Structures of Government in Almohad Iberia
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Structures of government in Almohad Iberia Submitted by Farag I M Omar to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History, September 2015 This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University. ....................................................................................................... Abstract This thesis seeks to examine the political and administrative organisations of al-Andalus during the period of the Almohads. It employs close analysis of the sources in order to explore how the Almohad government system worked and to identify the extent of the development and the efficiency of its structures during the period. Each chapter focuses on a specific part of this system. Chapter I examines the founding of the political organs established by the founder of the Almohad movement, Ibn Tūmart, and the reforms made by his successor, the founder of the empire, ʿAbd al-Muʾmin. Chapter II discusses the administrative political system of al-Andalus, especially the administrative divisions of the provinces, and the political structure of the government, represented by the governors and the kuṭṭāb. Chapter III examines the financial institutions and its structures, such as the ʿāmil, the mushrif, and the ṣāḥib al-aʿmāl, in addition to the Almohad sikka and its development. Chapter IV, the final chapter, studies the judicial system and highlights its religious functions. ii Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Simon Barton for his continuous support, patience, motivation, and immense knowledge. His guidance helped me throughout the research and writing of this thesis. I could not have imagined having a better supervisor and mentor for my Ph.D study. I would like also to thank all my friends and colleagues for their support and for providing me with copies of several sources that have helped me to complete this thesis. I greatly value their friendship and I deeply appreciate their belief in me. My deepest thanks, however, must go to my family. None of this would have been possible without their love and patience. My immediate family, to whom this dissertation is dedicated, has been a constant source of love, concern, support and strength all these years. I would like to express my heart-felt gratitude to them. iii Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................. iii Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1 The Almohad Movement ..................................................................................... 1 Literature review ............................................................................................... 14 Research Project ................................................................................................ 26 Thesis structure and Methodology ................................................................... 27 1....................................................................................................................................... 47 The Foundations of the Almohad Political Organisation .................................. 47 1. The hierarchy of Ibn Tūmart................................................................................... 47 1.1 The Hierarchy and the Almohad Chronicles ................................................................ 48 1.2 The Almohad Pyramid and the Beginning of the Movement ...................................... 52 1.3 The Almohad Advisory Councils ................................................................................... 56 1.3.1 Council of Ten ............................................................................................................ 56 1.3.2 Council of Fifty .......................................................................................................... 59 1.3.3 The Sabʿa and the Sabʿīn ........................................................................................... 62 1.4 The Propagandists of the Almohads .............................................................................. 64 1.4.1 The Ṭalaba: The ‘Learned’ ........................................................................................ 64 1.4.2 The Ḥuffāẓ: The “Guardians” ..................................................................................... 67 1.5 The Mass of the Population or Al-Kāffah ....................................................................... 71 1.6 Borrowed Model or Original Innovation? .................................................................... 71 2. ʿAbd al-Muʾmin’s Political Reform ........................................................................ 74 2.1 The Almohad Council of Sheikh-s .................................................................................. 75 2.2 The Ṭalaba (the Students) ............................................................................................... 79 2.3 The Ḥuffāẓ ........................................................................................................................ 81 iv 2.4 The Ḥaḍar Ṭalaba ............................................................................................................ 84 2.5 The Position of Non-Almohads ....................................................................................... 87 2.6 Education at that Time ................................................................................................... 88 2.7 Consultative Councils ...................................................................................................... 90 2.7.1 The Arab and Andalusi Sheikh-s ................................................................................ 90 2.7.2 The Sayyid-s, or the Almohad Princes ....................................................................... 92 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 95 2....................................................................................................................................... 97 The Political-Administrative Organisation of al-Andalus ................................ 97 1. Provincial divisions ................................................................................................... 98 2. Government structures ........................................................................................... 103 2.1 The Wālī (governor) ...................................................................................................... 103 2.2 The Vizier ........................................................................................................................ 114 2.3 The Kātib ......................................................................................................................... 118 3. Al-barīd (Postal Service) ......................................................................................... 121 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 123 3..................................................................................................................................... 124 The Financial Administrative System .................................................................. 124 1. Finance Officers ...................................................................................................... 125 1.1 Ṣāḥib Ashghāl al-Barrayn .............................................................................................. 125 1.2 Ṣāḥib al-Aʿmāl or Ṣāḥib al-Ashghāl al-makhzaniyya .................................................. 126 1.3 Al- mushrif ...................................................................................................................... 128 1.4 Kuttāb al-Makhzan (The Secretaries of Finance) ........................................................ 131 1.5 Other Financial Officers ............................................................................................... 132 2. Revenue and Expenditure of the State .................................................................. 134 2.1 The State Revenue ......................................................................................................... 134 2.1.1 Ghanāʾim or Booty .................................................................................................. 134 2.1.2 Zakāt ......................................................................................................................... 136 2.1.3 The Fifth: Metals (Akhmās al-Ma'ādin) ................................................................... 137 2.1.4 The Kharāj or Land Tax .......................................................................................... 138 2.1.5 Confiscation (Al-Muṣādarah) .................................................................................. 140 v 2.1.6 Investments