Ifriqiya

'Africa' Ifrīqya), also known as al-Maghrib al-Adna (Arabic: المغرب الأدنى), was a medieval historical region comprising today's Tunisia, eastern Algeria, and Tripolitania (roughly western Libya).

Although Islam existed throughout the province, there was still considerable religious tension and conflict between the invading Arabs and the native Berbers.

Muslim ownership of Ifriqiya changed hands numerous times in its history with the collapse of the Umayyads paving the way for the Aghlabids, who acted as agents of the Abbasids in Baghdad.

This empire was to last until the early 13th century where it was then replaced by the Hafsids, an influential clan that boasted many of Ifriqiya's governors.

Like the Europeans, Muslims felt the brutal effects of the Black Death in the 14th century when it arrived in Western Africa (Maghreb) through Europe.

Constantine traveled through places such as Cairo, India and Ethiopia, and his knowledge of numerous languages helped him interpret many academic texts.

He translated Muslim books on medicine from Arabic to Latin, opening Europe up to a wave of medical knowledge they had had little access to before.

In the latter 14th century Ibn Khaldun took refuge with a tribe in Algeria and began his four-year endeavor to write an introduction to history, Muqadimmah.

He spent his later years as a judge of the Maliki fiqh in Egypt where he took his work very seriously, evaluating each case on its merits and constantly trying to eradicate flaws that he discovered in the judicial system.

His somewhat strict approach to Islamic laws made some Egyptians uneasy, so he eventually left his position and traveled through the eastern reaches of the Arab world.