriqiya and the entire Maghrib to local Berber rule. The precipitating cause was the departure of the Shia Fatimid Caliphate to newly conquered Egypt. To govern Ifriqiya in their stead, the Fatimids left the Zirid dynasty. Yet the Zirids would eventually break all ties to the Fatimids, even to the point of embracing Sunni doctrines. At this time in the Maghrib there arose two strong local movements dedicated to Muslim purity and practice. The Almoravids emerged first in the west, in Maghrib al-Aksa (Morocco); although establishing a large empire running from modern Spain to Mauretania, the Almoravids did not reach to the east as far as Ifriqiya. Later another Berber religious leader founded the Almohad movement, which supplanted the Almoravids, and grew to unify under its rule all of the west of Islam, al-Andalus as well as al-Maghrib. In Ifriqiya at Tunis, the successor to Almohad rule was the Hafsids, a Berber dynasty, whose own rule would continue for centuries with varying success, until the Ottomans arrived in the western Mediterranean.

Throughout its recorded history the physical features and environment of the land of Tunisia have remained fairly constant. Weather in the north is temperate, enjoying a Mediterranean climate, with mild rainy winters and hot dry summers, the terrain being wooded and fertile. The Medjerda river valley (Wadi Majardah, northeast of Tunis) is currently valuable farmland. Along the eastern coast the central plains enjoy a moderate climate, less rainfall but with heavy dew; these coastlands are currently used for orchards and grazing. Near the mountainous Algerian border rises Jebel ech Chambi, the highest point at 1544 meters. In the near south, an east-west belt of salt lakes cuts across the country. Further south lies the Sahara desert, including sand dunes of the Grand Erg Oriental.^[1][2][3]

The Coat of Arms of the Republic of Tunisia

The present day Republic of Tunisia, al-Jumhuriyyah at-Tunisiyyah, has over ten million citizens, almost all of Arab-Berber descent. The Mediterranean Sea is to the north and east, Libya to the southeast, and Algeria to the west. Tunis is the capital; it is located near the ancient site of the city of Carthage.

[edit] Berber sovereignty

The Fatimids were Shi'a (specifically, of the more controversial Isma'ilis branch), whose leadership came from the then unpopular east. Today, of course, the majority of Tunisians now identify as members of the opposing Sunni. The Fatimids did initially inspire the allegiance of Berber elements. Yet once installed Fatimid rule greatly disrupted social harmony in Ifriqiya; they imposed high, unorthodox taxes, leading to the Kharijite revolt.^[4] Later, the Fatimids relocated to Cairo. Although originally a client of the Fatimid Shi'a Caliphate in Egypt, eventually the Zirids expelled the Fatimids from Ifriqiya. In return, the Fatimids managed to send the destructive Banu Hilal to Ifriqiya, which led to chaotic, ragged social conditions, during a period of economic decline. The Zirid dynasty has been viewed historically as a Berber kingdom, essentially founded by a Sanhaja Berber leader.^[5] Also, from the far west of al-Maghrib, the Sunni Ummayyad Caliphate of Córdoba long opposed and battled against the Shi'a Fatimids, whether based in Ifriqiya or in Egypt.^[6] Accordingly, Tunisians may evidence faint pride in the great extent and relative endurance, the peace and prosperity that Fatimid rule brought to Egypt, and in the Fatimid Caliphate in Islamic history.

During the interval of Shi'a rule, the Berber people appear to have moved ideologically, from a popular antagonism to the Sunni east, toward an acquiescence to its orthodoxy, though of course mediated by their own Maliki law (viewed as one of the four orthodox madhhab by the Sunni). In addition to the above grivences against the Fatimids, during the Fatimid era the prestige of exercizing cultural leadership within al-Maghrib shifted decisively away from Ifriqiya and instead came to be the prize of al-Andalus.^[7]

[edit] Zirid Berber succession

[edit] Under the Fatimids

After removing their capital to Cairo, the Fatimids withdrew from direct governance of al-Maghrib, which they delegated to a local vassal, namely Buluggin ibn Ziri a Sanhaja Berber of the central Magrib. As a result of civil war following his death, the Fatamid vassalage split in two: for Ifriqiya the Zirid (972-1148); and for the western lands [present day Algeria]: the Hammadid (1015-1152), named for Hammad, Buluggin's son.^[8] Civic security was chronically poor, due to political quarrels between the Zirids and the Hammadids, and attacks from Sunni states to the west.

