Abd al-Mu'min

Abd al-Mu'min (عبد المؤمن, DMG ʿAbdu 'l-Muʾmin ; Central Atlas Tamazight ⵄⴰⴱⴷ ⵍⵎⵓⵎⵏ ⵍⴳⵓⵎⵉ ; * approx. 1094 in Tagra , empire of the Hammadids ; † 1163 in Rabat , Almohad Empire ) was the first caliph of the Maghrebian Almohad dynasty from 1130 to 1163 .

biography

Abd al-Mu'min ibn Ali ibn Makluf ibn Jala al-Chumi was a Berber and came from a Zanata tribe from the area around Tlemcen . In 1117 he joined Ibn Tumart in Bidschaya (today Bejaja) , who spread his theology among the Masmuda tribes of the High Atlas . As a Mahdi , after 1121 he formed the Almohad Covenant ("confessors of the unity" of God) for the fight against the Almoravids .

Already an important military leader of the Almohads during Ibn Tumart's lifetime, he appointed him as his successor before his death. Ibn Tumart's death was kept secret for three years so that Abd al-Mu'min could consolidate his rule. Resistance came mainly from the members of Ibn Tumart, who did not want to recognize the rule of a foreigner who was Abd al-Mu'min as a Zanata Berber. With the help of Abu Hafs Umar , Abd al-Mu'min was able to assert himself and also include Sanhajah tribes in the Almohad movement.

After securing the leadership role, Abd al-Mu'min began subjugating northern Morocco in 1140. After the Christian mercenary leader ar-Rubartair ( Reverter ), who was in the service of the Almoravids, fell in 1144, the Almoravids lost their most important military support, as most of the troops overflowed to the Almohads. In 1145 the Almoravids under Tashfin ibn Ali suffered a heavy defeat at Oran . With the successful conquest of Fez in the following year , the whole of northern Morocco was subdued. In 1147 the Almohads stormed Marrakech and overthrew the Almoravids. Revolts against the Almohads were bloodily suppressed; at the same time, the Almohad movement was purged of rebels and alleged opposition members - around 30,000 rebels are said to have been executed.

Tinmal Mosque (around 1153/4)

In 1149 Abd al-Mu'min destroyed the Bargawata Berbers and founded a large army camp in Rabat . In the following years he conquered the Hammadid Empire (1151) and defeated the united Bedouins of the Arab-born Banu Hilal near Bejaja . Some of them were resettled to Morocco and thus formed the seed for an extensive Arabization of the country. After the organization of the conquests in Algeria , the Zirid Empire in Ifrīqiya was conquered in 1159 and 1160 with 200,000 men and the Bedouins were defeated again. Also Tripoli came under Almohad rule, which the Maghreb was first unified. Trade with the European trading centers in the Mediterranean was organized through trade agreements with Genoa , Pisa , Venice , Sicily and Marseille .

Koutoubia Mosque , Marrakech (1147–1157), ruins of the first building and new building

As early as 1146, the Almohads under Abd al-Mu'min began subjugating Andalusia , but this was delayed by the resistance of Ibn Mardanīsch and could only be completed under his successor Abu Yaqub Yusuf I (r. 1163-1184). Abd al-Mu'min moved back to Andalusia in 1161 before he died in Rabat in 1163 and was buried in the mosque of Tinmal next to Ibn Tumart.

Succession

Abd al-Mu'min's eldest son and successor Muhammad was deposed after a brief reign in 1163, before Abu Yaqub Yusuf I was able to consolidate the Almohad empire further.

Construction activity

Under Abd al-Mu'min, extensive building activity began throughout the empire, with the Great Mosque of Taza (around 1145), the mosque of Tinmal (1153/4) and the Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech ( 1147–1157) are to be emphasized. In Rabat he initiated the construction of the fortress complex of the Kasbah des Oudaïas and equipped it with a representative gate .

literature

• Ulrich Haarmann: History of the Arab World. CH Beck, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-406-38113-8
• Stephan and Nandy Ronart: Lexicon of the Arab World. Artemis Verlag, Düsseldorf 1972, ISBN 3-7608-0138-2

Web links

• Abd al-Mu'min - Biography (Encyclopaedia Britannica, English)