Abu Bakr Ibn Umar
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Abu Bakr ibn Umar ibn Ibrahim ibn Turgut, sometimes suffixed al-Sanhaji or al-Lamtuni (died 1087; ) was a chieftain of the Lamtuna Berber Tribe and
Amir Emir (; ' (), also transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ceremonial authority. The title has ...
of the Almoravids from 1056 until his death. He is credited to have founded the Moroccan city of
Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...
, and under his rule the
heretic Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Christianity, Judai ...
Barghawata The Barghawatas (or Barghwata, Berghouata) were a Berbers, Berber tribal confederation and religious movement that ruled a region of the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast in present-day Morocco between the 8th and 11th centuries. They belonged to the ...
s were destroyed. His campaigns may have included attacking the
Ghana Empire The Ghana Empire (), also known as simply Ghana, Ghanata, or Wagadu, was an ancient western-Sahelian empire based in the modern-day southeast of Mauritania and western Mali. It is uncertain among historians when Ghana's ruling dynasty began. T ...
, although the Almoravid impact on and relationship with sub-Saharan states is disputed amongst historians. In November of 1087, Abu Bakr died of a poisoned arrow in what is now
Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...
.


Background

Abu Bakr ibn Umar was a member of the Banu Turgut, a clan of the Lamtuna Berbers. His uncle,
Yahya Ibn Ibrahim Yahya Ibn Ibrahim () (c. 1048) N. Levtzion and J. F. P. Hopkins, ''Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History'' (Cambridge, 1981) was a leader of the Godala tribe in the Adrar plateau modern day Mauritania. Yahya Ibn Ibrahim's primary ...
was the chieftain of the Lamtuna who, together with the
Maliki The Maliki school or Malikism is one of the four major madhhab, schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas () in the 8th century. In contrast to the Ahl al-Hadith and Ahl al-Ra'y schools of thought, the ...
scholar Abdallah ibn Yasin, launched the Almoravid (''murabitūn'') movement in the early 1040s.