Although the Maghrib was liable to become submerged in political confusion, the Fatimid province of Ifriqiya at first continued relatively prosperous under the Zirid Berbers. Soon however the Saharan trade began to decline, caused by changing consumer demand, as well as by encroachments by rival traders from the Fatimids to the east and from the rising power of the al-Murabit movement to the west. This decline in the Saharan trade caused a rapid deterioration to the prosperity of Kairouan, the political and curltural city of the Zirid state. To compensate, the Zirids encouraged the commerce of their coastal cities, which did begin to quicken; however, they faced tough challenges from Mediterranean traders of the rising city-states of Genoa and Pisa.^[9]

[edit] Independence

In 1048, for both economic and popular reasons, the Zirids dramatically broke with the Shi'a Fatimid suzerainty from Cairo; instead the Zirids chose to become Sunni (always favored by most Maghribi Muslims) and declaring their allegiance to the moribund Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad. Many shia were killed during disturbances throughout Ifriqiya. The Zirid state seized Fatimid coinage. Sunni Maliki jurists were reestablished as the prevailing school of law.^[10] In retaliation, the Fatimids sent against the Zirids an invasion of nomadic Arabians who had already migrated into Egypt; these bedouins were induced by the Fatimids to continue on westward into Ifriqiya.^[11] Toward Ifriqiya came the Arab tribe Banu Hilal, as well as the Banu Sulaym, both then pasturing their animals in upper Egypt.^[12]

Banu Hilal in genealogical scheme of the Banu 'Amir.

The arriving Bedouins of the Banu Hilal defeated in battle Zirid and Hammadid Berber armies and sacked Kairouan in 1057. It has been said that much of the Maghrib's misfortunes to follow could be traced to the chaos and regression occasioned by their arrival, although opinion is not unanimous.^[13] In Arab lore Abu Zayd al-Hilali the leader of the Banu Hilal is a hero, as in the folk epic Taghribat Bani Hilal. The Banu Hilal originated from the tribal confederacy of the Banu 'Amir, located generally in southwest Arabia.^[14] As the Banu Halali tribes took control of the plains, the local sedentary populace were forced to take refuge in the mountains; in prosperous central and northern Ifriqiya farming gave way to pastoralism. Even after the fall of the Zirids, the Banu Hilal were a source of disorder, as in the 1184 insurrection of the Banu Ghaniya.^[15][16] These rough Arab newcomers did constitute a second large Arab immigration into Ifriqiya, and accelerated the process of Arabization, with the Berber languages decreasing in use in rural areas as a result of this Bedouin ascendancy.^[17]

Substantially weakened, the Zirids lingered on, while the regional economy declined, with civil society adrift.

[edit] Almohads (al-Muwahiddin)

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[edit] Berber Islamic Movements

In the medieval Maghrib from among the Berbers, two strong Muslim religious movements arose one after the other: the Amoravids (1056-1147), and the Almohads (1130-1269).

Almoravid dynasty (1056-1147) at greatest extent

The Almoravids [Arabic al-Murabitum, from Ribat, e.g., "defenders"] had also been a Berber Islamic movement of the Maghrib,^[18][19] which had run its course and since become decadent and weak.^[20] Although the Almoravids had once ruled from Mauritania (south of Morocco) to al-Andalus (southern Spain), Almoravid rule had never reached to Infriqiya.^[21]

