Tellīs

Tellīs was a Banu Tellis emirate in central Tripolitania, centred on Tellīs, now Bani Walid. Founded in 1228, it ruled Berber and Arab communities under loose Hafsid overlordship; in 1337 Ali Tellīs belonged to its ruling house.

The emirate repelled a Spanish attack on Masalata after 1510. Its last prince, Ali II, resisted the Ottomans for twenty-six years, until Ottoman troops and tribal allies stormed and burned Qasr Banu Tellis in 1603. The ruling house was largely destroyed, and local sheikhs took over.