kingdom · Egypt, North Africa and Sudan

Kingdom of Ait Abbas

1510 CE – 1872 CE (approx.) · capital Kalâa of Ait Abbas

A Kabyle mountain kingdom in the Bibans, ruled from the fortress of Kalâa, that long resisted Ottoman Algiers and later led the 1871 Mokrani revolt.

Origins

After Spain took Bejaia in 1510, Hafsid-era notables of the region founded a principality in the Bibans mountains of Lesser Kabylia, with its stronghold at the Kalâa of the Ait Abbas. It controlled the Iron Gates pass on the route between Algiers and Constantine.

Rule and society

The kingdom's rulers drew on Kabyle tribal levies armed with firearms and on the craft workshops of the Kalâa. Abd al-Aziz, its most famous ruler, alternately allied with and fought the Regency of Algiers and the rival Kingdom of Kuku, and fell in battle against the Ottomans around 1559. Later the ruling family became known as the Mokrani.

Decline and legacy

The Mokrani accommodated Ottoman and then French rule as local lords. In 1871 Mohamed El Mokrani led a great uprising against French Algeria; its defeat in 1872 brought confiscations and the end of the family's power.

Lineage

Hafsid Sultanate 1229 CE – 1574 CEKingdom of Ait Abbas

Connections (2)

More states of Egypt, North Africa and Sudan →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kingdom of Ait Abbas. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-ait-abbas
MLA
“Kingdom of Ait Abbas.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-ait-abbas. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Kingdom of Ait Abbas.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-ait-abbas.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kingdom of Ait Abbas’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-ait-abbas (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