The Zirids were a Berber dynasty, originating in Petite Kabylie among the Kutama tribe, that ruled Ifriqiya (roughly, modern Tunisia), initially on behalf of the Fatimids, for about two centuries, until weakened by the Banu Hilal and finally destroyed by the Almohads. Their capital was Kairouan. An offshoot branch of the family ruled Granada until 1492.

The Hammadids were an offshoot of this dynasty.

Tunisian Zirid Rulers

• Abul-Futuh Sayf ad-Dawla Buluggin ibn Ziri (973-983)
• Abul-Fat'h al-Mansur ibn Buluggin (983-995)
• Abu Qatada Nasir ad-Dawla Badis ibn Mansur (995-1015)
• Sharaf ad-Dawla al-Muizz ibn Badis (1015-1062) declared independence from the Fatimids 1048, changed capital to Mahdia in 1057 after Kairouan was lost to the Banu Hilal.
• Abu Tahir Tamim ibn al-Muizz (1062-1108); changed the khutba to refer to the Abbasid Caliph in 1087, marking a final break with the Fatimids.
• Yahya ibn Tamim (1108-1131)
• Ali ibn Yahya (1115-1121)
• Abul-Hasan al-Hasan ibn Ali (1121-1148)