The Rustumids were an Ibadiyah – among the various sects of the Khawarij – dynasty based in Algeria and the city of Tiaret as their capital from 144 H/761 AD until 296 H/909 AD. During the earlier 8th century, the Ibadiyahs were chased by the authorities in the East – the Abbasids – and they had to flee to the Maghreb, northwest of Africa since it was a distance away from the Abbasid empire in Baghdad. 

Simultaneously, Abu Ubaidah Muslim bin Abu Karimah –  an advocate of Khawarij Ibadiyah – appointed his student, Salamah bin Said Al-Hadhrami, to travel to the Maghreb, explore its environment, and study its condition and every prospect so as to establish an empire based on their methodology and belief. Salamah was an active propagandist, who settled in the Nafusa Mountains in the western Tripolitania regions and was able to spread the ideology of Khawarij Ibadiyah and gain a group of followers. He then sends some of his followers to Basrah to meet the scholars of Khawarij Ibadiyah and deepen their knowledge of this methodology. Among them are Abdur Rahman bin Rustum, a Persian, and Abu Al-Khattab Abdul A’la. In 140 H/ 757 AD, upon returning from the Maghreb, Abu Al-Khattab was elected as the leader of Khawarij Ibadiyah and he appointed Abdur Rahman as the governor of Tripoli. After he managed to save Qairuwan from the Warfajjumah Shufriyah tribe, Abu Al-Khattab decided to add the city to his emirate and was able to expand his authority into Africa and Oran in the west. The news of this new influence dynasty reached Caliph Abu Jaafar Al-Mansur – the 2nd Abbasid Caliph – and he realized the potential threat they withhold. He sends an army from Egypt to Africa to eliminate this influence and recapture Qairuwan from the Ibadiyahs. Abu Al-Khattab Al-A’la was later killed by Muhammad bin Al-Asy’ats Al-Khuza’i, the governor of Africa, and as a result, the leadership was passed down to Abdur Rahman bin Rustum and Qairuwan was successfully retrieved by the Abbasids.

While Abu Al-Khattab was occupied by the Abbasids, Abdur Rahman retreats with a few followers to Tiaret in western Algeria, the home of the Madghacen tribe – they were a group of nomads who accepted the Ibadiyah as they wanted to flee from the Abbasids moreover paying the tax. In 144 H/ 761 AD, Abdur Rahman was appointed as the ‘Imam’ of the Ibadiyahs in the election known as “Difa’ ‘An Al-Ibadiyyah” (دفاع عن العبادية). As the founder of the newly established dynasty, he contributed generously to his state by constructing the new city of Tiaret, which was a mile away from the former Tiaret, and building a mosque in the central city together with a palace beside it. Although he learns the administration system from Persia, most of the procedures he consolidate were simultaneous with the Ibadiyah methodology. He was appointed again as the ‘Imam’ for the second period in 160 H/ 777 AD with a new name for the election known as “Baiat Zhuhur Wa Imamah Zhuhur” (بيعة ظهور وإمام ظهور). Before his death, Abdur Rahman tried to copy Umar Al-Khattab’s approach in choosing the new ruler. He chose 7 people among the most pious and possessed integrity while adding his son as a participant, which opposed the method applied by Umar R.A. Abdur Rahman later died in 168 H/784 AD and was succeeded by his son, Abdul Wahab bin Abdur Rahman bin Rustum.

Abdul Wahab was elected after Masud Al-Andalusi stand down from the position. Although Abdul Wahab was a potential ruler of the dynasty, the nation did not agree with him being their leader as they despised the inheritance system which was against the principles of Khawarij Ibadiyah. The situation ended up with a revolt and was ignited by Yazid bin Fundin, who was among the chosen participants for the throne, which lead to the emergence of two groups: Al-Nakariyah, the followers of Yazid bin Fundin, and Al-Wahabiyah, the followers of Abdul Wahab bin Abdur Rahman. The revolt then ended with the death of Yazid at the hands of Aflah bin Abdul Wahab. As the saying goes, like Father like son, Abdul Wahab contributed much to the dynasty during his reign. He managed to invade Tripoli which forced Ibrahim bin Al-Aghlab – the founder of the Aghlabiyah Dynasty – to compromise with him and surrender the city to the Rustumids. Through this method, he was able to benefit from the external situation and condition by confronting the Aghlabiyahs. He also constructed a library in the city of Tiaret with a collection of books with more than 300,000 chapters. Even though Abdul Wahab’s reign was known to be the rise of the Rustumids, he was faced with challenges involving revolt and separation between different nations. The people of Ibadiyah appointed Abdul A’la As-Samah bin Abu Al-Khattab as the governor of Nafusa, and after his death, they elected his son, Khalaf bin Abu Al’A’la, as the next governor. Abdul Wahab was against this election and he appointed Abu Ubaidah Abdul Hamid Al-Janawini as the governor of Nafusa instead of Khalaf, which caused division and conflict among the people of Ibadiyah in Tiaret and Ibadiyah in Nafusa. 

Aflah bin Abdul Wahab was appointed as the 3rd ‘Imam’ of the Ibadiyah after the death of his father, Abdul Wahab bin Abdur Rahman, in 208 H/823 AD. The uprising rebel caused by the supporters of Khalaf bin Abu Al-A’la, also known as Al-Khalafiyah, continued during Aflah’s reign. In 221 H/ 836 AD, a war occurred between the two parties which ended with Khalaf’s defeat, though his followers were able to defend their existence. During Aflah’s reign, the dynasty reached its peak; he was able to stabilize peace in his state, improve the agriculture world by benefiting the excessive waters and fertile lands, and launched a trading business through sea routes with Andalusia, through lands with Sudan, Ghana, and Sijilmassa – a city in Morocco – and Algeria. He later died in 258 H/ 872 AD. Amidst the death of Aflah bin Abdul Wahab, the state begin to weaken as the authority was passed down to both of his sons, Abu Bakar bin Aflah and Abu Al-Yaqazhan Muhammad. There were not many narrations about the events that occurred during their reign but it was known that the Rustumids begin to weaken in power and military strength, numerous bloodshed was spilled between Ibadiyah’s nation and the dynasty declined as potential heirs compete for power and authority. The dynasty was later ruled by Abu Hatim Yusuf bin Muhammad and ended with the last ruler, Al-Yaqazhan bin Abu Al-Yaqazhan in 296 H/ 909 AD before it fell to the hands of Abu Abdillah Ad-Da’i As-Syi’i, an active preacher of the Syiah Ismailiyah’s methodology.

References

• Bangkit dan runtuhnya Daulah Fathimiyah – Dr Muhammad Suhail Thaqqusy

• The Muqaddimah (Kitab Ibrar) – Ibn Khaldun