Almohad Caliphate | |
|---|---|
| 1121–1269 | |
![The Almohad empire at its greatest extent, c. 1180–1212[1][2]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aAlmohad_dynasty_en.svg) | |
| Status | Caliphate |
| Capital | |
| Official languages | Arabic[4] |
| Common languages | Arabic,Mozarabic,Berber languages |
| Religion | Creed:Ash’ari[6] |
| Mahdi | |
• 1121–1130 | Ibn Tumart |
| Caliph | |
• 1130–1163 (first) | Abd al-Mu'min |
• 1266–1269 (last) | Idris al-Wathiq |
| History | |
• Established | 1121 |
• Almoravids overthrown | 1147 |
| 1212 | |
• Marinid suzerainty | 1248 |
• Disestablished | 1269 |
| Area | |
| 1150 est.(high-end estimate of peak area)[7] | 2,300,000 km2 (890,000 sq mi) |
| 1200 est.(low-end estimate of peak area)[8][9] | 2,000,000 km2 (770,000 sq mi) |
| Currency | Dinar[10] |
TheAlmohad Caliphate[a] orAlmohad Empire was a North AfricanBerber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of theIberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) andNorth Africa (theMaghreb).[13][14][15]
The Almohad movement was founded byIbn Tumart among the BerberMasmuda tribes, but the Almohad caliphate and its ruling dynasty, known as theMu'minid dynasty,[16][17][18] were founded after his death byAbd al-Mu'min.[19][20][21][22] Around 1121, Ibn Tumart was recognized by his followers as theMahdi, and shortly afterwards he established his base atTinmel in theAtlas Mountains.[23] Under Abd al-Mu'min (r. 1130–1163), they succeeded in overthrowing the rulingAlmoravid dynasty governing the western Maghreb in 1147, when he conqueredMarrakesh and declared himselfcaliph. They then extended their power over all of theMaghreb by 1159. Al-Andalus followed, and all of MuslimIberia was under Almohad rule by 1172.[24]
The turning point of their presence in the Iberian Peninsula came in 1212, when Almohad CaliphMuhammad al-Nasir (1199–1214) was defeated at theBattle of Las Navas de Tolosa in theSierra Morena by an alliance of the Christian forces fromCastile,Aragon andNavarre. Much of the remaining territories of al-Andalus were lost in the ensuing decades, with the cities ofCórdoba andSeville falling to the Christians in 1236 and 1248 respectively.
The Almohads continued to rule in Africa until the piecemeal loss of territory through the revolt of tribes and districts enabled the rise of their most effective enemies, theMarinids in 1215. The last representative of the line,Idris al-Wathiq, was reduced to the possession of Marrakesh, where he was murdered by a slave in 1269; the Marinids seized Marrakesh, ending the Almohad domination of the Western Maghreb.
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The Almohad movement originated withIbn Tumart, a member of theMasmuda, anAmazigh tribal confederation of theAtlas Mountains of southern Morocco. At the time, present-day Morocco, Mauritania, western Algeria and parts of Spain and Portugal (al-Andalus) were under the rule of theAlmoravids, aSanhaja Berber dynasty. Early in his life, Ibn Tumart went to Spain to pursue his studies, and thereafter toBaghdad to deepen them. In Baghdad, Ibn Tumart attached himself to the theological school ofal-Ash'ari, and came under the influence of the teacheral-Ghazali. He soon developed his own system, combining the doctrines of various masters. Ibn Tumart's main principle was a strict unitarianism (tawhid), which denied the independent existence of theattributes of God as being incompatible with His unity, and therefore a polytheistic idea. Ibn Tumart represented a revolt against what he perceived asanthropomorphism in Muslim orthodoxy. His followers would become known as theal-Muwaḥḥidūn ("Almohads"), meaning those who affirm the unity of God.
After his return to theMaghreb c. 1117, Ibn Tumart spent some time in variousIfriqiyan cities, preaching and agitating, heading riotous attacks on wine-shops and on other manifestations of laxity. He laid the blame for the latitude on the ruling dynasty of the Almoravids, whom he accused of obscurantism and impiety. He also opposed their sponsorship of theMaliki school of jurisprudence, which drew upon consensus (ijma) and other sources beyond theQur'an andSunnah in their reasoning, an anathema to the stricterZahirism favored by Ibn Tumart. His antics and fiery preaching led fed-up authorities to move him along from town to town. After being expelled fromBejaia, Ibn Tumart set up camp in Mellala, in the outskirts of the city, where he received his first disciples – notably, al-Bashir (who would become his chief strategist) andAbd al-Mu'min (a Zenata Berber of the Kumiya tribe who would later become his successor).
In 1120, Ibn Tumart and his small band of followers proceeded toMorocco, stopping first inFez, where he briefly engaged the Maliki scholars of the city in debate. He even went so far as to assault the sister[25] of theAlmoravid emirAli ibn Yusuf, in the streets ofFez, because she was going about unveiled, after the manner of Berber women. After being expelled from Fez, he went toMarrakesh, where he successfully tracked down the Almoravid emir Ali ibn Yusuf at a local mosque, and challenged the emir, and the leading scholars of the area, to a doctrinal debate. After the debate, the scholars concluded that Ibn Tumart's views were blasphemous and the man dangerous, and urged him to be put to death or imprisoned. But the emir decided merely to expel him from the city.
Ibn Tumart took refuge among his own people, the Hargha, in his home village of Igiliz (exact location uncertain), in theSous valley. He retreated to a nearby cave, and lived out an ascetic lifestyle, coming out only to preach his program of puritan reform, attracting greater and greater crowds. At length, towards the end ofRamadan in late 1121, after a particularly moving sermon, reviewing his failure to persuade the Almoravids to reform by argument, Ibn Tumart 'revealed' himself as the trueMahdi, a divinely guided judge and lawgiver, and was recognized as such by his audience. This was effectively a declaration of war on the Almoravid state.
