Djerba anD the Limits of rustamiD Power. Considering the ibādī Community of Djerba unDer the rustamid imāms of tāhert (779-909Ce) Ŷarba y los límites del poder rustamí. la comunidad ibādi de Ŷarba bajo los imāmes rustamíes de tāhert (779-909 d.c.) Paul M. love, Jr. university of michigan-ann arbor, usa this article is aimed at analyzing the medieval and modern source material dealing with the history of djerba under the rustamid imāmate in an attempt to clarify the nature of both the historical

more »

... and historiographical relationship between them. it will begin by discussing the available primary and secondary source material, including the historiographical challenges they present. an analysis of the textual and archeological evidence connecting the rustamids and djerba will follow. next, it will attempt to synthesize the scattered bits of evidence available in the historical record in an effort to present a clearer picture of djerba in the rustamid period. on the basis of this textual and archeological evidence, it will be argued that djerba was home to an ibādī community independent of the government in tahert for the majority -if not all-of that imāmate's existence -distinguishing the island from the surrounding areas of the djerid (in southern tunisia), parts of aghlabid Ifrīqiya and the jebel nafūsa. Furthermore, it will be shown that evidence suggests this independence was not only a political, but also a religious one.