Ifriqiya [Tunisia], Algeria, Sicily

The spread of the Abbasid Empire and the re-establishment of the Umayyads in Al-Andalus and the Idrisids in Morocco, led the Abbasids to establish a local principality in North Africa to protect themselves against these rival powers surrounding their kingdom. In AH 184 / AD 800, Caliph Harun al-Rashid (169–93 / 786–809) gave Ifriqiya (Tunisia) to Ibrahim ibn al-Aghlab (184–6 / 800–11), as a hereditary principality for him and his descendants to rule.
Despite the many revolts they faced in their early days, the Aghlabids managed to establish their rule over Ifriqiya, pacifying the country and developing trade and communication. They rebuilt cities and villages, and constructed a series of fortresses along the Tunisian coast to defend the country from attack from their rivals or from the Byzantines.
The Aghlabids controlled most of the islands in the western Mediterranean, including Sicily and Malta, and their influence extended as far as southern Italy. Ifriqiya experienced great prosperity under the Aghlabids, evident in the wealth of their architectural legacy, which included the Great Mosque of Kairouan and nearby reservoirs, and the Mosque of Zaytuna. Agriculture, weaving and ceramics also prospered, making Ifriqiya the main trade link between the Middle East and North Africa, and between Al-Andalus and Sudan.
The inevitable fall of the Aghlabids came about mainly because of the brutality of the ruling prince Ibrahim II and the atmosphere of frivolity and profligacy that pervaded the reign of Ziyadat Allah III (290–6 / 903–9), which led the people of Ifriqiya to reject the Aghlabids and to refuse to support them against the spread of Shi'ism. Ifriqiya fell without a fight in 296 / 909 to the armies of Abu 'Abdallah al-Sana'ani, the founder of the Fatimid Dynasty, which went on to rule Egypt, Syria and Palestine.