Hammadids

Hammadid dynasty
1014–1152
The Hammadid dynasty (green), c. 1100.
Capital		Beni Hammad (until 1090) Béjaïa (after 1090)
Languages		Berber, Classical Arabic, Andalusi Romance
Religion		Islam
Government		Monarchy
Sultan
•	1008–1028	Hammad ibn Buluggin
•	1121–1152	Yahya ibn Abd al-Aziz
History
•	Established	1014
•	Disestablished	1152
Currency		Dinar
Preceded by Succeeded by Zirid Almohad dynasty

The Hammadid dynasty was a Sanhaja Berber dynasty that ruled an area roughly corresponding to north-eastern modern Algeria for around a century and a half (1008–1152), until its realm was conquered by the Almohad Caliphate. Soon after coming to power, they rejected the Ismaili doctrine of the Fatimid Caliphate, and returned to Maliki Sunnism, acknowledging the Abbasids as rightful Caliphs.

The Hammadid dynasty's first capital was at Qalaat Beni Hammad. It was founded in 1007, and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. When the area was sacked by the Banu Hilal tribe, the Hammadids moved their capital to Béjaïa in 1090.

In 1014, Hammad ibn Buluggin, a Berber who had been placed as governor of the central Maghreb, declared himself independent from the Zirid dynasty. The kingdom at the time ruled most of the region from Morocco to Tunisia. Hammad obtained recognition from the Abbasid Caliph of Baghdad. The Zirids sent an army, but two years later a peace was signed, although the Zirid recognized the Hammadid legitimacy only in 1018.

Hammad founded a new capital in Qalaat Beni Hammad. With the Banu Hilal menace rising (spurred by the rival Fatimid caliphs of Egypt), they moved it to Béjaïa, which became one of the most prosperous cities in the medieval Mediterranean (1052).

Beni Hammad Fort at M'Sila Province