Amir al-Muslimin

Upon the death of Yahya ibn Umar in the spring of 1056 at the Battle of Tabfarilla, the spiritual leader Abdallah ibn Yasin appointed Abu Bakr as the new military commander and amir of the Almoravids. That same year, Abu Bakr recaptured Sijilmassa from the
Maghrawa The Maghrawa or Meghrawa () were a large Berber tribal confederation in North Africa. They are the largest branch of the Zenata confederation. Their traditional territories around the time of Muslim expansion into the Maghreb in the 7th century ...
of the
Zenata The Zenata (; ) are a group of Berber tribes, historically one of the largest Berber confederations along with the Sanhaja and Masmuda. Their lifestyle was either nomadic or semi-nomadic. Society The 14th-century historiographer Ibn Khaldun repo ...
confederation. The city had been taken earlier by Yahya, but subsequently lost; Abu Bakr recaptured it definitively for the Almoravids in late 1056. In order to ensure they did not lose Sijilmassa again, Abu Bakr launched a campaign to secure the roads and valleys of southern
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
. He immediately captured the Draa valley, then moved along the Wadi Nul (along the edge of the Anti-Atlas, picking up the adherence of the
Sanhaja The Sanhaja (, or زناگة ''Znāga''; , pl. Iẓnagen, and also Aẓnaj, pl. Iẓnajen) were once one of the largest Berbers, Berber tribal confederations, along with the Zenata, Zanata and Masmuda confederations. Many tribes in Algeria, Libya ...
tribes of the Lamta and the Gazzula (Jazzula) to the Almoravid movement. Abu Bakr led the conquest of the
Sous The Sous region (also spelt Sus, Suss, Souss or Sousse) (, ) is a historical, cultural and geographical region of Morocco, which constitutes part of the region administration of Souss-Massa and Guelmim-Oued Noun. The region is known for the en ...
valley of southern Morocco, seizing the local capital of Taroudannt in 1057. By negotiation, Abdallah ibn Yasin secured an alliance with the
Masmuda The Masmuda (, Berber: ⵉⵎⵙⵎⵓⴷⵏ) is a Berber tribal confederation , one of the largest in the Maghreb, along with the Zenata and the Sanhaja. Today, the Masmuda confederacy largely corresponds to the speakers of the Tashelhit lan ...
Berbers of the High Atlas, which allowed the Almoravids to cross the mountain range with little incident and seize the critical Zenata-ruled citadel of Aghmat in 1058 with little opposition. Delighted at the apparent ease of their advance, Abdallah ibn Yasin ventured into the lands of the Berghwata of western Morocco with only a light escort and was promptly killed. Abu Bakr, who was then mopping up the area north of Aghmat, wheeled the Almoravid army around and conquered the Berghwata in a brutal campaign of revenge. The death of the spiritual leader Abdallah ibn Yasin left the Almoravids under the sole command of Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr continued carrying out the Almoravid program without assuming the pretence of religious authority in himself. Abu Bakr, like later Almoravid rulers, took up the comparatively modest title of ''amir al-Muslimin'' ("Prince of the Muslims"), rather than the
caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...
al ''
amir al-Mu'minin () or Commander of the Faithful is a Muslims, Muslim title designating the supreme leader of an Ummah, Islamic community. Name Although etymology, etymologically () is equivalent to English "commander", the wide variety of its historical an ...
'' ("Commander of the Faithful"). Abu Bakr married the wealthiest woman in Aghmat, Zaynab an-Nafzawiyyah, who helped him navigate the complicated politics of southern Morocco. But Abu Bakr, a rustic desert warrior, found crowded Aghmat and its courtly life stifling. In 1060/61, Abu Bakr and his Sanhaja lieutenants left the city and pitched their tents on the pastures along the Tensift River, setting up an encampment for their headquarters, as if they were back in the Sahara desert. Stone buildings would eventually replace the tents, and the encampment would become the city of
Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...
, an unusual-seeming city for the time, evocative of desert life with planted palms and an oasis-like feel. Abu Bakr placed his cousin
Yusuf ibn Tashfin Yusuf ibn Tashfin, also Tashafin, Teshufin, (; reigned c. 1061 – 1106) was a Sanhaja leader of the Almoravid Empire. He cofounded the city of Marrakesh and led the Muslim forces in the Battle of Sagrajas. Yusuf ibn Tashfin came to al-And ...
in charge of Aghmat, and assigned him the responsibility of maintaining the front against the Zenata to the north. In a series of campaigns through the 1060s, while Abu Bakr held court in Marrakesh, Yusuf directed Almoravid armies against northern Morocco, reducing Zenata strongholds one by one. In 1070, the Moroccan capital of Fez finally fell to the Almoravids. Discontent, however, had arisen in the Almoravid ranks.


Return to the Desert

Many among the desert clans back in the Sahara regarded the northern campaigns as expensive and pointless. The Guddala tribe, who had earlier broken away from the Almoravid coalition, began urging other desert tribes to follow suit. After the fall of Fez, feeling Morocco was now secure, Abu Bakr decided it was time to return to the Sahara to quell the dissension in the desert homelands. He placed
Yusuf ibn Tashfin Yusuf ibn Tashfin, also Tashafin, Teshufin, (; reigned c. 1061 – 1106) was a Sanhaja leader of the Almoravid Empire. He cofounded the city of Marrakesh and led the Muslim forces in the Battle of Sagrajas. Yusuf ibn Tashfin came to al-And ...
in charge of Morocco in his absence. As was common among the Sanhaja tribes before extended military campaigns, Abu Bakr divorced Zaynab before he left, advising her to marry
Yusuf Yusuf ( ') is a male name meaning " God increases" (in piety, power and influence).From the Hebrew יהוה להוסיף ''YHWH Lhosif'' meaning " YHWH will increase/add". It is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew name Yosef and the English na ...
if she needed protection. Having quelled the discontent back in the Sahara, Abu Bakr returned north to Morocco in 1072. But Yusuf ibn Tashfin had enjoyed his taste of power, and was reluctant to give it up. Pushed by his new wife, Zaynab, Yusuf met Abu Bakr in the plain of Burnoose (between Marrakesh and Aghmat) and with a large outlay of gold, cattle and other gifts persuaded him to leave the northern dominions to him. As a courtesy to his former leader,
Yusuf Yusuf ( ') is a male name meaning " God increases" (in piety, power and influence).From the Hebrew יהוה להוסיף ''YHWH Lhosif'' meaning " YHWH will increase/add". It is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew name Yosef and the English na ...
kept Abu-Bakr's name on the Almoravid coinage until his death. Abu Bakr returned to the Sahara desert to command the southern wing of the Almoravids, raiding the pagan Sudan and perhaps attacking the
Ghana Empire The Ghana Empire (), also known as simply Ghana, Ghanata, or Wagadu, was an ancient western-Sahelian empire based in the modern-day southeast of Mauritania and western Mali. It is uncertain among historians when Ghana's ruling dynasty began. T ...
, although opinion among historians is divided over whether the Almoravids ever established dominion over their Sub-Saharan neighbors. If Ghana was in fact conquered, it was likely done by a son of Abu Bakr, Yahya, in 1076.


