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Zabarella, Francesco (Zabarellis) (1360–1417) Italian
jurist, canonist
Francesco was born at PADUAabout 1360 and studied
canon law there and then at BOLOGNA, where he
obtained a licentiate in 1383. He taught at Bologna,
FLORENCE, and Padua. The antipope, John XXIII
(r. 1410–15), appointed him the archbishop of Florence
in 1410 and the next year appointed him a cardinal-
deacon. John sent him to the emperor SIGISMUND OF
LUXEMBOURGto promote the calling of a council, which
finally opened at CONSTANCEin 1414. Francesco was a
supporter of a moderate CONCILIARISMand promoted
the restoration of peace and reform of the church. His
treatise on ending the Great SCHISM, an important
conciliarist document, was critical of papal power and
thus later condemned by the PAPACY. Though Francesco
had been charged by John XXIII to preside over the
council as his legate, he became one of the important
sponsors of that pope’s deposition. He died at Constance
on September 26, 1417.
Further reading:Walter Ullman, The Origins of the
Great Schism: A Study in Fourteenth-Century Ecclesiastical
History(London: Burns, Oates & Washbourne, 1948);
Brian Tierney, Foundations of the Conciliar Theory: The
Contribution of the Medieval Canonists from Gratian to the
Great Schism(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1955).

Zagwa SeeABYSSINIA.

Zirids(Banu ̄ Zı ̄rı ̄) The Zirids were a Berber dynasty
who ruled in North AFRICAand al-MAGHRIBbetween 972
and 1125. The founder of the dynasty, Yusuf Buluggin I

ibn Ziri (r. 972–84), was a governor in Ifriqiyya for the

FATIMIDcaliphs in EGYPT. He moved to take over all of

the al-Maghrib. When this region proved too extensive to

control, it was divided around 990 between the two

branches of the family, the Zirids and the Hammadids,

who received the western part of north Africa. The Zirids

made their capital at AL-QAYRAWAN. In 1041 they

renounced their allegiance to the Fatimids, who promptly

incited Bedouin tribes against them, and these nearly

destroyed the territory of the Zirids. The Zirids, now

confined to the coast, built up a fleet. The NORMANS

under ROGERII eventually extracted tribute from them.

The last Zirid ruler, al-Hasan (1121–48), lost their

remaining territory to the ALMOHADSin 1148.

Further reading: Clifford Edward Bosworth, The

Islamic Dynasties (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University

Press, 1967); Michael Brett and Werner Forman, The

Moors: Islam in the West(London: Orbis, 1980).

Zˇizˇka, Jan(ca. 1360–October 11, 1424)military leader

Born into a noble family about 1360 in Trocnov in

BOHEMIA, Jan became a mercenary and fought for

POLAND. He was later to lose an eye in the Bohemian civil

wars during the reign of King Wenceslas IV (1361–1419),

at whose court he had grown up. He became a zealous

follower of John HUSand led those who threw the city

councilors of PRAGUEout of the windows of the town hall

in 1419.

Zˇizˇ ka then joined the TABORITESand helped them

organize a fanatical army. In 1420 he defeated the Ger-

man army of the emperor and German king of BOHEMIA,

SIGISMUND(r. 1419–37), at Vitkov. He continued to fight

the subsequent invasion forces of 1421 and 1422. While