9th century – 11th century
Fezzan, southwestern Libya
Medieval Fezzan was a major Saharan polity governed by an independent chief by the late ninth century. Its urban network included Djarma, Tassawa, Tamzawa, and Sabha, while its population comprised several groups collectively known as the Fezzan, including Berber communities and the Fazzana. The region experienced a transition from Christianity to Islam after the Arab invasion of 666–667 and remained an important node in trans-Saharan communications.
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The Story
By the end of the ninth century, Fezzan had taken the form of a substantial Saharan state governed by an independent chief. Its political organization was matched by an urban landscape that included several large settlements, indicating a region more complex than a chain of isolated desert oases. The sources identify Djarma as the most likely capital mentioned by al-Ya'qubi.
Djarma continued to flourish for several centuries, surviving into the sixth/twelfth century. Fezzan also contained Tassawa, described by al-Idrisi as “Little Djarma” in the terminology used by the local Black inhabitants. Other settlements included Tamzawa, situated on the route toward Djadou in the Nafusa Mountains, and Sabha, which possessed a cathedral mosque and several bazaars.
The population of medieval Fezzan was diverse. The people known collectively as the Fezzan included the Adj ar Fezzan, a Berber group associated with the Zanata tribes, as well as the Fazzana and the Banu Kaldin or Kildin. The latter inhabited Tamzawa alongside the Fazzana and may have been related to the Kadin or Kildin associated by Ibn Khaldun with the Hawwara.
The religious history of Fezzan also reflects wider transformations in the central Sahara. The inhabitants of Djarma, and apparently those of the other fortified settlements of Fezzan, were Christians as early as 569. Following the Arab invasion of 666–667, they were converted to Islam, marking a major change in the religious composition of the region.
9th century – 11th century
Fezzan, southwestern Libya
Medieval Fezzan was a major Saharan polity governed by an independent chief by the late ninth century. Its urban network included Djarma, Tassawa, Tamzawa, and Sabha, while its population comprised several groups collectively known as the Fezzan, including Berber communities and the Fazzana. The region experienced a transition from Christianity to Islam after the Arab invasion of 666–667 and remained an important node in trans-Saharan communications.
Continue exploring
The Story
By the end of the ninth century, Fezzan had taken the form of a substantial Saharan state governed by an independent chief. Its political organization was matched by an urban landscape that included several large settlements, indicating a region more complex than a chain of isolated desert oases. The sources identify Djarma as the most likely capital mentioned by al-Ya'qubi.
Djarma continued to flourish for several centuries, surviving into the sixth/twelfth century. Fezzan also contained Tassawa, described by al-Idrisi as “Little Djarma” in the terminology used by the local Black inhabitants. Other settlements included Tamzawa, situated on the route toward Djadou in the Nafusa Mountains, and Sabha, which possessed a cathedral mosque and several bazaars.
The population of medieval Fezzan was diverse. The people known collectively as the Fezzan included the Adj ar Fezzan, a Berber group associated with the Zanata tribes, as well as the Fazzana and the Banu Kaldin or Kildin. The latter inhabited Tamzawa alongside the Fazzana and may have been related to the Kadin or Kildin associated by Ibn Khaldun with the Hawwara.
The religious history of Fezzan also reflects wider transformations in the central Sahara. The inhabitants of Djarma, and apparently those of the other fortified settlements of Fezzan, were Christians as early as 569. Following the Arab invasion of 666–667, they were converted to Islam, marking a major change in the religious composition of the region.