Abdallah al-Adil
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (October 2017) |
| al-Adil | |
|---|---|
| Almohad Caliph | |
Almohad | |
| Father | Yaqub al-Mansur |
| Religion | Islam |
Abu Muhammad ʿAbdallah 'al-ʿAdil' (
Background
Abu Muhammad Abdallah was a son of
In January 1224, the young Caliph
The
Aftermath
Abdallah al-Adil's murderous breach of dynastic precedence and constitutional propriety shocked the rest of the Almohads. But Abdallah and his brothers were dominant in al-Andalus, and had little trouble imposing themselves on the province, replacing those who refused to recognize the usurpation. In al-Andalus, everyone fell in line, with the notable exception of three of Abdallah's cousins, (the sons of Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Abi Hafs, the powerful governor of
In Morocco, Abdallah al-Adil's coup had barely succeeded. Many of the Masmuda tribal sheikhs, unwilling to see the balance in the Almohad coalition swinging into the hands of the Almohads of Spain, invoked their constitutional role, and refused to ratify al-Adil's usurpation, rallying instead around the figure of his nephew
Eager to depart, al-Adil undertook only a half-hearted effort to dislodge al-Bayyasi from the hills of Baeza in the winter of 1224–25. The campaign proved a humiliation – al-Bayyasi's little band of followers managed to fend off the much larger armies that al-Adil sent after them.[1] Al-Adil quickly acquired a reputation for incompetence and poor military skills, which spread across the water to Morocco, emboldening the recusants and shaking the confidence of his allies. Determined to seize Marrakesh before it was too late, al-Adil decided to ignore al-Bayyasi and stepped up the transportation of troops. Al-Bayyasi, in the meantime, struck up an alliance with the hitherto quiet Ferdinand III of Castile. Bemused at the turn of events, and delighted at the evacuation of Almohad troops, Ferdinand sensed an opportunity and decided to lend al-Bayyasi a large Castilian army.
In 1225, al-Bayyasi's band, accompanied by the Castilian army, descended from the Baeza hills. With al-Andalus practically denuded of Almohad troops, they
Heroes and cowards
Caliph Al-Adil, his minister Abu Zayd ibn Yajjan and leading Almohad commanders were at that moment in Seville, but they did not have the manpower to challenge the Christian army in the open.[1] As a result, the Portuguese raiders ravaged the outlying areas with impunity. At length, the civilian population of Seville, disgusted at the inactivity of the Almohad rulers, decided to take matters into their own hands. A popular levy was raised in the city and marched out on their own to meet the Portuguese in the field. It was a massacre. The Portuguese men-at-arms mowed down the poorly armed townsfolk. Thousands – in one report as many as 20,000 – were slain before the walls of Seville.[1]
Blame for the Seville massacre – and other disasters – was placed fully on the incompetence and cowardice of Caliph al-Adil and his Almohad lieutenants. But al-Adil's fortunes soon turned. Al-Bayyasi had promised three frontier fortresses to Ferdinand III in payment for his services. But one of the fortresses, Capilla, refused to allow itself to be passed over. The Castilians were forced to lay a long and difficult siege. The brave defiance of little Capilla, and al-Bayyasi's shipping of provisions to the Castilian besiegers, soon turned opinion against al-Bayyasi and back towards the Almohad Caliph. An uprising in Cordoba followed, al-Bayyasi was killed and his head dispatched to the Caliph in Marrakesh.[1]
But Abdallah al-Adil did not relish this victory for long. On October 4, 1227,
References
- Kennedy, Hugh (1996) Muslim Spain and Portugal: A Political History of al-Andalus. London: Addison-Wesley-Longman
- Julien, Charles-André. Histoire de l'Afrique du Nord, des origines à 1830, édition originale 1931, réédition Payot, Paris, 1994.