Hafsid Empire (Merveilles des Morte)

Hafsid Empire
←   ←   ← 1229–1496 →
Flag of Hafsid dynasty Flag
Location of Hafsid dynasty Extent of the Hafsid Empire in 1494
Capital		Tunis
Languages		Arabic, Berber, Italian, Latin, German
Religion		Sunni Islam Shia Islam Catholic Christianity
Government		Caliphate
Caliph
•	1394-1434	Abu al-Aziz II
Historical Era		Renaissance
•	Established	1229
•	Libyan Crusade	1394 - 1406
•	Disestablished	1496
Currency		fils

The Hafsid Empire (Arabic: الحفصيون‎ الخلافة, romanized: al-Khilāfah al-Ḥafṣiyūn), also known as the Hafsid Caliphate or Pirate Empire, was an Islamic empire located in Maghreb that flourished in the early Middle Ages. Based around Tunis, the Hafsid Empire was one of the spiritual successors to the Almohad Caliphate, currently ruled by the Hafsid Dynasty — a Sunni Islamic dynasty of Berber descent. Following the Libyan Crusade, the territory of the Caliphate was reduced to modern-day Tunisia, although would re-conquer its former territory in the Barbary Crusade nearly twenty years following the prior Crusade.  

History

Libyan Crusade

Main article: Libyan Crusade

Barbary Crusade

Main article: Barbary Crusade

Civil War

Main article: Pirate State

Conquest of Egypt and Pirate Wars

Main article: Pirate Wars

Administration

Federal government

The Caliph is the highest religious office of the state, exerting executive authority over the designated territories under the Caliphate. The authority of the Caliph is strictly hereditary to the Hafsid dynasty, with the authority selectively ceded through patriarchal succession. The Hafsid dynasty was originally founded by Abu Muhammad Abd al-Wahid ibn Abi Hafs, the Almohad governor of Ifriqiya, in 1207, although the dynasty wouldn't retain sovereign authority over Ifriqiya until 1228 when his grandson Abu Zakariya Yahya was proclaimed Sultan of Ifriqiya. His successor, Muhammad I al-Mustansir, would proclaim himself Caliph of Ifriqiya after the collapse of the Almohad Caliphate and with the dynasty's success being seen as the true successor to the Almohad dynasty. Other titles held by the Caliph include Amir al-Mu'minin (tr. "Leader of the Faithful").

Caliphs of Islam

Regnal name	Born	Reigned	Notes
Abu al-Aziz II	1366 (Tunis)	1394-1434 (40 years)
Muhammad III	1389 (Tunis)	1434-1461 (27 years)
Muhammad IV	1418 (Tunis)	1461-1463 (2 years)
Ahmad III	1424 (Tunis)	1463-1496 (33 years)