Ziri ibn Manad

Chief of the Sanhaja Berbers in the central Maghreb, Ziri built a mountain stronghold called Ashir and threw his lot in with the Fatimid caliphs. His loyalty in battle and his fortress in the highlands turned a tribal lord into the founder of a new ruling line.

He founded the Zirid line, which would rule large parts of the Maghreb for over a century.

His city of Ashir, in the central Algerian highlands, was praised as a model of Berber urban design.