On the advice of one of his followers,Omar Hintati, a prominent chieftain of theHintata, Ibn Tumart abandoned his cave in 1122 and went up into theHigh Atlas, to organize the Almohad movement among the highlandMasmuda tribes. Besides his own tribe, the Hargha, Ibn Tumart secured the adherence of the Ganfisa, the Gadmiwa, the Hintata, the Haskura, and the Hazraja to the Almohad cause.[citation needed] Sometime around 1124, Ibn Tumart established his base atTinmel, a highly defensible position in the valley of the Nfis in the High Atlas.[26][27][28] Tinmal would serve both as the spiritual center and military headquarters of the Almohad movement. It became theirdar al-hijra (roughly 'place of retreat'), emulating the story of thehijra (journey) ofMuhammad's toMedina in the 7th century.[27][28]
For the first eight years, the Almohad rebellion was limited to a guerilla war along the peaks and ravines of the High Atlas. Their principal damage was in rendering insecure (or altogether impassable) the roads and mountain passes south of Marrakesh – threatening the route to all-importantSijilmassa, the gateway of thetrans-Saharan trade. Unable to send enough manpower through the narrow passes to dislodge the Almohad rebels from their easily defended mountain strong points, the Almoravid authorities reconciled themselves to setting up strongholds to confine them there (most famously the fortress ofTasghîmût that protected the approach toAghmat, which was conquered by the Almohads in 1132),[29] while exploring alternative routes through more easterly passes.
Ibn Tumart organized the Almohads as a commune, with a minutely detailed structure. At the core was theAhl ad-dār ("House of the Mahdi"), composed of Ibn Tumart's family. This was supplemented by two councils: an innerCouncil of Ten, the Mahdi's privy council, composed of his earliest and closest companions; and the consultative Council of Fifty, composed of the leadingsheikhs of the Masmuda tribes. The early preachers and missionaries (ṭalaba andhuffāẓ) also had their representatives. Militarily, there was a strict hierarchy of units. The Hargha tribe coming first (although not strictly ethnic; it included many "honorary" or "adopted" tribesmen from other ethnicities, e.g. Abd al-Mu'min himself). This was followed by the men of Tinmel, then the other Masmuda tribes in order, and rounded off by the black fighters, theʻabīd. Each unit had a strict internal hierarchy, headed by amohtasib, and divided into two factions: one for the early adherents, another for the late adherents, each headed by amizwar (oramzwaru); then came thesakkakin (treasurers), effectively the money-minters, tax-collectors, and bursars, then came the regular army (jund), then the religious corps – themuezzins, thehafidh and thehizb – followed by the archers, the conscripts, and the slaves.[30] Ibn Tumart's closest companion and chief strategist, al-Bashir, took upon himself the role of "political commissar", enforcing doctrinal discipline among the Masmuda tribesmen, often with a heavy hand.
In early 1130, the Almohads finally descended from the mountains for their first sizeable attack in the lowlands. It was a disaster for their opponents. The Almohads swept aside an Almoravid column that had come out to meet them before Aghmat, and then chased their remnant all the way to Marrakesh. They laid siege to Marrakesh for forty days until, in April (or May) 1130, the Almoravids sallied from the city and crushed the Almohads in the bloodyBattle of al-Buhayra (named after a large garden east of the city). The Almohads were thoroughly routed, with huge losses. Half their leadership was killed in action, and the survivors only just managed to scramble back to the mountains.[31]
Ibn Tumart died shortly after, in August 1130. That the Almohad movement did not immediately collapse after such a devastating defeat and the death of their charismatic Mahdi, is likely due to the skills of his successor,Abd al-Mu'min.[32] Ibn Tumart's death was kept a secret for three years, a period which Almohad chroniclers described as aghayba or "occultation". This period likely gave Abd al-Mu'min time to secure his position as successor to the political leadership of the movement.[32] Although aZenata Berber from Tagra (Algeria),[33] and thus an alien among the Masmuda of southern Morocco, Abd al-Mu'min nonetheless saw off his principal rivals and hammered wavering tribes back to the fold. Three years after Ibn Tumart's death he was officially proclaimed "Caliph".[34]
After 1133, Abd al-Mu'min quickly expanded Almohad control across the Maghreb, while the embattled Almoravids retained their capital in Marrakesh.[35] Various other tribes rallied to the Almohads or to the Almoravids as the war between them continued.[36] Initially, Almohad operations were limited to the Atlas mountains. In 1139, they expanded to theRif mountains in the north.[35] One of their early bases beyond the mountains wasTaza,[37] where Abd al-Mu"min founded a citadel (ribat) and aGreat Mosque circa 1142.[38]
The Almoravid ruler, Ali ibn Yusuf, died in 1143 and was succeeded by his son,Tashfin ibn Ali. The tide turned more definitively in favour of the Almohads from 1144 onwards, when the Zenata tribes in what is now western Algeria joined the Almohad camp, along with some of the previously Almoravid-aligned leaders of theMasufa tribe.[36] This allowed them to defeat Tashfin decisively and captureTlemcen in 1144. Tashfin fled toOran, which the Almohads then attacked and captured, and he died in March 1145 while trying to escape.[39][36][34] The Almohads pursued the defeated Almoravid army west to Fez, which they captured in 1146 after a nine-month siege.[36][39] They finallycaptured Marrakesh in 1147, after an eleven-month siege. The last Almoravid ruler,Ishaq ibn Ali, was killed.[39]
In 1151, Abd al-Mu'min launched an expedition to the east. This may have been encouraged by theNorman conquests along the coast of Ifriqiya, as fighting the Christian invaders here gave him a pretext for conquering the rest of the region. In August 1152, he capturedBéjaïa, the capital of theHammadids. The last Hammadid ruler,Yahya ibn Abd al-Aziz, fled by sea.[40] The Arab tribes of the region, theBanu Hilal andBanu Sulaym, reacted to the Almohad advance by gathering an army against them. The Almohads routed them in theBattle of Sétif in April 1153.[41][42] Abd al-Mu'min nonetheless saw value in their military abilities. He persuaded them by various means – including taking some families as hostages to Marrakesh and more generous actions like offering them material and land incentives – to move to present-day Morocco and join the Almohad armies.[43][41] These moves also had the corollary effect of advancing the Arabisation of future Morocco.[44][45] They were specifically settled into theAtlantic plains of Morocco which was previously depopulated by the Almohads.[45] Without the Almohad recruitment of Arabs and resettling into the Atlantic plains, Morocco would have avoided the ruralArabisation that came with theHilalian migrations into the Maghreb.[46] The settlement added to the ethnic complexity of the Maghreb and the Arabs became the most powerful force in the Moroccan plains when the Almohad army declined.[45] The Berbers who previously inhabited these plains were either Arabized or displaced to nearby mountains.[47][48] There was also a significant amount of Arab and Berber intermarriage which led to the spread of Arabic language and restructuring of tribal structures.[49] These plains are inhabited today by the descendants of these Arab tribes known as theʕroubiya[50] – a name that literally means "Bedouins".[51]
