Why do we talk so much about Beni Ziri
? For several reasons:
The Zirids or Banu Ziri (in Amazigh: ⵉⵣⵉⵔⵉⵢⵏ) are a Amazigh-Sanhaja dynasty from the Central Maghreb that ruled in North Africa, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, and parts of Libya between 971-1152 AD, and areas of Andalusia.
The Zirids took several capitals, starting with the city of Asher in 971 AD, then Kairouan in 995 AD, then Mahdia in 1057 AD.
The Banu Ziri descend from the Central Maghreb, in what is now central Algeria, and their eldest, “Ziri bin Manad,” was a follower of the Fatimids since 935 AD. In 971 AD, the latter assumed the rule of the emirate in Asher Castle (Algeria).
). After him, his son Belkin bin Ziri (971-984 AD) enjoyed greater independence when he ruled all the countries of Africa, and was able to extend his state westward to Ceuta. They attacked Fez in the year 980 AD, but they met resistance from the local population of the Zenata tribe, allied with the Caliphate of Cordoba.
The Zirids then entered into conflict with their cousins, the Hammadids, who established their own state in the Central Maghreb.
1- The first Algerian state, in the year 990 AD, after Numidia, to control North Africa, and surpassed it by controlling Sicily in Italy and Granada in Spain.
2- The first Algerian state, Al-Hammadi in the year 1007 AD, in North Africa, made a mosque in its own style, a square cell with decoration and zellij.
3- The first Algerian state to be a beacon of knowledge and a home for it, during the reign of Sultan Bin Allanas Al-Hammadi, in Bejaia.
4- Al-Ziri architecture was the torch for all buildings in North Africa.
5- It was the first Algerian state to have 4 capitals: Medea, M’Sila, Bejaia, and Kairouan.
Source: websites