Uthman (Hafsid)

Uthman (reigned 1435–1488) was an Hafsid caliph of Ifriqiya. His rule marked the zenith of the Hafsid kingdom.

He successfully brought on his grandfather Abd al-Aziz II's politics but in the long run he could avoid neither power struggles inside the Hafsid family nor the revolt of the southern Berber tribes.

Initially he chose his provincial governors among freed slaves but when they attempted to gain some degree of independence he replaced them with members of his own family. Although some of the latter would later break out in open rebellion, yet he was able to keep the Abdalwadid Kingdom of Tlemcen under his control and also to extend Hafsid sphere of influence over the Kingdom of Fez for a brief period of time, thus making Ifriqiya the most powerful state of the Maghreb.

Footnotes

Sources

Fossier, Robert; Jacques Verger; Robert Mantran; Catherine Asdracha; Charles de La Roncière (1987). Storia del medioevo III: Il tempo delle crisi (1250–1520). Giulio Einaudi editore. p. 368. ISBN 88-06-58404-9.