Abd al-Mu'min spent the mid-1150s organizing the Almohad state and arranging for power to be passed on through his family line.[41][52] In 1154, he declared his son Muhammad as his heir.[41][52] In order to neutralise the power of the Masmuda, he relied on his tribe of origin, the Kumiyas (from the central Maghreb), whom he integrated into the Almohad power structure and from whom he recruited some 40,000 into the army.[53][54][55][56] They would later form the bodyguard of the caliph and his successors.[57] In addition, Abd al-Mu'min relied on Arabs, the great Hilalian families that he had deported to Morocco, to further weaken the influence of the Masmuda sheikhs.[58] These Arabs became embedded in the Almohad elite to the point that they became partners in giving thebay‘a to a new caliph.[59] These Arabs formed the most important contingents in the Almohad military inIfriqiya, al-Andalus and the provinces and they were used on a regular basis in larger military expeditions within the empire.[60] According to Andalusian historianIbn Sahib al-Salat, the Arabs had a higher rate of pay than other soldiers in the Almohad military.[61]
With his son appointed as his successor, Abd al-Mu'min placed his other children as governors of the provinces of the caliphate.[62] His sons and descendants became known as thesayyids ("nobles").[53][63] To appease the traditional Masmuda elites, he appointed some of them, along with theirs sons and descendants, to act as important advisers, deputies, and commanders under thesayyids. They became known as theabnā' al-muwaḥḥidūn or "Sons of the Almohads".[64] Abd al-Mu'min also altered the Almohad structure set up by Ibn Tumart by making thehuffaz or reciters of the Quran into a training school of the Almohad elite. They were no longer described as "memorisers" but as "guardians" who learned riding, swimming, archery, and received a general education of high standards.[65]
Abd al-Mu'min thus transformed the Almohads from an aristocratic Masmuda movement to a dynastic Mu'minid state.[65][66] While most of the Almohad elites accepted this new concentration of power, it nonetheless triggered an uprising by two of Ibn Tumart's half-brothers, 'Abd al-'Aziz and 'Isa. Shortly after Abd al-Mu'min announced his heir, towards 1154–1155, they rebelled in Fez and then marched on Marrakesh, whose governor they killed. Abd al-Mu'min, who had been in Salé, returned to the city, defeated the rebels, and had everyone involved executed.[67][41]
In March 1159, Abd al-Mu'min led a new campaign to the east. He conqueredTunis by force when the localBanu Khurasan leaders refused to surrender.[68]Mahdia was besieged soon after and surrendered in January 1160. The Normans there negotiated their withdrawal and were allowed to leave forSicily. Tripoli, which had rebelled against the Normans two years earlier, recognized Almohad authority right after.[41]
In the 1170s and 1180s, Almohad power in the eastern Maghreb was challenged by theBanu Ghaniya and byQaraqush, anAyyubid commander.Yaqub al-Mansur eventually defeated both factions and reconquered Ifriqiya in 1187–1188.[69] In 1189–1190, the Ayyubid sultanSalah ad-Din (Saladin) requested the assistance of an Almohad navy for his fight against the crusaders, which al-Mansur declined.[70]
Al-Andalus followed the fate of North Africa. Between 1146 and 1173, the Almohads gradually wrested control from the Almoravids over the Muslim principalities in Iberia. The Almohads transferred the capital of Muslim Iberia fromCórdoba toSeville. They founded a great mosque there; its tower, theGiralda, was erected in 1184. The Almohads also built a palace there called Al-Muwarak on the site of the modern-dayAlcázar of Seville.
The successors of Abd al-Mumin,Abu Yaqub Yusuf (Yusuf I, ruled 1163–1184) andAbu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur (Yaʻqūb I, ruled 1184–1199), were both able men. Initially their government drove many Jewish and Christian subjects to take refuge in the growing Christian states of Portugal, Castile, andAragon. Ultimately they became less fanatical than the Almoravids, and Ya'qub al-Mansur was a highly accomplished man who wrote a goodArabic style and protected the philosopherAverroes. In 1190–1191, hecampaigned in southern Portugal and won back territory lost in 1189. His title of "al-Manṣūr" ("the Victorious") was earned by his victory overAlfonso VIII of Castile in theBattle of Alarcos (1195). His rule as caliph for 15 years came upon his death in 1199, likely of an illness from natural causes during a campaign against Spanish Christian forces.
From the time ofYusuf II, however, the Almohads governed their co-religionists in Iberia and central North Africa through lieutenants, their dominions outsideMorocco being treated as provinces. When Almohad emirs crossed the Straits it was to lead ajihad against the Christians and then return to Morocco.[71]
In 1212, the Almohad CaliphMuhammad 'al-Nasir' (1199–1214), the successor of al-Mansur, after an initially successful advance north, was defeated by an alliance of the three Christian kings ofCastile,Aragón andNavarre at theBattle of Las Navas de Tolosa in theSierra Morena. The battle broke the Almohad advance, but the Christian powers remained too disorganized to profit from it immediately.
Before his death in 1213, al-Nasir appointed his young ten-year-old son as the nextcaliphYusuf II "al-Mustansir". The Almohads passed through a period of effectiveregency for the young caliph, with power exercised by an oligarchy of elder family members, palace bureaucrats and leading nobles. The Almohad ministers were careful to negotiate a series of truces with the Christian kingdoms, which remained more-or-less in place for next fifteen years (theloss of Alcácer do Sal to theKingdom of Portugal in 1217 was an exception).
In early 1224, the youthful caliph died in an accident, without any heirs. The palace bureaucrats inMarrakesh, led by thewazir Uthman ibn Jam'i, quickly engineered the election of his elderly grand-uncle,Abd al-Wahid I 'al-Makhlu', as the new Almohad caliph. But the rapid appointment upset other branches of the family, notably the brothers of the late al-Nasir, who governed inal-Andalus. The challenge was immediately raised by one of them, then governor inMurcia, who declared himself CaliphAbdallah al-Adil. With the help of his brothers, he quickly seized control of al-Andalus. His chief advisor, the shadowy Abu Zayd ibn Yujjan, tapped into his contacts in Marrakesh, and secured thedeposition and assassination of Abd al-Wahid I, and the expulsion of the al-Jami'iclan.
