Almohad (Civ5)/Civilopedia

The Almohad dynasty was founded in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco by the Berber Ibn Tumart in the early 12th Century. Originally a religious movement, the Almohads under Tumart rebelled against the ruling Almoravids, united the Berber and Moorish tribes, and in a few decades dominated all the Magreb and Morocco. Energized by religious zeal, the Almohads quickly extended their rule across the straits to Iberia (modern Portugal and southern Spain). In 1170, they transferred their capital to Seville.
Despite continuous attempts by Christian monarchs to reclaim the peninsula, Almohad domination of Iberia continued until 1212. In that year, a coalition of forces from Castile, Aragon, Portugal and Navarre decisively defeated Muhammad III at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. Over the next four decades the Moorish territories were taken by Christian rulers, with the great city of Cordoba falling in 1236, and Seville in 1248. By 1260, all that remained after the Reconquista was the Moorish fortress city of Grenada, which remained independent for another 250 years.
In Africa, the Almohads fended off incursions by Norman adventurers and revolts by native tribes, even entering into alliances with Castile to do so. But over time, they lost districts and towns to rebellion and incursions by other peoples, most notably the Marinids, a Zenata Berber dynasty that would eventually replace them in the Magreb. In 1265, the last Almohad ruler, Idris al-Wathiq was reduced to controlling only the capital of Marrakesh. In 1268 the city was besieged; Marrakesh fell in September 1269 and Idris was assassinated by a slave.
The Almohads left a legacy of art and learning unmatched by the successive Islamic dynasties. Caliphs such as al-Mansur sponsored and protected philosophers such as Averroes and the Jew Maimonides. The architecture of the Almohads was renowned, exemplified by the Giralda in Seville, the Koutouba mosque in Marrakesh, the Hassan Tower in Rabat, and the minaret in Safi. Under the Almohad reign Jewish culture experienced a "Golden Age," and Jews from other parts of Christian Europe made their way to Moorish Iberia, where they contributed to Almohad advances in medicine and science. Despite lasting but 160 years, the cultural contributions of the Almohads echo still across modern North Africa and Iberia.