View source for Hafsid dynasty

{{Short description|1229–1574 Sunni Berber dynasty in North Africa}}
{{For|the Cretan dynasty|Emirate of Crete}}
{{Infobox Former Country
| native_name            = 
| conventional_long_name = Hafsid dynasty
| common_name            = 
| status                 = 
| year_start             = 1229
| event1                 = [[Conquest of Tunis (1535)|Conquest of Tunis]]
| date_event1            = 1535
| year_end               = 1574
| image_flag             = 
| flag_border            = no
| image_flag2            = 
| flag2_border           = yes
| flag_type              = 
| image_map              = Hafsid1400.png
| image_map_caption      = Realm of the Hafsid dynasty in 1400 (orange)
| image_coat             = 
| p1                     = Almohad Caliphate
| s1                     = Ottoman Tunisia
| s2                     = Regency of Algiers
| s3                     = Spanish Tripoli
| s4                     = Kingdom of Kuku
| s5                     = Ottoman Tripolitania
| common_languages       = [[Arabic]], [[Berber languages|Berber]]
| religion               = {{plainlist|
* [[Sunni Islam]]
* {{small|[[Madhab|School]]: [[Maliki]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Baskins |first1=Cristelle L. |title=Hafsids and Habsburgs in the Early Modern Mediterranean: Facing Tunis |year=2022 |publisher=Springer Nature |page=311 |isbn=978-3-031-05079-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SPmdEAAAQBAJ}}</ref>}}
* {{small|[[Schools of Islamic theology|Creed]]: [[Ashari|Ash’ari]]}}}}
| capital                = [[Tunis]]
| government_type        = [[Monarchy]]
| title_leader           = [[Sultan]]
| leader1                = [[Abu Zakariya]]
| year_leader1           = 1229–1249
| leader2                = [[Abu Abdallah Muhammad VI ibn al-Hasan|Muhammad VI]]
| year_leader2           = 1574
| currency               = 
| today                  = {{ubl|[[Tunisia]]|[[Algeria]]|[[Libya]]}}
}}
The '''Hafsid dynasty''' ({{langx|ar|الحفصيون}} {{lang|ar-Latn|al-Ḥafṣiyūn}}) was a [[Sunni Muslim]] dynasty of [[Berbers|Berber]] descent<ref name=":0">C. Magbaily Fyle, ''Introduction to the History of African Civilization: Precolonial Africa'', (University Press of America, 1999), 84.</ref> that ruled [[Ifriqiya]] (modern day Tunisia, western Libya, and eastern Algeria) from 1229 to 1574. The dynasty was founded by [[Abu Zakariya Yahya]], who was initially appointed governor of the region by the [[Almohad caliph]] before declaring his independence.

Under the reigns of Abu Zakariya and his successor, [[Muhammad I al-Mustansir|al-Mustansir]] ({{Reign|1249|1277}}), the Hafsids consolidated and expanded their power, with [[Tunis]] as their capital. After al-Mustansir's death, internal conflicts resulted in a division between an eastern branch of the dynasty ruling from Tunis and a [[Hafsids of Béjaïa|western branch]] ruling from [[Béjaïa]] and [[Constantine, Algeria|Consantine]].<ref name=":0522" /> A reunification took place under [[Abu Yahya Abu Bakr II]] ({{Reign|1318|1346}}), but his death was followed by another crisis during which the [[Marinid dynasty|Marinids]], based in present-day Morocco, invaded briefly. Eventually, unity was re-established by [[Abu al-Abbas Ahmad II]] ({{Reign|1370|1394}}), who inaugurated the apogee of Hafsid power and influence across the region, which continued under [[Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz II]] ({{Reign|1394|1434}}) and [[Abu 'Amr 'Uthman]] ({{Reign|1435|1488}}). After this, their power gradually declined. During the 16th century, as the [[Ottoman Empire]] encroached on the region, the Hafsids were propped up by [[Spanish Empire|Spain]] until the final [[Conquest of Tunis (1574)|Ottoman conquest of Tunis]] in 1574 put an end to their reign.<ref name=":0522" />

The Hafsid period in Ifriqiya was also marked by important cultural and intellectual activity, encouraged in part by Abu Zakariya Yahya's decision to welcome [[Al-Andalus|Andalusi]] migrants and refugees. The medieval historian, [[Ibn Khaldun]], was born in Tunis during this time. [[Hafsid architecture|Hafsid architectural patronage]] included, among other things, the first [[madrasa]]s in the [[Maghreb]].<ref name=":0522" />