Thiscoup has been characterized as the pebble that finally broke al-Andalus. It was the first internal coup among the Almohads. The Almohad clan, despite occasional disagreements, had always remained tightly knit and loyally behind dynastic precedence. Caliph al-Adil's murderous breach of dynastic and constitutional propriety marred his acceptability to other Almohadsheikhs. One of the recusants was his cousin, Abd Allah al-Bayyasi ("theBaezan"), the Almohad governor ofJaén, who took a handful of followers and decamped for the hills around Baeza. He set up a rebel camp and forged an alliance with the hitherto quietFerdinand III of Castile. Sensing his greater priority was Marrakesh, where recusant Almohadsheikhs had rallied behind Yahya, another son of al-Nasir, al-Adil paid little attention to them.
In 1225, Abd Allah al-Bayyasi's band of rebels, accompanied by a large Castilian army, descended from the hills, besieging cities such asJaén andAndújar. Theyraided throughout the regions ofJaén,Cordova andVega de Granada and, before the end of the year, al-Bayyasi had established himself in the city ofCordova. Sensing a power vacuum, bothAlfonso IX of León andSancho II of Portugal opportunistically ordered raids into Andalusian territory that same year. With Almohad arms, men and cash dispatched to Morocco to help Caliph al-Adil impose himself in Marrakesh, there was little means to stop the sudden onslaught. In late 1225, with surprising ease, the Portuguese raiders reached the environs ofSeville. Knowing they were outnumbered, the Almohad governors of the city refused to confront the Portuguese raiders, prompting the disgusted population of Seville to take matters into their own hands, raise a militia, and go out in the field by themselves. The result was a veritable massacre – the Portuguese men-at-arms easily mowed down the throng of poorly armed townsfolk. Thousands, perhaps as much as 20,000, were said to have been slain before the walls of Seville. A similar disaster befell a similar popular levy byMurcians atAspe that same year. But Christian raiders had been stopped atCáceres andRequena. Trust in the Almohad leadership was severely shaken by these events – the disasters were promptly blamed on the distractions of Caliph al-Adil and the incompetence and cowardice of his lieutenants, the successes credited to non-Almohad local leaders who rallied defenses.
But al-Adil's fortunes were briefly buoyed. In payment for Castilian assistance, al-Bayyasi had given Ferdinand III three strategic frontier fortresses:Baños de la Encina, Salvatierra (the oldOrder of Calatrava fortress nearCiudad Real) andCapilla. But Capilla refused to surrender, forcing the Castilians to lay a long and difficult siege. The brave defiance of little Capilla, and the spectacle of al-Bayyasi's shipping provisions to the Castilian besiegers, shocked Andalusians and shifted sentiment back towards the Almohad caliph. A popularuprising broke out in Cordova – al-Bayyasi was killed and his head dispatched as a trophy to Marrakesh. But Caliph al-Adil did not rejoice in this victory for long – he was assassinated in Marrakesh in October 1227, by the partisans of Yahya, who was promptly acclaimed as the new Almohad caliphYahya "al-Mu'tasim".
The Andalusian branch of the Almohads refused to accept this turn of events. Al-Adil's brother, then in Seville, proclaimed himself the new Almohad caliphAbd al-Ala Idris I 'al-Ma'mun'. He promptly purchased atruce from Ferdinand III in return for 300,000maravedis, allowing him to organize and dispatch the greater part of the Almohad army in Spain across thestraits in 1228 to confront Yahya.
That same year, Portuguese andLeonese renewed their raids deep into Muslim territory, basically unchecked. Feeling the Almohads had failed to protect them, popular uprisings took place throughout al-Andalus. City after city deposed their hapless Almohad governors and installed local strongmen in their place. A Murcian strongman,Ibn Hud, who claimed descendance from theBanu Hud dynasty that had once ruled the oldtaifa of Saragossa, emerged as the central figure of these rebellions, systematically dislodging Almohad garrisons through central Spain. In October 1228, with Spain practically all lost, al-Ma'mun abandoned Seville, taking what little remained of the Almohad army with him to Morocco. Ibn Hud immediately dispatched emissaries to distantBaghdad to offer recognition to theAbbasidCaliph, albeit taking up for himself a quasi-caliphal title, 'al-Mutawwakil'.
The departure of al-Ma'mun in 1228 marked the end of the Almohad era in Spain. Ibn Hud and the other local Andalusian strongmen were unable to stem the rising flood of Christian attacks, launched almost yearly bySancho II of Portugal,Alfonso IX of León,Ferdinand III of Castile andJames I of Aragon. The next twenty years saw a massive advance in the Christianreconquista – the old great Andalusiancitadels fell in a grand sweep:Mérida andBadajoz in 1230 (to Leon),Mallorca in 1230 (to Aragon),Beja in 1234 (to Portugal),Córdoba in 1236 (to Castile),Valencia in 1238 (to Aragon),Niebla-Huelva in 1238 (to Leon),Silves in 1242 (to Portugal),Murcia in 1243 (to Castile),Jaénin 1246 (to Castile),Alicante in 1248 (to Castile), culminating in the fall of the greatest of Andalusian cities, the ex-Almohad capital ofSeville, into Christian hands in 1248. Ferdinand III of Castile entered Seville as a conqueror on December 22, 1248.
The Andalusians were helpless before this onslaught. Ibn Hud had attempted to check the Leonese advance early on, but most of his Andalusian army was destroyed at thebattle of Alange in 1230. Ibn Hud scrambled to move remaining arms and men to save threatened or besieged Andalusian citadels, but with so many attacks at once, it was a hopeless endeavor. After Ibn Hud's death in 1238, some of the Andalusian cities, in a last-ditch effort to save themselves, offered themselves once again to the Almohads, but to no avail. The Almohads would not return.
With the departure of the Almohads, theNasrid dynasty ("Banū Naṣr",Arabic:بنو نصر) rose to power inGranada. After the great Christian advance of 1228–1248, theEmirate of Granada was practically all that remained of oldal-Andalus. Some of the captured citadels (e.g. Murcia, Jaen, Niebla) were reorganized as tributary vassals for a few more years, but most were annexed by the 1260s. Granada alone would remain independent for an additional 250 years, flourishing as the new center of al-Andalus.
