Abd al-Mu'min

Abd al Mu'min (c. 1094–1163) (

Abd al-Mu'min was born in the village of Tagra,[15]^[16] near Tlemcen, in the Kingdom of the Hammadids, present-day Algeria, ^[2][3] into the Kumiya Berber tribe of the Zenata confederation.^[17] This tribe settled in the north of what is now the province of Oran, not far from Nedroma.^[6] His father was a potter from Nedroma.^[18]

While young, Abd al-Mu'min went to Tlemcen to learn the

When Ibn Tumart died in 1130 at his ribat in Tinmel,^[6][14] after suffering a severe defeat at the hands of the Almoravids, Abd al-Mu'min and the council of ten kept the death of Ibn Tumart secret for 3 years,^[22] since the Almohads were going through a difficult time in their fight against the Almoravids. Abd al-Mu'min also feared that the Masmuda (the Berber tribe of Ibn Tumart) would not accept him as their leader since he was an outsider. He did eventually lead the Almohads when a family relationship was arranged between him and Cheikh Abu Hafs, the leader of the Masmuda.^[19] He then came forward as the lieutenant of Ibn Tumart, became the leader of the movement, and forged it into a powerful military force. He proclaimed himself Caliph, with the titles of Khalifat al-Mahdi ('Representative of the Mahdi') and later – probably after the conquest of Marrakesh – of Amir al-Mu'minin ('Prince/Commander of the Believers').^[23][6] He eventually adopted an Arab Qaysi genealogy that included the prophet Muhammad.^[24][25][26] Under him, the Almohads swept down from the mountains, eventually destroying the power of the faltering Almoravid dynasty by 1147.

Abd al-Mu'min created his empire by first winning control of the high Atlas Mountains, then the Middle Atlas, into the Rif region, eventually moving into his homeland north of Tlemcen.^[20] In 1145, after the Almoravids lost the leader of their Catalan mercenaries, Reveter, the Almohads defeated them in open battle. From this point the Almohads moved west onto the Atlantic coastal plain. After laying siege to Marrakesh, they finally captured it in 1147.^[20] Traditional accounts state that after establishing his capital at Marrakesh, Abd al-Mu'min created a dilemma in that the Almohads considered it a city of heretics. He contented himself with the destruction of their palace and mosques, although it is not clear whether these were actually demolished or merely abandoned.^[27]

The Almohads' involvement in Al-Andalus began as early as 1145, when Ali ibn Isa ibn Maymun, the Almoravid naval commander of Cadiz, defected to 'Abd al-Mu'min.^{[6][28]: 202 [14]: 75} In the same year, Ibn Qasi, the ruler of Silves, was one of the first Andalusian leaders to appeal for Almohad intervention in Al-Andalus in order to stop the advance of the Christian kingdoms, whom the faltering Almoravids were unable to contain. In 1147 Abd al-Mu'min sent a military force led by another Almoravid defector, Abu Ishaq Barraz, who captured Algeciras and Tarifa before moving west to Niebla, Badajoz, and the Algarve. The Almoravids in Seville were besieged in 1147 until the city was captured in 1148 with local support.^{[28][14]: 74–78}

Around this time a major rebellion centred in the Sous valley, led by Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah al-Massi, shook the Almohad Empire and took on religious dimensions, rallying various tribes to counter the Almohads. Some important cities such as Ceuta, Salé, and Sijilmassa overthrew their Almohad governors. An Almoravid, Yahya ibn al-Sahrawiyya, was declared ruler of Ceuta. After initial Almohad setbacks, the rebellion was eventually suppressed thanks to Abd al-Mu'min's lieutenant, Umar al-Hintati, who led a force that killed al-Massi. Abd al-Mu'min is said to have resorted to more draconian measures afterwards and initiated a purge of people he thought might be disloyal among the subject Berber tribes, allegedly resulting in around 30,000 executions.^{[28]: 203 [14]: 72–73}

The rebellion had taxed Almohad resources and resulted in temporary reversals in Al-Andalus too, but the Almohads soon went on the offensive again. Responding to local appeals from Muslim officials, they took control of Cordoba in 1149, saving the city from the forces of Alfonso VII.^[28]: 204 The remaining Almoravids in Al-Andalus, led by Yahya ibn Ghaniya, were by then confined to Granada. In 1150 or 1151 Abd al-Mu'min summoned the leaders and notables of Al-Andalus under his control to Ribat al-Fath (Rabat), where he made them pledge loyalty to him, apparently as a political demonstration of his power.^[14][28] The Almoravids in Granada were defeated in 1155 and retreated to the Balearic Islands, where they held out for several decades.^[14]

For much of the 1150s, however, Abd al-Mu'min concentrated his efforts on expanding eastwards across North Africa to Ifriqiya.^[14][28] By 1151, he had reached Constantine where he confronted a coalition of Arab tribes that had been marching through Berber lands. Rather than destroying these tribes, he utilised them for his campaigns in al-Andalus and they also helped to quell any internal opposition from the family of Ibn Tumart.^[20] Abd al-Mu'min led his forces to conquer Tunis in 1159, going on to progressively establish control over Ifriqiya by conquering the cities of Mahdia (then held by Roger II of Sicily), Kairouan, and other coastal cities as far as Tripoli (in modern-day Libya). He then returned to Marrakesh and left for an expedition to Al-Andalus in 1161. Abd al-Mu'min had ordered the construction of a new citadel at Gibraltar, where he based himself during his stay in Al-Andalus.^[6][14]

Final years

The Almohad empire was built by Abd al-Mu’min and effectively ruled by his family (known as the Mu‘minids). This plus his ongoing military activity angered those who considered themselves the founders of the Almohad movement. These founders made an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Abd al-Mu’min in 1160.^[29]

Abd al-Mu'min returned from Al-Andalus to the Maghreb in 1162. Over the next year he stayed in Ribat al-Fath and began to gather troops within its walls with the intention of launching another expedition to Al-Andalus. However, he fell ill and, after long period of sickness, died there in May 1163 (Jumada II 558 AH).^{[6][14]: 90} His body was transported to Tinmel, where he was buried, following a ceremony, next to Ibn Tumart in the religious complex (which was centred around the Great Mosque of Tinmel) he had built there years earlier. His son Abu Ya'qub Yusuf succeeded him.^[14]

Legacy

Abd al-Mu'min established a central government that would control

He was also a prodigious builder of monuments and palaces. He notably founded the Kutubiyya Mosque in Marrakesh and the Mosque of Tinmel.^[31][14] In 1150 he built the Kasbah of the Udayas, across the river from Salé, and founded an adjacent settlement. Naming the new fortress al-Mahdiyya or Ribat al-Fath, he intended to use it as a staging point for future campaigns on the Iberian Peninsula.^{[14]: 309–310} The settlement was further embellished and fortified by Yaq'ub al-Mansur at the end of the 12th century, and eventually became modern-day Rabat.^[14]

Almohad Dynasty

References

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Abd al-Mu'min