[edit] Mahdi of the Unitarians

The Almohad movement [Arabic al-Muwahhidun, "the Unitarians"] ruled variously in the Maghrib starting about 1130 until 1248 (locally in Morocco until 1275).^[22][23][24] This movement had been founded by Ibn Tumart (1077-1130), a Masmuda Berber from the Atlas mountains of Morocco, who became the mahdi. After a pilgrimage to Mecca followed by study, he had returned to the Maghrib about 1218 inspired by the teachings of al-Ash'ari and al-Ghazali.^[25] A charismatic leader, he preached an interior awareness of the Unity of God.^[26] A puritan and a hard-edged reformer, he gathered a strict following among the Berbers in the Atlas, founded a radical community, and eventually began an armed challenge to the current rulers, the Almoravids (1056-1147).^[27]

Almohad Empire (1147-1269) at its greatest extent.

Ibn Tumart the Almohad founder left writings in which his theological ideas mix with the political. Therein he claimed that the leader, the mahdi, is infallible.^[28][29] Ibn Tumart created a hierarchy from among his followers which persisted long after the Almohad era (i.e., in Tunisia under the Hafsids), based not only on a specie of ethnic loyalty,^[30] such as the "Council of Fifty" [ahl al-Khamsin], and the assembly of "Seventy" [ahl al-Saqa], but more significantly based on a formal structure for an inner circle of governance that would transcend tribal loyalties, namely, (a) his ahl al-dar or "people of the house", a sort of privy council, (b) his ahl al-'Ashra or the "Ten", originally composed of his first ten forminable followers, and (c) a variety of offices. Ibn Tumart trained his own talaba or ideologists, as well as his huffaz, who function was both religious and military. There is lack of certainty about some details, but general agreement that Ibn Tumart sought to reduce the "influence of the traditional tribal framework." Later historical developments "were greatly facilitated by his original reorganization because it made possible collaboration among tribes" not likely to otherwise coalesce.^[31][32] These organizing and group solidarity preparations made by Ibn Tumart were "most methodical and efficient" and a "conscious replica" of the Medina period of the prophet Muhammad.^[33][34]

The mahdi Ibn Tumart also had championed the idea of strict Islamic law and morals displacing unorthodox aspects of Berber custom.^[35][36] At his early base at Tinmal, Ibn Tumart functioned as "the custodian of the faith, the arbiter of moral questions, and the chief judge." ^[37] Yet because of the narrow legalism then common among Maliki jurists and because of their influence in the Almoravid regime,^[38][39][40] Ibn Tumart did not favor the Maliki school of law; nor did he favor any of the four recognized madhhabs.^[41][42]

[edit] Empire of a unified Maghrib

Following Ibn Tumart's death, Abd al-Mu'min al-Kumi (c.1090-1163) became the Almohad caliph, cerca 1130.^[43] Abd al-Mu'min had been one of the original "Ten" followers of Ibn Tumart.^[44] He immediately had attacked the ruling Almoravids and had wrestled Morocco away from them by 1147, suppressing subsequent revolts there. Then he crossed the straits, occupying al-Andalus (in Spain).^[45][46][47] In 1152 he successfully invaded the Hammadids of Bougie (in Algeria). His armies intervened in Zirid Ifriqiya, removing the Christian Sicilians by 1160.^[48] Yet Italian merchants from Genoa and Pisa had already arrived, continuing the foreign presence.^[49][50]

Anarchy in Ifriqiya (Tunisia) made it a target for the Norman kingdom in Sicily,^[51] 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 in several military campaigns which by 1160 compelled the Christian retreat back to Sicily.^[52][53]

"Abd al-Mu'min briefly presided over a unified North African empire--the first and last in its history under indigenous rule".^[54] It would be the high point of Maghribi political unity. Yet twenty years later, by 1184, the revolt by the Banu Ghaniya had spread from the Balearic Islands to Ifriqiya (Tunisia), causing problems for the Almohad regime for the next fifty years.^[55]

