began to lose control of the remote regions of their
empire by the early 13th century. Later Almohad
caliphs would publicly disown the religious doc-
trines of Ibn Tumart.
Almohad cultural influences included an aus-
tere architectural style, of which numerous exam-
ples remain in Morocco and Spain. Despite earning
a reputation for intolerance toward Christian and
Jewish minorities, Almohad openness to philo-
sophical ideas allowed philosophers such as Ibn
Tufayl (d. 1185) and ibn rUshd (Averroës, d. 1198)
to expound their teachings. However, Ibn Rushd’s
works were later banned and burned by the caliph
Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur (r. 1184–99). The Sufi
movement also expanded under the Almohads,
epitomized by the influential mystic ibn al-arabi
(d. 1240). Nevertheless, the Almohad inability to
maintain their vast holdings, win the support of
the Maliki Ulama, defeat Christian opponents in
Spain, or subdue competing Berber tribes in North
Africa led to their ultimate downfall. In 1269, the
only dynasty to successfully unite North Africa
perished, as Marrakesh fell before the rising tide of
their rivals, the Merinid Berbers.
See also almoravid dynasty; maliki legal
school.
Stephen CoryFurther reading: Richard Fletcher, Moorish Spain
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992); Abd
al-Wahid al-Marrakushi, History of the Almohades, ed.
R. Dozy (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1881); Roger Le Tourneau,
The Almohad Movement in North Africa in the Twelfth and
Thirteenth Century (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Univer-
sity Press, 1969).
Almoravid dynasty (1042–1147)
A berber dynasty that arose from the deserts of
southern Mauritania, the Almoravids conquered
morocco and Islamicate Spain during the sec-
ond half of the 11th century. The founder of the
Almoravid movement, a teacher of Maliki law
named Abd Allah ibn Yasin (d. 1058), was origi-
nally brought to the desert by a Berber chief, who
was eager for his people to receive proper Islamic
instruction. Imposing harsh religious discipline
upon the tribesmen, Ibn Yasin developed a core
group of followers, whom he later sent to conquer
the surrounding lands and enforce his rigorous
interpretation of Islam. Although Ibn Yasin was
killed in battle in 1058, his successors, Abu Bakr
ibn Umar (d. 1087) and Yusuf ibn Tashfin (d. 1106)
extended Almoravid rule southward into Ghana
and northward throughout Morocco and into Isl-
amicate Spain. After establishing their new capitol
of Marrakesh in southern Morocco, Almoravid
armies first crossed the Strait of Gibraltar in 1086
to support Muslim princes under siege from the
Christian reconquest (Spanish: Reconquista). By
the death of Ibn Tashfin in 1106, the Almoravids
were supreme rulers over Islamicate Spain.
Ironically, historians since ibn khaldUn (d.
1406) have speculated that the conquest of Spain
was actually the first step in the Almoravid
downfall. They argue that when the Almoravids
encountered the cultured lifestyle of andalUsia,
they eventually abandoned the disciplined ways
that had led to their success. Regardless, the
Almoravid military bogged down in Spain, and
their administrators encountered resistance from
the population, who resented domination by what
they thought were uncouth desert tribesmen. By
the 1140s, much of Andalusia was in open revolt,
while the Almohad movement was waging a suc-
cessful war against the Almoravids in Morocco.
The Almohad victory was complete upon the
death of the last Almoravid sUlta n in 1147, and
the Almoravid dynasty came to an end as sud-
denly as it had burst upon the political scene less
than 100 years earlier. However, the lasting influ-
ence of the Almoravids is seen in the continued
dominance of the maliki legal school, which
they helped to establish in North Africa.
See also almohad dynasty; West aFrica.
Stephen CoryAlmoravid dynasty 37 J