Sidjilmasa
Coordinates: 31 ° 16 ′ 48 ″ N , 4 ° 16 ′ 48 ″ W.
Sidschilmasa ( Central Atlas Tamazight ⵙⵉⵊⵉⵍⵎⴰⵙⴰ ; Arabic سجلماسة, DMG Siǧilmāsa ) was a trading center founded in the middle of the 8th century south of the High Atlas in the Moroccan region of Drâa-Tafilalet , which was destroyed at the beginning of the 19th century.
location
The ruins of the rammed earth buildings are about two to three kilometers outside of today's small town Rissani , about 22 km south of Erfoud . The ruins of the city extend over 8 km in length and 1–1.5 km in width on the east bank of the Oued Ziz , the water of which made the foundation of the oasis city possible. He was diverted at an unknown date to serve the needs of Cidjilmassa. Several such diversions are known, the remains of the dams can still be seen. The Tafilalt oasis covers an area of about 375 km², of which 115 km² were arable land of Sidschilmasas, which had up to 30,000 inhabitants. This makes it the largest single oasis in Morocco.
history
Established by Banu Midrar (around 750), trading center
The oasis settlement was founded in the middle of the 8th century and formed the center of the Banu Midrar from the Berber tribe of the Miknasa . It is the second founding of Islam in the Maghreb after Kairuan in Tunisia, which was founded in 670 . However, it is not the foundation of an orthodox Islamic group, but rather goes back to Kharijites , who were considered by other Muslims to be the first heretics of Islam. Therefore, their contact with other Charijite groups, especially the Rustamids of Northern Algeria, was very close. The Kharijites separated themselves from the Umayyads in 657 because they did not accept the procedure by which the successor of the founder of the religion Mohammed was determined. For them, in principle, anyone could lead the Muslim community ( umma ). In 757 they found a political refuge in Sidjilmassa, and Abu 'l-Qasim founded the Midrar. The city-state managed to control the gold trade, which crossed the Sahara every two years by means of caravans, until the middle of the 11th century and at the same time to defend itself against the attacks of its neighbors who considered themselves to be orthodox.
To do this, the city needed strong defenses and, in fact, the citadel took up almost half of the city's area. The citadel was in the north of the city and was built in 1988 using radiocarbon dating to a period between 785 and 875. It was founded by Semgou Ibn Ouassoul, who is considered the founder of the Banu Midrar tribe.
Up until the 11th century, Sidschilmasa was the starting point for the western route of the Trans-Saharan trade and one of the most important trading centers in the Maghreb. Through trade with the Empire of Ghana , the city achieved a prosperity that was mentioned several times by Arab travelers such as al-Bakri or al-Muqaddasi . Above all, luxury goods from the Mediterranean region were exchanged for gold, ivory and slaves. However, the caravans did not sell the goods they had brought with them in the city itself, but at the Souk Ben Akla, which was 4 km west of the city, on the west bank of the Oued Gheris . An almost dead straight road led there, and the customs office of Sidschilmassa was also located there. The half a square kilometer square was dominated by a rectangular fortress that stretched 90 m from west to east and 80 m from north to south. But it could also have been a caravanserai. The city itself was dominated by a fortress in the north and divided by three large main streets. According to oral tradition, Sijilmassa itself was not walled, but the oasis was surrounded by a 4 m high wall with four gates. In some sections it can still be seen in the landscape. On the other hand, Arab scholars report a wall, and it is also archaeologically tangible. It may have been abandoned at a later date in favor of the oasis wall.
Independence (around 771–909), Midrarids (from 823)
Resistance to the Abbasid dynasty increased in the Maghreb, especially the Berbers, who had already turned against the late Umayyads . 771 the trade center de facto gained independence from the Caliphate of the Abbasids and soon became the center of a Kharijite emirate that from 823 of the Midrariden Dynasty (see list of Midraridenherrscher ) was ruled and relations with the Principality of Algerian rustamid dynasty used.