Empire of the Maghrib

In practice, however, the Maliki school of law survived and by default eventually functioned in an official fashion (except during the reign of Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur (1184-1199) who was loyal to Ibn Tumart's teachings). After of century of oscillation, the caliph Abu al-'Ala Idris al-Ma'mun broke with the narrow ideology of prior Almohad regimes (first articulated by the mahdi Ibn Tumart) that had continued to function on and off, and for the most part, at the end, poorly; circa 1230, he affirmed the reinstitution of the then-reviving Malikite rite, perennially popular in al-Maghrib.^[56][57][58]

Ibn Rushd of Córdoba in detail from fresco "The School of Athens" by Raphael

The Muslim philosophers Ibn Tufayl (Abubacer to the Latins) of Granada (d.1185), and Ibn Rushd (Averroës) of Córdoba (1126-1198), who was also appointed a Maliki judge, were dignitaries known to the Almohad court, whose capital became fixed at Marrakech. The Sufi master theologian Ibn 'Arabi was born in Murcia in 1165. Under the Almohads architecture flourished, the Giralda being built in Seville and the pointed arch being introduced.^[59]

"There is no better indication of the importance of the Almohad empire than the fascination it has exerted on all subsequent rulers in the Magrib."^[60] It was an empire Berber in its inspiration, and whose imperial fortunes were under the direction of Berber leaders. The unitarian Almohads had gradually modified the original ambition of strictly implementing their founder's designs; in this way the Almohads were similar to the preceding Almoravids (also Berber). Yet their movement probably worked to deepen the religious awareness of the Muslim people across the Maghrib. Nonetheless, it could not suppress other traditions and teachings, and alternative expressions of Islam, including the popular cult of saints, the sufis, as well as the Maliki jurists, survived.^[61][62]

The Almohad empire (like its predecessor the Almoravid) eventually weakened and dissolved. Except for the Muslim Kingdom of Granada, Spain was lost. In Morroco, the Almohads were to be followed by the Merinids; in Ifriqiya (Tunisia), by the Hafsids (who claimed to be the heirs of the unitarian Almohads).^[63]

[edit] Hafsid dynasty of Tunis

The Hafsid dynasty (1230-1574) succeeded Almohad rule in Ifriqiya, with the Hafsids claiming to represent the true spiritual heritage of its founder, the Mahdi Ibn Tumart (c.1077-1130). For a brief moment a Hafsid sovereign would be recognized as the Caliph of Islam. Tunisia under the Hafsids would eventually regain for a time cultural primacy in the Maghrib.

[edit] Political chronology

Abu Hafs 'Umar Inti^[64] was one of the Ten, the crucial group composed of very early adherents to the Almohad movement [al-Muwahhidun], circa 1121. These Ten were companions of Ibn Tumart the Mahdi, and formed an inner circle consulted on all important matters. Abu Hafs 'Umar Inti, wounded in battle near Marrakesh in 1130, was for a long time a powerful figure within the Almohad movement. His son 'Umar al-Hintati was appointed by the Almohad caliph Muhammad an-Nasir as governor of Ifriqiya in 1207 and served until his death in 1221. His son, the grandson of Abu Hafs, was Abu Zakariya.^[65]

Flag of Tunis under the Hafsids. [Catalan Atlas, circa 1375]

Abu Zakariya^[66] (1203-1249) served the Almohads in Ifriqiya as governor of Gabès, then in 1226 as governor of Tunis. In 1229 during disturbances within the Almohad movement, Abu Zakariya declared his independence, having the Mahdi's name declared at Friday prayer, but himself taking the title of Amir: hence, the start of the Hafsid dynasty (1229-1574).^[67] In the next few years he secured his hold on the cities of Ifriqiya, then captured Tripolitania (1234) to the east, and to the west Algiers (1235) and later Tlemcen (1242). He solidified his rule among the Berber confederacies. Government structure of the Hafsid state followed the Almohad model, a rather strict hierarchy and centralization. Abu Zakariya's succession to the Almohad movement was acknowledged as the only state maintaining Almohad traditions, and was recognized in Friday prayer by many states in Al-Andalus and in Morocco (including the Merinids). Diplomatic relations were opened with Frederick II of Sicily, Venice, Genoa, and Aragon. Abu Zakariya the founder of the Hafsids became the foremost ruler in the Maghrib.^[68][69]

