Sulaymanid dynasty

Sulaymanid dynasty
السليمانيون
Sulaymanid dynasty السليمانيون
814–922
	Approximate Sulaymanid territory (yellow) in the 9th–10th centuries
Capital	Tlemcen; Ténès;
Common languages	Arabic, Berber languages
Religion	Islam
Government	Monarchy
Historical era	Medieval
• Established	814
• Disestablished	922
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Berber Revolt
Caliphate of Córdoba
Almoravid dynasty

The Sulaymanid dynasty (Arabic: السليمانيون, romanized: as-Sulaymāniyyūn) was an Arab Muslim dynasty in present-day western Algeria, ruling from 814 to 922. The dynasty is named after the founder, Sulyaman I, who was the brother of Idris I, the founder of the Idrisid dynasty based in Fez (present-day Morocco).^[1] Both Sulayman and Idris, as great grandchildren of Hasan ibn Ali, were sharifs descended from Muhammad.

History

Sulayman and his son Muhammad

The history of the Sulaymānid dynasty is poorly understood^[2] and historians have few chronological benchmarks.^[3] It begins according to Ibn Khaldūn with the flight of Sulaymān Ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Kāmil towards the Maghreb after the Battle of Fakhkh in 786, then its takeover of Tlemcen then in the hand of the Zenata, (in the northwest of present-day Algeria).^[4] But not all Arab chroniclers agree that this brother of Idrīs I survived the massacre or that he does not owe him the governorate of the city.^[3]

According to Ibn Khaldun, Sulayman I reached Tlemcen after the assassination of his brother Idris I in 791 and took control of it.^[4] But according to Ibn Idhari and Al-Bakri, he settled in Tlemcen while his brother was alive and probably with his approval.^[5]

It seems better supported^{[according to whom?]} that Idrīs II, the son of Idrīs I, conquered around 814 Tlemcen, a city then probably with a strong Christian population, a meeting point of the Berber populations and a meeting place of the markets, by putting on the run its Maghrawa ruler, Muḥammad Ibn H̱azar. He would then have handed the city over to his cousin Muḥammad, the son of Sulaymān, who thereby founded the Sulaymānid dynasty.^[6]^[a] In 828, Muḥammad Ibn Idrīs II erected the government of Muḥammad Ibn Sulaymān as a viceroyalty.^[3]

According to historian Gilbert Meynier, Mūḥāmmād Ibn Sūlāymān created in the region of Tlemcen the "Sulaymanid kingdom", a state which seemed to control only the cities, coexisting with the neighboring tribes which preserved their Kharidjite heterodoxy.^[8] Tlemcen (then called Agadir^[9]) became a distinguished city, in growing connection with the Arab culture of Al-Andalus. In 931, the Fatimids took the city and put an end to the power of the Sulaymanids, who took refuge in Al-Andalus.^[8]

According to Ibn Khaldūn in his appendix IV,^[10] Sūlāymān I (Sīd Sūlāymān Ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Kāmīl) escaped towards the Maghreb during the early Abbasid period, arriving at Tiaret after the death of his brother Idris I, and wanted to take power. However, the Berbers resisted threats from Sūlāymān and the Banu Tamim of the Arab Aghlabid dynasty ordered his arrest. Sūlāymān went to Tlemcen and became master of all the Zeneta tribes of this locality. His son Mūhāmmād Ibn Sūlāymān succeeded him and his children shared all of the central Maghreb after the death of Sūlāymān.

Later successors

The sons of Mūhāmmād Ibn Sūlaymān shared all of the central Maghreb (present-day Algeria) after the death of their father. The government of Tlemcen was under the responsibility of Aḥmād, son of Mūḥāmmād, then of Mūḥāmmād, son of Aḥmād, and then of his son Al-Qassim. ‘Ayssā, son of Mūhāmmād, obtained the town of Arshgul (town and island at Tafna, a river eight leagues from Tlemcen) and joined forces with the Fatimids. ‘Aysā's brother Idris became ruler of the territories of the Dejrawa. His son Abû'l ‘Aysh Ibn Aysā succeeded him. After the death of Abu'l ‘Aysh Ayssā, Al Hasen b. Abu'l ‘Aysh took power among the Dejrawas. After that, it was Ibrahim's turn and then that of his sons: Yahya, Ibrahim and Idris. Idris received Arshgul, on the other hand, his brother Yahya joined forces with the Umayyads of Cordoba in the time of Abd al-Rahman III. This provoked the Fatimids in 935. Yahya was arrested by general Mansur.^{[clarification needed]}