Rule of the Fatimids, short-lived caliphate (953–958)
Because of their prosperity, Sidschilmasa was able to maintain its independence for a long time. Because of the distance of the city from the Abbasid sphere of influence it was chosen as a refuge by the Mahdi of the Ismaili Fatimids , who was sought by the Abbasid authorities. He lived there from 905 to 909 disguised as a businessman. His missionary Abū ʿAbdallāh al-Shīʿī , who had conquered Ifrīqiya between 902 and 909 , appeared with his army at the gates of Sidschilmasa in the summer of 909 and picked up the Mahdi. On this occasion, the city was captured and sacked, and the Midrarid ruler al-Yasaʿ ibn Midrār fled. After his enthronement as caliph, the Mahdi stayed in Sidschilmasa for another forty days and received homage from the Berber tribes of the area. As governor of Sidschilmasa, the Mahdi installed the Masālta chief Ibrāhīm ibn Ghālib, who remained behind with 500 Kutāma riders. The Kutāma occupation could only last 50 days, however, then the Midrarids seized power again.
In 921, however, the Fatimids again occupied Sidjilmasa and installed a compliant member of the Midrārid house as their vassal, who converted to the Ismaili Daʿwa . 943 However, a renegade Midrāride called Muhammad Ibn Wāsūl took possession of the city, came to mālikitischen Sunni Islam over, trying in alliance with the Umayyads of Córdoba to solve by the Fatimids. In 953 he even assumed the title of caliph and since then has carried the throne name asch-Shākir li-Llāh, which he also had in gold and silver coins. But the city was again subjugated in 958 by the Fatimid military leader Jawhar .
Conquest by Magrawa (977 or 980 to 1054)
Now back on the side of the Fatimids, Sidschilmasa was attacked in 977 or 980 by the Berber tribe of the Magrawa , whose leader Chazrun was allied with Córdoba and drove the Miknasa out of the city. A hoard from the Jordanian Aqaba, discovered in 1992, showed how far the city's trade reached around 1000 . Of the 32 gold coins discovered there, 29 came from Sidschilmasa. They were minted before 1013.
Under the Banu Chazrun (see list of Maghrawa rulers of Sidschilmasa ), the city was initially able to maintain its role as a trading center, but there were increasing conflicts with the Sanhaja , a Berber, nomadic tribal group of the Sahara . After Ibn Yasin had united the Sanhajah to form the fighting league of the Almoravids , they subjugated Sijilmasa in 1054 and enforced Ibn Yasin's rigorous interpretation of Islam.
Almoravids, revolt and destruction of Sidschilmassa (1056)
Against this rule there was an uprising in 1055, in the course of which the Almoravids were defeated and their leader Yahya ibn Umar was killed. His successor Abu Bakr ibn Umar put down the uprising the next year and destroyed Sidschilmasa. The importance of the city as a trading center then decreased for a time, but it remained an important economic center for the subsequent dynasties. However, this also meant that she was the focus of numerous dynastic disputes. In addition, the Almoravids allowed other groups, such as the Saadians of the Draa Valley, 150 km to the west, to participate in the gold trade for the first time. Still, the population peaked at perhaps 30,000. This number is likely to have lasted well into the Almohad period. This is likely to be related to the fact that the Ziz was diverted and agriculture was intensified.
Almohads (until after 1260)
Merinids, end of town (1393)
Ibn Battuta was still impressed by Sidschilmassa around 1350 and described it as a prosperous city. However, when she visited Leo Africanus in 1514/15, she was a huge ruin. Merinid princes fought for control of the city from 1331 to 1333, 1361 to 1363 and 1387. After the Merinids and the disintegration into several kingdoms emerged in a number of Tafilalt Ksour fortified Lehmstädten who completely lost control of the Saharan trade. In addition, the Iberian powers increasingly controlled trade, which was shifting to the Atlantic. West African gold and silver mining in the Atlas still found their center in Tafilalt, but their importance has declined. It seems as if Sidschilmassa's governor practically forced the population to stay in the city. Leo Africanus reports that she killed the governor and moved to the Ksour under different masters. Their number grew to about 350. This strong expansion may be related to a new water technology, the khettara, which now also allowed scattered settlements.
In addition, Arab Bedouins came to the oasis city, such as the Orthodox Alaouites or the Banu Ma'qil, a nomadic group of Arabs who had driven the Fatimids out of Egypt. They increased the trend towards Arabization, as it did under the Merinids throughout Morocco, at the expense of the Berber groups. These formed a covenant, the Ait 'Atta. The Alaouites from the Red Sea rose to the highest esteem as descendants of Ali. In addition, saints (wali Allah or solih) played an important role, be they of Berber or Arab descent. Once recognized as saints, they became sheikhs, some of whom founded their own schools (zaouia). This reputation of the saints became almost hereditary. The numerous Jews of the oasis city played no role in the political sphere, but in the economic sphere.
