Hafsid

The Hafsids, or Hafsid dynasty, were a Muslim Berber dynasty that ruled Ifriqiya in the central Maghreb from about 1229 to 1574. They emerged among the Zenata Berbers and were founded by Abu Zakariya Yahya, who established control over Ifriqiya after the decline of the Almohad Caliphate, with Tunis as its capital. At their height, the Hafsids controlled much of the central Maghreb, including present-day Tunisia, eastern Algeria, and parts of western Libya, and they positioned themselves as the legitimate rulers of Ifriqiya and guardians of Islamic learning.

The Hafsid state was a centralized monarchy. Administration depended on a network of governors and a court centered in Tunis. The dynasty minted coins, supported mosques and madrasas, and fostered trade across the western Mediterranean, linking African and Iberian markets.

The Hafsids faced sustained pressure from neighboring powers, notably the Marinids to the west and the Zayyanids of Tlemcen to the east, as well as European maritime powers along the coast. From the 16th century, Ottoman expansion and European intervention weakened Hafsid authority. In 1574 Tunis was taken by the Ottoman Empire and absorbed into its provincial system, effectively ending Hafsid sovereignty, though the ruling family retained some local authority for a time as semi-autonomous governors.

The Hafsid era left a distinctive imprint on the architecture, urban development, and cultural life of Tunis and the surrounding region, contributing to the broader history of the Maghreb.