==History==

===Almohad Ifriqiya===
The Hafsids were of [[Berbers|Berber]] descent,<ref name=":0" /> although to further legitimize their rule, they claimed [[Arabs|Arab]] ancestry from the second [[Rashidun Caliphate|Rashidun]] caliph [[Omar]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Fromherz|first=Allen James|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k5w7DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA113|title=Near West: Medieval North Africa, Latin Europe and the Mediterranean in the Second Axial Age|year=2016|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|isbn=978-1-4744-1007-6|language=en|page=113}}</ref> The ancestor of the dynasty (from whom their name is derived), was [[Abu Hafs Umar ibn Yahya al-Hintati]], a Berber from the [[Hintata]] tribal confederation,<ref name=":05222">{{Cite book |last=Fromherz |first=Allen J. |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three |publisher=Brill |year=2009 |isbn=9789004161658 |editor-last=Fleet |editor-first=Kate |location= |pages= |language=en |chapter=Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar al-Hintātī |editor-last2=Krämer |editor-first2=Gudrun |editor-last3=Matringe |editor-first3=Denis |editor-last4=Nawas |editor-first4=John |editor-last5=Rowson |editor-first5=Everett}}</ref> which belonged to the greater [[Masmuda]] confederation in present-day Morocco.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|year=1986|title=Hintāta|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]]|publisher=[[Brill Publishers|E. J. Brill]]|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/hintata-SIM_2889|last=Deverdun|first=G.|orig-year=1971|location=Leiden, Netherlands|edition=2nd|volume=III|isbn=9004081186|editor1-last=Lewis|editor1-first=B.|editor1-link=Bernard Lewis|editor2-last=Ménage|editor2-first=V. L.|editor2-link=Victor Louis Ménage|editor3-last=Pellat|editor3-first=C.|editor3-link=Charles Pellat|editor4-last=Schacht|editor4-first=J.|editor4-link=Joseph Schacht}}</ref> He was a member of the [[Council of Ten (Almohad)|Council of Ten]], one of the highest [[Almohad Caliphate|Almohad]] political bodies, and a close companion of [[Ibn Tumart]], the Almohad movement's founder.<ref name=":05222" /> 

The son of Abu Hafs, [[Abu Muhammad Abd al-Wahid ibn Abi Hafs]], was appointed by the Almohad caliph [[Muhammad al-Nasir]] as governor of [[Ifriqiya]] (generally present-day [[Tunisia]], eastern [[Algeria]], and western [[Libya]]) where he ruled from 1207 to 1221.<ref name=":1">{{Cite encyclopedia|year=1986|title=Ḥafṣids|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]]|publisher=[[Brill Publishers|E. J. Brill]]|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/hafsids-SIM_2625|last=Idris|first=H. R.|orig-year=1971|location=Leiden, Netherlands|edition=2nd|volume=III|page=66|isbn=9004081186|editor1-link=Bernard Lewis|editor1-last=Lewis|editor1-first=B.|editor2-last=Ménage|editor2-first=V. L.|editor2-link=Victor Louis Ménage|editor3-last=Pellat|editor3-first=C.|editor3-link=Charles Pellat|editor4-last=Schacht|editor4-first=J.|editor4-link=Joseph Schacht}}</ref> He was established in [[Tunis]], which the Almohads had chosen as the province's administrative capital.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Abadi |first=Jacob |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R4umbqiz_eAC&pg=PA133 |title=Tunisia Since the Arab Conquest: The Saga of a Westernized Muslim State |date=2013 |publisher=Apollo Books |isbn=978-0-86372-435-0 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=133}} His appointment came in the wake of the defeat of [[Banu Ghaniya|Yahya Ibn Ghaniya]], who had launched a [[Banu Ghaniya invasion of North Africa|serious attack]] against Almohad authority in the region. Abu Muhammad Abd al-Wahid was ultimately quite effective in keeping order. The caliph had granted him a significant degree of autonomy in governing, partly to help persuade him to accept this difficult position in the first place. This laid the groundwork for a future Hafsid state.<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|page=|pages=101, 119}}  

When Abu Muhammad Abd al-Wahid died in 1221, the Almohad chiefs in Ifriqiya initially elected his son, Abu Zayd Abd al-Rahman, as the next governor. However, the Almohad caliph in Marrakesh, [[Yusuf II, Almohad caliph|Yusuf II al-Mustansir]], had not consented to this and was able to overrule this and appoint his own relative to the position.<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|page=119}} As Almohad authority weakened over the following years, local opposition to the Almohad governor compelled the Almohad caliph [[Abdallah al-Adil]] to appoint another Hafsid family member to the post in 1226. He chose Abu Muhammad Abdallah, a grandson of Abu Hafs. Abu Muhammad Abdallah's brother, [[Abu Zakariya Yahya]], arrived in Tunis before him and began to reestablish order.<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|page=119}} When [[Idris al-Ma'mun|al-Ma'mun]], the brother of Abdallah al-Adil, rebelled against the latter's authority from [[al-Andalus]], Abu Zakariya sided with him, whereas Abu Muhammad Abdallah remained loyal to the caliph in Marrakesh. Al-Ma'mun's eventual victory resulted in Abu Zakariya being placed in charge of Ifriqiya in 1228.<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|page=119}}

===Rise to power===
A year later, in 1229, al-Ma'mun officially renounced [[Almohad doctrine]]. Abu Zakariya used this as a pretext to repudiate his authority and to declare himself independent. By this point, Al-Ma'mun did not have the means to stop him or to reassert control over Ifriqiya.<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|page=119}} Initially, Abu Zakariya had his name mentioned in the ''[[Khutbah|khutba]]'' (the sermon during [[Friday prayer]]) with the title of amir, but in 1236 or 1237 he began to adopt the [[Caliphate|caliphal]] title of ''[[Amir al-Mu'minin]]'', in direct challenge to the Almohad caliph in Marrakesh.<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|page=119}}

