Banu Ghaniya

Banu Ghaniya


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The Banu Ghaniya were distant relatives of the Almoravid dynasty, who appointed them as governors of the Balearic Islands in 1126. Following the collapse of Almoravid power at the hand of the Almohads in the 1140s, the Banu Ghaniya continued to govern the Balearic Islands as independent emirs until about 1203,with a brief interruption in the 1180s. The Banu Ghaniya considered themselves as heirs of the Almoravids, and made a determined attempt to reconquer the Maghreb (and in particular Ifriqiya) from about 1180 onwards.
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Emirs

• Muhammad ben Ali ben Yusuf 1126-1165 (deposed)
• Ishak ben Muhammad (son) 1165-1183
• Muhammad ben Ishak (son) 1183-1184
• Ali ben Ishak(know as Ali Ibn Ghaniya) 1184-1188, emir (by conquest) of Bougie (1185-1186) Algiers (1186) and Gafsa (1186-1187), warlord in Tunis 1187-1188
• Yahya ben Ishak (know as Yahya Ibn Ghaniya) 1188-1202/1203 lord of war in Tunis 1188-1212

The Banu Ghaniya were distant relatives of the Almoravid dynasty, who appointed them as governors of the Balearic Islands in 1126. Following the collapse ofAlmoravid power at the hand of the Almohads in the 1140s, the Banu Ghaniya continued to govern the Balearic Islands as independent emirs until about 1203, with a brief interruption in the 1180s. The Banu Ghaniya considered themselves as heirs of the Almoravids, and made a determined attempt to reconquer the Maghreb (and in particular Ifriqiya) from about 1180 onwards.

Emirs

• Muhammad benAli ben Yusuf 1126-1165 (deposed)
• Ishak ben Muhammad (son) 1165-1183
• Muhammad ben Ishak (son) 1183-1184
• Ali ben Ishak (know as Ali Ibn Ghaniya) 1184-1188, emir (by conquest) of Bougie (1185-1186) Algiers (1186) and Gafsa (1186-1187), warlord in Tunis 1187-1188
• Yahya ben Ishak (know as Yahya Ibn Ghaniya) 1188-1202/1203 lord of war in Tunis 1188-1212


Abu Yusuf Yakubal-Mansur Biography
Abu Yusuf Yakub al-Mansur (reigned 1184-1199) was the third caliph of the Almohad dynasty and the victor against the Spanish Christians at the battle of Alarcos.
Abu Yusuf served as vizier of the Almohad empire during the reign of his father, Abu Yakub Yusuf (1162-1184), and at his death was chosen as his successor as Yakub I. Having gained considerable practicalexperience as an administrator in the vizierate, Yakub kept firm control of the state in his own hands, continuing the Almohad tradition of active leadership in religious affairs and vigorous military campaigns against the enemies of the state.
The first part of Yakub's reign was spent in repelling an offensive against Almohad territory in North Africa launched by the Banu Ghaniya, the Sanhaja Berberswho had continued Berber rule on the Balearic Islands. The attack came in 1185 against the eastern holdings of the Almohads on the Algerian coast and resulted in the capture of Bougie, Algiers, and other towns. The Almohad army sent by Yakub regained the Algerian possessions in 1186, and the Banu Ghaniya retreated into Ifrikiya (Tunisia). Yakub himself led an army into Ifrikiya and in 1187defeated the Banu Ghaniya, temporarily restoring the area to the Almohad Empire. However, upon his withdrawal to Morocco and the diversion of his efforts to Spain, the Banu Ghaniya soon succeeded in challenging Almohad sovereignty in the east, which was too far removed from the seat of Almohad power to keep under permanent control without a large army of occupation.
In Spain, Yakub's military successwas equally spectacular and equally ephemeral; here, as in North Africa, the Almohad campaign was a response to the invasion of their territory, though in Spain the response amounted to holy war since the invaders were Christians, led by Alfonso VIII of Castile. Between 1190--when Yakub crossed into Spain--and 1195, the fighting was inconclusive and was checked by a loose armistice agreement....