The city of the Dejrawas sheltered Al-Hāsān Ibn Abû'l ‘Aysh and was besieged and taken by Ibn Abû'l‘ Afya, representative of the Umayyads in the central Maghreb. Al-Hāsān then escaped to join his cousin Idris, son of Ibrahim, chief of Arshgul. Al-Buri, son of Mūsā Ibn Abû'l ‘Afya later took the city.

Ténès (in present-day Chlef Province in Algeria) was the seat of Ibrahim, son of Mūḥāmmād, then came into the hands of his son Mūḥāmmād, of the same name, then to Ibrahim (again of the same name), then to Yahya and Ali. The latter was defeated by the Zirids during the reign of Ziri ibn Manad in 953. Ali then took refuge with the Maghrawas. Al Kheyr Ibn Mūhāmmād Ibn Khazer of the Maghrawa helped Hamza and Yahya, son of Ali, to cross to the Iberian Peninsula.

Ahmed, son of Sulayman, son of Ibrahim, was a ruler of the central Maghreb. Among the descendants of Mūhāmmād, son of Sulayman, was Ituwish, son of Hatesh, son of Al Hassan, son of Muhammed, son of Sulayman, and Hammad, son of Ali, son of Mūhāmmād, son of Sulayman.

Ibn Khaldun noted that, according to Ibn Hazm, Souk Hamza at Bougie did not bear the name of an Idrisid but of a Sulaymanid. He adds that Jawhar al-Siqilli, the Fatimid general, took Hamza's sons to Kairouan in present-day Tunisia.

Religion

The family of Idris, which included Sulayman I, have been described as a Zaydi Shia Muslim dynasty,^[11] while other academics have described the Idrisids as Sunni Muslims.^[12]^[13] Cornell noted that the Idrisids brought with them to the western Maghreb from the Arabian Peninsula a form of archaic Shi'ism that was very similar to Zaydism.^[14] They were opponents of the Abbasid Caliphate.^[15]

Sulaymanid currency

Coins of the Sulaymanids minted at Souk Ibrahim and Ténès have been found. Until recently the coins of Mūḥāmmād Ibn Sūlāymān, the founder of the line and his great grandson Aḥmād Ibn ‘Isā were known only. The signatures struck « Mādīnāt Ībrāhīm Ibn Mūḥāmmād », « Mādīnāt ‘Isā Ibn Ibrāhīm and Mādīnāt al-Qāssīm Ibn ‘Isā » are all honorary titles of Suq Ibrahim, while Burjayn, a typing of Yahya Ibn Muhammad, could well be the pseudonym of Ténès.

The dynasty

Rulers

Sulayman ibn Abd-Allah, known as "Sulayman I of Tlemcen" – Emir of Tlemcen (786 / 7–813)
Muhammad Ibn Sulayman, known as "Muhammad I" – Emir of Tlemcen (813–828)
Isa ibn Muhammad, known as "Isa I" – Emir of Arshkul (since 828)
Ahmad ibn Muhammad, known as "Ahmad I" – Emir of Tlemcen (since 828)
Muhammad ibn Ahmad, known as "Muhammad II" – Emir of Tlemcen
al-Qasim ibn Muhammad, known as "Al-Qassim I" – Emir of Tlemcen (until 931)
Idris ibn Muhammad, known as "Idris I of Algeria" – Emir of Jarava (since 828)
Abu'l-Ish Aisa, known as "‘Issa II" – Emir of Jarava
Al-Hassan ibn Abi'l-Aish, known as "Al-Hassan I of Algeria" – Emir of Jarava (around 935)
Ibrahim ibn Idris, known as "Ibrahim I" – Emir of Arshkul
Yahya ibn Ibrahim, known as "Yahya I" – arrested by the Fatimid warlord Mizur in 935
Ibrahim ibn Ibrahim
Idris ibn Ibrahim, known as "Idris II of Algeria" – Emir of Arshkul (around 935)
Ibrahim ibn Muhammad, known as "Ibrahim II" – Emir of Tenes and Suk-Ibrahim (since 828)
Isa ibn Ibrahim, known as "‘Issa III" – Emir of Suk Ibrahim (which is located in the chelif river)^[16]
al-Qasim ibn Isa, known as "Al-Qassim II" – Emir of Suk Ibrahim
Ahmad ibn Isa, known as "Ahmad II" – Emir of Suk Ibrahim
Muhammad ibn Ibrahim, known as "Muhammad III" – Emir of Tenes
Yahya ibn Muhammad, known as "Yahya II" – Emir of Tenes