For an historic moment, the son of Abu Zakariya and self-declared caliph of the Hafsids, al-Mustansir (r.1249-1277),^[70] was recognised as Caliph by Mecca and the Islamic world (1259-1261), following termination of the Abbasid caliphate by the Mongols in 1258. Yet the moment passed as a rival claimant to the title advanced; the Hafsids remained a local sovereignty.^[71][72]

Since their origins with Abu Zakariya the Hafsids had represented their regime as heir to the Almohad movement founded by the Mahdi Ibn Tumart, whose name was invoked during Friday prayer at emirate mosques until the 15th century. Hafsid government was accordingly constituted after the Almohad model created by the Mahdi, i.e., it being rigorous hierarchy. The Amir held all power with a code of etiquette surrounding his person, although as sovereign he did not always hold himself aloof. The Amir's counsel was the Ten, composed of the chief Almohad shaiks. Next in order was the Fifty assembled from petty shaiks, with ordinary shaiks thereafter. The early Hafsids had a censor, the mazwar, who supervised the ranking of the designated shaiks and assigned them to specified categories. Originally there were three ministers [wazir, plural wuzara]: of the army (commander and logistics); of finance (accounting and tax); and, of state (correspondence and police). Over the centuries the office of Hajib increased in importance, at first being major-domo of the palace, then intermdiary between the Amir and his cabinet, and finally de facto the first minister. State authority was publicly asserted by impressive processions: high officials on horseback parading to the sound of kettledrums and tambors, with colorful silk banners held high, all in order to cultivate a regal pomp. In provinces where the Amir enjoyed recognized authority, his governors were usually close family members, assisted by an experienced official. Elsewhere provincial appointees had to contend with strong local oligarchies or leading families. Regarding the rural tribes, various strategies were employed; for those on good terms their tribal shaik might work as a double agent, serving as their representative to the central government, and also as government agent to his fellow tribal members.^[73]

In 1270 King Louis IX of France, whose brother was the king of Sicily, landed an army near Tunis; disease devastated their camp.^[74] Later, Hafsid influence was reduced by the rise of the Moroccan Marinids of Fez, who captured and lost Tunis twice (1347, and 1357).^[75] Yet Hafsid fortunes would recover; two notabe rulers being Abu Faris (1394-1434) and his grandson Abu 'Amr 'Uthman (r. 1435-1488).^[76]

Toward the end, internal disarray within the Hafsid dynasty created vulnerabilities, while a great power struggle arose between Spaniard and Turk over control of the Mediterranean. The Hafsid dynasts became pawns, subject to the rival strategies of the combatants. By 1574 Ifriqiya had been incorporated into the Ottoman Empire.^[77]

[edit] Commerce and trade

Bacino del Mediterraneo, dall’Atlante manoscritto del 1582-1584 ca. Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale Vittorio Emanuele II, Roma (cart. naut. 2 – cart. naut 6/1-2).

Tunisia under the early Hafsids, as well as the entire Maghrib, enjoyed a general prosperity due to the rise of the Saharan-Sudanese trade. Perhaps more important was the increase in Mediterranean commerce including trade with Europeans.^[78] Across the region, the repetition of buy and sell dealings with Christians led to the eventual development of trading practices and structured shipping arrangements that were crafted to ensure mutual security, customs revenue, and commercial profit. It was possible for an arriving ship to deliver its goods and pick-up the return cargo in several days time. Christian merchants of the Mediterranean, usually organized by their city-of-origin, set up and maintained their own trading facilities (a funduq) in these North African customs ports to handle the flow of merchandise and marketing.^[79]

Modern reconstruction of a Caravel [Caravela Latina] which starting in the 13th century carried commercial cargoes across the Mediterranean Sea.

