À partir de XIIᵉ siècle
Atlas, Anti-Atlas and Sus
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Almohad movement was a religious and political mobilization founded around Ibn Tumart in opposition to Almoravid rule. It promoted tawhid, moral austerity, criticism of Malikite legal formalism, and the authority of Ibn Tumart as Mahdi. Based among the Masmuda and other Atlas peoples, it developed a structured organization of councils, propagandists, tribal representatives, and military forces centered first at Igilliz and later at Tinmallal.
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Le récit
The Almohad movement emerged from Ibn Tumart's criticism of the religious and political order of the Maghrib. Its program opposed what he regarded as anthropomorphic beliefs and excessive dependence on applied Malikite jurisprudence. The movement instead emphasized tawhid, the uniqueness of God, direct engagement with the Koran and sunna, and a stricter concern with moral and doctrinal reform.
Its objectives were never solely theological. The movement was organized to achieve religious and political ends among the peoples of the Atlas, and its political purpose gradually became the overthrow of the Almoravid regime. Opposition to the Almoravids drew strength from tribal hostility as well as from debates over religious law and theology. The movement therefore joined reformist preaching to collective mobilization.
In 1121, at Igilliz, Ibn Tumart was proclaimed Mahdi by ten companions, including Abd al-Mu'min. The event was framed through symbols associated with the Prophet's community: the proclamation occurred beneath a tree, campaigns were called maghāzi, and the later retreat to Tinmallal was described as a hijra. These references helped present the movement as a restoration of an original religious community.
The first Almohad campaigns relied on skirmishes and surprise attacks. They secured much of the Anti-Atlas and Sus, while the Masmuda kabīlas increasingly rallied to Ibn Tumart. Growing Almoravid pressure nevertheless made the original position less secure, encouraging the movement to seek a defensible mountain base. In 1123 Ibn Tumart moved to Tinmallal, in the upper valley of the Nfis, approximately 75 kilometers southwest of Marrakesh.
The settlement at Tinmallal became the central communal base of the early Almohads. The account suggests that violence accompanied the reorganization of the local population, with the former inhabitants apparently replaced by a mixed group of supporters. From Tinmallal, the movement benefited from Almoravid difficulties in Spain and from the hostility of mountain kabīlas, allowing it to expand and consolidate despite internal dissensions.
The movement's partisan organization shaped the state that it sought to build. The talaba served as propagandists, first sent to rally tribes and later continuing their activities after Ibn Tumart's proclamation. The Ahl al-Khamsin, or 'fifty', represented the Almohad kabīlas, although tribal incorporation was gradual and uneven. The Haskura, for instance, joined only during the reign of Abd al-Mu'min.
The council known as the 'ten' or Ahl al-Djamā'a occupied a central position, but its exact membership and number remain uncertain. Different sources gave figures of seven, ten, or twelve, and membership could change through dismissal or replacement. Some individuals belonged both to this council and to the Mahdi's privy council, suggesting functional flexibility rather than a rigid constitutional division.
The Almohad movement was therefore simultaneously a religious association, a tribal coalition, a propaganda network, and a military organization. Its institutions translated Ibn Tumart's claims into a durable collective structure. The prominence of Abd al-Mu'min among the leading companions also connected the movement's foundation under Ibn Tumart with its subsequent leadership.
À partir de XIIᵉ siècle
Atlas, Anti-Atlas and Sus
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Almohad movement was a religious and political mobilization founded around Ibn Tumart in opposition to Almoravid rule. It promoted tawhid, moral austerity, criticism of Malikite legal formalism, and the authority of Ibn Tumart as Mahdi. Based among the Masmuda and other Atlas peoples, it developed a structured organization of councils, propagandists, tribal representatives, and military forces centered first at Igilliz and later at Tinmallal.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
The Almohad movement emerged from Ibn Tumart's criticism of the religious and political order of the Maghrib. Its program opposed what he regarded as anthropomorphic beliefs and excessive dependence on applied Malikite jurisprudence. The movement instead emphasized tawhid, the uniqueness of God, direct engagement with the Koran and sunna, and a stricter concern with moral and doctrinal reform.
Its objectives were never solely theological. The movement was organized to achieve religious and political ends among the peoples of the Atlas, and its political purpose gradually became the overthrow of the Almoravid regime. Opposition to the Almoravids drew strength from tribal hostility as well as from debates over religious law and theology. The movement therefore joined reformist preaching to collective mobilization.
In 1121, at Igilliz, Ibn Tumart was proclaimed Mahdi by ten companions, including Abd al-Mu'min. The event was framed through symbols associated with the Prophet's community: the proclamation occurred beneath a tree, campaigns were called maghāzi, and the later retreat to Tinmallal was described as a hijra. These references helped present the movement as a restoration of an original religious community.
The first Almohad campaigns relied on skirmishes and surprise attacks. They secured much of the Anti-Atlas and Sus, while the Masmuda kabīlas increasingly rallied to Ibn Tumart. Growing Almoravid pressure nevertheless made the original position less secure, encouraging the movement to seek a defensible mountain base. In 1123 Ibn Tumart moved to Tinmallal, in the upper valley of the Nfis, approximately 75 kilometers southwest of Marrakesh.
The settlement at Tinmallal became the central communal base of the early Almohads. The account suggests that violence accompanied the reorganization of the local population, with the former inhabitants apparently replaced by a mixed group of supporters. From Tinmallal, the movement benefited from Almoravid difficulties in Spain and from the hostility of mountain kabīlas, allowing it to expand and consolidate despite internal dissensions.
The movement's partisan organization shaped the state that it sought to build. The talaba served as propagandists, first sent to rally tribes and later continuing their activities after Ibn Tumart's proclamation. The Ahl al-Khamsin, or 'fifty', represented the Almohad kabīlas, although tribal incorporation was gradual and uneven. The Haskura, for instance, joined only during the reign of Abd al-Mu'min.
The council known as the 'ten' or Ahl al-Djamā'a occupied a central position, but its exact membership and number remain uncertain. Different sources gave figures of seven, ten, or twelve, and membership could change through dismissal or replacement. Some individuals belonged both to this council and to the Mahdi's privy council, suggesting functional flexibility rather than a rigid constitutional division.
The Almohad movement was therefore simultaneously a religious association, a tribal coalition, a propaganda network, and a military organization. Its institutions translated Ibn Tumart's claims into a durable collective structure. The prominence of Abd al-Mu'min among the leading companions also connected the movement's foundation under Ibn Tumart with its subsequent leadership.
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