Aghlabid architecture dates to the rule of the Aghlabid dynasty in Ifriqiya (modern-day Tunisia) during the 9th century and the beginning of the 10th century. The dynasty ruled nominally on behalf of the Abbasid Caliphs, with which they shared many political and cultural connections. Their architecture was heavily influenced by older antique (Roman and Byzantine) architecture in the region as well as by contemporary Abbasid architecture in the east. The Aghlabid period is also distinguished by a relatively large number of monuments that have survived to the present day, a situation unusual for early Islamic architecture. One of the most important monuments of this period, the Great Mosque of Kairouan, was a model for mosque architecture in the region. It features one of the oldest minarets in the world and contains one of the oldest surviving mihrabs in Islamic architecture.

The Muslim conquest of North Africa took place progressively during the 7th century. During this period, the city of Kairouan was founded in 670 and served as the regional capital of the Maghreb. The Great Mosque of Kairouan, the city's congregational mosque, was also initially founded in 670. The Abbasid revolution in 750 put the Abbasid Caliphs in overall control of the Islamic empire, overthrowing the previous Umayyad Caliphs. In Ifriqiya, several rebellions and attacks on Kairouan, mainly from the Kharijites, had to be suppressed.

In 800 the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid appointed Ibrahim ibn al-Aghlab as governor of the entire Maghreb (in theory, the lands west of Egypt). He founded the Aghlabid dynasty, who ruled Ifriqiya nominally on behalf of the Abbasid Caliphs in Baghdad but were de facto autonomous. In practice, their political power was mainly concentrated in the region of Ifriqiya. Under their rule, Kairouan grew into the major cultural and spiritual center of Sunni Muslims in the Maghreb. Although this city was in principle the political and economic capital, the Aghlabid rulers themselves usually resided in other nearby sites purpose-built for housing the government. Sources claim that after coming to power in 800, Ibrahim ibn al-Aghlab's first action was to found a new royal residence, al-Abbasiyya (named in honour of the Abbasids), just southeast of Kairouan. It was built between 801 and 810, and included its own congregational mosque and palaces.

Under the rule of Ziyadat Allah I (r. 817–838), one of the most competent rulers of the dynasty, the Aghlabids embarked on a campaign of conquests in the central Mediterranean, including the conquest of Sicily (starting in 827), the conquest of Malta (870), and expeditions to the Italian mainland (mostly in the 830s and 840s). In 876 Ibrahim II ibn Ahmad moved the royal residence from al-Abbasiya to a new palace-city he founded, named Raqqada, again near Kairouan. The city contained a mosque, baths, market, and several palaces. He resided in a palace called Qaṣr al-Fatḥ (Arabic: قصر الفتح, lit. 'Palace of Victory'), which remained the residence of his successors (except for some periods where they moved to Tunis).

Kairouan, as the center of Aghlabid power, received significant attention and patronage. The Aghlabid rulers concerned themselves with furnishing cities with water – seen as a pious duty – and with building or rebuilding mosques as physical expressions of the dynasty's presence and legitimacy. The founding of new royal cities or residences, such as al-Abbasiya and Raqqada, also had symbolic value as part of the dynasty's portrayal of its own power, while probably also serving to distance it from social and political tensions within Kairouan. Former Christians, converted to Islam, also played a central role in the field of architecture in Ifriqiya during this era. Some of them were freed slaves, known as mawali, who continued to serve their former masters, often serving as supervisors in the construction projects sponsored by their masters.

Aghlabid rule began to weaken by the end of the 9th century and in 909 they were finally overthrown by a Kutama army led by Abu Abdallah al-Shi'i, establishing the new Fatimid Caliphate with Ifriqiya as its heartland.

The century of Aghlabid rule saw a degree of political stability and continuity that allowed architectural patronage to flourish. The relatively large number of surviving monuments from this period in one region is unusual for this era of Islamic architecture, allowing for a more detailed study of their architectural development.

Aghlabid architecture remained heavily influenced by the traditions of Antiquity, evidenced by the continuing extensive use of stone and some associated decorative techniques. The ruins of Roman Africa were also frequently reused as a source of building materials, particularly for marble and cut stone. The Aghlabids' connection to the Abbasids in Baghdad also meant that they imported or adopted the latest techniques from the metropolitan Abbasid style in Iraq, as seen in the luster-painted tiles of the mihrab in the Great Mosque of Kairouan, the carved stucco decoration in Raqqada, and the stone-carving of the Mosque of Ibn Khayrun.