266:, had allied with the Almoravids during the attack on Ghana). A large Takruri force under Labi came to join up with Yahya in the Adrar, but the Gudala struck first. Before the Takruri force managed to reach him, the Godala army bore down on Azuggi, trapping Yahya's smaller force and forcing a pitched battle. The Godala destroyed the Almoravid army at the
181:
Invoking stories of the early life of
Muhammad, Ibn Yasin preached that conquest was a necessary addendum to Islamicization, that it was not enough merely to adhere to God's law, but necessary to also destroy opposition to it. And tribalism, Ibn Yasin declared, was against God's law. Therefore, it
142:
The chronicles trace Yahya's lineage back to the
Lamtuna chieftain Turgut ibn Wartasin (by full patronymic record, Yahya ibn Umar ibn Ibrahim (alias Talagagin) ibn Turgut ibn Wartasin al-Lamtuni Like many of the leading Lamtuna chieftains, Yahya ibn Umar longed to recreate the old Sanhaja union and
362:
asserts it was a nephew, which numismatic evidence suggests was Ali ibn Yahya, the third son of the first
Almoravid commander, Yahya ibn Umar. It is unlikely Abu Bakr would have ignored the sons of his late elder brother. So they probably both held it in sequence - first, Ali ibn Yahya from c. 1057
293:
Chroniclers report that Yahya ibn Umar had three sons - Muhammad, Ali and Isa. Their exact fate is unknown, but it seems their uncle, Abu Bakr ibn Umar, did not forget them. Around 1057, not long after recovering the city, Abu Bakr appointed his nephew Ali ibn Yahya as the
Almoravid governor of the
209:
Fired up by religious fervor, in the early 1050s, the
Lamtuna launched a series of campaigns against the neighboring tribes to persuade them - by force if need be - to join the new Sanhaja union. Under Yahya's leadership, the Lamtuna armies successfully brought the other Sanhaja desert tribes - the
237:
on the southern end of the trans-Saharan route. But news soon arrived that the Zenata had recovered
Sijilmassa and expelled the Almoravid garrison. Yahya determined on a forced march back north to recover the city, but the Godala suddenly decided to call it quits, and broke away from the Almoravid
221:
pulled on their connections and clients in the desert to spoil the
Almoravid efforts to unite the Sanhaja. After various entanglements with client armies, Yahya soon determined that the best strategy was to strike the troublemaker behind the troublemakers. In 1054 (or 1055), Yahya led his desert
177:
jurist and fiery puritan preacher, who had been staying as a guest of the Gudala, and it is possibly on account of this that Ibn Yasin was expelled by the Gudala. Probably sensing the useful organizing power of Ibn Yasin's pious fervor, Yahya ibn Umar invited him to stay among the
Lamtuna. Yahya
238:
coalition. This presented Yahya with the troubling prospect of a hostile force to his rear if he pressed on north. In a fateful decision, the
Almoravids decided to partition their forces - Yahya would lead a campaign against the lands of the Gudala (littoral
186:. For Yahya ibn Umar and the Lamtuna chieftains, Ibn Yasin's ideology dovetailed into their long desire to recreate their old Saharan empire, giving their worldly ambitions the legitimacy of Islamic authority and religious imperative.
210:
Massufa, the Banu Warith and even the wary Gudala - over to the new "cause". Once united, the
Almoravids set about seizing the old trans-Saharan routes and stations. But their rivals were not about to cede control so readily. The
294:
Sijilmassa, a post he seems to have held down to 1069. Upon his death in 1087, Abu Bakr partitioned his dominions (covering the southern half of the Almoravid empire) not only among his own sons, but also among the sons of Yahya.
222:
Sanhaja armies against Sijilmassa, defeated the Maghrawa lord and captured the city. The fall of opulent and powerful Sijilmassa to a makeshift army of rustic desert puritans was unexpected and shocked many contemporaries.
282:, to succeed him as the new Almoravid emir. Under Abu Bakr's leadership, the Almoravids would re-conquer Sijilmassa, and go on to a spectacular career, conquering most of the rest of
198:". Abdallah ibn Yasin was the religious imam and ideological leader of the movement, Yahya ibn Umar the overall military commander, and thus the first Almoravid emir. Chronicler
242:) and drag them back by force into the union, while instructing his brother Abu Bakr to take a holding force north and keep the Zenata of Sijilmassa in check.
278:
Yahya's brief career as the first Almoravid emir came to a premature end. After his death, Abdallah ibn Yasin immediately appointed Yahya's brother,
120:
empire. After the Sanhaja union collapsed, most of their old dominions - particularly the citadels, caravan stops and oases on the lucrative
258:
of central Mauritania. Feeling he had insufficient forces to take on the Godala by himself, Yahya called upon his new ally, the king of
319:
See N. Levtzion and J.F.P. Hopkins, 2000, editors, Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History, University of Ghana, p.409.
483:
488:
402:
Lewicki, T. (1988) "The Role of the Sahara and Saharians in relationships between north and south", in M. Elfasi, editor,
478:
503:
363:
until 1069, then Ibrahim ibn Abi Bakr from 1069 to c. 1075 (as confirmed by coinage).See Messier (2001, p.64-65)
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is the religious duty of Muslims to set aside their tribal differences, and establish a new polity under the
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princess. Although only one of several candidates, Yahya ibn Umar succeeded in being elected the new high
498:
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attached himself closely to Ibn Yasin, and a productive relationship was forged between the two men.