Abu Zakariya annexed [[Constantine, Algeria|Constantine]] (Qusantina) and [[Béjaïa]] (Bijaya) in 1230.<ref name=":1" /> In 1234, he chased Yahya Ibn Ghaniya out of the countryside south of Constantine in 1234, ending this lingering threat.<ref name=":1" /> In 1235 he captured [[Algiers]] and then established his authority as far as the [[Chelif River]] to the west.<ref name=":1" /> In the following years he subdued various rural tribes, such as the [[Hawwara]], but allowed some of the Banu Tujin tribes in the central Maghreb to govern themselves as small vassal states that secured his western borders.<ref name=":1" /> He welcomed many refugees and immigrants from al-Andalus who were fleeing the advance of the ''[[Reconquista]].'' He appointed some of them to important political positions and recruited Andalusi military regiments as a way of counteracting the power and influence of traditional Almohad elites.<ref name=":0522" />

For a time, the [[Nasrid dynasty|Nasrid]] ruler of [[Granada]] in al-Andalus, [[Ibn al-Ahmar]], briefly acknowledged Abu Zakariya's suzerainty in an attempt to enlist his help against Christian forces. Ultimately, Hafsid intervention on the [[Iberian Peninsula]] was limited to sending a fleet to Muslim [[Valencia]]'s aid in 1238.<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|page=|pages=119–120}} Abu Zakariya showed more interest in trying to recreate some of the former authority of the Almohads over the Maghreb and he made attempts to extend his control further west. In 1242, he captured [[Tlemcen]] from the [[Kingdom of Tlemcen|Zayyanids]], but the Zayyanid leader [[Yaghmurasen ibn Zyan|Yaghmurasan]] evaded him. The two leaders eventually came to an agreement, with Yaghmurasan continuing to rule in Tlemcen but agreeing to formally recognize Abu Zakariya's authority.<ref name=":15">{{Cite book |last=Abun-Nasr |first=Jamil |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jdlKbZ46YYkC |title=A history of the Maghrib in the Islamic period |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1987 |isbn=0521337674 |location=Cambridge |pages= |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=120}} That same year, [[Sijilmasa]] and [[Ceuta]] (Sabta) also recognized his authority,<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|page=120}} though these would later fall under Marinid control.<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|page=|pages=107, 136}} This policy of western expansion ended with Abu Zakariya's death (1249).<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|page=120}}

===Consolidation and division===
[[File:Hafsids Bougie Algeria 1249 1276 ornemental Kufic.JPG|thumb|upright=0.6|left|Coin of the Hafsids with ornamental [[Kufic]], from [[Béjaïa]], [[Algeria]], 1249–1276.]]

His successor, [[Muhammad I al-Mustansir]] ({{Reign|1249|1277}}), focused on consolidating the Hafsid state in Ifriqiya. The state benefited from expanding trade with both Europe and the [[Sudan (region)|Sudan]] region (south of the Sahara).<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|page=|pages=120–121}} In the western Maghreb (present-day Morocco), the Marinids, who had not yet fully established their rule in the region, formally recognized his authority in 1258.<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|page=120}} With the [[Siege of Baghdad (1258)|fall of Baghdad]], the home of the [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid caliphs]], that same year, the Hafsids were briefly seen as the most important rulers of the Muslim world. The [[Sharif of Mecca]], [[Abu Numayy I|Abu Numayy]], temporarily recognized him as caliph in 1259.<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|page=120}}<ref name=":28">{{Cite book |last=Naylor |first=Phillip |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SSUKBgAAQBAJ |title=North Africa, Revised Edition: A History from Antiquity to the Present |publisher=University of Texas Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-292-76192-6 |pages= |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=97}}

It was during his reign that the failed [[Eighth Crusade]] took place, led by [[Louis IX of France]]. After landing at [[Carthage]], Louis died of dysentery in the middle of his army decimated by disease in 1270.

After al-Mustansir's death in 1277, the Hafsids were riven by internal conflict, aggravated by interference from [[Kingdom of Aragon|Aragon]].<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|page=123}} This resulted in a split in the dynasty: one branch ruled from Tunis in the east and [[Hafsids of Béjaïa|another branch]] ruled from [[Béjaïa|Béjaïa (Bijaya)]] and [[Constantine, Algeria|Constantine (Qusantina)]] in the west. This division continued to characterize Hafsid politics for much of its history, with the balance of power sometimes shifting from one side to another and with intermittent successes at unifying both branches under one rule.<ref name=":0522">{{Cite book |last=Rouighi |first=Ramzi |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three |publisher=Brill |year=2020 |isbn=9789004161658 |editor-last=Fleet |editor-first=Kate |location= |pages= |language=en |chapter=Ḥafṣids |editor-last2=Krämer |editor-first2=Gudrun |editor-last3=Matringe |editor-first3=Denis |editor-last4=Nawas |editor-first4=John |editor-last5=Rowson |editor-first5=Everett}}</ref> After the initial split, the first successful reunification took place under [[Abu Yahya Abu Bakr II]] ({{Reign|1318|1346}}), the ruler of the western branch who managed to take control of Tunis.<ref name=":0522" />