Death

Mauritanian oral tradition claims Abu Bakr was killed in a clash with the "Gangara" ( Soninke Wangara of the Tagant Region of southern
Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...
), relating that he was struck down by a poisoned arrow from an old, blind Gangara chieftain in the pass of Khma (between the Tagant and Assab mountains, en route to Ghana). His grave is at Maksam in Tagant region, it is 15 km from Quddiya on the outskirts of Tidjikja. According to Wolof oral tradition, a Serer bowman named Amar Godomat killed him near lake Rkiz (Godomat's name apparently originates with this death).


Dating

Following Ibn Abi Zar, Abu Bakr ibn Umar's death has been commonly dated to 1087. This is supported by numismatic evidence, with coins minted in Sijilmassa in Abu Bakr's name until that date. Ibn 'Idhari, however, records him dying only 3 years after his return to the desert, sometime in 1075 or 1076. The clear exaggerations in Ibn Abi Zar's account are perhaps a reason to view his dates with skepticism, as well as the fact that the campaign against Ghana was possibly led by Abu Bakr's son, Yahya.

No historian has yet accounted for the ease with which Almoravid historiography has appropriated Ibn Idhari's chronology—this, at the expense of that passed on by Ibn Abi Zar and Ibn Khaldun—at all junctures except the date he provides Abu Bakr's death.


Legacy

Although records are sparse, Abu Bakr may have been succeeded as emir of the southern Almoravids by his son, establishing a dynasty that lasted 200 years. Oral tradition records that at his death Abu Bakr left a pregnant Fula wife, Fâtimata Sal, who gave birth to a son, the legendary Amadou Boubakar ibn Omar, better known as Ndiadiane Ndiaye, who went on to found the Wolof kingdom of
Waalo Waalo () was a kingdom on the lower Senegal River in West Africa, in what is now Senegal and Mauritania. It included parts of the valley proper and areas north and south, extending to the Atlantic Ocean. To the north were Moorish emirates; to the ...
in the lower Senegal river and the
Jolof Empire The Jolof Empire (), also known as Great Jolof or the Wolof Empire, was a Wolof state in modern-day Senegal, that ruled portions of Mauritania and Gambia from the mid-14th centuryFage, J. D.; Oliver, Roland; "The Cambridge History of Africa." Vo ...
.Wade, Amadou ( 941 1964) "Chronique du Walo sénégalais (1186-1855)", B. Cissé trans., V. Monteil, editor, Bulletin de l'IFAN, Series B, Vol. 26, no. 3/4, 440-98. The difference in dates between the two, however, make a direct connection impossible. More likely, Ndiaye was a descendant of Abu Bakr's, and one of several leaders who took power upon the dynasty's collapse.


See also

* Islamic empires


References


Sources

* * *
Ibn Idhari Abū al-ʽAbbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ʽIḏārī al-Marrākushī () was a Maghrebi historian of the late-13th/early-14th century, and author of the famous '' Al-Bayan al-Mughrib'', an important medieval history of the Maghreb (Morocco, No ...
, '' Al-bayan al-mughrib'' Part III, annotated Spanish translation by A. Huici Miranda, Valencia, 1963. * N. Levtzion & J.F.P. Hopkins, ''Corpus of early Arabic sources for West African history'', Cambridge University Press, 1981, (reprint: Markus Wiener, Princeton, 2000, ). Contains English translations of extracts from medieval works dealing with the
Almoravids The Almoravid dynasty () was a Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire that stretched over the western Maghreb and Al-Andalus, starting in the 1050s and lasting until its fall to the Almo ...
; the selections cover some (but not all) of the information above. {{DEFAULTSORT:Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar Year of birth unknown 1087 deaths Almoravid emirs 11th-century Berber people Lamtuna Almoravid generals