Ali ibn Hamdun al-Andalusi was an early adherent of

Isma'ilism Ismailism () is a branch of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (Imamate in Nizari doctrine, imām) to Ja'far al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the ...

and of the

Fatimid Caliphate The Fatimid Caliphate (; ), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa and West Asia, i ...

. He was the founder and governor of the city of

M'Sila M'sila (also spelled Msila) (); is the capital of M'Sila Province, Algeria, and is co-extensive with M'sila District. It has a population of 132,975 as per the 2008 census. M'sila University is also located in this city. History The city was f ...

, and the progenitor of a line of governors and generals in the service of the Fatimid and

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

rulers.

Life

Ali was born with the name Tha'laba, to a family descending from Abd al-Hamid al-Judhami, a member of the

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

regiments of the

Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a member o ...

who had settled in

al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...

, in the region of Alcalá la Real. Ali's father, Hamdun, had moved the family to

Béjaïa Béjaïa ( ; , , ), formerly known as Bougie and Bugia, is a Mediterranean seaport, port city and communes of Algeria, commune on the Gulf of Béjaïa in Algeria; it is the capital of Béjaïa Province. Geography Location Béjaïa owes its ...

in what is now northeastern

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, where the family acquired the of . In 900, Ali decided to go on the

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

pilgrimage, but on the way, as he was passing through the lands of the

Kutama The Kutama (Berber: ''Ikutamen''; ) were a Berber tribe in northern Algeria classified among the Berber confederation of the Bavares. The Kutama are attested much earlier, in the form ''Koidamousii'' by the Greek geographer Ptolemy. The Kutama p ...

Berbers Berbers, or the Berber peoples, also known as Amazigh or Imazighen, are a diverse grouping of distinct ethnic groups indigenous to North Africa who predate the arrival of Arab migrations to the Maghreb, Arabs in the Maghreb. Their main connec ...

, he was impressed by the

Isma'ili Ismailism () is a branch of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (Imamate in Nizari doctrine, imām) to Ja'far al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the ...

message being propagated by

Abu Abdallah al-Shi'i Abu Abdallah al-Husayn ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Zakariyya, better known as Abu Abdallah al-Shi'i (), was an Isma'ili missionary (''da'i, dāʿī'') active in Yemen and North Africa. He was successful in converting and unifying a large part of th ...

. He stayed there, married a Kutama woman named Maymuna bint Alaham al-Jili, and changed his name from Tha'laba to Ali. After the establishment of the

in 909, he became one of the closest advisors of the new caliph, Abd Allah al-Mahdi Billah. In 924, during the campaign by al-Mahdi's heir-apparent, al-Qa'im against 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 ...

Berbers, Ali was given the task of establishing a new city on the plain between the

Hodna Mountains The Hodna Mountains (, ) are a mountain massif in northeastern Algeria. It rises on the northern side of the Hodna natural region in the M'Sila Province, near the town of Maadid around 200 km southeast of Algiers. These mountains are one of ...

and the Chott el Hodna lake. The city, named al-Muhammadiya (modern

) after al-Qa'im, was established to solidify Fatimid's control and to serve as a base for cultivating the once rich Hodna plain. Ali and his family settled in the new city, becoming its governors and assuming, in the words of the historian

Heinz Halm Heinz Halm (born 21 February 1942 in Andernach, Rhine Province) is a German scholar of Islamic Studies, with a particular expertise on early Shia Islam, Shia history, the Isma'ilism, Ismailites and other Shia sects. Life Born and raised in Anderna ...

, "the role of margraves" at the southwestern extremity of the Fatimid territory against the Zenata. Ali ibn Hamdun remained loyal to the Fatimid cause during the great revolt of

Abu Yazid Abū Yazīd Makhlad ibn Kaydād Dajjal (; – 19 August 947), was a member of the Ibadi sect. He opposed the Ismaili Shia rule of the Fatimids in North Africa and sought to restore Ibadi dominance in the region. Known as the Man on the Donke ...

(944–947). In late 945, Hamdun led his men towards Béja, but was defeated and mortally wounded in battle against Abu Yazid's son, Ayyub. Hamdun was succeeded by his son, Ja'far, who along with his brother Yahya played a major role in the conflict between the Fatimids and the

Caliphate of Córdoba 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 ...

in subsequent decades, defecting to the latter in 971.

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Life

References

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Further reading