Ifran Banu

(950-1055)

   One of the tribes of the Zanata confederation that, from their pasturelands in Tunisia, had migrated westward and at the time of the Arab invasions lived on the Algerian highlands of Tiaret and Tlemcen. Converted to Islam, they became adherents of the Ibadithe version of the Kharijite heterodoxy, although gradually they turned to the orthodox Sunnite creed. In the middle of the eighth century, they established an Ibadithe theocracy with Agadir (today in ruins near Tlemcen) as the center. They were involved in bitter feuds with Maghrawa, the Umayyads of al-Andalus, and the Fatimids. By the end of the 10th century, the Banu Ifran were beaten by the Maghrawa and were dispersed throughout Morocco and Algeria. IFROUANE. A major caravan entrepôt situated on a rich, sandy plain bordered on one side by an irregular seasonal wadi and irrigated gardens. On the other side, it is about 310 kilometers north of Agadez in Aïr, Niger. Beyond the wadi, the land rises sharply into the Tamgak Mountains, reaching a height of 2,000 meters. The oasis is a poste administratif, with a population of about 140,000 people. The oasis was hard hit by the droughts of the 1970s and 1980s and lost much of its tourism with the start of the Tuareg rebellion in Aïr in the 1990s.