The Official Celebrations of the Zayyanid Authority in Tlemcen (633–962 AH/1235–1554 AD) – A Historical-Anthropological Approach

Abstract

This study investigates the official celebrations calendar of the Zayyanid authority in Tlemcen (633–962 AH/1235–1554 AD) by examining its political, military, and religious processions through a combined historical and anthropological approach. Rather than focusing solely on the widely studied occasion of the Prophet’s birthday, the paper aims to inventory all celebrations the state considered official, classify them according to their nature, and describe their ceremonies and processions to uncover the symbolic contexts underlying them and how they were perceived by both the elite and the common populace.
The findings reveal that certain ceremonial elements recurred across all celebrations regardless of their type—such as gunpowder volleys, displays of army strength, and the conspicuous manifestation of material and aesthetic disparities between ruler and ruled. The Zayyanid princes proved particularly inventive in their engagement mechanisms, from the silver tree of Abū Tāshfīn I to the manjānah clock associated with mawlid festivities under Abū Ḥammū Mūsā II. Contrary to Ibn Khaldūn’s characterization of the Zayyanid state as marked by Bedouinism and the absence of urban institutions, the study argues that their official celebrations displayed significant ceremonial sophistication. Religious occasions were strategically exploited to bolster legitimacy—through sanctifying the pillars of authority, reminding the public of shared Islamic origins, and consolidating the image of the ruler as the Caliph of the Muslims.