Chapter 2 - The Queen and Her Kings

Summary

The queen of Marrakesh, Zaynab al-Nafzawiyya, stands out as an enigmatic figure in the early history of the Almoravid Maghrib. The basic details of her relations with the Almoravid amirs throws up many questions, prompting the need for rereading and greater clarification. Maghribi historical writers seem to have envisioned her as a symbolic figure for the conquest of the Far Maghrib and its riches—for what disappeared of the old order and what was gained—through the mysterious powers that she is described as wielding.

Zaynab al-Nafzawiyya

Zaynab al-Nafzawiyya was the wife of Laqqut b. Yusuf, the Maghrawa chief of Aghmat. Troubling news of the Almoravid advance had drummed steadily since the assault and capture of Sijilmasa. They had taken four years to conquer the Sus and cross the High Atlas, where the Lamtuna-led coalition secured allegiance from a group of Masmuda and moved over the mountains to the vast plain where Aghmat was the major market town. When the Almoravid assault began to look imminent, with the fate of Aghmat in the balance, Laqqut fled. When Ibn Yasin, Abu Bakr b. ʿUmar, and Yusuf b. Tashfin first rode out onto the plain leading their troops, at the end of 449/1057, Laqqut had been determined to make a stand. But a first series of attacks followed by defections within his own ranks weakened his resolve. He fled with a number of his men under the cover of night. He sought refuge in Tadla, a town ruled by the Ifrani chief of Salé, Muhammad b. Tamim. Zaynab, Laqqut’s wife and queen, was left behind in her undefended city. The Sanhaja troops and their Masmuda allies marched unopposed into town. Zaynab lost little time and sent emissaries to Abu Bakr, suing for peace and security for her and her people. The surprising outcome of this overture, and the negotiations that followed, was the agreement from Abu Bakr to take Zaynab as his wife, which he eventually did after a series of campaigns that further consolidated his control in the region. She would become his co-regent. Zaynab al-Nafzawiyya was the queen of Aghmat; Abu Bakr had gained a powerful ally, with access and insight into the region and into a people foreign to the Lamtuna. She obtained continuity and stability for her town and country in return. And she would play a leading role in its future.