Abd al-Mu'min

Abd al-Mu'min

Abd al-Mu'min (1094–1163) also known as Abdelmoumen El Goumi (Arabic: ‏عبد المؤمن بن علي or عبد المومن الــكـومي‎, Tifinagh: ⵄⴰⴱⴷ ⵍⵎⵓⵎⵏ ⵍⴳⵓⵎⵉ) was a Zenata Berber prominent member of the Almohad movement. He became the first Caliph of the Almohad Empire (reigned 1130–63).

Contents

Early life

Abd al-Mu'min was born near Tagra, in the Tlemcen area, present day Algeria.[1] He belonged to the Goumia tribe, which in turn, belongs to the larger Berber Zenata tribe. The Goumia originated from Tagraret.[2]
Ibn Khaldun wrote that was fro a noble family (The Banu Abed) of the Zenata. The Almohad biographers traced his descent as Abd al-Mu'min ben Ali ben Makhlouf ben Yali ben Merwan ben Nasr ben Ali ben Amer ben Al-Amir ben Musa ben Abdellah ben Yahya ben Ourigh ben Setfour (ben means son of).[2] Ibn khaldun, however, strongly opposes this as a fabricated lineage, since Abdelmoumen was Berber of a well known tribe and the names reported are, for the most part, Arab.[2]

Abdelmoumen went, as a youngster, to Tlemcen to learn the Fiqh. His tutor died before he could complete his study, at that time he learned about the existence of a well learned and pious Faqih known as Feqih Soussi (later known as Ibn Tumart) coming from the east on his way to his native land in Tinmel. Abdelmoumen and his peers wanted to convince Ibn Tumart to settle in Tlemcen, so he was sent to Ibn Tumart with a letter from the students inviting him to come to their land. The two met at Mellala near Bejaïa.[3] Ibn Tumart turned down this invitation, but Abdelmoumen stayed with him and they continued the journey to Morocco.[3] A strong friendship has grown between the two during this period, Ibn Tumart declared Abdelmoumen his best companion, to the point that he nominated him as his successor in leading the Almohads. Later, Abdelmoumen and the council of ten kept the death of Ibn Tumart secret for 3 years,[4] since the Almohads were going into a difficult time in their fight against the Almoravids, he also feared that the Masmuda (The Berber tribe of Ibn Tumart) wouldn't accept him as their leader since he was an outsider. He will eventually lead the Almohads when an in-law relationship occurred between him and Cheikh Abu Hafs the leader of the Masmuda.[3]

Rise to power

Some time around 1117 he became a follower of Ibn Tumart, leader of Masmudas (Berber tribe of western Morocco), a religious leader of renowned piety who had founded the Almohads as a religious order with the goal of restoring purity in Islam. His group had long been at odds with the Almoravids and had been forced into exile in the mountains. Between 1130 and his death in 1163, Abd al-Mu'min not only defeated the Almoravids, but extended his power over all northern Africa as far as Egypt, becoming Caliph the Almohad Empire in 1149.

When Ibn Tumart died in 1128 at his Ribat in Tinmel, after suffering a severe defeat by the Almoravids, Abd al-Mu'min kept his death secret for two years, until his own influence was established. He then came forward as the lieutenant of Ibn Tumart, became the leader of the movement, and forged it into a powerful military force. Under him the Almohads swept down from the mountains, eventually destroying the power of the faltering Almoravid dynasty by 1147.

Establishing his capital at Marrakech, al-Mu'min expanded his empire beyond Morocco eastwards to the border of Egypt.

He also was a prodigious builder of monuments and palaces. One of the monuments he caused to be erected was a substantial fortress at Chellah to prepare the site as a base for attacks against Iberia. (Hogan, 2007)

Final years

The last years of his life were spent campaigning in the Al-Andalus (Moorish Iberia) first conquering the Muslim kingdoms and then campaigning inconclusively against the Christian states.

