Rustamid
Encyclopedia
The Rustamid (or Rustumid, Rostemid) dynasty of Ibāḍī
Ibadi
The Ibāḍī movement, Ibadism or Ibāḍiyya is a form of Islam distinct from the Sunni and Shia denominations. It is the dominant form of Islam in Oman and Zanzibar...
Kharijite imām
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
that ruled the central Maghreb
Maghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
as a Muslim theocracy for a century and a half from their capital Tahert
Tahert
Tiaret is a large town in the central Algeria, that gives its name to the wider farming region of 'Wilaya de Tiaret' province. Both the town and region lie south-west of the capital of Algiers in the western region of the central highlands, in the Tell Atlas, and about from the Mediterranean coast...
in present Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
until the Ismailite Fatimid
Fatimid
The Fatimid Islamic Caliphate or al-Fāṭimiyyūn was a Berber Shia Muslim caliphate first centered in Tunisia and later in Egypt that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz from 5 January 909 to 1171.The caliphate was ruled by the Fatimids, who established the...
Caliphs destroyed it. The dynasty had a Persian origin. The exact extent of its dominions is not entirely clear, but it stretched as far east as Jabal Nafusa in Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
.
History
The Ibādiyya reached North Africa by 719719
Year 719 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 719 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Charles Martel defeats king Radbod of the...
, when the missionary Salma ibn Sa'd was sent from the Ibādī jama'a of Basra
Basra
Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...
to Kairouan
Kairouan
Kairouan , also known as Kirwan or al-Qayrawan , is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia. Referred to as the Islamic Cultural Capital, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city was founded by the Arabs around 670...
. By 740
740
Year 740 was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 740 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* October 26 – An earthquake strikes...
, their efforts had converted the major Berber
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
tribes of Huwwara around Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
, Nafusa in Jabal Nafusa and Zenata
Zenata
Zenata were an ethnic group of North Africa, who were technically an Eastern Berber group and who are found in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco....
in western Tripolitania
Tripolitania
Tripolitania or Tripolitana is a historic region and former province of Libya.Tripolitania was a separate Italian colony from 1927 to 1934...
. In 757
757
Year 757 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 757 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.-Africa:* Foundation of the city of Sijilmasa by the...
(140 AH), a group of four Basra-educated missionaries (including Abd ar-Rahman ibn Rustam) proclaimed an Ibādī imamate, starting an abortive state led by Abul-Khattab Abdul-A'la ibn as-Samh which lasted until the Abbasid
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....
s suppressed it in 761
761
Year 761 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 761 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Telets succeeds Vinekh as king of...
, and Abul-Khattab Abdul-A'la ibn as-Samh was killed. On his death, the Tripolitania
Tripolitania
Tripolitania or Tripolitana is a historic region and former province of Libya.Tripolitania was a separate Italian colony from 1927 to 1934...
n Ibādiyya elected Abul-Hatim al-Malzuzi as imām; he was killed in 772
772
Year 772 was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 772 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Frankish king Charlemagne starts fighting...
after launching a second unsuccessful revolt in 768
768
Year 768 was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 768 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Pepin the Short , king of the Franks since...
.
After this, the center of power shifted to Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, and, in 777, ʻAbd ar-Rahmān ibn Rustam, a Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
ian-born convert to Ibadiism, who was likewise of Persian
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
origin (already noted as one of the four founders of this imamate), was elected imām; after this, the post remained in his family, a practice which the Ibādiyya justified by noting that he came from no tribe, and thus his family had no bias towards any of the tribes of which the state was formed.
The new imamate was centered on the newly built capital of Tahert
Tahert
Tiaret is a large town in the central Algeria, that gives its name to the wider farming region of 'Wilaya de Tiaret' province. Both the town and region lie south-west of the capital of Algiers in the western region of the central highlands, in the Tell Atlas, and about from the Mediterranean coast...
; several Ibādī tribes displaced from Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
and Tripolitania
Tripolitania
Tripolitania or Tripolitana is a historic region and former province of Libya.Tripolitania was a separate Italian colony from 1927 to 1934...
settled there and strong fortifications were built. It became a major stop on the newly developing trade route
Trade route
A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a single trade route contains long distance arteries which may further be connected to several smaller networks of commercial...
s with sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. It is described by visitors such as the Sunni Muslim Ibn as-Saghir as notably multi-religious, with a significant and loyal Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
minority and a substantial number of Sunnis and Jews, and open religious debate was encouraged.
Ibn as-Saghir also describes the imām as notably ascetic, repairing his own house and refusing gifts; the citizens sharply criticized him if they considered him derelict in his duty. Religious ethics were strictly enforced by law.
The Rustamids fought the Aghlabid
Aghlabid
The Aghlabids were a dynasty of emirs, members of the Arab tribe of Bani Tamim, who ruled Ifriqiya, nominally on behalf of the Abbasid Caliph, for about a century, until overthrown by the new power of the Fatimid.-History:...
s of Ifriqiyya
Ifriqiya
In medieval history, Ifriqiya or Ifriqiyah was the area comprising the coastal regions of what are today western Libya, Tunisia, and eastern Algeria. This area included what had been the Roman province of Africa, whose name it inherited....
