Buluggīn

Buluggīn I ibn Zīrī was a Berber chief who rose to prominence in the mountains of Kabylie, Algeria. He was an ally of the Fāṭimids and, in 972, was appointed governor of al-Qayrawān and other territories by the Fāṭimid caliph al-Muʿizz. Buluggīn expanded the Zīrid state westward to the Strait of Gibraltar. The Zīrid dynasty, of which Buluggīn was a part, eventually declared independence from the Fāṭimids in 1048, leading to a period of anarchy in North Africa. The Berbers are descendants of the pre-Arab inhabitants of North Africa and speak various Amazigh languages.12