Timeline

Family tree

Family tree of the Sulaymanid dynasty

Abd al-Muttalib
ibn Hashim

Abu Talib ibn
Abd al-Muttalib

Abd Allah ibn
Abd al-Muttalib

Muhammad
ibn Abd Allah

Ali ibn
Abi Talib

Fatima bint
Muhammad

Hasan
ibn Ali

Hasan
ibn Hasan
al-Muthanna

Abd Allah
ibn Hasan
al-Kamil

Sulyaman I
ibn Abdullah
Emir of Tlemcen

Muhammad I
ibn Sulayman
Emir of Tlemcen

Isa I ibn
Muhammad
Emir of Arshkul

Ahmad I ibn
Muhammad
Emir of Tlemcen

Idris I ibn
Muhammad
Emir of Jarava

Ibrahim II ibn
Muhammad
Emir of Tenes
and Suk-Ibrahim

Muhammad II
ibn Ahmad
Emir of Tlemcen

Isa II
ibn Idris
Emir of Jarava

Ibrahim I
ibn Idris
Emir of Arshkul

Isa III ibn
Ibrahim
Emir of Suk-Ibrahim

Muhammad III
ibn Ibrahim
Emir of Tenes

Al-Qasim I ibn
Muhammad
Emir of Tlemcen

Hasan
ibn Isa
Emir of Jarava

Yahya I ibn
Ibrahim

Ibrahim ibn
Ibrahim

Idris II
ibn Ibrahim
Emir of Arshkul

Al-Qasim II
ibn Isa
Emir of Suk-Ibrahim

Ahmad II
ibn Isa
Emir of Suk-Ibrahim

Yahya II ibn
Muhammad
Emir of Tenes

Abd Allah ibn
Muhammad
Emir of Tenes

Ali ibn
Yahya
Emir of Tenes

Hamza
ibn Ali

Yahya
ibn Ali

Notes

^ Historian Daniel Eustache raised the possibility that Sulaymān and his son Muḥammad were already in Tlemcen and recognized by the Maghrāwa Berbers when Idris II reached the city in 814.^[3] This account, described by historical chroniclers Ibn Idhari and Al-Bakri,^[5] is repeated by historians Philippe Sénac et Patrice Cressier, who state that Sulaymān was governor of Tlemcen between 786 and 813.^[7]