===Marinid invasions and internal crisis===
Abu Yahya Abu Bakr's rule remained unstable and he resorted to making alliances with the Zayyanids and Marinids to the west.<ref name=":0522" /> His agreement with the Marinid ruler, [[Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Othman|Abu al-Hasan]] ({{Reign|1331|1348}}), included a marriage to his sister, who subsequently died during a [[Battle of Río Salado|failed Marinid expedition in Spain]], followed by another marriage to his daughter.<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|page=110}} When Abu Yahya Abu Bakr died in 1346, his intended heir, Abu'l Abbas, was killed in Tunis by his brother, Umar, who seized power. Abu'l Abbas's chamberlain, Abu Muhammad Abdallah ibn Tafrajin, sent a letter to Abu al-Hasan urging him to intervene and invade Ifriqiya. Abu al-Hasan, having already [[Siege of Tlemcen (1335–1337)|conquered Tlemcen]] in 1337, seized the opportunity to further expand. He conquered Tunis in 1347 and the Hafsid governors in the region accepted his authority.<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|page=110}} 

The invasion, however, disturbed the balance of power in favour of the Bedouin Arab tribes, whom the Marinids were unable to sway.<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|page=|pages=111, 128}} Ibn Tafrajin, who had hoped to be placed in power by the Marinids, fled to Egypt. The situation in Ifriqiya devolved into further disorder and internal rivalries, and Abu al-Hasan was forced to return west in 1349, partly to deal with a ''coup d'état'' by his son, [[Abu Inan Faris|Abu Inan]]. Ibn Tafrajin returned to Ifriqiya and, with Bedouin support, installed another young son of Abu Yahya Abu Bakr, Abu Ishaq, as ruler.<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|page=|pages=111, 128}} Abu Inan, having successfully taken the throne from his father, invaded Ifriqiya again and captured Tunis in August 1357, but he was soon forced by his own troops to abandon the region. He returned west, retaining control only of Constantine and the cities of the central Maghreb for a time.<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|page=111}}

During the mid-14th century, plague epidemics brought to Ifriqiya from Sicily caused a considerable fall in population, further weakening the Hafsid realm. To stop raids from southern tribes during plague epidemics, the Hafsids turned to the [[Banu Hilal]] to protect their rural population.<ref name="Oliver2001">{{cite book|author1=Roland Anthony Oliver|author2=Roland Oliver|author3=Anthony Atmore|title=Medieval Africa, 1250–1800|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4o-OZ5w-BmMC|year=2001|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-79372-8}}</ref>{{rp|37}}

===Apogee===
[[File:Double page from the Purple Qur'an.jpg|thumb|Double page from the Qur'an manuscript endowed to the [[Kasbah Mosque, Tunis|Kasbah Mosque]] by sultan [[Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz II]] in March 1405. [[Bibliothèque nationale de France]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Papier pourpre et encre d'argent |url=https://essentiels.bnf.fr/fr/image/366b0e5d-5a0e-4863-9ba9-ec971705dc6e-papier-pourpre-et-encre-argent |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=BnF Essentiels |language=fr}}</ref>]]

After the Marinid threat ended, attempts to reunify the Hafsids failed until [[Abu al-Abbas Ahmad II]] ({{Reign|1370|1394}}), the emir of Béjaïa and Constantine, conquered Tunis in 1370.<ref name=":0522" /> A capable ruler and military leader, he reestablished Hafsid authority on stronger terms, centralizing power to a greater extent than ever before. Meanwhile, the Zayyanids and Marinids were occupied by internal matters.<ref name=":0522" />

[[Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz II]]'s reign ({{Reign|1394|1434}}) was considered the apogee of Hafsid power and prosperity by contemporary writers. He further consolidated his dynasty's power in Ifriqiya and extended his influence over the Zayyanids and Marinids (and the [[Wattasids]] who succeeded the latter).<ref name=":0522" />

