Origins & Early Life

ʿAbd al-Muʾmin (Arabic: عبد المؤمن; c. 1094–1163) was a prominent member of the Almohad movement. Although the Almohad movement itself was founded by Ibn Tumart, Abd al-Mu'min was the founder of the ruling dynasty and creator of the Almohad empire. As a leader of the Almohad movement he became the first Caliph of the Almohad Empire in 1133, after the death in 1130 of the movement's founder, Ibn Tumart, and ruled until his death in 1163.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Abd al-Mu'min put his predecessor's doctrine of Almohadism into practice, defeated the Almoravids, and extended his rule across Al-Andalus (on the Iberian Peninsula) and as far as Tunis in Ifriqiya (present-day Tunisia), thus bringing the Maghreb in North Africa and Al-Andalus in Europe under one creed and one government. Abd al-Mu'min was born in the village of Tagra, near Tlemcen, in the Kingdom of the Hammadids, present-day Algeria, into the Kumiya tribe, an Arabized section of the Berber Zenata tribal confederation. This tribe settled in the north of what is now the province of Oran, not far from Nedroma. His father was a potter from Nedroma. While young, Abd al-Mu'min went to Tlemcen to learn the Fiqh.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

His tutor died before he...

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