References

Citations

^ Brett, Michael (1978). "The Arab conquest and the rise of Islam in North Africa". In Fage, J. D. (ed.). The Cambridge History of Africa. Cambridge University Press. p. 553. ISBN 978-0-521-21592-3.
^ Lowick 1983, p. 177.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Eustache 1970, p. 49.
^ ^a ^b Ibn Khaldūn 1854, pp. 569–570.
^ ^a ^b Marçais 1941, pp. 59–60.
^ Garcia-Arenal & Moreno 1998, p. 28.
^ Sénac & Cressier 2012, p. 118.
^ ^a ^b Meynier, Gilbert (2010). "De l'ouverture islamo-arabe au repli (698-1518)". L'Algérie, cœur du Maghreb classique (in French). Paris: La Découverte. p. 28. ISBN 9782707152312.
^ Eustache, D. (2012). "Idrīsids". In Bearman, P.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C.E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W.P. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Brill.
^ Ibn Khaldūn 1854, p. 570.
^ Meis Al-Kaisi, "The Development of Politico-Religious Movements: A General Overview", Arabic Heritage in the Post-Abbasid Period, ed. Imed Nsiri, (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2019), 124.
Ludwig W. Adamec, The Historical Dictionary of Islam, page 145, "Idrisid Dynasty (788-985). First Shi'ite dynasty in Islamic history, founded by Idris ibn Abdullah....".
C.E. BosworthThe New Islamic Dynasties, page 25, "The Idrisids were the first dynasty who attempted to introduce the doctrines of Shi'ism, albeit in a very attenuated form, into the Maghrib...".
Ignác Goldziher and Bernard Lewis, Introduction to Islamic theology and law, Princeton University Press (1981), p. 218
Mara A. Leichtman, Shi'i Cosmopolitanisms in Africa: Lebanese Migration and Religious Conversion in Senegal, page 216;"Senegalese Shi'a also refer to the spread of Shi'i Islam to Senegal through the Idrisid dynasty and evidence of Shi'i roots in Morocco through 'Alaouis (Hydarah 2008:132-135). Cornell writes that Moulay Idris and his successors, descendants of the Prophet's grandson Hasan, brought with them to Morocco from the Arabian Peninsula "a form of archaic Shi'ism that was similar in many respects to Zaydism" (1998:200)."
^ A History of the Maghrib in the Islamic Period, (J. Abun-Nasr, 1987), p.50
^ Al-Bayan Al-Maghreb (Ibn Idhari al-Marrakushi, 13th century), Vol.1, p.118 (Arabic - Dr. Bashar A. Marouf & Mahmoud B. Awad, 2013)
^ Mara A. Leichtman, Shi'i Cosmopolitanisms in Africa: Lebanese Migration and Religious Conversion in Senegal, page 216;"Senegalese Shi'a also refer to the spread of Shi'i Islam to Senegal through the Idrisid dynasty and evidence of Shi'i roots in Morocco through 'Alaouis (Hydarah 2008:132-135). Cornell writes that Moulay Idris and his successors, descendants of the Prophet's grandson Hasan, brought with them to Morocco from the Arabian Peninsula "a form of archaic Shi'ism that was similar in many respects to Zaydism" (1998:200)."
^ Tarikh al-Tabari (Al-Tabari, 9th century) – English translation: The History of al-Tabari vol.26, p.37-38
^ Lowick 1983.

Bibliography

Ibn Abi Zar, Rawd al-Qirtas (contains a chronicle of the dynasty).
Charles-André Julien, Histoire de l'Afrique du Nord, des origines à 1830, Payot 1994.
Eustache, Daniel (1970). Corpus des dirhams idrīsites et contemporains: collection de la Banque du Maroc et autres collections mondiales, publiques et privées (in French). Banque du Maroc.
Lowick, Nicholas (1983). "Monnaies des Sulaymānides de Sūq Ibrāhīm et de Tanas (Ténès)". Revue Numismatique. 6 (25): 177–187. doi:10.3406/numi.1983.1842.
Sénac, Philippe; Cressier, Patrice (2012). Histoire du Maghreb médiéval: VIIe-XIe siècle (in French). Armand Colin. ISBN 978-2-200-28342-1.
Ibn Khaldūn (1854). Histoire des Berbères et des dynasties musulmanes de l'Afrique Septentrionale (in French). Translated by De Slane, M. Alger: Impr. du Gouvernement.
Garcia-Arenal, Mercedes; Moreno, Eduardo Manzano (1998). "Légitimité et villes idrissides". In Cressier, Patrice; Garcia-Arenal, Mercedes (eds.). Genèse de la ville islamique en al-Andalus et au Maghreb occidental (in French). Casa de Velázquez; Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC). pp. 257–284. ISBN 978-84-00-07766-2.
Marçais, Georges (1941). "La Berbérie au IXe siècle d'après El-Ya'qoûbî". Revue Africaine. 85 (386–387). Alger: Office des publications universitaires: 40–61.