In their African holdings, the Almohads encouraged the establishment of Christians even inFez, and after theBattle of Las Navas de Tolosa they occasionally entered into alliances with the kings ofCastile. The history of their decline differs from that of the Almoravids, whom they had displaced. They were not assailed by a great religious movement, but lost territories, piecemeal, by the revolt of tribes and districts. Their most effective enemies were the Banu Marin (Marinids) who founded the next dynasty. The last representative of the line,Idris al-Wathiq, was reduced to the possession ofMarrakesh, where he was murdered by a slave in 1269.[citation needed]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion with: overview of the state's governing bodies and structure. You can help byadding to it.(May 2025) |
TheCouncil of Ten was a group ofIbn Tumart's earliest and closest disciples, at the top of the hierarchy of the Almohad movement.[52][page needed][72]
The use ofBerber languages was important inAlmohad doctrine. Under the Almohads, thekhuṭba (sermon) atFriday prayer was made to be delivered in Arabic andBerber, with the latter referred to asal-lisān al-gharbī (Arabic:اللسان الغربي,lit. 'the western tongue') by the Andalusi historianIbn Ṣāḥib aṣ-Ṣalāt [ar].[73] For example, thekhaṭīb, or sermon-giver, ofal-Qarawiyyīn Mosque in Fes, Mahdī b. 'Īsā, was replaced under the Almohads by Abū l-Ḥasan b. 'Aṭiyya khaṭīb because he was fluent in Berber.[73]
As the Almohads rejected the status ofDhimma, the Almohad conquest ofal-Andalus caused the emigration ofAndalusi Christians from southern Iberia to the Christian north,[74] which had an impact on the use ofRomance within Almohad territory. After the Almohad period, Muslim territories in Iberia were reduced to theEmirate of Granada, in which the percentage of the population that had converted to Islam reached 90% and Arabic-Romance bilingualism seems to have disappeared.[75]
The French Orientalist Georges-Séraphin Colin—based on a collection of Almohad-era texts heavily influenced by vernacular speech, edited byÉvariste Lévi-Provençal—identifies various points of contact and divergence betweenAndalusi Arabic andMaghrebi Arabic in the Almohad period.[76]
The Almohads worked to suppress the influence of theMaliki school of fiqh, even publicly burning copies ofMuwatta Imam Malik and Maliki commentaries. They sought to disseminate ibn Tumart's beliefs; he was the author of theAʿazzu Mā Yuṭlab, theCounterpart of the Muwatta (محاذي الموطأ), and theCompendium ofSahih Muslim (تلخيص صحيح مسلم).[77]
Literary production continued despite the Almohad reforms's devastating effect on cultural life in their domain. Almohad universities continued the knowledge of preceding Andalusi scholars as well as ancient Greek and Roman writers; contemporary literary figures includedAverroes,Hafsa bint al-Hajj al-Rukuniyya,ibn Tufayl,ibn Zuhr,ibn al-Abbar,ibn Amira and many more poets, philosophers, and scholars. The abolishment of thedhimmi status of religious minorities further stifled the once flourishingGolden age of Jewish culture in Spain;Maimonides went east and many Jews moved to Castillian-controlledToledo.
According to the research ofMuhammad al-Manuni, there were 400 paper mills in Fes under the reign of SultanYaqub al-Mansur in the 12th century.[78]
The Almohad ideology preached by Ibn Tumart is described byAmira Bennison as a "sophisticated hybrid form of Islam that wove together strands fromHadith science,Zahiri andShafi'ifiqh,Ghazalian social actions (hisba), and spiritual engagement withShi'i notions of theimam andmahdi".[12] This contrasted with the highly orthodox or traditionalistMaliki school (maddhab) ofSunni Islam which predominated in the region up to that point. Central to his philosophy, Ibn Tumart preached a fundamentalist or radical version oftawhid – referring to a strict monotheism or to the "oneness of God". This notion gave the movement its name:al-Muwaḥḥidūn (Arabic:المُوَحِّدون), meaning roughly "those who advocatetawhid", which was adapted to "Almohads" in European writings.[12] Ibn Tumart saw his movement as a revolutionary reform movement much asearly Islam saw itself relative to the Christianity and Judaism which preceded it, with himself as itsmahdi and leader.[12]
In terms of Muslimjurisprudence, the state gave recognition to theZahiri (ظاهري) school of thought,[79] thoughShafi'ites were also given a measure of authority at times. While not all Almohad leaders were Zahirites, quite a few of them were not only adherents of the legal school but also well-versed in its tenets.[80] Additionally, all Almohad leaders – both the religiously learned and the laymen – were hostile toward theMalikite school favored by the Almoravids. During the reign of Abu Yaqub, chief judgeIbn Maḍāʾ oversaw the banning of all religious books written by non-Zahirites;[81] when Abu Yaqub's son Abu Yusuf took the throne, he ordered Ibn Maḍāʾ to undertake the actual burning of such books.[82]
In terms ofIslamic theology, the Almohads wereAsh'arites, their Zahirite-Ash'arism giving rise to a complicated blend of literalist jurisprudence and esoteric dogmatics.[83][84] Some authors occasionally describe Almohads as heavily influenced byMu'tazilism.[85] Scholar Madeline Fletcher argues that while one of Ibn Tumart's original teachings, themurshidas (a collection of sayings memorized by his followers), holds positions on theattributes of God which might be construed as moderately Mu'tazilite (and which were criticized as such byIbn Taimiyya), identifying him with Mu'tazilites would be an exaggeration. She points out that another of his main texts, the'aqida (which was likely edited by others after him), demonstrates a much clearer Ash'arite position on a number of issues.[86]
Nonetheless, the Almohads, particularly from the reign of CaliphAbu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur onward, embraced the use oflogicalreasoning as a method of validating the more central Almohad concept oftawhid. This effectively provided a religious justification for philosophy and for arationalist intellectualism in Almohad religious thought. Al-Mansur's father,Abu Ya'qub Yusuf, had also shown some favour towards philosophy and kept the philosopherIbn Tufayl as his confidant.[86][87] Ibn Tufayl in turn introduced Ibn Rush (Averroes) to the Almohad court, to whom Al-Mansur gave patronage and protection. Although Ibn Rushd (who was also anIslamic judge) saw rationalism and philosophy as complementary to religion and revelation, his views failed to convince the traditional Malikiulema, with whom the Almohads were already at odds.[88] After the decline of Almohadism, Maliki Sunnism ultimately became the dominant official religious doctrine of the region.[89] By contrast, the teachings of Ibn Rushd and other philosophers like him were far more influential for Jewish philosophers – includingMaimonides, his contemporary – and Christian Latin scholars – likeThomas Aquinas – who later promoted his commentaries onAristotle.[88]
Most historical records indicate that the Almohads were recognized for their use of white banners, which were supposed to evoke their "purity of purpose".[91] This began a long tradition of using white as main dynastic color in what is now Morocco for the laterMarinids andSaadian sultanates.[92] Whether these white banners contained any specific motifs or inscriptions is not certain.[93] Historian Ḥasan 'Ali Ḥasan writes:[94]
As for the flags of the Almohads, the main flag was white, and on one side was written during the reign of Ibn Tumart: "The one Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, the Mahdi is the successor of Allah", and on the other side: "There is no god but Allah, and my success is only with Allah, and I entrust my affairs to Allah", and the white color continued with the rest of the caliphs, even if they adopted other colored flags, red, yellow and other colors. There is no doubt that these flags in their different colors delighted and pleased the people.
