Abu Zakariya Yahya

Abu Zakariya moved to expand his influence in the vicinity of his young state, and marched his army to Constantine and Béjaïa in 1229.

The Almohads were preoccupied with internal differences and sedition, the revolutions that were taking place in Andalusia and in the Maghreb, so Abu Zakaria faced little resistance in annexing the territory of the Almohads.

Abu Zakariya returned to Tunis after his successful campaigns and declared independence as king altogether in 1229. He subsequently annexed Tripoli in 1234, Algiers in 1235, Chelif River 1236, and subdued important tribal confederations of the Berbers from 1235 to 1238.

In July 1242 he captured Tlemcen, forcing the Sultan of Tlemcen to become his vassal and formed a series of small states between his rule and the states of the Western Maghreb.

In December of that year, caliph Abd al-Wahid II, died, leaving Abu Zakariya as the most powerful ruler of Maghreb. At this time the Hafsids also occupied the Berber emirate of Siyilmasa which they retained for 30 years. By the end of his reign, the Marinid Dynasty of Morocco and several Muslim princes in Al-Andalus paid him tribute and acknowledged his nominal authority.

Minaret of the Mosque of the Qasba,Tunisia, built by order of Abū Zakariyyā.

Abu Zakariyya established his capital in Tunis where mosques, madrasas, souks and other buildings are built. His work was the madrasa al-Shammā'iyya[3] and the mosque of the Kasbah.[4]

He began diplomatic and commercial relations with Emperor Frederick II of Swabia, the Crown of Aragon, Provence, Languedoc, with Venice, Pisa and Genoa. From 1239 he approached the Kingdom of Sicily, in which he paid an annual tribute in exchange for freedom of trade and the supply of Sicilian wheat. As Tunis's maritime trade increased, it became an important economic and cultural center. In the city during his reign took refuge many fleeing the Reconquista, welcoming to his court many notables and scholars of Andalusia.

Abu Zakariyya allowed Jews who had forcibly converted to Islam in the Almohad era to return to Judaism, returning to live in relatively normal conditions. Synagogues closed or destroyed in the Almohad era were reopened or rebuilt. The Jews played a very important role in the economic policy and foreign trade developed by Abu Zakariyya.[5]

A skillful general, his ability to utilize the military power of the tribesmen enabled him to establish a strong state. His Hafsid dynasty brought peace, prosperity, and stability to Tunisia.

His successor Muhammad al-Mustansir, proclaimed himself Caliph in 1256 and continued the policies of his father.