Al-Nasir ibn Alnas

Al-Nasir ibn Alnas was the fifth ruler of the Sanhaja Berber Hammadid dynasty. Recognizing the strategic military vulnerability of the inland mountain citadel of Qal'a of Beni Hammad due to the Banu Hilal incursions, Al-Nasir took the bold vision in 1067 to establish an impregnable maritime capital on the Gulf of Bougie, named En-Nasiriya in his honor (present-day Bejaïa).

Under his reign, Bejaïa blossomed into one of the most magnificent maritime metropolises of the Mediterranean, adorned with aqueducts, naval shipyards, botanical gardens, and the famous Qasr al-Lu'lu'a (Palace of the Pearl). Al-Nasir opened commercial and diplomatic exchanges with Italian republics including Pisa and Genoa, establishing Algeria as a major hub of global maritime trade.