Historical Background
The event of Taghribat Bani Hilal has a basis in history, when Zirid Tunisia broke away from the Fatimid empire in the 11th century.
Early sources describe how the Fatimid Caliph sent the Banu Hilal to the Maghreb lands, in order for them to punish the Zirids for rebelling against them.
The epic has come to represent a foundational myth for Arab identity in North Africa and the spread of Islam across the Sahara effecting the cultural heritage of countries as far south as Sahel states such as Mali and Niger.
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