According to historian Amira Benninson, the caliphs usually left their capital Marrakesh for war in al-Andalus preceded by the white banner of the Almohads, the Quran of 'Uthman and Quran of Ibn Tumart.[95][96] Egyptian historiographerAl-Qalqashandi (d. 1418) mentioned white flags in two places, the first being when he spoke about the Almohad flag in Tunisia, where he stated that: "It was a white flag called the victorious flag, and it was raised before their sultan when riding forEid prayers or for the movement of themakhzen slaves (which were the ordinary people of the country and the people of the markets)".[97] By the end of the Almohad reign, dissident movements would adopt black in recognition of the Abbasid caliphate and in rejection of the Almohad authority.[98]
TheBook of Knowledge of All Kingdoms, written by a Franciscan friar in the 14th century (well after the end of the Almohad period), describes the flag of Marrakesh as being red with a black-and-white checkerboard motif at its center. Some authors have assumed this flag to be the former flag of the Almohads.[93]
In modern times, Islamic al-Andalus inAndalusian collective memory allowed more awareness of the colors of theAndalusian flag, chosen in 1918 byBlas Infante, a founding figure of Andalusia. Infante has explained the design of its flag by indicating that green was the color of the Umayyads and white that of the Almohads, the caliphates which represented periods of "greatness and power" in this region.[99]
The Almohad dynasty embraced a style of cursiveMaghrebi script known today as "Maghrebi thuluth" as an official style used in manuscripts, coinage, documents, and architecture.[77] However, the more angularKufic script was still used, albeit in a reworked form in Qur'an epigraphy, and was seen detailed in silver in some colophons.[100][101] The Maghrebi thuluth script, frequently written in gold, was used to give emphasis when standard writing, written in rounded Maghrebi mabsūt script, was considered insufficient.[77] Maghrebi mabsūt of theal-Andalus region during the 12th to 14th centuries was characterized by elongated lines, stretched out curves, and the use of multiple colors for vocalizations, as derived from the people of Medina.[101]
Scribes and calligraphers of the Almohad period also started toilluminate words and phrases in manuscripts for emphasis, usinggold leaf andlapis lazuli.[102][77] While much of the script was written in black or brown ink, the use ofpolychromy for diacritical text and vocalizations also marked a departure from previous caliphates' calligraphic styles.[101] Blue dots were used to indicate elif, orange dots denotedhamza, and yellow semicircles to markedshaddah.[101] Separate sets of verses were denoted by various medallions, with distinctive designs for each set. For example, sets of five verses were ended with bud-like medallions while sets of ten were marked by circular medallions, all of which were typically painted in gold.[102] Manuscripts attributed to this caliphate were characterized by interlacing geometric or recti-curvilinear illuminations, and abstract vegetal artwork and large medallions were often present in the margins and as thumbnails.[102] Composite floralfinials were also frequently used in decorating the margins and corners of the page.[102] Color schemes focused on primarily using gold, white, and blue, with accentuating elements in red or pink.[102]
During the Almohad dynasty, the act of bookbinding itself took on great importance, with a notable instance of the Almohad caliphAbd al-Mu'min bringing in artisans for a celebration of the binding of a Qur'an imported fromCordoba.[103] Books were most frequently bound in goatskin leather and decorated with polygonal interlacing,goffering, and stamping. The primary materials used for the pages were goat or sheepvellum.[103] However, the Almohad dynasty also saw industrial advancements in the spread of paper mills inSeville andMarrakesh, leading to the introduction of paper for Qur'an manuscripts, illuminated doctrine books, and official documents.[77][104] Most Qur'anic manuscripts were close to square-shaped, though other religious texts were typically vertically oriented. With the exception of a few large-scale Qur'ans, most were modestly sized, ranging from 11 centimenters to 22 centimeters on each side, with 19 to 27 lines of script each page.[104] In contrast, large-sized Qur'ans were typically approximately 60 centimeters by 53 centimeters and had an average of five to nine lines of script to a page, typically in Maghrebi thuluth.[104]
Hadith Bayāḍ wa Riyāḍ, the love story of Bayad and Riyad, is one of the few remaining illustrated manuscripts dated to 13th century Almohad caliphate.[103] Its use of miniatures displays a clear connection with previous illustrated tradition from the eastern Islamic world. However, it deviates in its depictions of the frontispiece, interior, and teaching scenes, which show similarities to scientific manuscripts from the central Islamic world, typically considered to have consisted of the Arabian peninsula, northeast modern Iran, and the Fertile Crescent.[105] Depictions of architecture specific to the Almohad caliphate are also evident in several places in the manuscript.[105]
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The penultimate Almohad caliph,Abu Hafs al-Murtada, was a notable calligrapher in his own right and composed poems and copied Qur'ans. A known bibliophile, he frequently endowed books to madrasas and mosques and established the first public manuscript transcription center in Marrakesh.[77] One of the large Qur'ans that he copied has been preserved in Marrakesh and is the oldest surviving example in the western Islamic world of a Qur'an personally produced by a sovereign ruler. The 10-volume tome is written on parchment and bound with a leather cover decorated with a geometric motif, exhibiting the first dated use of gold tooling on a manuscript binding.[106] The verses are written in Maghrebi mabsūt script and the end of each verse is marked by a gold circle divided into eight uniform segments. Using large Maghrebi script, there are five to 10 lines to a page, with relatively few words to each line. There is lavish use of gold, and this Qur'an, as with other Qur'ans of this size, was likely intended for court use.[107]
The Almohads initially eschewed the production of luxury textiles and silks, but eventually they too engaged in this production. Almohad textiles, like earlier Almoravid examples, were often decorated with a grid of roundels filled with ornamental designs or Arabic epigraphy. However, textiles produced by Almohad workshops used progressively less figural decoration than previous Almoravid textiles, in favour of interlacing geometric and vegetal motifs.[108]
