Ismail al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah

Ismail al-Mansur was born in Kairouan. Assuming military command upon his father's death during the siege of Mahdia in 946 AD, al-Mansur concealed his father's demise, rallied the Kutama warriors, and launched an audacious cavalry sally that shattered Abu Yazid's encircling lines.

Pursuing the rebels into the mountains of central Tunisia and the Hodna, al-Mansur crushed the rebellion in 947 AD. Celebrating his triumph, he built the round palatial city of Sabra al-Mansuriya outside Kairouan with lavish water gardens, paving the way for his son al-Mu'izz to conquer Egypt.