theocracy · Egypt, North Africa and Sudan
Ibadi Imamate of Tripolitania
Origins
Ibadi Kharijism, a moderate branch of Kharijite Islam spread by missionaries from Basra, won many followers among the Berbers of Tripolitania and the Jebel Nafusa. In 757 they elected Abu al-Khattab al-Ma'afiri as imam, and his forces took Tripoli from the Abbasid Caliphate's local authorities.
Rule and society
In 758 Abu al-Khattab captured Kairouan from the Warfajuma, Sufri Berbers who had terrorised the city, and appointed Abd al-Rahman ibn Rustam as its governor. The imamate rested on the support of Berber tribes such as the Hawwara and Nafusa and on the Ibadi ideal of an elected, pious ruler who could be deposed if he failed.
Decline and legacy
In 761 an Abbasid army under Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath defeated and killed Abu al-Khattab near Tawargha. Ibn Rustam fled west and later founded the Rustamid imamate at Tahert, carrying on the Ibadi state tradition.
Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.
Lineage
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- Ibadi Imamate of Tripolitania was conquered by Abbasid Caliphate761 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Ibadi Imamate of Tripolitania. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ibadi-imamate-of-tripolitania
- MLA
- “Ibadi Imamate of Tripolitania.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ibadi-imamate-of-tripolitania. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Ibadi Imamate of Tripolitania.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ibadi-imamate-of-tripolitania.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Ibadi Imamate of Tripolitania’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ibadi-imamate-of-tripolitania (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