The beginning of his reign was not easy since the cities of the south revolted against him. However, the new sultan quickly regained control: he reoccupied [[Tozeur]] (1404), [[Gafsa]] (1401), and [[Biskra]] (1402), subdued tribal power in the regions of Constantine and Béjaïa (1397–1402), and appointed governors of these regions to be elected officers.{{Clarify|reason=What does "elected" mean in this context. Previous wording also included the term "libertarian", which clearly doesn't make sense here but could have been an attempt at translating something from Arabic|date=January 2023}} He also intervened against his western and eastern neighbors. He annexed [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]] (1401) and [[Algiers]] (1410–1411).<ref>{{Cite journal|last=نوري|first=عبد المجيد|date=March 2017|title=العملة وتأثيراتها السياسية في تاريخ الغرب الإسلامي من مطلع القرن الخامس إلى أواخر القرن السابع الهجري 407 هـ - 674 هـ /1017 - 1275 م|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.12816/0041490|journal=Historical Kan Periodical|volume=10|issue=35|pages=172–175|doi=10.12816/0041490|issn=2090-0449|language=ar|url-access=subscription}}</ref> In 1424, he [[Zayyanid capture of Fez|defeated]] the Zayyanid sultan, Abu Malik Abd al-Wahid, and placed another Zayyanid, Abu Abdallah Muhammad IV,<!-- As the cited sources are not in English and their spelling is difficult to read for English readers, the transliteration of the names here generally follows Bosworth's 1996 "The New Islamic Dynasties" --> on the throne of Tlemcen as his vassal.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=نوري|first=عبد المجيد|date=March 2017|title=العملة وتأثيراتها السياسية في تاريخ الغرب الإسلامي من مطلع القرن الخامس إلى أواخر القرن السابع الهجري 407 هـ - 674 هـ / 1017 - 1275 م|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.12816/0041490|journal=Historical Kan Periodical|volume=10|issue=35|pages=172–175|doi=10.12816/0041490|issn=2090-0449|language=ar|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=":22" /> In 1428, the latter became embroiled in another war with Abu Malik Abd al-Wahid – who had now won his own support from the Hafsids – and was eventually replaced by yet another Zayyanid relative with Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz's help in 1431.<ref name=":22">{{Cite book |last=Garrot |first=Henri |url=https://archive.org/details/histoiregnra00garr/page/286/mode/2up |title=Histoire générale de l'Algérie |publisher=Alger, Impr. P. Crescenzo |year=1910 |pages=287–288 |language=fr}}</ref> Around the same time (probably in 1426), Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz also helped to install [[Abd al-Haqq II]] on the Marinid throne in Fez – under the regency of [[Abu Zakariya Yahya al-Wattasi]] – and thus obtained from him a recognition of Hafsid suzerainty.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Cour |first=Auguste |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6139627s/f58.item |title=La dynastie marocaine des Beni Wattas (1420-1554) |publisher=Imprimerie D. Braham |year=1920 |series=Recueil des notices et mémoires de la Société archéologique de la province de Constantine |pages=50 |language=fr}}</ref>

In 1429, the Hafsids [[Siege of Malta (1429)|attacked the island of Malta]] and took 3000 slaves, although they did not conquer the island.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Castillo|first1=Dennis Angelo|title=The Maltese Cross: A Strategic History of Malta|date=2006|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=0313323291|pages=36–37|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i5ns5LNtoiUC&pg=PA37}}</ref> [[Kaid Ridavan]] was the military leader during the attack.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cauchi |first=Fr Mark |date=12 September 2004 |title=575th anniversary of the 1429 Siege of Malta |url=https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/575th-anniversary-of-the-1429-siege-of-malta.112708 |access-date=4 August 2022 |website=Times of Malta}}</ref> The profits were used for a great building programme and to support art and culture. However, piracy also provoked retaliation from the Christians, which several times launched attacks and crusades against Hafsid coastal cities such as the [[Barbary Crusade|Barbary crusade]] (1390), the [[Bona crusade]] (1399) and the capture of [[Djerba]] in 1423.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz II died in 1434 during another expedition against Tlemcen.<ref name=":0522" /> His successor, [[Abu 'Amr 'Uthman]], had the longest reign of any Hafsid ({{Reign|1435|1488}}). He largely continued the strong rule of his predecessors but he had to contend with greater challenges, including internal politics, restive Bedouin tribes in the south, and the Wattasids in the west.<ref name=":0522" />

Uthman conquered [[Tripolitania]] in 1458 and appointed a governor in [[Ouargla]] in 1463.<ref>Braunschvig 1940, p. 260</ref> He led two expeditions to Tlemcen in 1462 and 1466 and made the Zayyanids his vassals, while the Wattasid state in Morocco also formally accepted his authority. The entire Maghreb was thus briefly under Hafsid suzerainty.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Julien |first=Charles André |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tYZyAAAAMAAJ&q=1472 |title=History of North Africa: Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, from the Arab Conquest to 1830 |date=1970 |publisher=Routledge & K. Paul |isbn=978-0-7100-6614-5 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":15" />{{Rp|page=132}}

===Fall===
{{See also|Conquest of Tunis (1534)|Conquest of Tunis (1535)|Conquest of Tunis (1573)|Conquest of Tunis (1574)}}

In the 16th century the Hafsids became increasingly caught up in the power struggle between Spain and the [[Ottoman Empire]]-supported [[Barbary corsairs|Corsairs]]. The Ottomans [[Conquest of Tunis (1534)|conquered Tunis]] in 1534 and held it for one year, driving out the Hafsid ruler [[Abu Abdallah Muhammad V al-Hasan|Moulay Hassan]]. A year later the King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] seized Tunis, [[Conquest of Tunis (1535)|drove the Ottomans out and restored]] Muley Hassan as a Habsburg tributary.<ref>Roger Crowley, Empires of the Sea, faber and faber 2008 p. 61</ref> Due to the Ottoman threat, the Hafsids were vassals of Spain after 1535. The Ottomans again conquered Tunis in 1569 and held it for four years. [[John of Austria|Don Juan of Austria]] [[Conquest of Tunis (1573)|recaptured]] it in 1573. The Ottomans [[Conquest of Tunis (1574)|reconquered]] Tunis in 1574, and [[Muhammad VI of Tunis|Muhammad VI]], the last Caliph of the Hafsids, was brought to [[Constantinople]] and was subsequently executed due to his collaboration with Spain and the desire of the Ottoman Sultan to take the title of [[Caliph]] as he now controlled Mecca and Medina.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

