Publication Date: July 20, 2010 | Series: Library of Middle East History (Book 18)
How did an obscure Islamic visionary found an empire? The Almohad Empire, at its zenith in the 12th century, was the major power in the Mediterranean and North Africa, ruling a huge region from the Atlas Mountains to Andalusia. Effective administration was backed by military force, and the empire was the seat of a 12th-century renaissance in the fortunes of Islamic power in North Africa and the western Muslim world. The effect on the culture of both the Middle East and Europe was to prove lasting.
Allen Fromherz, drawing on medieval Arabic and Berber sources, analyzes the myth and history surrounding the rise of the Almohad Empire. He shows how Muhammad Ibn Tumart, the son of a minor Berber tribal chief, set off on his mission to reform Islam -- then at a low point in its history, battered by the crusades, having lost Jerusalem and been undermined by weak spiritual and political leadership. Muhammad Ibn Tumart was proclaimed Mahdi -- one who would herald the golden age of Islam -- provided charismatic leadership, unwavering adherence to a fundamentalist monotheistic Islam enforced by holy war, established tribal unity, effective administration, and a formidable military force. Here were the sinews of the empire's power and the base for lasting political and cultural influence in the Middle East and Europe.
"This is an intelligent and well researched account of the origins of the Almohad Empire. There is no other full length account of this important movement in English." -- Hugh N Kennedy, Professor of Arabic, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.
"Fromherz has done the world of Islamic scholarship a great service by producing this book…a study of the Almohad movement is essential for seeing the historical continuity of such religio-political currents…the Muslim Brotherhood, policy-makers and journalists in the West would be well-advised in joining academics in studying this book for the lessons it holds for today" -- Anthony McRoy, The Muslim World Book Review
About the Author
Allen J. Fromherz specialises in Middle East history and teaches at Georgia State University.
Born on a Christmas tree farm in rural Oregon in 1980, Dr. Fromherz's interest in North Africa began during his Fulbright research scholarship to Morocco. In his first book Dr. Fromherz studied and described the ruins and manuscripts of a vast twelfth century Berber empire - the Almohad Empire. His second book describes the life and times of Ibn Khaldun: the famous Muslim thinker and historian. Dr. Fromherz is currently an assistant professor of Medieval Mediterranean and Islamic history at Georgia State University.
