Description
Book Synopsis‘Abd al-Mu’min (c.1094–1163) did not establish the first caliphate in the Islamic West, but his encompassed more territory than any that had preceded it. As leader of the Almohads, a politico-religious movement grounded in an uncompromising belief in the unity of God, he unified for the first time the whole of North Africa west of Egypt, and conquered much of southern Spain.
Studying every facet of ‘Abd al-Mu’min’s rule, from his violent repression of opposition to the flourishing of scholarship during his reign, Maribel Fierro reveals an intelligent leader and a skilled military commander who sought to build a lasting caliphate across disparate and diverse societies.
Trade Review‘Maribel Fierro, an internationally acclaimed authority on the Almohads, presents an accessible account of the true founder of the Almohad empire, ‘Abd al-Mu’min… Despite their importance, ‘Abd al-Mu’min and the Almohads rarely receive the coverage they deserve in surveys of the Islamic world and Fierro uses her deep erudition to address the balance in a way that will intrigue the novice and encourage the expert to think again.’
-- Amira K. Bennison, Professor in the History and Culture of the Maghrib, University of Cambridge
‘‘Abd al-Mu’min is a little known but very important figure in the history of the Almohad caliphate and the twelfth-century Maghrib in general. Maribel Fierro has brilliantly brought him to life. Grounded in her in-depth scholarship and with a clear narrative strand, this biography should be the first port of call for anyone interested in this controversial figure.’
-- Hugh Kennedy, Professor of Arabic, SOAS, University of London
Table of ContentsForeword
1 ‘Abd al-Mu’min, the Zanata Berber Who Built an Empire and Became Prince of the Believers
2 Looking for Knowledge: The Encounter with Ibn Tumart
Travelling East in Hammadid territory: Mallala and Ibn Tumart
Travelling West Through Almoravid territory to Igiliz: Mahdism
Travelling North: Tinmal and the Purges
Ibn Tumart’s Death and ‘Abd al-Mu’min’s Succession
History, Legend and Anthropology
3 From the Mountains to Empire: Submission to the Almohad Cause (al-tawhid) Through Jihad
Discrediting and Fighting the Almoravids
The Long Road to Marrakesh, the Rebellion of al-Massi and the Great Purge
The Expansion Eastwards, the Rebellion of Ibn Tumart’s Brothers and the Fight Against Arabs and Normans
The Conquest of al-Andalus and ‘Abd al-Mu’min’s Death
Jihad, the Army and the Collection of Taxes
4 Balancing Power to Achieve Dynastic Rule: The Almohad Hierarchies
Ibn Tumart’s Family and Inner Circle: The Ahl al-Dar and the Council of Ten
The Almohad Tribes, the Council of Fifty and the Shaykhs
Purging the Almohads (Tamyiz and I‘tiraf) and Facing Rebellion
‘Abd al-Mu’min’s Family and Genealogies
The Sayyids, the Talaba, the Huffaz and the Husaba’
5 Establishing God’s order (al-Amr al-‘Aziz): How to be a Maghribi caliph
Mahdism, Caliphate and al-Amr al-‘Aziz
The Writings of Ibn Tumart and ‘Abd al-Mu’min
Berber and Arabic, Igiliz/Tinmal and Mecca/Medina
The Square: Coins, Drums, Books
The Caliph, Provider of Happiness and Baraka: Banquets and Itinerancy
6 Giving Shape to the Caliphate: Buildings, Religious Practices, Law and Philosophy
Building the Caliphate: Mosques, High Minarets, Towns and Gardens
Purity, Islamic Rituals and the ‘Uthmanic Mushaf
Forced Conversion: The Abolition of the Dhimma
Malikism, Law and the Judges
Re-imagining Ibn Tumart and ‘Abd al-Mu’min: Ibn Tufayl and Ibn Tahir
7 The Caliph’s Men and the Rest: Administration and Knowledge
Secretaries, Viziers nd Preachers
Poets, Historians and Grammarians
Doctors, Philosophers and Astronomers
The Ghuraba’, the Mystics and the Saints
Shifting Trajectories and the Non-Almohads
8 ‘Abd al-Mu’min’s Significance and Legacy
Sources and Select Bibliography
Index
