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al-Mahdiyya

المهدية

Al-Mahdiyya, the first Fatimid seat on the Ifriqiyan coast; al-Muqaddasi c. 375 AH: walled in stone and gypsum, its folk drinking from wells and rain-cisterns, the granary of Qayrawan and berth of Sicily — whoever would see Constantinople should look on it, for it is built like it, on an island entered by a single causeway 1.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era
Region
Maghreb
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Overview

al-Mahdiyya: the first capital of the Fatimids on the coast of Ifriqiya. al-Maqdisi, around the year 375 AH, described it as walled with stone and mortar. Its people drank from wells and from cisterns of rainwater. 2

al-Maqdisi says that it is the treasury of Qayrawan and the port of Sicily, and that it is populous and inhabited. Whoever wishes to see Constantinople should look at it, for it is on an island entered by one road as narrow as a sandal strap. 2

Connections

Explore the connections

Part of
Ifriqiya

People and things also explored

Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib's Independent Rule of the Maghreb Frontier· The First Raid on Ifriqiya and the Killing of Its Patrikios· The Founding of Qayrawan· Hassan ibn al-Nu'man's Campaigns against al-Kahina· Harun's Appointment of Ibrahim ibn al-Aghlab over the Maghreb· Isma'il ibn Abdallah and Umar II's Mission to the Berbers· The Killing of Kulthum ibn Iyad in Ifriqiya· The Killing of Yazid ibn Abi Muslim in His Prayer-Place

Sources

  1. Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Ma'rifat al-Aqalim of al-Muqaddasi, p. 181
  2. Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Ma'rifat al-Aqalim of al-Muqaddasi, p.181
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “al-Mahdiyya”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/place/al-mahdiyya/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.

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Place

Cities, sites and routes on a map that moves through time. Related

Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib's Independent Rule of the Maghreb Frontier

In al-Baladhuri: when al-Walid ibn Yazid ibn Abd al-Malik rose, Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib al-Fihri opposed him — beloved in that frontier for his grandfather Uqba ibn Nafi's traces there — and prevailed over it, Hanzala withdrawing; Yazid ibn al-Walid sent no governor to the Maghreb, and when Marwan ibn Muhammad rose, Abd al-Rahman corresponded with him, showed obedience and sent gifts — his scribe being Khalid ibn Rabi'a al-Ifriqi, between whom and Abd al-Hamid ibn Yahya ran friendship and letters — so Marwan confirmed him over the frontier; then Ilyas ibn Habib ruled after him, then Habib ibn Abd al-Rahman, then the Berbers and the Ibadis of the Khawarij prevailed.