imminent arrival of "the Imam, our lord and master, the Mahdi, and his son" were read publicly in Kairouan and sent to all cities of the realm, to discourage opposition. It was among the minority Hanafi school, long rivals of the Malikis, that al-Mahdi sought and found support, especially as many of them claimed to have Shi'a sympathies. Men like the new chief , al-Marwarrudhi, and the scholar and later Isma'ili Ibn al-Haytham belonged to this group. In contrast to Kairouan, the court in the palace city of Raqqada was dominated by Isma'ilis, with its own Isma'ili Kutama , and al-Mahdi's companions from the time of his flight as its chamberlains. Abu Abdallah's downfall The prophetic traditions about the , while diffuse, had insisted that his coming would be heralded by celestial signs and portents, that he would be a young man of exceptional beauty, and that he would rapidly and miraculously lead his armies to victory. The 35-year old former merchant, accustomed to an easy life, wine, and rich clothing, not only did not match these expectations, but his luxurious lifestyle clashed with the austerity propagated by Abu Abdallah and hitherto followed by the Kutama. Although the new caliph subtly strove to downplay expectations, disillusionment quickly set in. Even Abu Abdallah criticized his master, accusing him of corrupting the Kutama with power, money and luxury and gifts. An immediate conflict was averted as Abu Abdallah was called to lead an army west in July 910. During the previous months, Sijilmasa had been lost to the Midrarids, Tahert was once more closely besieged by the Zenata, and an uprising broke out among the Kutama, led by a certain Baban. The latter was quickly subdued by loyalist Kutama, and Abu Abdallah managed to defeat the Zenata near Tubna, relieving Tahert and even reaching the Mediterranean coast at Ténès. He then campaigned against the Zenata and Sadina tribes in modern central Algeria, before returning to Raqqada in the winter of 910/011. At Ténès, however, a conspiracy had begun among the Kutama chieftains: led by Abu Abdallah, they decided to confront the caliph and put his claims to the test. The sources differ on the details, but the Kutama confronted al-Mahdi in a public audience, demanding that he perform a miracle. Abu Abdallah, his brother Abu'l-Abbas Muhammad, Abu Zaki, and the "supreme shaykh" Abu Musa Harun openly accused him of being a fraud