==Economy==
The Hafsids, with their location in Ifriqiya, was rich in agriculture and trade. Instead of placing the capital at inland cities such as [[Kairouan]], Tunis was chosen as the capital due to its position on the coast as a port linking the Western and Eastern Mediterranean. Christian merchants from Europe were given their own enclaves in various cities on the Mediterranean coast, promoting trans-Mediterranean trade. Under the Hafsids, commerce and diplomatic relations with Christian Europe grew significantly,<ref name="lochaf">{{cite web|url=http://countrystudies.us/libya/12.htm|title=Hafsids|last=Berry|first=LaVerle|work=Libya: A Country Study|publisher=Library of Congress|access-date=5 March 2011}}</ref> however [[piracy]] against Christian shipping grew as well, particularly during the rule of [[Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz II|Abd al-Aziz II]] (1394–1434). By the mid-14th century, the population of Tunis had grown to 100,000. The Hafsids also had a large stake in trans-Saharan trade through the caravan routes from Tunis to [[Timbuktu]] and from [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]] to sub-Saharan Africa.<ref name="Oliver2001" />{{rp|pages=34–36}}

==Culture==

===Intellectual activity===
The Hafsids were effective patrons of culture and education.<ref name=":0522" /> They were the first to introduce [[madrasa]]s to the Maghreb.<ref name=":8" />{{Rp|209}}<ref name=":0522" /> Arabic literacy and religious education thus increased, with [[Kairouan]], [[Tunis]] and [[Bijaya]] hosting famous university-mosques. Kairouan continued to serve as a center of the [[Maliki]] school of religious doctrine.<ref name="Oliver2001" />{{rp|page=37}}As the political center of the country shifted to Tunis, the [[Al-Zaytuna Mosque|Great Mosque of al-Zaytuna]], the city's main mosque, became the country's leading center of learning.<ref name=":052">{{Cite book |last=Chater |first=Khalifa |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition |publisher=Brill |year=2002 |isbn=9789004161214 |editor-last=Bearman |editor-first=P. |volume=XI |location= |pages=488–490 |language=en |chapter=Zaytūna |editor-last2=Bianquis |editor-first2=Th. |editor-last3=Bosworth |editor-first3=C.E. |editor-last4=van Donzel |editor-first4=E. |editor-last5=Heinrichs |editor-first5=W.P.}}</ref> Of great impact on culture were immigrants from al-Andalus, whom Abu Zakariya encouraged to come to his realm in the 13th century. Among the most important figures was the historian and intellectual, [[Ibn Khaldun]], born in Tunis and of Andalusi descent.<ref name=":0522" /> 

===Architecture===
{{Main|Hafsid architecture}}
[[File:Mosquée de la Kasba 1 (retouched).jpg|thumb|The minaret of the [[Kasbah Mosque (Tunis)|Kasbah Mosque]] of [[Tunis]], built at the beginning of the Hafsid period in the early 1230s]]

The Hafsids were significant builders, particularly under the reigns of successful leaders like Abu Zakariya (r. 1229–1249) and [[Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz II|Abu Faris]] (r. 1394–1434), though not many of their monuments have survived intact to the present-day.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last=Bloom |first=Jonathan M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IRHbDwAAQBAJ |title=Architecture of the Islamic West: North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, 700–1800 |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2020 |isbn=9780300218701}}</ref>{{Rp|208}} While Kairouan remained an important religious center, Tunis was the capital and progressively replaced it as the main city of the region and the main center of architectural patronage. Unlike the architecture further west, [[Hafsid architecture]] was built primarily in stone (rather than [[brick]] or [[mudbrick]]) and appears to have featured much less decoration.<ref name=":8" />{{Rp|208}} In reviewing the history of [[Moorish architecture|architecture in the western Islamic world]], scholar [[Jonathan Bloom]] remarks that Hafsid architecture seems to have "largely charted a course independent of the developments elsewhere in the Maghrib."<ref name=":8" />{{Rp|213}}

The [[Kasbah Mosque (Tunis)|Kasbah Mosque]] of Tunis was one of the first works of this period, built by Abu Zakariya (the first independent Hafsid ruler) at the beginning of his reign. Its floor plan had noticeable differences from previous Almohad-period mosques but the minaret, completed in 1233, bears very strong resemblance to the minaret of the earlier Almohad [[Kasbah Mosque (Marrakech)|Kasbah Mosque in Marrakesh]].<ref name=":8" /> Other foundations from the Hafsid period in Tunis include the [[Al Haliq Mosque|Haliq Mosque]] (13th century) and the [[Al Haoua Mosque|al-Hawa Mosque]] (1375).  The [[Bardo National Museum (Tunis)|Bardo Palace]] (today a national museum) was also begun by the Hafsids in the 15th century,<ref name=":24">{{Cite book|title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2009|isbn=9780195309911|editor-last=M. Bloom|editor-first=Jonathan|chapter=Tunis|editor-last2=S. Blair|editor-first2=Sheila}}</ref> and is mentioned in historical records for the first time during the reign of Abu Faris.<ref name=":8" />{{Rp|208}} The Hafsids also made significant renovations to the much older Great Mosque of Kairouan – renovating its ceiling, reinforcing its walls, and building or rebuilding two of its entrance gates in 1293 – as well as to the Great Mosque of al-Zaytuna in Tunis.<ref name=":8" />{{Rp|209}}

