Banu Hilal

Contents

The Banu Hilal (Arabic: بنو هلال‎) were a confederation of Arabian Bedouin[1] tribes that migrated from Upper Egypt and originating in the Hijaz in Nothern Arabia [2] into North Africa in the 11th century, having been sent by the Fatimids to punish the Zirids for abandoning Shiism. Other authors suggest that the tribes left the grasslands on the upper Nile because of environmental degradation accompanying the Medieval Warm Period.[3] The Banu Hilal quickly defeated the Zirids and deeply weakened the neighboring Hammadids. Their influx was a major factor in the linguistic, cultural and ethnic Arabization of the Maghreb, and in the spread of nomadism in areas where agriculture had previously been dominant.[4] Ibn Khaldun noted that the lands ravaged by Banu Hilal invaders had become completely arid desert.[5]

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, Tunisia and Egypt: Djezia and Dhieb bin Ghanim opposed to the Zenati Khalifa.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Weiss, Bernard G. and Green, Arnold H.(1987) A Survey of Arab History‎ American University in Cairo Press, Cairo, p. 129, ISBN 977-424-180-0
  2. ^ Ballais, Jean-Louis (2000) "Chapter 7: Conquests and land degradation in the eastern Maghreb" p. 133 In Barker, Graeme and Gilbertson, David (2000) The Archaeology of Drylands: Living at the Margin Routledge, London, Volume 1, Part III - Sahara and Sahel, pp. 125-136, ISBN 978-0-415-23001-8
  3. ^ Ballais, Jean-Louis (2000) "Chapter 7: Conquests and land degradation in the eastern Maghreb" p. 134 In Barker, Graeme and Gilbertson, David (2000) The Archaeology of Drylands: Living at the Margin Routledge, London, Volume 1, Part III - Sahara and Sahel, pp. 125-136, ISBN 978-0-415-23001-8
  4. ^ The Great Mosque of Tlemcen, MuslimHeritage.com
  5. ^ Populations Crises and Population Cycles, Claire Russell and W.M.S. Russell

References