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.

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)

## 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

## Other websites

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

## Infobox (former country)

- **conventional long name**: Almoravid Empire
- **common name**: Almoravids
- **continent**: Africa
- **region**: North Africa
- **status**: Empire
- **year start**: 1040
- **year end**: 1147
- **p1**: Lamtuna
- **s1**: Taifa of Mallorca
- **s2**: Taifa of Almería
- **s3**: Taifa of Badajoz
- **s4**: Taifa of Beja and Évora
- **s5**: Córdoban Republic
- **s6**: Taifa of Guadix and Baza
- **s7**: Almohad
- **s8**: Taifa of Málaga
- **s9**: Taifa of Silves
- **s10**: Taifa of Niebla
- **s11**: Purchena
- **s12**: Banu Hilal
- **s13**: Taifa of Murcia
- **s14**: Aroudant
- **s15**: Taifa of Valencia
- **image map**: Almoravid Empire.png
- **image map caption**: Map showing the extent of the Almoravid Empire
- **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 Church, Roman Catholic, Ibadi, Judaism & Sufism
- **capital**: Aghmat (1040-1062), Marrakech(1062-1147) & Córdoba, Spain, Córdoba
- **government type**: Caliphate
- **title leader**: Caliph
- **leader1**: Abdallah ibn Yasin
- **year leader1**: 1040-1059
- **leader2**: Ishaq ibn Ali
- **year leader2**: 1146–1147
- **stat area1**: 3885000
- **currency**: Dinar & Maravedi