Al-Abed

The Al-Abed were the local ruling family of Gafsa, the chief oasis town of the Djerid in southwestern Ifriqiya. In the Middle Ages the Djerid oases grew rich on trans-Saharan caravan trade and often stood apart under Ibadi leaders, so that under loose Hafsid overlordship a local house such as the Al-Abed could hold the town largely autonomously.