Hammadids

(1014-1152)

   A Sanhaja dynasty in present-day Algeria that had branched off from the Zirids of al-Qayrawan. Its founder, Hammad Ibn Buluggin, was put in charge by his nephew, the Zirid ruler al-Mansur, of the fortified town of Ashir and the western sections of the Zirid realm. The Hammadid dynasty reached its zenith at the beginning of the 12th century under the rule of al-Nasir and al-Mansur. By 1017, the Hammadids had gained full independence from the Zirids. After taking control of Algiers, Miliana, Nigaus, Hamza, and Constantine, al-Nasir pushed eastward and established influence on the coast from Sfax over Susa to Tripoli and advanced southward far into the Sahara. He built Bougie and made it his second capital, named after him, al-Nasiriya. Under his son al-Mansur, the Hammadids took control of Tlemcen, stopping the Almoravid advance (1103-1104). His son al-`Aziz (1104-1121) occupied Jerba and pushed the Arabs from the Hodna. Under Yahya (1122-1153), the Hammadids' power collapsed as Berber tribes, Norman invasions, and Banu Hilal Arabs challenged the weakened Hammadids. Finally, the Almohad army took Algiers and defeated Yahya's forces at the gates of Bijaia. Yahya surrendered in 1152 and died in exile in Salé in 1163.