The principal maritime customs ports were then: Tunis, Sfax, Mahdia, Jerba, and Gabés (all in Tunisia); Oran, Bougie (Bejaia), and Bône (Annaba) (in Algeria); and Tripoli (in Libya). At such ports generally, the imports were off loaded and transferred to a customs area from where they were deposited in a sealed wharehouse, or funduq, until the duties and fees were paid. The amount imposed varied, usually five or ten percent. The Tunis customs service was a stratified bureaucracy. At its head was often a member of the ruling nobility or musharif, called al-Caid, who not only managed the staff collecting duties but also might negotiate commercial agreements, conclude treaties, and act as judge in legal disputes involving foreigners.^[80]

Tunis exported grain, dates, olive oil, wool and leather, wax, coral, salt fish, cloth, carpets, arms, and also perhaps black slaves. Imports included cabinet work, arms, hunting birds, wine, perfumes, spices, medical plants, hemp, linen, silk, cotton, many types of cloth, glass ware, metals, hardware, and jewels.^[81]

Islamic law during this era had developed a specific institution to regulate community morals, or hisba, which included the order and security of public markets, the supervision of market transactions, and related matters. The urban marketplace [Arabic souk, pl. iswak] was generally a street of shops selling the same or similar commodities (vegetables, cloth, metalware, lumber, etc.).^[82] The city official charged with these responsibilities was called the muhtasib.^[83][84]

To achieve public order in the urban markets, the muhtasib would enforce fair commercial dealing (merchants truthfully quoting the local price to rural people, honest weights and measures, but not quality of goods nor price per se), keep roadways open, regulate the safety of building construction, and monitor the metal value of existing coinage and the minting of new coin (gold dinars and silver dirhems were minted at Tunis).^[85] The authority of the muhtasib, with his group of assistants, was somewhere between a qadi (judge) and the police, or on other occasions perhaps between a public prosecutor (or trade commissioner) and the mayor (or a high city official). Often a leading judge or mufti held the position. The muhtasib did not hear contested litigation, but nonetheless could prescribe the pain and humiliation of up to 40 lashes, remand to debtor's prison, order a shop closed, or expel an offender from the city. However, the civic authority of the muhtasib did not extend into the countryside.^[86]

Beginning in the 13th century, from al-Andalus came Muslim and Jewish immigrants with appreciated talents, e.g., trade connections, agricultural techniques, manufacture, and arts (see below, Society and culture). Yet unfortunately general prosperity was not steady over the centuries of Hafsid rule; there was a sharp economic decline starting in the mid-fourteenth century due to a variety of factors (e.g., agriculture, and the Sahara trade).^[87] Under the amir Abu al-'Abbas (1370-1394), Hafsid participation in the Mediterranean trade began to decline, while early corsair raidng activity commenced.^[88]

[edit] Society and culture

After an hiatus under the Almohads,^[89] the Maliki school of law resumed its full traditional jurisdiction over the Maghrib. During the 13th century, the Maliki school had undergone substantial liberalizing changes due in part to Iraqi influence.^[90] Under Hafsid jurisprudents the concept of maslahah or "public interest" developed in the operation of their madhhab. This opened up Maliki fiqh to considerations of necessity and circumstance with regard to the general welfare of the community. By this means, local custom was admitted in the Sharia of Malik, to become an integral part of the legal discipline.^[91] Later, the Maliki theologian Muhammad ibn 'Arafa (1316-1401) of Tunis studied at the Zaituna library, said to contain 60,000 volumes.^[92]

Bedouin Arabs continued to arrive into the 13th century.^[93] With their tribal ability to raid and war still intact, they remained problematic and influential. The Arab language came to be predominant, except for a few Berber-speaking areas, e.g., Kharijite Djerba, and the desert south. An unfortunate divide developed between the governance of the cities and that of the countryside; at times the city-based rulers would grant rural tribes autonomy ('iqta') in exchange for their support in intra-maghribi struggles.^[94][95] Yet this tribal independence of the central authority meant also that when the center grew weak, the periphery might still remain strong and resilient.^[96]

