Zaynab an-Nafzawiyyat
Encyclopedia
Zaynab an-Nafzāwiyyat (fl.
Floruit
Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...

 11th century), a Berber
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...

 woman of influence in the early Almoravid movement which gained control of Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

 and parts of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

.

The earliest reference to her is in the anonymous 12th-century text Kitab al-Istibsar, where it says "In her time there was none more beautiful or intelligent or witty ... she was married by Yusuf
Yusuf ibn Tashfin
Yusef ibn Tashfin also, Tashafin, or Teshufin; or Yusuf; was a king of the Almoravid empire, he founded the city of Marrakech and led the Muslim forces in the Battle of Zallaqa....

, who built Marrakech
Marrakech
Marrakech or Marrakesh , known as the "Ochre city", is the most important former imperial city in Morocco's history...

 for her". This work names her father as Ibrāhīm an-Nafzāwi, a merchant originally from Kairouan
Kairouan
Kairouan , also known as Kirwan or al-Qayrawan , is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia. Referred to as the Islamic Cultural Capital, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city was founded by the Arabs around 670...

.

According to Ibn Khaldun
Ibn Khaldun
Ibn Khaldūn or Ibn Khaldoun was an Arab Tunisian historiographer and historian who is often viewed as one of the forerunners of modern historiography, sociology and economics...

, she first became the concubine of Yusuf ibn Ali, chief of the Wurika and Aylana Berber
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...

 tribes about Aghmat
Aghmat
Aghmāt was an important medieval Berber town in southern Morocco which is today an archaeological site known as "Joumâa Aghmat". It is situated approximately 30 km east of Marrakech on the Ourika road...

 in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

. She then married Luqūt al-Maghrāwi, amir of Aghmat
Aghmat
Aghmāt was an important medieval Berber town in southern Morocco which is today an archaeological site known as "Joumâa Aghmat". It is situated approximately 30 km east of Marrakech on the Ourika road...

. Luqūt was killed in a battle against the invading Almoravids and his wealth was inherited by Zaynab.

The most detailed information appears to be in the (unfortunately incomplete) early 14th-century text Al-bayan al-mughrib
Al-Bayan al-Mughrib
Kitāb al-bayān al-mughrib fī ākhbār mulūk al-andalus wa'l-maghrib is an important medieval text on the history of the Maghreb and Iberia, written in Arabic in Marrakech in about the year 1312 by Ibn Idhari...

. She is said to have had many offers of marriage from tribal chiefs from all over Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

, but always declined by saying she would marry no-one who did not wish to become ruler of the whole country. It is said she had supernatural powers, and conversed with genie
Genie
Jinn or genies are supernatural creatures in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings that occupy a parallel world to that of mankind. Together, jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of Allah. Religious sources say barely anything about them; however, the Qur'an mentions that...

s.

She married the Almoravid leader, Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar
Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar
Abu Bakr ibn Umar ibn Ibrahim ibn Turgut, sometimes suffixed al-Sanhaji or al-Lamtuni was a chieftan of the Lamtuna Berbers of the western Sahara, and commander of the Almoravids from 1056 until his death....

 in September 1068 and offered to put her immense wealth at his disposal. It is said she blindfolded Abu Bakr, then led him to a secret underground cavern. When she removed the blindfold, he saw around him an immense treasure of gold and silver, pearls and rubies. "All this is yours" she said before leading him out - again blindfolded.

Abu Bakr began the construction of Marrakech
Marrakech
Marrakech or Marrakesh , known as the "Ochre city", is the most important former imperial city in Morocco's history...

 in May 1070. Work had not progressed very far when a messager arrived pleading for his help in suppressing a revolt against the Almoravids deep in the Sahara Desert. Abu Bakr knew that his wife was not suited to the rigours of a desert life, and divorced Zaynab, advising her to marry Yusuf ibn Tashfin
Yusuf ibn Tashfin
Yusef ibn Tashfin also, Tashafin, or Teshufin; or Yusuf; was a king of the Almoravid empire, he founded the city of Marrakech and led the Muslim forces in the Battle of Zallaqa....

, whom he was leaving as his deputy. He departed for the Sahara in January 1071, and after the legal period of 3 months' separation had ended, Zaynab duly married Yusuf in May of that year.

In 1072, Abu Bakr signalled his intention to return from the Sahara to take up his former position. Yusuf was understandably reluctant to yield, but did not know how to keep his position without triggering an internecine war with Abu Bakr. It is said that Zaynab, knowing of Abu Bakr's fondness for the desert life and his own reluctance to cause unwarranted bloodshed, advised Yusuf to confront Abu Bakr in a firm but courteous manner, and mollify him with luxurious presents. This Yusuf did, and the meeting passed without incident. Abu Bakr returned to the Sahara, but in a continuing homage his name remained on Almoravid coinage until his death some years later.

Zaynab is known to have had at least two sons by Yusuf:
  • al-Mu'izz Billah, born in 1072
  • Fadl, born in 1075


The Rawd al-Qirtas
Rawd al-Qirtas
is a history of Morocco written in Arabic in the 1326 C.E. It includes many details about the wider Moroccan empire in Iberian Peninsula and Algeria....

gives the date of her death as 1071, which does not fit with more accurate sources. It says that Yusuf owed the conquest of the Maghreb
Maghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...

(Morocco, Algeria and Spain) to her advice, and that she was so expert in conducting negotiations that she was nicknamed "The Magician".
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