One of the best-known textiles traditionally attributed to the Almohads is the "Las Navas de Tolosa Banner", so-called because it was once thought to be a spoil won byAlfonso VIII at theBattle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212. More recent studies have proposed that it was actually a spoil won some years later byFerdinand III.[109] The banner was then donated to theMonastery of Santa Maria la Real de Huelgas inBurgos, where it remains today. The banner is richly designed and features blue Arabic inscriptions and white decorative patterns on a red background. The central motif features an eight-pointed star framed by a circle inside a larger square, with smaller motifs filling the bands of the frame and the corner spaces. This central design is surrounded on four sides by Arabic inscriptions inNaskhi script featuring Qur'anic verses (Surah 61: 10–12), and another horizontal inscription in the banner's upper part which praises God andMuhammad. Recent studies have argued that the banner is of 14th century origin rather than of Almohad origin, due to its similarities with captured Marinid banners kept at theCathedral of Toledo and to its similarities with Nasrid motifs. It remains uncertain whether it was crafted either in Fez under the Marinids or in Granada under the Nasrids.[110][111]
The French historianHenri Terrasse describedal-Qarawiyyin's bronze grandchandelier, commissioned by CaliphMuhammad al-Nasir, as "the largest and most beautiful chandelier in the Islamic world."[112][113][114] The chandelier consists of a 12-sided cupola on top of which is mounted a large cone crowned around its sides with nine levels of candlesticks. The visible surfaces of the chandelier are carved and pierced with intricate floral arabesque motifs as well asKufic Arabic inscriptions. The chandelier is now the oldest surviving chandelier in the western Islamic world, and it likely served as a model for the later and nearly equally famous Marinid chandelier in theGreat Mosque of Taza.[115]
Another important piece, the so-called Monzón Lion, also dates from the Almohad period during the 12 or 13th century and is held in theLouvre Museum today. It is an example of figural bronze sculpture from al-Andalus that continues in the tradition of earlier objects such as the 11th-centuryPisa Griffin (kept at theCathedral Museum ofPisa) and the 10th-century Stag of Córdoba[116] made inMadinat al-Zahra (now kept at theArcheological Museum of Córdoba). It was found inMonzón, nearPalencia, but it is not known where exactly in the Iberian Peninsula it was made. As Palencia was outside the Almohad realm, it may have been made by Andalusi craftsman for a Christian patron. The lion, which served as a fountainhead, is sculpted in a highly stylized manner and its articulated tail is adjustable. Its surface is covered in incised decoration consisting of tapestry-like motifs, and a broad Kufic inscription on its side features well-wishes for its owner.[117][118][119]
Other surviving metalwork objects from the Almohad period include a series of braziers and lamps discovered in Córdoba and now kept at the Archeological Museum of Córdoba. One of them, a hexagonal brazier, features both incised and pierced decoration. Along with prominent decorative Kufic inscriptions, it has an architectural motif ofmerlons resembling the decorative sawtooth-shaped merlons found along the tops of Moorish and Moroccan buildings of the same period.[120][121]
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Jonathan Bloom cites the white and green glazed tiles on theminaret of theKutubiyya Mosque, dating from the mid-12th century in the early Almohad period, as the earliest reliably-dated example ofzellij in Morocco.[122] The tiles currently installed on the minaret are modern reproductions of the original decoration, but some of the original tiles were preserved in a collection kept at theBadi Palace.[123] The same collection has also preserved fragments of the original tile decoration on the minaret of theKasbah Mosque, including fragments of aKufic inscription which is no longer present on the minaret today. These latter fragments are also the earliest surviving example ofcuerda seca tilework (a technique originating in al-Andalus) being used in an architectural context.[124]
The Kutubiyya Mosque's minaret in Marrakesh originally had polychrome painted decoration around the windows and blind arches on its exterior façades, featuring a mix ofgeometric and vegetalarabesque motifs.[125] In Seville, some Almohad-era houses have been excavated in various locations in the city, particularly on the site of the present-day cathedral. At least one of these excavations have revealed the remains of mural decoration featuring interlacing geometric decoration.[126]Decorations of ahammam dating back to the Almohad period were uncovered in a bar inSeville during renovations in 2020.[127] The decorations feature red ochre paintings ofconcave hexadecagons and eightfold rosettes on engraved white lime mortar in a pattern that fits the hammam's geometric skylight holes.[127]
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Along with theAlmoravid period preceding it, the Almohad period is considered one of the most formative stages ofMoroccan andMoorish architecture, establishing many of the forms and motifs that were refined in subsequent centuries.[128][125][129][130] The main sites of Almohad architecture and art includeFes,Marrakesh,Rabat andSeville.[131] In general, Almohad architecture was built mostly inrammed earth andbrick rather than stone. These two materials were relatively cheap, readily available at most sites, and already widely used in the preceding centuries.[132] Almohad architects refined both the manufacturing process of these materials and their on-site assembly, making the execution of numerous and ambitious construction projects possible. According to scholar Felix Arnold, during the Almohad period "construction became an industry on a scale not seen sinceRoman times."[133]
Compared to the earlier Almoravid period and theTaifas orCaliphal period inal-Andalus, early Almohad architecture was much more restrained in its ornamentation, focusing its attention on overall architectural forms rather than on detailed surface decoration.[134][133] In addition to continuing the integration of Moroccan and Andalusi artistic traditions, some currents in Almohad architecture may also reflect influences fromAlgeria andTunisia (Ifriqiya). Some Almohad elements, such aspolylobed arches, have their earliest precedents inFatimid architecture in Ifriqiya andEgypt and had also appeared in Andalusi architecture such as theAljaferia palace. In the Almohad period, this type of arch was further refined for decorative functions whilehorseshoe arches continued to be standard elsewhere.[135] The decoration aroundmihrab arches inside mosques also evolved into richer and more monumental forms in the great ceremonial stone gates of Almohad architecture such asBab Agnaou in Marrakesh andBab Oudaia andBab er-Rouah in Rabat. These gates employed varying decorative motifs arranged in concentric semi-circles around the arch of the gate, all of which was in turn framed inside an outer rectangular band with other motifs.[136][125] This style remained evident inMarinid gateways (e.g. the main gate ofChellah) and in later Moroccan gateways.[137]
