Zīrid Ifrīqiya and the Islamic World
From The Observatory
Dates
May 28–29, 2026
Location
University College London, London
Area
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The conference Zīrid Ifrīqiya and the Islamic World in the 10th–12th Centuries will take place at UCL, London, on 28–29 May 2026, co-hosted by Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and UCL. It will gather scholars from archaeology, history, art history, numismatics, epigraphy, and manuscript studies to re-evaluate the Zīrid dynasty’s (972–1148) role in the Islamic world. The event seeks to challenge long-standing neglect of Zīrid Ifrīqiya—often overshadowed by other Berber dynasties—by highlighting its political, economic, and cultural importance as a Mediterranean–Saharan crossroads.
Paper proposals are due by 30 September 2025.Agenda
Paper proposals for the conference should be sent to Corisande Fenwick (c.fenwick@ucl.ac.uk) or Annliese Nef (Annliese.Nef@univ-paris1.fr ) by 30 September 2025.
Participants
Corisande Fenwick
Organizer | Homepage
Prof. Corisande Fenwick is Professor of Late Antique and Islamic Archaeology. Her research focuses on empire and everyday life in the late antique and Islamic world, particularly North Africa. Her recent publications include the monograph Early Islamic North Africa (Bloomsbury, 2020) and the co-edited Oxford Handbook of Islamic Archaeology (OUP, 2020) and Aghlabids and their Neighbours: Art and Material Culture in Ninth-Century North Africa (Brill, 2017).
Annliese Nef
Organizer | Homepage
Professor of History, Civilization, Archaeology, and Art of the Ancient and Medieval Worlds.
Viva Sacco
Organizer | Homepage
British Academy International Fellow, UCL Institute of Archaeology (2023-26)
