Banu Hilal

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The Banu Hilal (Arabic: بنو هلال, "sons of the crescent") were an Arab tribe that migrated from Arabia into North Africa in the 11th century, having been sent by the Fatimids to punish the Zirids for abandoning Shiism. They quickly defeated the Zirids and deeply weakened the neighboring Hammadids. Their influx was a major factor in the linguistic and cultural Arabization of the Maghreb, and in the spread of nomadism in areas where agriculture had previously been dominant.

They were led by Abu Zayd al-Hilali. Their story is recounted in fictionalized form in Taghribat Bani Hilal.

Their "saga" is still recounted in form of poetry in Algeria and Tunisia: Djezia and Dhieb bin Ghanim opposed to the Zenati Khalifa.

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