Emirate of Tlemcen


The Ifranid Emirate of Tlemcen or Ifranid Kingdom of Tlemcen, was a Kharijite state, founded by Berbers of the Banu Ifran in the eighth century, with its capital at Tlemcen in modern Algeria.

Background

After the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb, there were a number of Berber revolts against the Umayyad caliphate. These mid-eighth century revolts were associated with Kharijite teachings, which won over a good part of the Maghreb with their puritanism and egalitarian message. As a result of one of these, the Rustamid dynasty founded a kingdom at Tahert.

Foundation of the Emirate

Around the same time, a revolt of the Zenata tribe of the Banu Ifran broke out. The rebels proclaimed their leader Abu Qurra to be the Caliph, and he established a Sufri state in Tlemcen. Although the founding of this city is sometimes attributed to the Ifranides, the site had already been occupied by the Roman city of Pomaria. Little is known of the internal affairs of the new state, but it was of considerable military significance.

Expansion

In 767, united with the Kharijites of Tahert and Nafusa Mountains, Abu Qurra launched an expedition to the east, surrounded the Abbasid governor in the fortress of in the Aures and reached as far as Kairouan. Back in Tlemcen, he allied himself with the Maghrawa and had to confront the expansionist aims of the Idrisides. The Abbasids sent a strong army under the new governor, Yazid ibn Hatim al-Muhallabi, who defied the Kharijites in Ifriqiya, but the rest of the Maghreb escaped his authority.

Legacy

The kingdom did not last long: in accordance with the strict rules of Sufrites, Abu Qurra would not allow his descendants to found a dynasty. He welcomed Idris I, recognizing his kingdom and breaking with the Rustamids. Idris I negotiated the surrender of Tlemcen with the Maghrawa. One of his descendants, Muhammed Sulayman, established the "Sulaymanid kingdom" in the region, a state that dominated the cities and lasted until the time of the Fatimids in 931. Tlemcen became a distinguished city, growing in connection with the Sunni Arab culture of Al-Andalus; in the countryside however, the Ifranides retained their heterodox faith. In 955 their leader revolted against the Fatimids.