“Yes, by God, it is he. I am Tumart,” he continued—a servant who once attended al-Muʾayyad—“and whenever I behold my master I recognize him; I know the distinguishing marks.”

So Ibn ʿAbbād sent another man off with Tumart to Qalʿat Rabah. They found the man, brought him back, and the moment Tumart saw him he sprang forward, kissed his foot, and exclaimed, “By Allah, my lord!”

The judge thereupon kissed his hand, the oath of allegiance was sworn, and on the following Friday they led him to the great mosque, walking before him. Al-Muʾayyad preached to the people and led them in prayer, while Ibn ʿAbbād remained at his side as chamberlain after the pattern of the ḥājib al-Manṣūr ibn Abī ʿĀmir—save that al-Muʾayyad himself never failed to appear for the Friday service. Most of the cities now submitted to him.

ʿAzīz relates: Al-Muʾayyad slipped out of Córdoba in 400 AH disguised, reached Mecca carrying a small pouch of jewels, but the thieves of Mecca discovered him and took it away. For two days he tasted no food. He then laboured with clay for his sustenance, made his way to Jerusalem where he learned to weave reed mats, and at last returned to al-Andalus in 424 AH. ʿAzīz adds: This has been transmitted by the elders.

Ibn Ḥazm declared, “A disgrace! Four men, within three days’ journey of one another, are simultaneously being called Commander of the Faithful: Khalaf al-Ḥuṣrī in Seville, claiming to be al-Muʾayyad bi-Llāh; Muḥammad ibn al-Qāsim al-Idrīsī in Algeciras; Muḥammad ibn Idrīs ibn ʿAlī ibn Ḥammūd in Málaga; and Idrīs ibn Yaḥyā ibn ʿAlī ibn Ḥammūd in Santarém. Such a travesty has never been heard of before!”

Sermons were delivered in Khalaf’s name from the pulpits, blood was spilled, and armies collided. He held power for a little over twenty years, with Ibn ʿAbbād the judge serving before him like a vizier (1).

I say: The judge died in Jumada al-Ula, 433 AH, was buried in the palace of Seville, and was succeeded by his son al-Muʿtaḍid bi-Llāh ʿAbbād (2), and his dominion endured—