The Umayyad Dynasty and the Western Maghreb. A Transregional Perspective
Document Type : Research
Author
Student of Islamic history at Institute of Imam Reza
10.22081/iqiri.2024.69773.1162
Abstract
The Islamic conquest of the seventh century marked the beginning of a process that pulled
the Far and Central Maghreb into the emerging Islamic world. This process was, however,
not straightforward. Step by step, commercial, political and intellectual bonds linked
the Maghreb with the Middle Eastern centers, while religious missionaries and political
dissidents arrived there and sought for adepts amongst the newly converted population.
Umayyads and Fatimids used this territory to fight their battles. The conflicts between these
rival regional macro-powers forced the Berber imamates to increase their dependence on
the Western Umayyads in Al-Andalus. Economically the Maghreb had become part of a transregional
commercial network and eventually became part of the Islamicate
world sharing legal practices, religious doctrines and globally connected scholarly elites. The
growing influence of Maliki scholars and practices prepared the terrain for the adoption of
the Maliki legal school and the marginalization of local forms of Islam. Finally, the Maghreb
became part of a “Sunni” mainstream Islam throughout the tenth and eleventh centuries.
the Far and Central Maghreb into the emerging Islamic world. This process was, however,
not straightforward. Step by step, commercial, political and intellectual bonds linked
the Maghreb with the Middle Eastern centers, while religious missionaries and political
dissidents arrived there and sought for adepts amongst the newly converted population.
Umayyads and Fatimids used this territory to fight their battles. The conflicts between these
rival regional macro-powers forced the Berber imamates to increase their dependence on
the Western Umayyads in Al-Andalus. Economically the Maghreb had become part of a transregional
commercial network and eventually became part of the Islamicate
world sharing legal practices, religious doctrines and globally connected scholarly elites. The
growing influence of Maliki scholars and practices prepared the terrain for the adoption of
the Maliki legal school and the marginalization of local forms of Islam. Finally, the Maghreb
became part of a “Sunni” mainstream Islam throughout the tenth and eleventh centuries.
Keywords
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