(based in Qairawan) in 812
812
Year 812 was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* The second Battle of Roncevaux Pass is fought between the Basques and the Franks....
, but otherwise reached a modus vivendi; this displeased the Ibādī tribes on the Aghlabid border, who launched a few rebellions.
After Abdu l-Wahhāb, the Rustamids grew militarily weak; they were easily conquered by the Ismaili
Ismaili
' is a branch of Shia Islam. It is the second largest branch of Shia Islam, after the Twelvers...
Shiite Fatimid
Fatimid
The Fatimid Islamic Caliphate or al-Fāṭimiyyūn was a Berber Shia Muslim caliphate first centered in Tunisia and later in Egypt that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz from 5 January 909 to 1171.The caliphate was ruled by the Fatimids, who established the...
s in 909
909
Year 909 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar.- Africa :* The Aghlabid dynasty in North Africa is overthrown by the Fatimids....
, upon which many Ibādiyya - including the last imām - fled to the Sedrata
Sedrata
Sedrara is a municipality in Souk Ahras Province, Algeria, capital of Sedrata District. It has a population of 91.297 as of the 2008 census, which gives it 11 seats in the PMA. Its municipal code is 4102 and postal code is 41200. It is located in the north east of the country, close to the border...
tribe of Ouargla
Ouargla
Ouargla is the capital city of Ouargla province, in the Sahara Desert, in southern Algeria. It has a flourishing oil industry, and hosts one of Algeria's universities. The city had a population of 129,402 in 1998 ....
, whence they would ultimately emigrate to Mzab
M'zab
The M'zab or Mzab, , is a region of the northern Sahara, in the Ghardaïa wilaya, an administrative division similar to a province, of Algeria...
.
The Rustamid dynasty, "developed a cosmopolitan reputation in which Christians, non-Kharijite Muslims, and adherents of different sects of Kharijism lived".
Rustamid Imams
- Abd ar-Rahman ibn Rustam ibn Bahram (776776Year 776 was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 776 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* April 14 – Charlemagne spends Easter in...
-784784Year 784 was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 784 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* The Japanese capital moves away from Nara,...
) - Abd al-Wahhab ibn Abd ar-Rahman (784784Year 784 was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 784 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* The Japanese capital moves away from Nara,...
-832832Year 832 was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Pepin I of Aquitaine and Louis the German revolt against Louis the Pious, Emperor of the Franks....
) - Aflah ibn Abd al-Wahhab (832832Year 832 was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Pepin I of Aquitaine and Louis the German revolt against Louis the Pious, Emperor of the Franks....
-871871Year 871 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Nine battles are fought between the Danes and Wessex...
) - Abu Bakr ibn Aflah (871871Year 871 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Nine battles are fought between the Danes and Wessex...
) - Muhammad Abul-Yaqzan ibn Aflah (871871Year 871 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Nine battles are fought between the Danes and Wessex...
-894894Year 894 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Northumbrians and East Angles swear allegiance to Alfred the Great, but promptly break their truce by attacking the south-west of England.* Mojmír II becomes King of Great Moravia after the death of his father...
) - Yusuf Abu Hatim ibn Muhammad Abil-Yaqzan (894894Year 894 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Northumbrians and East Angles swear allegiance to Alfred the Great, but promptly break their truce by attacking the south-west of England.* Mojmír II becomes King of Great Moravia after the death of his father...
-897897Year 897 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* Emperor Uda of Japan is succeeded by Emperor Daigo....
) - Yaqub ibn Aflah (897897Year 897 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* Emperor Uda of Japan is succeeded by Emperor Daigo....
-901901Year 901 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.- Africa :* Abu 'Abdullah al-Shi'i leads the rebellion of the Kutama Berbers against the Aghlabid emirate in Ifriqiya ....
) - Yusuf Abu Hatim ibn Muhammad Abil-Yaqzan, again (901901Year 901 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.- Africa :* Abu 'Abdullah al-Shi'i leads the rebellion of the Kutama Berbers against the Aghlabid emirate in Ifriqiya ....
-906906Year 906 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Battle of Fritzlar: The Conradines defeat the Babenberg counts to establish themselves as dukes of Franconia. Conrad the Elder is killed in the battle...
) - Yaqzan ibn Muhammad Abil-Yaqzan (906906Year 906 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Battle of Fritzlar: The Conradines defeat the Babenberg counts to establish themselves as dukes of Franconia. Conrad the Elder is killed in the battle...
-909909Year 909 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar.- Africa :* The Aghlabid dynasty in North Africa is overthrown by the Fatimids....
)
Sources
- Wheatley, Paul, "The Places where Men Pray Together: Cities in Islamic Lands, Seventh Through the Tenth Centuries", Published by University of Chicago Press, 2001, ISBN 0-226-89428-2.
- The Encyclopedia of World History
- Card of Rustamid or Tahert Kingdom.
- Rustamid Dynasty Encyclopedy Britanica.