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chief, a selection which provoked the resentment of the Godala, who had hoped for one of their own.
493:
102:
desert tribes were united and, with the zeal of neophyte converts, launched a series of campaigns (
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Ibn Yasin and Yahya collaborated in the leadership of this new movement - soon to be called "the
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asserts Abu Bakr appointed his own son, Ibrahim ibn Abi Bakr, as governor of Sijilmassa. But
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With Sijilmassa apparently under control, Yahya turned his army south and headed against the
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54:. Yahya led the Almoravid armies in their first campaigns, including captures of
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206:("Prince of the Muslims"), that would thereafter be used by Almoravid rulers.
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See translation of al-Qadi Iyad (Ch. 26 of Levtzion and Hopkins, 2000, p.102)
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67:
359:
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General History of Africa, Africa from the Seventh to the Eleventh Century
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in the 1070s and eventually come back down to finish off what remained of
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in March–April 1056. Yahya ibn Umar was killed in the field of battle.
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The opportunity seemed to arise in the late 1040s, after the death of
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Abu Zakariyya Yahya ibn Umar ibn Talagagin ibn Turgut ibn Wartasin
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in 1054/55, but was himself killed in battle against a dissident
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Yahya headed as far as the Almoravid frontier fortress of
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claims that Yahya ibn Umar was the first to use the title
399:, Cambridge, UK" Cambridge University Press. 2000 edition
262:, for assistance (Takrur, a black African kingdom on the
50:, constructed in collaboration with the religious leader
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confederation. Yahya ibn Umar was the second emir of the
70:. Yahya was succeeded as Almoravid emir by his brother,
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Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History
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in the mid-11th century, a movement his predecessor,
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succession rules, and Yahya ibn Umar's mother was a
395:Levtzion, N. and J.F.P. Hopkins, editors, (1981)
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34: : يحيى إبن عمر) was a chieftain of the
406:, UNESCO. 1992 ed., ch.11, p. 276-313.
411:The Almoravids and the Meanings of Jihad.
310:Lewicki (1988:p.160-61; 1992: p.308-09)
245:
116:). The Sanhaja union carved out a vast
94:(or Judala). After their conversion to
90:, the Massufa, the Banu Warith and the
86:were divided into several tribes - the
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169:Ibn Umar's succession was endorsed by
150:, the chieftain of the neighboring
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484:11th-century monarchs in Africa
413:Santa Barbara, Calif.: Praeger.
233:seized the critical citadel of
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143:recover their lost dominions.
1:
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489:11th-century Moroccan people
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98:during the 9th century, the
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10:
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479:11th-century Berber people
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124:routes - were lost to the
112:" (pagan black peoples of
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432:
419:
128:to the south, and to the
82:In the 11th century, the
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504:People killed in action
390:Ancient Ghana and Mali
409:Messier,R.A. (2010)
372:Levtzion, 1973: p.46
346:Levtzion, 1973: p.44
268:Battle of Tabfarilla
246:Battle of Tabfarilla
19:, commonly suffixed
328:Messier (2010:p.10)
122:trans-Saharan trade
451:Abdallah ibn Yasin
440:Abdallah ibn Yasin
423:Abdallah ibn Yasin
392:. London: Methuen.
171:Abdallah ibn Yasin
114:sub-Saharan Africa
52:Abdallah ibn Yasin
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456:Abu Bakr ibn Umar
448:Succeeded by
428:Yahya ibn Ibrahim
280:Abu Bakr ibn Umar
148:Yahya ibn Ibrahim
72:Abu Bakr ibn Umar
48:Yahya Ibn Ibrahim
38:, a tribe in the
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499:Berber Moroccans
445:1046–1056
420:Preceded by
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204:amir al-muslimin
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290:in the 1080s.
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139:to the north.
118:Saharan desert
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438:(along with
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227:Ghana empire
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152:Godala tribe
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126:Ghana Empire
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23:
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16:
15:
474:1056 deaths
156:matrilineal
26:, (d. near
468:Categories
356:Ibn Idhari
240:Mauritania
231:Almoravids
219:Sijilmassa
217:rulers of
200:Qadi Ayyad
196:Almoravids
184:Sacred Law
137:Sijilmassa
135:rulers of
78:Background
56:Sijilmassa
44:Almoravids
24:al-Sanhaji
21:al-Lamtuni
435:Almoravid
274:Aftermath
254:, in the
235:Awdaghost
60:Awdaghost
215:Maghrawa
133:Maghrawa
110:Sudanese
30:, 1056;
509:Lamtuna
388:(1973)
380:Sources
284:Morocco
164:Sanhaja
100:Sanhaja
88:Lamtuna
84:Sanhaja
40:Sanhaja
36:Lamtuna
260:Takrur
252:Azuggi
229:. The
212:Zenata
175:Maliki
160:Godala
130:Zenata
92:Gudala
64:Berber
32:Arabic
28:Azuggi
298:Notes
288:Ghana
105:jihad
96:Islam
68:Adrar
453:and
425:and
173:, a
58:and
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442:)
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