Banu Hilal
The Banu Hilal (Arabic بنو هلال, DMG Banū Hilal ) was an Arab Bedouin tribe made their name in the Maghreb history. Hilal is called " new moon " or " crescent ", Banu is translated as " sons " or " descendants of ..." the tribal name consequently means " sons of the crescent moon ."
The Banu Hilal migrated early as the 8th century by the Banu Sulaym from Arabia to Lower Egypt. Because of constant unrest they were moved by the Fatimids to Upper Egypt in the 10th century. After the governor of the Fatimids in Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia and western Libya), the Zirids, 1046 had declared independence from the Fatimids, Fatimid took the opportunity to expel the Bedouin troubled by Ifriqiya.
The Banu Hilal fell by 50,000 warriors in Ifriqiya, which led to destruction in agriculture and to a deterioration of the caravan trade. The attempt of the Ziri ibn Ziri Al- Muizz to integrate the Bedouin as mercenaries in the Kingdom failed. After a victory over the Zirids in Gabès ( 1052 ) and further unsuccessful negotiations conquered and plundered the Bedouin in 1057, among other Kairouan. The Arab historian Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406) complained that the Banu Hilal were invaded Ifriqiya like a swarm of locusts.
In the following years, several emirates of the Bedouin in Ifriqiya formed. This meant that the economic focus from inland shifted to the coastal areas, as the maritime towns were better defend against the Bedouins. It is still controversial whether the incidence of Banu Hilal was the cause of the economic decline of Ifriqiya or whether it had already begun before the Bedouin invasion.
From Ifriqiya from the Bedouin migrated in the realm of Hammadids (Algeria) and were recruited as mercenaries. As such, they fought successfully against the Moroccan Almoravids. However, it also failed to Hammadids to keep the Bedouin permanently under control. During this time, the growing Arabization of the sedentary Berber population in the country, which lasted the following centuries began.
After the combined Banu Hilal were defeated in 1152 in Sétif by the Almohads, was a resettlement of tribal parts to Morocco. This resulted in the following centuries there as well to a thorough Arabization of the population.
In addition to the Banu Hilal attracted by this time more Arab tribes on the northern edge of the desert along the Western Sahara. Probably from Yemen came the Ma ʿ qil, a sub-group were the DUI Hassan. For sold by these strains belonged to Arab culture, which consists of long webs black tent ( Haima ) and irrigation technology with the waterwheel ( Noria ).
These events also form the background of Egypt, Libya and Tunisia very popular orally transmitted epic, the Bani Hilal Taghribat. In 2003 it was declared by UNESCO a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.