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The Banu Hilal were a confederation of Arab
Arab

An Arab is a person who Identity as such on linguistic or cultural grounds. The plural form, Arabs , refers to the Ethnocultural group at large....
 tribes that migrated from Arabia into North Africa
North Africa

North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa.Geopolitically, the United Nations subregion of Northern Africa includes the following seven countries or territories:...
 in the 11th century, having been sent by the Fatimid
Fatimid

The Fatimid Caliphate or al-Fatimiyyun was an Arab Shi'a dynasty that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Egypt, Sicily, Malta and the Levant from 5 January 909 to 1171....
s to punish the Zirid
Zirid

The Zirids were a Berber people dynasty, originating in Petite Kabylie among the Kutama tribe, that ruled Ifriqiya , initially on behalf of the Fatimids, for about two centuries, until weakened by the Banu Hilal and finally destroyed by the Almohads....
s for abandoning Shiism. They quickly defeated the Zirid
Zirid

The Zirids were a Berber people dynasty, originating in Petite Kabylie among the Kutama tribe, that ruled Ifriqiya , initially on behalf of the Fatimids, for about two centuries, until weakened by the Banu Hilal and finally destroyed by the Almohads....
s and deeply weakened the neighboring Hammadid
Hammadid

The Hammadids, an offshoot of the Zirids, were a Berber people dynasty who ruled an area roughly corresponding to modern Algeria for about a century and a half , until, weakened by the Banu Hilal's incursions, they were destroyed by the Almohads....
s. Their influx was a major factor in the linguistic and cultural Arabization
Arabization

Arabization describes a growing cultural influence on a non-Arab area that gradually changes into one that speaks Arabic language and/or incorporates Arab culture....
 of the Maghreb
Maghreb

The Maghreb , also rendered Maghrib , meaning "place of sunset" or "western" in Arabic, is a region in North Africa. The term is generally applied to all of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, but in older Arabic usage pertained only to the area of the three countries between the high ranges of the Atlas Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea....
, and in the spread of nomadism in areas where agriculture
Agriculture

Agriculture refers to the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of civilization, with the animal husbandry of domestication animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more Population density and Social stratification societies....
 had previously been dominant.






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The Banu Hilal were a confederation of Arab
Arab

An Arab is a person who Identity as such on linguistic or cultural grounds. The plural form, Arabs , refers to the Ethnocultural group at large....
 tribes that migrated from Arabia into North Africa
North Africa

North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa.Geopolitically, the United Nations subregion of Northern Africa includes the following seven countries or territories:...
 in the 11th century, having been sent by the Fatimid
Fatimid

The Fatimid Caliphate or al-Fatimiyyun was an Arab Shi'a dynasty that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Egypt, Sicily, Malta and the Levant from 5 January 909 to 1171....
s to punish the Zirid
Zirid

The Zirids were a Berber people dynasty, originating in Petite Kabylie among the Kutama tribe, that ruled Ifriqiya , initially on behalf of the Fatimids, for about two centuries, until weakened by the Banu Hilal and finally destroyed by the Almohads....
s for abandoning Shiism. They quickly defeated the Zirid
Zirid

The Zirids were a Berber people dynasty, originating in Petite Kabylie among the Kutama tribe, that ruled Ifriqiya , initially on behalf of the Fatimids, for about two centuries, until weakened by the Banu Hilal and finally destroyed by the Almohads....
s and deeply weakened the neighboring Hammadid
Hammadid

The Hammadids, an offshoot of the Zirids, were a Berber people dynasty who ruled an area roughly corresponding to modern Algeria for about a century and a half , until, weakened by the Banu Hilal's incursions, they were destroyed by the Almohads....
s. Their influx was a major factor in the linguistic and cultural Arabization
Arabization

Arabization describes a growing cultural influence on a non-Arab area that gradually changes into one that speaks Arabic language and/or incorporates Arab culture....
 of the Maghreb
Maghreb

The Maghreb , also rendered Maghrib , meaning "place of sunset" or "western" in Arabic, is a region in North Africa. The term is generally applied to all of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, but in older Arabic usage pertained only to the area of the three countries between the high ranges of the Atlas Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea....
, and in the spread of nomadism in areas where agriculture
Agriculture

Agriculture refers to the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of civilization, with the animal husbandry of domestication animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more Population density and Social stratification societies....
 had previously been dominant. Ibn Khaldun noted that the lands ravaged by Banu Hilal invaders had become completely arid desert.

They were led by Abu Zayd al-Hilali
Abu Zayd al-Hilali

Abu Zayd Ibn Rizq Al-Hilali was the 10th century Arab leader and hero of the Banu 'Amir tribe of Banu Hilal. On the orders of the Ismaili Fatimid caliph, Abu Zayd moved his tribe to Tunisia via Egypt to punish the Zirids for abandoning Shiism....
. Their story is recounted in fictionalized form in Taghribat Bani Hilal
Taghribat Bani Hilal

Taghribat Bani Hilal is an Arabic epic literature recounting the Banu Hilal's journey from Egypt to Tunisia and conquest of the latter. It was declared one of Mankind's Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO in 2003....
.

Their "saga" is still recounted in form of poetry in Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt: Djezia and Dhieb bin Ghanim opposed to the Zenati Khalifa.

See also

  • Banu Sulaym