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/686/Abd-al-Mumin
  2. ^ a b c Ibn Khaldun, Abderahman (1377). تاريخ ابن خلدون: ديوان المبتدأ و الخبر في تاريخ العرب و البربر و من عاصرهم من ذوي الشأن الأكبر. Volume 6. دار الفكر. p. 166. 
  3. ^ a b c Ibn Khaldun, Abderahman (1377). تاريخ ابن خلدون: ديوان المبتدأ و الخبر في تاريخ العرب و البربر و من عاصرهم من ذوي الشأن الأكبر. Volume 6. دار الفكر. p. 167. 
  4. ^ Ibn Khaldun, Abderahman (1377). تاريخ ابن خلدون: ديوان المبتدأ و الخبر في تاريخ العرب و البربر و من عاصرهم من ذوي الشأن الأكبر. Volume 6. دار الفكر. pp. 305–306. 

Books

  • Henri Terrasse, History of Morocco (2 vols., 1949–1950; trans., 1 vol., 1952).
  • C. Michael Hogan (2007) Chellah, The Megalithic Portal, ed. A. Burnham.

External links

Preceded by
Ishaq ibn Ali (end of Almoravid dynasty)
Almohad dynasty
1147–1163
Succeeded by
Abu Ya'qub Yusuf

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Abd al-Mu'min — (‏عبد المؤمن‎, DMG ʿAbdu l Muʾmin; * 1094; † 1163) war erster Kalif der Almohaden (1130–1163). Abd al Mu min ibn Ali ibn Makluf ibn Dschala al Chumi entstammte einem Zanatastamm aus der Gegend von Tlemcen. 1117 schloss er sich in Bidschaya Ibn… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • ‘ABD AL-MU’MIN — (entre 1094 et 1106 1163) Propagateur d’un mouvement qui provoquera une révolution sans précédent dans l’histoire de l’Occident de l’islam, créateur d’un empire et d’une dynastie, revendiqué comme héros national par l’Algérie nouvelle, ‘Abd al… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Abd al-Mu'min — Abd al Mumin  Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différentes personnes partageant un même nom. Pour les articles homonymes, voir Abd. Abd al Mumin (1100 1163), disciple de Ibn Tûmart, fondateur et 1er calife de la dynastie des Almohades …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Abd al-Mu'min — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Abd Al Mumin Obtenido de Abd al Mu%27min …   Wikipedia Español

  • Abd al-Muʾminʿ — ▪ Almohad caliph Introduction in full  ʿAbd al Muʾmin ibn ʿAli  born c. 1094, Tagra, Kingdom of the Ḥammādids died 1163, Rabat, Almohad Empire       Berber caliph of the Almohad (Almohads) dynasty (reigned 1130–63), who conquered the North… …   Universalium

  • `Abd al-Mu'min —    His full name is Ibn Ali Ibn Alawi Ibn Ya laa al Kumi, and he was the first ruler of the Almohad Empire (1133 1161), which he built up from the politicoreligious community founded in the Atlas Mountains by his teacher, the religious reformer… …   Historical dictionary of the berbers (Imazighen)

  • Abd al-Mu'min el Kumi — Abd al Mumin (Almohades) Pour les articles homonymes, voir Abd al Mumin. Abdul Mu min ben Alī al Kūmī ou Abd al Mu min ben Alī al Kūmī ou Abdelmoumen ( عبد المؤمن بن علي الكومي en arabe), né vers 1100 à Nedroma et décédé en 1163 à Salé, est un… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Abd Al-Mu'min Ibn Yusuf Ibn Fakhir — connu sous d autres formes patronymiques comme entre autres Safi al din ; Safiouddin al Ourmaoui ; al Urmawi est un luthier d Urmia en Perse vers 1250. Il est connu à Bagdad comme musicien, érudit en musicologie et bibiliothécaire sous… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Abd al-mu'min ibn yusuf ibn fakhir — connu sous d autres formes patronymiques comme entre autres Safi al din ; Safiouddin al Ourmaoui ; al Urmawi est un luthier d Urmia en Perse vers 1250. Il est connu à Bagdad comme musicien, érudit en musicologie et bibiliothécaire sous… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Abd al-Mu'min ibn Yusuf ibn Fakhir — connu sous d autres formes patronymiques comme entre autres Safi al din ; Safiouddin al Ourmaoui ; al Urmawi est un luthier d Urmia en Perse vers 1250. Il est connu à Bagdad comme musicien, érudit en musicologie et bibiliothécaire sous… …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”