The
Almohad Caliphate was a
Moroccan Berber Muslim movement founded in the 12th century. Around 1120, the
Almohads first established a
Berber state in
Tinmel in the
Atlas Mountains. They succeeded in overthrowing the ruling
Almoravid dynasty governing
Morocco by 1147, when
Abd al-Mu'min al-Gumi (r. 1130–1163) conquered
Marrakesh and declared himself
Caliph.
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A mosque at Tinmel, Morocco |
For the first eight years, the
Almohad rebellion was limited to a guerilla war along the peaks and ravines of the
High Atlas. Their principal damage was in rendering insecure (or altogether impassable) the roads and mountain passes south of
Marrakesh – threatening the route to all-important
Sijilmassa, the gateway of the
trans-Saharan trade.
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A mosque in Marrakesh, Morocco |
Abd al-Mu'min, a prominent member of the Almohad movement came forward as the lieutenant of the
Mahdi Ibn Tumart. Between 1130 and his death in 1163,
Abd al-Mu'min not only rooted out the
Murabits (Almoravids), but extended his power over all northern
Africa as far as
Egypt, becoming amir of
Marrakesh in 1149.
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Modern Day Marrakesh, Morocco |
Between 1146 and 1173, the
Almohads gradually wrested control from the
Murabits over the
Moorish principalities in
Iberia. The
Almohads transferred the capital of
Moslem Iberia from
Córdoba to
Seville. They founded a great mosque there; its tower, the
Giralda, was erected in 1184. The
Almohads also built a palace there called
Al-Muwarak on the site of the modern day
Alcázar of Seville.
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Alcázar of Seville, Spain |
The successors of
Abd al-Mumin, Abu Yaqub Yusuf(ruled 1163–1184) and
Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur(ruled 1184–1199), were both able men. Initially their government drove many
Jewish and
Christian subjects to take refuge in the growing
Christian states of
Portugal, Castile, and
Aragon. His title of
"al-Mansur" ("the Victorious") was earned by his victory over
Alfonso VIII of Castile in the
Battle of Alarcos (1195).
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Astorga Cathedral, Spain |
In 1212, the
Almohad Caliph Muhammad 'al-Nasir' (1199–1214), the successor of
al-Mansur, after an initially successful advance north, was defeated by an alliance of the four
Christian kings of
Castile, Aragón, Navarre, and
Portugal, at the
Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in the
Sierra Morena. The battle broke the
Almohad advance, but the
Christian powers remained too disorganized to profit from it immediately.
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Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa |
Before his death in 1213,
al-Nasir appointed his young ten-year-old son as the next caliph
Yusuf II "al-Mustansir". The
Almohads passed through a period of effective regency for the young caliph, with power exercised by an oligarchy of elder family members, palace bureaucrats and leading nobles. In early 1224, the youthful caliph died in accident, without any heirs. The palace bureaucrats in
Marrakesh, held the election of his elderly grand-uncle,
Abd al-Wahid I 'al-Makhlu', as the new
Almohad caliph.
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Marrakesh, Morocco |
But the rapid appointment upset other branches of the family, notably the brothers of the late al-Nasir, who governed in al-Andalus. The challenge was immediately raised by one of them, then governor in Murcia, who declared himself Caliph Abdallah al-Adil. With the help of his brothers, he quickly seized control of al-Andalus.
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A church at Murcia, Spain |
In 1225, Abdallah al-Bayyasi's band of rebels, accompanied by a large Castilian army, besieged cities such as Jaén and Andújar. They raided throughout the regions of Jaén, Cordova and vega de Granada and, before the end of the year, al-Bayyasi had established himself in the city of Cordova. Sensing the vacuity, both Alfonso IX of León and Sancho II of Portugal opportunistically ordered their own raids into Andalusian territory that same year.
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Sancho II of Portugal |
In payment for
Castilian assistance,
al-Bayyasi had given
Ferdinand III three strategic frontier fortresses:
Baños de la Encina, Salvatierra and
Capilla. An uprising broke out in
Cordova – al-
Bayyasi was killed and his head dispatched as a trophy to
Marrakesh. But
Caliph al-Adil did not relish this victory for long – he was assassinated in
Marrakesh in October 1227, who was promptly acclaimed as the new
Almohad caliph
Yahya "al-Mu'tasim".
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Baños de la Encina Castle, Spain |
The
Andalusian branch of the
Almohads in
Morocco refused to accept
Yahya as the new caliph.
Al-Adil's brother, then in
Seville, proclaimed himself the new
Almohad caliph
Abd al-Ala Idris I 'al-Ma'mun'. He promptly purchased a truce from
Ferdinand III in return for 300,000 maravedis, allowing him to organize and dispatch the bulk of the
Almohad army in
Spain across the straits in 1228 to confront
Yahya.
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Ferdinand III of Castile |
In October 1228, with
Spain practically all lost,
al-Ma'mun abandoned
Seville, taking what little remained of the
Almohad army with him to
Morocco.The departure of
al-Ma'mun in 1228 marked the end of the
Almohad era in
Spain. But
Ibn Hud and the other local Andalusian strongmen were unable to stem the rising flood of
Christian attacks, launched almost yearly by
Sancho II of Portugal, Alfonso IX of León, Ferdinand III of Castile and
James I of Aragon.
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James I of Aragon |
After 1228, the old great
Andalusian citadels fell in a grand sweep:
Mérida and
Badajoz in 1230 (to
Leon),
Majorca in 1230 (to
Aragon),
Beja in 1234 (to
Portugal),
Cordova in 1236 (to
Castile),
Valencia in 1238 (to
Aragon),
Niebla-Huelva in 1238 (to
Leon),
Silves in 1242 (to
Portugal),
Murcia in 1243 (to
Castile),
Jaén in 1246 (to
Castile),
Alicante in 1248 (to
Castile).
Ferdinand III of
Castile entered
Seville as a conqueror on December 22, 1248.
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Badajoz, Spain |
With the departure of the
Almohads, the
Nasrid dynasty rose to power in
Granada. After the great
Christian advance of 1228–1248, the
Emirate of Granada was practically all that remained of old
al-Andalus. Granada alone would remain independent for an additional 250 years, flourishing as the new center of
al-Andalus.
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Granada, Spain |
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