Hammadid dynasty

The Hammadid dynasty (Arabic: الحماديون, romanized: Al-Hāmmādiyūn, lit. 'children of Hammad'), also known as the Hammadid Emirate or the Kingdom of Bejaia, was a medieval Islamic kingdom in the central Maghreb, encompassing what is now Algeria. It was established at the beginning of the 11th century when Hammad ibn Buluggin declared himself emir, thus splitting the Zirid domains into two separate dynasties. Under the reign of Emir Al Nasir, the emirate briefly became the most important state in the Maghreb, and reached its greatest territorial extent, stretching from Tlemcen in the west to Tunis in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the desert oasis of Ouargla and Oued Righ in the south. While they briefly controlled the principality of Fez in the west and cities like Sfax, Kairouan, Laribus, and Tripoli to the east.

At first, Hammad built a fortified city that would serve as the capital for his newly declared kingdom. Later, upon the arrival of the Arabic Banu Hilal tribes, the capital would be replaced by another city, newly built by Emir Al Nasir ibn Alnas, called Al-Nāsiriyyah (from Arabic: الناصرية) and later renamed to Bejaia; it was the official capital of the Emirate by 1090 during the rule of Al-Mansur. Both cities grew to become among the largest and most prosperous centers of the Maghreb, with Bejaia housing more than 100,000 inhabitants. The Hammadids subsequently clashed with the Almoravids in the west and their cousins the Zirids in the east. The latter weakened with the rise of the prominent Normans in Sicily, who also confronted the Hammadids for the domination of Ifriqiya (now Tunisia). However, the Hammadids faced another challenge on their western borders with the growing force of the Almohad Caliphate, and their emirate was finally annexed by the Almohads in 1152 after a brief clash with them.