Almohad

1121–1269 Berber empire in North Africa and Iberia

The Almohad Caliphate (From Arabic الموحدون al-Muwahhidun, i.e., "the monotheists" or "the Unitarians"), was a Sunni Muslim empire that was founded in the 12th century, and conquered all of northern Africa as far as Libya, together with Al-Andalus (Moorish Iberia).

Almohad Caliphate
الموَحدون (Al-Muwaḥḥidūn) (in Arabic)
ⵉⵎⵡⴻⵃⵃⴷⴻⵏ (Imweḥḥden) (in Berber languages)
1121–1269
Flag of Almohads
Flag
The Almohad empire at its greatest extent, c. 1180–1212[1][2]
The Almohad empire at its greatest extent, c. 1180–1212[1][2]
StatusRuling dynasty of Morocco;
Caliphate (since 1147)
CapitalTinmel
(1121–1147)
Marrakesh
(1147–1269)
In Al-Andalus:
Seville
(1147–1162)
Córdoba
(1162–1163)
Seville
(1163–1248)[3]
Common languagesArabic, Berber, Mozarabic
Religion
Sunni Islam (Creed: Ash'ari; Madhab: Zahiri)
GovernmentCaliphate
Caliph 
• 1121–1130
Ibn Tumart (first, under title of "Mahdi")
• 1130–1163
Abd al-Mu'min (first, under title of "Caliph" from 1147)
• 1266–1269
Abu al-Ula al-Wathiq Idris (last)
History 
• Established
1121
• Almoravids overthrown
1147
• Marinid suzerainty
1248
• Disestablished
1269
Area
1150 est.[4]2,300,000 km2 (890,000 sq mi)
CurrencyDinar[5]
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Almoravid dynasty
Hammadid kingdom
Second Taifas period
Kingdom of Africa
Taifas in the Al-Andalus
Marinid dynasty
Hafsid dynasty
Kingdom of Tlemcen
Third Taifas period
Kingdom of Castile
Kingdom of Aragon
Kingdom of Portugal
Kingdom of Leon
Emirate of Granada
Today part of Algeria
 Gibraltar (UK)
 Libya
 Morocco
 Portugal
 Spain
 Tunisia
 Western Sahara

History

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Between 1130 and his death in 1163, Abd al-Mu'min al-Kumi, a Berber from the Masmuda tribe, defeated the ruling Almoravids and became ruler over all northern Africa as far as Libya. He became Emir of Marrakech in 1149 and conquered Al-Andalus, Moorish Iberia. In 1170 the Almohads transferred their capital to Seville. But by 1212 Muhammad III, "al-Nasir" (1199–1214) was defeated by an alliance of the four Christian princes of Castile, Aragón, Kingdom of Navarre and Portugal, at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in the Sierra Morena. The Almohads lost nearly all of the Moorish dominions in Iberia soon after. The great Moorish cities of Córdoba and Seville fell into Christian possession in the first half of the 13th century. The Almohads continued to rule in Africa for some time, but they lost a lot of their territory. The last representative of the line, Idris II, had only Marrakech left. There he was murdered by a slave in 1269.

Muwahhadi (Almohad) Caliphs,1121–1269

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The Alhomad minaret in Safi
 
Map showing the area of Almohad control in Spain and the paths of counter-attacks from Castile (C) and Aragón (A). ((L) Leon, (P) Portugal, (N) Navarre)
  • Ibn Tumart 1121-1130
  • Abd al-Mu'min 1130–1163
  • Abu Ya'qub Yusuf I 1163–1184
  • Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur 1184–1199
  • Muhammad an-Nasir 1199–1213
  • Abu Ya'qub Yusuf II 1213–1224
  • Abd al-Wahid I 1224
  • Abdallah al-Adil 1224–1227
  • Yahya 1227–1235
  • Idris I 1227–1232
  • Abdul-Wahid II 1232–1242
  • Ali 1242–1248
  • Umar 1248–1266
  • Idris II 1266–1269

Culture

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Sufi writers.

  • Sidi Abu Madyan Choaïb ben al-Houssein al-Ansari (1126-1198)
  • Ali ibn Harzihim (m.1164)
  • Abi Mohammed Salih (1153-1234)
  • Abu Abdallah ibn Harzihim (m.1235)
  • Abu-l-Hassan ash-Shadhili (1197-1258)
  • Abdelwahid al-Marrakushi (b. 1185) historian and writer
  • Salih ben Sharif al-Rundi (1204-1285)
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References

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  1. "Qantara". Archived from the original on 2016-06-11. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
  2. "Qantara". Archived from the original on 2016-06-11. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
  3. Le Moyen Âge, XIe- XVe siècle, par Michel Kaplan & Patrick Boucheron. p.213, Ed. Breal 1994 (ISBN 2-85394-732-7)[1]
  4. Taagepera, Rein (September 1997). "Expansion and Contraction Patterns of Large Polities: Context for Russia". International Studies Quarterly. 41 (3): 475–504. doi:10.1111/0020-8833.00053. JSTOR 2600793.
  5. (in French) P. Buresi, La frontière entre chrétienté et islam dans la péninsule Ibérique, pp.101–102. Ed. Publibook 2004 (ISBN 9782748306446)
  • History of the Almonades, Reinhart Dozy, (second edition, 1881)
  • Mica Enciclopedie de Istorie Universala, Marcel D. Popa, Horia C. Matei, (Bucharest, Editura Politica 1988)

Other websites

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