The Almohads and the Hafsids (1207 to
1574)
Just like their predecessors, the Almoravids, the Almohad rulers were
Berbers of Moroccan origin. The Almohads were the only indigenous
dynasty to have united the Maghreb, including Ifriqiya. Tunis
became the new capital of the Province and Abu Hafs was appointed
governor to the region.
His grandson, Abu Zakariyya (1228 - 1249), took advantage of the
difficulties inside the empire to declare his independence from
Marrakech. He was confident enough to style himself Caliph. He minted
money with his insignia, prayed in his own name and granted himself the
title of Al-Amir al-Ajall (the distinguished Emir). Ifriqiya at last
regained the geopolitic dimensions it had known once before, during the
Aghlabid era. Tunis
became the new capital of the Hafsid rulers.
His son and successor, Al Mustansir (1249 - 1277), saw things even
bigger. He called himself the Prince of the Believers and even convinced
his neighbouring countries to acknowledge him as such. Under his reign,
the Hafsid kingdom successfully defended itself when the Eight Crusade,
led by King Louis IX of France, landed at Carthage. Saint Louis died of
the plague in Tunis
and was buried in Carthage in 1270.
Between 1277 and 1370, the dynasty was severely put to the test by
internal succession disputes, tribal uprisings, famines and deadly
epidemics, such as the bubonic plague (this killing disease decimated an
important part of the population). And on top of all this misery, the
Hafsid Empire was repeatedly under attack from the Aragons and the
Marinids, the successors in Morocco of the Almohads. Abu Abbas (1370 -
1394), Abu Faris (1394 - 1434) and Othman (1435 - 1488), managed to
bring back order and security internally, although the region still had
to deal with repeated attacks from European naval forces.
As the end of the Hafsid rule was near, the battle in the Mediterranean
between Turks and Spaniards reached its highest point. Charles the Fifth
(Holy Roman Emperor) seized possession of Tunis
in 1535. The city remained under Spanish occupation for 40 years, until
the Turkish general, Sinan Pasha liberated it (1574) and Tunisia became
an Ottoman province.
