Almoravid dynasty

The Almoravids were a Berber Muslim dynasty from Morocco that ruled over a wide area of Northwestern Africa and the Iberian Peninsula during the 11th century.

Almoravid Empire المرابطونcode: ar is deprecated
1040–1147
Map showing the extent of the Almoravid Empire
Capital	Aghmat (1040-1062), Marrakech(1062-1147) & Córdoba
Common languages	Berber languages (predominant), Classical Arabic, Mozarab, Hebrew language, African Romance & Andalusian Arabic
Religion	Maliki Sunni Islam (predominant and official state religion), Roman Catholic, Ibadi, Judaism & Sufism
Government	Caliphate
Caliph
• 1040-1059	Abdallah ibn Yasin
• 1146–1147	Ishaq ibn Ali
History
•	1040
•	1147
Area
3,885,000 km2 (1,500,000 sq mi)
Currency	Dinar & Maravedi
Preceded by Succeeded by Lamtuna Taifa of Mallorca Taifa of Almería Taifa of Badajoz Taifa of Beja and Évora Córdoban Republic Taifa of Guadix and Baza Almohad Taifa of Málaga Taifa of Silves Taifa of Niebla Purchena Banu Hilal Taifa of Murcia Aroudant Taifa of Valencia

Under the Almoravids, the Western Islamic empire included present-day Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Gibraltar, Tlemcen (in Algeria) and a great part of what is now Senegal and Mali in the south and Spain and Portugal to the north in Europe. At its greatest extent, the empire stretched 3,000 kilometres from Zaragoza in the north to Senegal in the south (nore latitudes than any other in history until Spanish America).

History

The Almoravids originated as a Sunni Islamic revivalist movement in present-day northern Mauritania and gradually evolved into a military confederation. The Almoravids started to subjugate Senegal and then started expanding northwards. They first captured southern and central Morocco and then took Marrakesh and started to proclaim themselves as an Islamic caliphate. They gathered many soldiers from the Tuareg tribe of Berbers. They then completed the conquest of Morocco by conquering the northern tip of Morocco and reached Ceuta.

After conquering Morocco, they established their power base there rather than their original home, Mauritania. That was Mauritania was so isolated, and the urbaneness of Morocco was perfect for ruling empires. The Almoravids then began to rule from Morocco after they had competed their conquest of the country and continued to expand.

Calls for help from the Al-Andalus's taifas in Iberia made them expand into there and conquer the territory of its Islamic taifas. After their conquest, they implemented Sharia law in all of their conquered territories. The Almoravids then proclaimed a jihad against the Christian kingdoms of Iberia and met them at the Battle of Sagrajas, where they decisively crushed the Christian army and turned the tide of the Reconquista.

The empire reached its territorial extent under the reigns of Yusuf ibn Tashfin and Ali ibn Yusuf.

Clothing

The Almoravids veiled themselves below the eyes with a tagelmust; they jad adopted the custom of wearing the veil custom from the southern Sanhaja Berbers. (This can still be seen among the modern Tuareg people, but it was unusual farther north.) Although practical for the desert dust, the Almoravids insisted on wearing the veil everywhere as a badge of their "foreignness" in urban settings, partly as a way to emphasize their nomadic origins. It served as the uniform of the Almoravids. They wore the veil, which covered their entire face exception for eyes because of their nomadic origins from the Sahara.

Rulers

• Abdallah ibn Yasin (1040-1059)
• Yusuf ibn Tashfin (1061–1106)
• Ali ibn Yusuf (1106–42)
• Tashfin ibn Ali (1142–46)
• Ibrahim ibn Tashfin (1146)
• Ishaq ibn Ali (1146–1147)

Almoravid Dynasty Media

• 

  Possible depiction of Abu Bakr ibn Umar (labelled "Rex Bubecar"), in the 1413 portolan chart of Mecia de Viladestes

• 

  An Almoravid dinar coin from Seville, 1116. (British Museum); the Almoravid gold dinar would set the standard of the Iberian maravedí.

• 

  Black banners raised in the Battle of Sagrajas (1899 illustration by Alfredo Roque Gameiro)

• 

  The Pisa Griffin, believed to have originated in 11th century Iberia.

• 

  A stele found at Gao-Saney believed to have been created in Almería during the Almoravid period. Now located at the National Museum of Mali.

• 

  Fragment of the shroud of San Pedro de Osma, early 12th century: the imagery features pairs of lions and harpies, surrounded by men holding griffins

• 

  An illuminated Quran manuscript in florid Kufic and Maghrebi script.

• 

  Detail of the Almoravid minbar, commissioned by Ali Bin Yusuf Bin Tashfin al-Murabiti 1137 for his great mosque in Marrakesh.

• 

  In their North African constructions, the Almoravids explored the use of cusping to make arches more decorative, as seen here in the Almoravid Qubba in Marrakesh.

Related pages

• History of Islam
• History of Spain

References

• General History of Africa, Africa from the Seventh to the Eleventh Century, Ed. M. Elfasi, Ch. 13 I.Hrbek and J.Devisse, The Almoravids (pp. 336–366), UNESCO, 1988

This article includes text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica. Please add to the article as needed.

Other websites

• Historical maps of Almoravid Dynasty Maps to be combined and compared
• Almoravids Dynasty Berber dynasty