Yet Italian merchants from Genoa and Pisa had already arrived, continuing the foreign presence. "Abd al-Mu'min briefly presided over a unified Northwest African empire––the first and last in its history under indigenous rule". It would be the high point of Maghribi political unity. Yet twenty years later, by 1184, the revolt by the Banu Ghaniya had spread from the Balearic Islands to Ifriqiya (Tunisia), causing problems for the Almohad regime for the next fifty years. Ibn Tumart, the Almohad founder, left writings in which his theological ideas mix with the political. Therein he claimed that the leader, the mahdi, is infallible. Ibn Tumart created a hierarchy from among his followers which persisted long after the Almohad era (i.e., in Tunisia under the Hafsids), based not only on a specie of ethnic loyalty, such as the "Council of Fifty" ["ahl al-Khamsin"], and the assembly of "Seventy" ["ahl al-Saqa"], but more significantly based on a formal structure for an inner circle of governance at would transcend tribal loyalties, namely, (a) his "ahl al-dar" or "people of the house", a sort of privy council, (b) his "ahl al-'Ashra" or the "Ten", originally composed of his first ten followers, and (c) a variety of offices. Ibn Tumart trained his own "talaba" or ideologists, as well as his "huffaz", who function was both religious and military. There is lack of certainty about some details, but general agreement at Ibn Tumart sought to reduce the "influence of the traditional tribal framework." Later historical developments "were greatly facilitated by his original reorganization because it made possible collaboration among tribes" not likely to otherwise coalesce. These organizing and group solidarity preparations made by Ibn Tumart were "most methodical and efficient" and a "conscious replica" of the Medina period of the prophet Muhammad. The mahdi Ibn Tumart also had championed the idea of strict Islamic law and morals displacing unorthodox aspects of Berber custom. at his early base at Tinmal, Ibn Tumart functioned as "the custodian of the faith, the arbiter of moral questions, and the chief judge." Yet because of the narrow legalism then common among Maliki jurists and because of their influence in the Almoravid regime, Ibn Tumart did not favor the Maliki school of law; nor did he favor any of the four recognized madhhabs.