State

Zirid dynasty

Also known as Zirid

The Zirid dynasty was a Sanhaja Berber dynasty that governed Ifriqiya, roughly present-day Tunisia and eastern Algeria, on behalf of the Fatimid Caliphate after the Fatimids moved to Egypt. Between about 1048 and 1052 the Zirid governor abandoned Ismaili Shi'ism for Sunni orthodoxy. This defection severed the caliphate's North African domain and was an early stage in Fatimid decline.

Zirid dynasty
Image: R Prazeres (using file uploaded by Kabyle20 as template) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 profile

Fatimid CaliphateDecline

Mentioned in 5 state histories

Zirid emirateHammadid emirateBanu KhurasanBanu Jami emirate of GabesKingdom of Africa

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Zirid dynasty. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/zirid-dynasty
MLA
“Zirid dynasty.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/zirid-dynasty. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Zirid dynasty.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/zirid-dynasty.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Zirid dynasty’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/zirid-dynasty (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