Hafsid Tunisia in the 1340s

Timeline

1. 1340–1346Tunisia · TunisiaIn the early 1340s, Abu Yahya Abu Bakr II still maintained relative unity across the Hafsid domains and kept marriages and alliances with western dynasties such as the Marinids and Zayyanids. In 1342 he designated his son Abu al-Abbas Ahmad, governor of the south, as heir, but his death on 19 October 1346 left a power vacuum in Tunis and sparked fierce succession struggles.
2. 1346–1347Tunisia-Gabes · TunisiaAbu Hafs Umar proclaimed himself caliph in Tunis and killed his brother Abu al-Abbas Ahmad. In spring 1347 Marinid Sultan Abu al-Hasan, at the request of the former official Ibn Tafraqin, led a large army east, entering Tunis triumphantly in September; Umar was captured and executed near Gabes. The traveler Ibn Battuta was in Tunis at this time and witnessed the Marinids' brief unification of the eastern Maghreb.
3. 1349–1350Tunisia · TunisiaThe Black Death devastated Ifriqiya in 1349, and tribal revolts made the Marinid garrison untenable; Abu al-Hasan departed by sea in December 1349. In early 1350 the Béjaïa prince al-Fadl briefly claimed the caliphate, but in July Ibn Tafraqin enthroned Abu Ishaq Ibrahim II and executed al-Fadl. The Hafsids restored their independence, though central authority was greatly weakened.