The Hafsids also introduced the first madrasas to the region, beginning with the [[Madrasa Ech Chamaiya|Madrasa al-Shamma῾iyya]] built in Tunis in 1238<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last1=Binous|first1=Jamila|title=Ifriqiya: Thirteen Centuries of Art and Architecture in Tunisia|last2=Baklouti|first2=Naceur|last3=Ben Tanfous|first3=Aziza|last4=Bouteraa|first4=Kadri|last5=Rammah|first5=Mourad|last6=Zouari|first6=Ali|publisher=Museum With No Frontiers, MWNF|year=2002|isbn=9783902782199|edition=2nd}}</ref><ref name=":8" />{{Rp|209}} (or in 1249 according to some sources<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|last=Marçais|first=Georges|title=L'architecture musulmane d'Occident|publisher=Arts et métiers graphiques|year=1954|location=Paris}}</ref>{{Rp|296}}<ref name=":244">{{Cite book|title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2009|isbn=9780195309911|editor-last=M. Bloom|editor-first=Jonathan|chapter=Hafsid|editor-last2=S. Blair|editor-first2=Sheila}}</ref>). This was followed by many others (almost all of them in Tunis) such as the Madrasa al-Hawa founded in the 1250s, the Madrasa al-Ma'ridiya (1282), and the [[Madrasa El Unqiya|Madrasa al-Unqiya]] (1341).<ref name=":8" /> Many of these early madrasas, however, have been poorly preserved or have been considerably modified in the centuries since their foundation.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":54">{{Cite book|title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2009|editor-last=Bloom|editor-first=Jonathan M.|chapter=Madrasa|editor-last2=Blair|editor-first2=Sheila S.}}</ref> The Madrasa al-Muntasiriya, completed in 1437, is among the best preserved madrasas of the Hafsid period.<ref name=":8" />{{Rp|211}}

==Flags==
According to French historian [[Robert Brunschvig]], the Hafsid dynasty and its founding tribe, [[Hintata]], were represented specifically with a white flag;<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Brunschvig |first=Robert |url=https://www.asadlis-amazigh.com/fr/wp-content/uploads/livres/La%20berberie%20orientale%20sous%20les%20Hafsides%202.pdf |title=La Berberie orientale sous les Hafsides des origines à la fin du XVe siècle |date=1982 |publisher=A. Maisonneuve |volume=2 |pages=30 |language=fr |trans-title=Eastern Berberia under the Hafsids from the origins to the end of the 15th century}}</ref> he states : "Among the Hafsid standards carried in the parades stood out, apart, closer to the sultan and held by a man on horseback, a white standard, the "victorious standard" (al-alam al-mansûr). It is with good reason that some wanted to find in this white standard that of the Almohads, of the same color, reproducing in turn that which the Fatimids had adopted."<ref name=":3" /> Egyptian historiographer [[Al-Qalqashandi]] (d. 1418) mentioned white flags when he spoke about the Almohad flag in Tunisia, where he stated that: "It was a white flag called the victorious flag, and it was raised before their sultan when riding for [[Eid al-Fitr|Eid prayers]] or for the movement of the [[makhzen]] slaves (which were the ordinary people of the country and the people of the markets)."<ref>{{Cite book |last=عاصم |first=محمد رزق |url=http://archive.org/details/2006._201901 |title=رايات الإسلام من اللواء النبوي الأبيض إلى العلم العثماني الأحمر |publisher=مكتبة مدبولي |year=2006 |location=Cairo |pages=151 |language=Arabic |trans-title=Banners of Islam from the white Prophet's banner to the red Ottoman flag}}</ref> Historian [[Charles-André Julien]] also speaks of Hafsid sovereigns doing parades with their court while hoisting their own white standard, overshadowing multicolored flags of embroidered silk.{{Sfn|Julien|1970|p=155}} 

The ''[[Book of Knowledge of All Kingdoms]]'', written by a Franciscan friar in the 14th century, describes the flag of Tunis as being white with a black moon at its center. Other cities within modern Tunisia and eastern Algeria were also reported having white flags with a moon.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Markham |first=Clements R. (Clements Robert) |url=https://archive.org/details/s2bookofknowledg29markuoft/page/24/mode/2up?q=Tunis |title=Book of knowledge of all the kingdoms, lands, and lordships that are in the world, and the arms and devices of each land and lordship, or of the kings and lords who possess them |last2=Jiménez de la Espada |first2=Marcos |date=1912 |publisher=London, The Hakluyt society |others=Kelly - University of Toronto |pages=24}}</ref><gallery class="center" caption="Flags of Hafsids on portolans and from other sources">
File:Flag of Tunis during 14th century.svg|Early red flag with white or yellow crescent of the 14th century, reported by Marino Sanudo (ca. 1321), Pietro Vesconte (1325'''),''' Angelino Dulcerta (1339) and the Catalan Atlas (1385)<ref name="hubert-herald">{{Cite web|url=http://www.hubert-herald.nl/Tunisie.htm|title=TunisiaArms|website=www.hubert-herald.nl}}</ref>
File:Flag of Hafsid Tunisia (1550).svg|White with blue crescent according to Jacobo Russo, 1550 (last period of the kingdom)<ref name="hubert-herald" />
</gallery> 

