'Abd al-Mu'min

Maribel Fierro is Research Professor at the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas in Madrid. Her work focuses on the intellectual history of the Islamic West, particularly with respect to law, religion, historiography and political thought. She is the author of ‘Abd al-Rahman III: The First Cordoban Caliph, which is also published by Oneworld.

Foreword



 



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