Almohad

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
The Almohad empire at its greatest extent, c. 1180–1212
Status	Ruling dynasty of Morocco; Caliphate (since 1147)
Capital	Tinmel (1121–1147) Marrakesh (1147–1269) In Al-Andalus: Seville (1147–1162) Córdoba (1162–1163) Seville (1163–1248)
Common languages	Arabic, Berber, Mozarabic
Religion	Sunni Islam (Creed: Ash'ari; Madhab: Zahiri)
Government	Caliphate
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.	2,300,000 km2 (890,000 sq mi)
Currency	Dinar
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

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

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

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)

Related pages

• History of Islam
• History of Spain
• Nasrid
• Reconquista

References

• 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

• Historical maps of Almohad Dynasty Maps to be combined and compared
• Almohads Dynasty Berber dynasty