With the Alaouites claiming to be descendants of Muhammad, new religious leaders had come to the Tafilalt in the 13th century. The Alaouites brought in from Sidschilmassa, who had come from Jubail , increasingly dominated the oasis in the 16th century and soon had irrigation systems, dams and canals built. In 1631 the oasis inhabitants swore their allegiance to the dynasty. The Alaouites tried to secure trade in the oasis by military means, which soon got them involved in the dynastic conflicts in Morocco. Eventually they became the ruling dynasty to this day.
The Zaouiyas , responsible for looking after the saints and their schools, but also for social tasks, soon became the largest landowners in the oasis thanks to donations from land and slaves. They also kept most of the slaves, so that to this day the haratin , dark-skinned oasis inhabitants, provided the agricultural labor on the orders of both Berber and Arab as well as Jewish families. In contrast to slaves, however, they could also purchase land themselves.
Decline and Destruction (1816)
In 1629, Sidi Ali of Tazeroualt, one of the marabouts or saints of the Anti-Atlas who led the brotherhoods that arose there, left the city to head towards Taroudant , which was under siege. But he did not return, so that a power vacuum was created in Tafilalt.
The temporarily economically and politically powerful city finally lost its importance with the decline of the caravan trade at the end of the 18th century and was destroyed in an attack by Berbers from the High Atlas in 1816. After that, parts of the city were used as a garbage dump, cemetery or slaughterhouse.
Ruin site
The Sidschilmasa buildings made of rammed earth gradually dissolve in the desert sand. Only the tomb of a locally venerated 'holy man' ( marabout ) is still maintained.
See also
literature
- Günter Barthel (Ed.): Lexicon of the Arab World. Culture, way of life, economy, politics and nature in the Middle East and North Africa . Reichert, Wiesbaden 1994, ISBN 3-88226-783-6
- R. William Caverly: Hosting Dynasties and Faiths: Chronicling the Religious History of a Medieval Moroccan Oasis City , Thesis, Hamline University
- Heinz Halm : The Empire of the Mahdi . CH Beck, Munich, 1991, pp. 89-93.
- Dale R. Lightfoot, James A. Miller: Sijilmassa: The Rise and Fall of a Walled Oasis in Medieval Morocco. In: Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 86, No. 1, March 1996, pp. 78-101
- Ronald A. Messier, Abdallah Fili: La ville caravannière de Sijilmassa: du mythe historique a la réalité archéologique . In: II Congreso Internacional. La Ciudad en al-Andalus y el Magreb (Algeciras) , Fundación El legado andalusì, 2002, pp. 501-510
- Janine and Dominique Sourdel: Dictionnaire historique de l'Islam. Quadrige, Paris 2004, ISBN 2-13-051342-5
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Ronald A. Messier, Abdallah Fili: La ville caravannière de Sijilmassa: du mythe historique a la réalité archéologique . In: II Congreso Internacional. La Ciudad en al-Andalus y el Magreb (Algeciras) , Fundación El legado andalusì, 2002, pp. 501–510, here: p. 508.
- ^ Marie-France Dartois: Agadir et le sud marocain. À la recherche du temps passé, des origines au tremblement de terre du 29 février 1960 , Editions de Courcelles, 2008, p. 75.
- ↑ Dale R. Lightfoot, James A. Miller: Sijilmassa: The Rise and Fall of a Walled Oasis in Medieval Morocco , in: Annals of the Association of American Geographers 86.1 (1996) 78-101, here: p. 90.
- ↑ Heinz Halm: The Empire of the Mahdi . CH Beck, Munich, 1991, p. 92.
- ↑ Heinz Halm: The Empire of the Mahdi . CH Beck, Munich, 1991, pp. 121-135.
- ↑ Heinz Halm: The Empire of the Mahdi . CH Beck, Munich, 1991, p. 151f.
- ↑ Heinz Halm: The Empire of the Mahdi . CH Beck, Munich, 1991, pp. 239, 352.
- ↑ Heinz Halm: The Empire of the Mahdi . CH Beck, Munich, 1991, p. 352.
- ^ Dale R. Lightfoot, James A. Miller: Sijilmassa: The Rise and Fall of a Walled Oasis in Medieval Morocco , in: Annals of the Association of American Geographers 86.1 (1996) 78-101, here: p. 88.
- ↑ D. Jacques-Meunié: Le Maroc saharien des origines à 1670 , Volume 2, Librairie Klincksieck, 1982, p. 647.