Event
...in the central Maghreb, the Zayyanids found…
...in the central Maghreb, the Zayyanids found a dynasty that rules the Kingdom of Tlemcen. Based on a Zenata tribe, the Bani Abd el Wad, which had been settled in the region by Abd al Mumin, the Zayyanids also emphasized their links with the Almohads.
For more than three hundred years, until the region comes under Ottoman suzerainty in the sixteenth century, the Zayyanids will keep a tenuous hold in the central Maghreb.
The regime, which depends on the administrative skills of Andalusians, is plagued by frequent rebellions but learns to survive as the vassal of the Marinids or Hafsids or later as an ally of Spain.
Many coastal cities defy the ruling dynasties and assert their autonomy as municipal republics.
They are governed by their merchant oligarchies, by tribal chieftains from the surrounding countryside, or by the privateers who operated out of their ports.
Tlemcen prospers as a commercial center and is called the "pearl of the Maghreb."
Situated at the head of the Imperial Road through the strategic Taza Gap to Marrakech, the city controls the caravan route to Sijilmasa, gateway for the gold and slave trade with the western Sudan.
Aragon comes to control commerce between Tlemcen's port, Oran, and Europe beginning about 1250.
An outbreak of privateering out of Aragon, however, will severely disrupt this trade after about 1420.
For more than three hundred years, until the region comes under Ottoman suzerainty in the sixteenth century, the Zayyanids will keep a tenuous hold in the central Maghreb.
The regime, which depends on the administrative skills of Andalusians, is plagued by frequent rebellions but learns to survive as the vassal of the Marinids or Hafsids or later as an ally of Spain.
Many coastal cities defy the ruling dynasties and assert their autonomy as municipal republics.
They are governed by their merchant oligarchies, by tribal chieftains from the surrounding countryside, or by the privateers who operated out of their ports.
Tlemcen prospers as a commercial center and is called the "pearl of the Maghreb."
Situated at the head of the Imperial Road through the strategic Taza Gap to Marrakech, the city controls the caravan route to Sijilmasa, gateway for the gold and slave trade with the western Sudan.
Aragon comes to control commerce between Tlemcen's port, Oran, and Europe beginning about 1250.
An outbreak of privateering out of Aragon, however, will severely disrupt this trade after about 1420.
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The Middle of The Earth
World
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North Africa
Region
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North Africa
Subregion
