View source for Murīdūn

{{Short description|Sufi order in al-Andalus}}
The '''Murīdūn''' ("disciples") were a [[Sufi order]] in [[al-Andalus]] that rebelled against the authority of the [[Almoravid dynasty]] in 1141 and ruled [[Taifa of Mértola|a ''taifa'' based on Mértola]] in the [[al-Gharb]] from 1144 until 1151.
The founder and leader of the Murīdūn was [[Abu-l-Qasim Ahmad ibn al-Husayn ibn Qasi|Abūʾl-Qāsim Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Qasī]], a convert from Christianity from the city of [[Silves, Portugal|Silves]] in the far west of al-Andalus. Among his followers were Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar ibn al-Mundhir, a correspondent of the esteemed Sufi teacher [[Ibn al-Arif|Ibn al-ʿArīf]] from [[Almería]] on the eastern coast of al-Andalus. In 1141, threatened by the rise of Sufi teaching in Almería, the Almoravid authorities arrested Ibn al-ʿArīf and his colleague [[Ibn Barrajan|Ibn Barrajān]], after which the latter was imprisoned and the former set free. Ibn Barrajān, however, soon died in prison and Ibn al-ʿArīf died suddenly, poisoned it was said, in Almería. The sudden loss of the leaders of the Sufi movement in Almería, presumably at the hands of the authorities, convinced Ibn Qasī to act. He proclaimed himself [[imam]] and led his followers, the Murīdūn, into open revolt.{{sfnp|Kennedy|2014|pp=191–92}}
In the early days of the rebellion, Ibn al-Mundhir seized the city of Silves and Sīdray ibn Wazīr, the governor of [[Beja, Portugal|Beja]], went over to the rebels. Joining forces, Ibn al-Mundhir and Ibn Wazīr captured the fort of [[Monchique]] and slaughtered the Almoravid garrison. The high point of the rebellion occurred on 12 August 1144, when a force of seventy Murīdūn captured the town of [[Mértola]], which Ibn Qasī made the capital. Yūsuf ibn Aḥmad al-Biṭrūjī, the governor of [[Niebla, Spain|Niebla]], then joined the rebels.{{sfnp|Kennedy|2014|pp=191–92}}
Now controlling Silves, Mértola, Beja and Niebla, the confident Murīdūn marched on [[Seville]], but were defeated by the Almoravid general [[Yahya ibn Ali ibn Ghaniya|Yaḥyā ibn ʿAlī ibn Ghānīya]]. The Almoravid counter-attack was cut short by the rebellion of [[Ibn Ḥamdīn]] in [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]], but not before it has caused a split in the Murīdūn movement. On one side were Ibn Qasī and Ibn al-Mundhir and on the other Ibn Wazīr. In September 1145, Ibn Qasī went to [[Marrakesh]] to request support from the [[Almohad Caliph]], a staunch enemy of the Almoravids. He returned to the Algarve in the summer of 1146 with Almohad support but refused to submit the Murīdūn to Almohad control. In order to escape his overbearing allies, he negotiated the handover of Silves to the Christians. This provoked the inhabitants of Silves, who assassinated him in his palace in August or September 1151. Ibn al-Mundhir relented and placed the city under Almohad control.{{sfnp|Kennedy|2014|pp=191–92}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Sources==
*{{cite journal |first=J. |last=Dreher |title=L'imamat d'Ibn Qasi á Mértola (automne 1144–été 1145): Légitimité d'une domination soufie? |journal=Mélanges de l'Institut Dominicain d'Études Orientales |year=1988 |volume=18 |pages=195–210}}
*{{cite thesis |first=David Raymond |last=Goodrich |title=A ''Sūfī'' Revolt in Portugal: Ibn Qasī and his ''Kitāb khalʿ al-naʿlayn'' |institution=Columbia University |type=PhD diss. |year=1978}}
*{{cite book |first=Hugh |last=Kennedy |title=Muslim Spain and Portugal: A Political History of al-Andalus |publisher=Routledge |year=2014}}
*{{cite journal |first=Vincent |last=Lagardère |title=La tariqa et la révolte des Murîdûn en 539 H / 1144 en Andalus |journal=Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée |year=1983 |volume=35 |pages=157–70 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/remmm_0035-1474_1983_num_35_1_1987}}
[[Category:Sufi orders]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1144]]