[8] Historian Daniel Eustache raised the possibility that Sulaymān and his son Muḥammad were already in Tlemcen and recognized by the Maghrāwa Berbers when Idris II reached the city in 814.^[3] This account, described by historical chroniclers Ibn Idhari and Al-Bakri,^[5] is repeated by historians Philippe Sénac et Patrice Cressier, who state that Sulaymān was governor of Tlemcen between 786 and 813.^[7]

[1] Brett, Michael (1978). "The Arab conquest and the rise of Islam in North Africa". In Fage, J. D. (ed.). The Cambridge History of Africa. Cambridge University Press. p. 553. ISBN 978-0-521-21592-3.

[FOOTNOTELowick1983177-2] Lowick 1983, p. 177.

[FOOTNOTEEustache197049-3] Eustache 1970, p. 49.

[FOOTNOTEIbn_Khaldūn1854569–570-4] Ibn Khaldūn 1854, pp. 569–570.

[FOOTNOTEMarçais194159–60-5] Marçais 1941, pp. 59–60.

[FOOTNOTEGarcia-ArenalMoreno199828-6] Garcia-Arenal & Moreno 1998, p. 28.

[FOOTNOTESénacCressier2012118-7] Sénac & Cressier 2012, p. 118.

[Meynier-9] Meynier, Gilbert (2010). "De l'ouverture islamo-arabe au repli (698-1518)". L'Algérie, cœur du Maghreb classique (in French). Paris: La Découverte. p. 28. ISBN 9782707152312.

[:052-10] Eustache, D. (2012). "Idrīsids". In Bearman, P.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C.E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W.P. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Brill.

[FOOTNOTEIbn_Khaldūn1854570-11] Ibn Khaldūn 1854, p. 570.

[12] Meis Al-Kaisi, "The Development of Politico-Religious Movements: A General Overview", Arabic Heritage in the Post-Abbasid Period, ed. Imed Nsiri, (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2019), 124.
Ludwig W. Adamec, The Historical Dictionary of Islam, page 145, "Idrisid Dynasty (788-985). First Shi'ite dynasty in Islamic history, founded by Idris ibn Abdullah....".
C.E. BosworthThe New Islamic Dynasties, page 25, "The Idrisids were the first dynasty who attempted to introduce the doctrines of Shi'ism, albeit in a very attenuated form, into the Maghrib...".
Ignác Goldziher and Bernard Lewis, Introduction to Islamic theology and law, Princeton University Press (1981), p. 218
Mara A. Leichtman, Shi'i Cosmopolitanisms in Africa: Lebanese Migration and Religious Conversion in Senegal, page 216;"Senegalese Shi'a also refer to the spread of Shi'i Islam to Senegal through the Idrisid dynasty and evidence of Shi'i roots in Morocco through 'Alaouis (Hydarah 2008:132-135). Cornell writes that Moulay Idris and his successors, descendants of the Prophet's grandson Hasan, brought with them to Morocco from the Arabian Peninsula "a form of archaic Shi'ism that was similar in many respects to Zaydism" (1998:200)."

[13] A History of the Maghrib in the Islamic Period, (J. Abun-Nasr, 1987), p.50

[14] Al-Bayan Al-Maghreb (Ibn Idhari al-Marrakushi, 13th century), Vol.1, p.118 (Arabic - Dr. Bashar A. Marouf & Mahmoud B. Awad, 2013)

[15] Mara A. Leichtman, Shi'i Cosmopolitanisms in Africa: Lebanese Migration and Religious Conversion in Senegal, page 216;"Senegalese Shi'a also refer to the spread of Shi'i Islam to Senegal through the Idrisid dynasty and evidence of Shi'i roots in Morocco through 'Alaouis (Hydarah 2008:132-135). Cornell writes that Moulay Idris and his successors, descendants of the Prophet's grandson Hasan, brought with them to Morocco from the Arabian Peninsula "a form of archaic Shi'ism that was similar in many respects to Zaydism" (1998:200)."

[16] Tarikh al-Tabari (Al-Tabari, 9th century) – English translation: The History of al-Tabari vol.26, p.37-38

[FOOTNOTELowick1983-17] Lowick 1983.

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