Battle of Sebiba

The Battle of Sebiba is a battle that took place near the Tunisian town of Sebiba in the year 1065 between the tribes of Riah, Zughba, and Banu Sulaymon the one hand and the tribes of Zenata, Sanhaja, and Athbaj on the other hand.

Battle of Sebiba
Date 1065 AD Location Sbiba Tunisia Result Arab tribes Victory
Belligerents
Hammadids Zanata Sanhaja	Arab Tribes: Riah Zughba Banu Sulaym
Commanders and leaders
Nasir ibn Alnas Al-Kasem ibn Alnas Khalifa al-Zanati	Abu Zayd al-Hilali Dhieb bin Ghanim
Casualties and losses
24,000 killed	Unknown

Background

The battle ended with a crushing victory for the Arab tribes of Riah, Zaghba and Banu Sulaym against the Berber tribes of Zenata and Sanhaja, where 24 thousand Berbers were killed and the Arabs took all their weapons and money as spoils.

Battle

Al-Nasir ibn Alinas, Emir of Bani Hammad Castle, gathered forces to support Athbaj, and Al-Mu'izz ibn Ziri from the Maghrawa tribe and King of Fez came to join him with the Zenata. They took up their positions at Laribus and afterwards. They had an encounter with the wind and the dormouse in Sbiba. In this battle, Al-Mu'izz ibn Ziri abandoned his ally and surrendered, allegedly, to the inspiration of Tamim ibn Al-Mu'izz ibn Badis, Emir of Cairo. This betrayal led to the defeat of Ibn Alinas, who was forced to leave his treasures and camp in front of the Arabs and Zenata after he lost his brother Al-Qasim in the clash.

History

Al-Idrisi says about it in his book The Nuzhat al-mushtāq fī ikhtirāq al-āfāq the following: “It is an eternal city abundant with water and gardens, and has a wall of fortified stones. It has a square in which there are markets and inns, and its inhabitants drink from a large running spring on which is their gardens, their orchards, and their crops of cumin, caraway, and legumes.”The battle known as the Battle of Sebiba took place there in the year 1065 AD, between Bani Hammad and his allies from Sanhaja and Zenata on the one hand, and on the other hand, Al-Mu'izz bin Ziri and the Arab tribes of Zaghba and Riah, and it ended with the defeat of the first party.