==Hafsid rulers==
{{History of Tunisia}}
{{History of Algeria}}
{{History of Libya}}

{| class=wikitable
!bgcolor="#CEDFF2"|S. n.
!bgcolor="#CEDFF2"|Name
!bgcolor="#CEDFF2"|Birth date
!bgcolor="#CEDFF2"|Death date
!bgcolor="#CEDFF2"|Reign
!bgcolor="#CEDFF2"|Notes
|-
| –
|[[Abu Muhammad Abd al-Wahid ibn Abi Hafs]]
|unknown
|1222
|1207–1222
|Not yet a sultan, just a local minor leader.
|-
| – 
|[[Abd-Allah (Hafsid)|Abu Muhammad Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Wahid]]
|unknown
|1229
|1222–1229
|Not yet a sultan, just a local minor leader.
|-
|1st
|[[Abu Zakariya Yahya]]
|1203
|5 October 1249
|1229–1249
|
|-
|2nd
|[[Muhammad I al-Mustansir]]
|1228
|1277
|1249–1277
|
|-
|3rd
|[[Yahya II al-Wathiq]]
|1249
|1279
|1277–1279
|
|-
|4th
|[[Ibrahim I (Hafsid dynasty)|Ibrahim I]]
|1234
|1283
|1279–1283
|
|-
|5th
|Abd al-Aziz I
|unknown
|1283
|1283
|
|-
|6th
|Ibn Abi Umara
|unknown
|1284
|1283–1284
|
|-
|7th
|[[Abu Hafs Umar bin Yahya]]
|1245
|1295
|1284–1295
|
|-
|8th
|[[Abu Asida Muhammad II]]
|1279
|September 1309 
|1295–1309
|
|-
|9th
|[[Abu Yahya Abu Bakr ash-Shahid]]
|unknown
|September 1309
|1309
|
|-
|10th
|[[Abu-l-Baqa Khalid An-Nasr]]
|c.1283
|1311
|1309–1311
|
|-
|11th
|[[Abd al-Wahid Zakariya ibn al-Lihyani]]
|1253
|1326
|1311–1317
|
|-
|12th
|[[Abd al-Wahid Zakariya ibn al-Lihyani#Abdication and succession|Abu Darba Muhammad Al-Mustansir]]
|1274
|1323
|1317–1318
|
|-
|13th
|[[Abu Yahya Abu Bakr II]]
|1293
|19 October 1346
|1318–1346
|
|-
|14th
|Abu-l Abbas Ahmad
|unknown
|1346
|1346
|
|-
|15th
|Abu Hafs Umar II
|unknown
|1347
|1346–1347
|
|-
|16th
|Abu al-Abbas Ahmad al-Fadl al-Mutawakkil
|unknown
|1350
|1347–1350
|
|-
|17th
|[[Abu Ishaq Ibrahim II]]
|October or November 1336
|19 February 1369
|1350–1369
|
|-
|18th
|Abu-l-Baqa Khalid II
|unknown
|November 1370
|1369–1370
|
|-
|19th
|[[Abu al-Abbas Ahmad II|Ahmad II]]
|1329
|3 June 1394
|1370–1394
|
|-
|20th
|[[Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz II|Abd al-Aziz II]]
|1361
|	July 1434
|1394–1434
|
|-
|21st
|[[Abu Abd-Allah Muhammad al-Muntasir]]
|unknown
|16 September 1435
|1434–1435
|
|-
|22nd
|[[Abu 'Amr 'Uthman]]
|February 1419
|September 1488
|1435–1488
|
|-
|23rd
|Abu Zakariya Yahya II
|unknown
|1489
|1488–1489
|
|-
|24th
|Abd al-Mu'min
|unknown
|1490
|1489–1490
|
|-
|25th
|[[Abu Yahya Zakariya|Abu Yahya Zakariya III]]
|unknown
|1494
|1490–1494
|
|-
|26th
|[[Abu Abdallah Muhammad IV al-Mutawakkil]]
|unknown
|1526
|1494–1526
|
|-
|27th
|[[Abu Abdallah Muhammad V al-Hasan|Muhammad V]] (“Moulay Hasan”)
|unknown
|1543
|1526–1543
|
|-
|28th
|[[Abu al-Abbas Ahmad III|Ahmad III]]
|c. 1500
|August 1575
|1543–1569
|
|-
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;" |''Ottoman conquest (1569–1573)''
|-
|29th
|[[Abu Abdallah Muhammad VI ibn al-Hasan|Muhammad VI]]
|unknown
|1594
|1573–1574
|
|}

==See also==
* [[Banu Thabit]]
* [[List of Sunni Muslim dynasties]]

==References==
{{notelist}}
{{reflist}}
{{Muslim dynasties in Maghreb region}}
{{Timeline of the Maghreb dynasties}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hafsid Dynasty}}
[[Category:Hafsid dynasty| ]]
[[Category:13th century in Ifriqiya]]
[[Category:14th century in Ifriqiya]]
[[Category:15th century in Ifriqiya]]
[[Category:16th century in Ifriqiya]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1229]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1574]]