From al-Andalus Arab Muslim and Jewish migration continued to come into Ifriqiya, especially after the fall of Granada in 1492, the last Muslim state ruling on the Iberian peninsula. These newly arriving immigrants brought infusions of their highly developed arts.^[97] The well-regarded Andalusian traditions of music and poetry are found discussed by Ahmad al-Tifasi (1184-1253) of Tunis, in his Muta'at al-Asma' fi 'ilm al-sama' [Pleasure to the Ears, on the Art of Music], in volume 41 of his encyclopedia.^[98]

As a result of the initial prosperity, Al-Mustansir (r.1249-1277) had transformed the capital city of Tunis, constructing a palace and the Abu Fihr park; he also created an estate near Bizerte (said by Ibn Khaldun to be without equal in the world).^[99] Education was improved by the institution of a system of madrasah. Sufism, e.g., Sidi Bin 'Arus (d. 1463 Tunis) founder of the Arusiyya tariqah, became increasingly prominent, forming social links between the city and countryside.^[100] The Sufi shaikhs began to assume the religious authority once held by the unitarian Almohads, according to Abun-Nasr.^[101] Poetry blossomed, as did architecture. For the moment, Tunisia had regained cultural leadership of the Maghrib.^[102]

[edit] Ibn Khaldun

Statue of Ibn Khaldoun in Tunis

A major social philosopher, Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406) is recognized as a pioneer in sociology, historiography, and related disciplines. Although having Yemeni ancestry, his family enjoyed centuries-long residency in al-Andalus before leaving in the 13th century for Ifriqiyah. As a native of Tunis, he spent much of his life under the Hafsids, whose regime he served on occasion.

Ibn Khaldun entered into a political career early on, working under a succession of different rulers of small states, whose designs unfolded amid shifting rivalries and alliances. At one point he rose to vizier; however, he also spent a year in prison. His career required several relocations, e.g., Fez, Granada, eventually Cairo where he died. In order to write he retired for awhile from active political life. Later, after his pilgrimage to Mecca, he served as Grand Qadi of the Maliki rite in Egypt (he was appointed and dismissed several times). While he was visiting Damascus, Tamerlane took the city; this cruel conquorer interviewed the elderly jurist and social philosopher, yet Ibn Khaldun managed to escape back to his life in Egypt.^[103]

The history and historiography written by Ibn Khaldun was informed in theory by his learning as a faylasuf [philosopher].^[104] Yet it was his participation in the small unstable governments of the region that inspired many of his key insights. His history seeks to account for the apparent cyclical progression of historical states of the Maghrib, whereby: (a) a new ruling association comes to power with strong loyalties, (b) which over the course of several generations fall apart, (c) leading to the collapse of the ruling strata. The social cohesion necessary for the group's initial rise to power, and for the group's ability to maintain it and exercise it, Ibn Khaldun called Asabiyyah.^[105]

His seven-volume Kitab al-'Ibar [Book of Examples]^[106] (shortened title) is a telescoped "universal" history, which concentrates on the Persian, Arab, and Berber civilizations. Its lengthy prologue, called the Muqaddimah [Introduction], presents the development of long-term political trends and events as a field for the study, characterizing them as human phenomena, in quasi-sociological terms. It is widely considered to be a gem of sustained cultural analysis. Unfortunately Ibn Khaldun did not attract sufficient interest among local scholars, his studies being neglected in Ifriqiyah; however, in the Persian and Turkish worlds he acquired a sustained following.^[107]

In the later books of the Kitab al-'Ibar, he focuses especially on the history of the Berbers of the Maghrib. The perceptive Ibn Khaldun in his narration eventually arrives at historical events he himself witnessed or encountered.^[108] As an official of the Hafsids, Ibn Khaldun experienced first hand the effects on the social structure of troubled regimes and the long term decline in the region's fortunes.

[edit] Reference notes

[edit] See also

• History of ancient Tunisia
• Umayyad conquest of North Africa
• Ifriqiya
• Aghlabid dynasty
• Fatimid Caliphate
• Zirid dynasty
• Almohad dynasty
• Hafsid dynasty
• Ibn Khaldun
• History of modern Tunisia