The AlmohadKutubiyya andTinmal mosques are often considered the prototypes of later Moroccan and Andalusi mosques,[125][138] although theGreat Mosque of Taza (later modified by theMarinids) is the oldest surviving Almohad mosque (begun in 1142).[38] Like earlier mosques in the region, Almohad mosques have interiors consisting of largehypostyle halls divided by rows of arches that create a repetitive visual effect. However, the aisle or "nave" leading towards themihrab (niche symbolizing theqibla in the southern/southeastern wall) and the aisle running along the qibla wall itself were usually wider than the others and were highlighted with distinctive arches and greater decoration. This layout, already present in Almoravid mosques, is often referred to as the "T-plan" by art historians (because the aisle running parallel to theqibla wall and the aisle leading to themihrab, perpendicular to it, form a "T" shape), and became standard in mosques of the region for centuries.[139] Theminarets of Almohad mosques also established the standard form and style of subsequent minarets in the region, with a square base and two-tiered shaft covered in polylobed arch anddarj wa ktaf motifs. The minaret of theKasbah Mosque of Marrakesh was particularly influential and set a style that was repeated, with minor elaborations, in the following Marinid period.[140][141][125] The most famous minarets of this time, however, are the minarets of the Kutubiyya Mosque (begun in 1147 byAbd al-Mu'min but subsequently rebuilt before 1195[140]), theGiralda of Seville (part of a Great Mosque begun in 1171 byAbu Ya'qub Yusuf), and the unfinished "Hassan Tower" of Rabat (part of a huge mosque begun byAbu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur in 1191 but never completed).[141][125][142][143]
The Almohads were also prolific builders of fortifications and forts across their realm. They were responsible for building (or rebuilding) thecity walls of Cordoba,Seville,Fes, andTaza, as well as many smaller forts and castles across Morocco and southern Spain and Portugal.[144] In Rabat, Abd al-Mu'min built most of the currentKasbah of the Udayas in 1150–1151 (after having destroyed an earlier Almoravidribat there), while Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur embarked on the construction of a vast new capital and citadel on its south side calledRibat al-Fath (for which the enormous unfinished mosque of the Hassan Tower was also intended). While never finished, this project created the current outer walls of the historic center of Rabat, along with multiple gates such as Bab er-Rouah and the ceremonial main gate of the Kasbah of the Udayas.[145] Al-Mansur also created theKasbah of Marrakesh, a large royal citadel and palace complex to house the caliph's family and administration. The main public entrance of this kasbah was the ornamental gate of Bab Agnaou.[146] In Seville, the Almohads built theTorre del Oro, a defensive tower on the shores of theGuadalquivir River which dates from 1220 to 1221 and remains a landmark of the city today.[147] Likewise, theCalahorra Tower in Cordoba is believed to be an originally Almohad structure designed to defend the river and the city'sold bridge.[148]
The Almohad caliphs also constructed multiple country estates just outside the main cities where they resided, continuing a tradition that existed under the Almoravids.[149] The best-known examples of these estates were centered around large water basins or reservoirs that sustained orchards of fruit trees and other plants. Some of them are referred to asal-Buḥayra ("little sea") in Arabic sources, likely in reference to these artificial lakes. Small palaces or pleasure pavilions were built on the edge of the reservoirs. In Marrakesh, the present-dayAgdal andMenara gardens both developed from such Almohad creations. In Seville, the remains of theal-Buḥayra garden, founded in 1171, were excavated and partly restored in the 1970s. A similar garden estate was also created in Rabat but has not been found by archaeologists.[149] TheAlcázar Genil (originally calledal-Qaṣr as-Sayyid) in Granada, created in the late Almohad period and later remodeled by the Nasrids, stood next to an enormous pool on the outskirts of the city.[150][151] A small ribat, consisting of a square hall covered by a sixteen-sided dome onsquinches, was built nearby at the same time and has been preserved today as a Christianhermitage.[152] Sunken gardens were also part of Almohad palace architecture. In some cases the gardens were divided symmetrically into four parts, much like ariyad garden. Examples of these have been found in several courtyards in theAlcázar of Seville, where former Almohad palaces once stood.[153][154]
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The Almohads had taken control of the Almoravid Maghribi and Andalusian territories by 1147.[155] The Almohads rejected the mainstream Islamic doctrine that established the status ofdhimmi, aNon-Muslim resident of a Muslim country who was allowed to practice his religion on condition of submission to Muslim rule and payment ofjizya.[156][157]
The treatment andpersecution ofJews under Almohad rule was a drastic change.[158] Prior to Almohad rule during theCaliphate of Córdoba, Jewish culture experienced aGolden Age.María Rosa Menocal, a specialist in Iberian literature atYale University, has argued that "tolerance was an inherent aspect of Andalusian society", and that the Jewishdhimmis living under the Caliphate, while allowed fewer rights than Muslims, were still better off than inChristian Europe.[159] Many Jews migrated toal-Andalus, where they were not just tolerated but allowed to practice their faith openly. Christians had also practiced their religion openly in Córdoba, and both Jews and Christians lived openly in Morocco as well.
The first Almohad ruler, Abd al-Mumin, allowed an initial seven-monthgrace period.[160] Then heforced most of the urbandhimmi population in Morocco, both Jewish and Christian, to convert to Islam.[156] In 1198, the Almohad emirAbu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur decreed that Jews must wear a dark blue garb, with very large sleeves and a grotesquely oversized hat;[161] his son altered the colour toyellow, a change that may have influenced Catholic ordinances some time later.[161] Those who convertedhad to wear clothing that identified them as Jews since they were not regarded as sincere Muslims.[156] Cases ofmass martyrdom of Jews who refused to convert to Islam are recorded.[160] The treatment andpersecution ofChristians under Almohad rule was a drastic change as well.[162]
Many of the conversions were superficial.Maimonides urged Jews to choose the superficial conversion over martyrdom and argued, "Muslims know very well that we do not mean what we say, and that what we say is only to escape the ruler's punishment and to satisfy him with this simple confession."[158][156]Abraham Ibn Ezra (1089–1164), who himself fled the persecutions of the Almohads, composed an elegy mourning the destruction of many Jewish communities throughout Spain and the Maghreb under the Almohads.[158][163] Many Jews fled from territories ruled by the Almohads to Christian lands, and others, like the family of Maimonides, fled east to more tolerant Muslim lands.[164] However, a few Jewish traders still working in North Africa are recorded.[160]
Idris al-Ma'mun, a late Almohad pretender (ruled 1229–1232 in parts of Morocco), renounced much Almohad doctrine, including the identification of Ibn Tumart as the Mahdi, and the denial ofdhimmi status. He allowed Jews to practice their religion openly in Marrakesh and even allowed a Christian church there as part of his alliance with Castile.[156] In Iberia, Almohad rule collapsed in the 1200s and was succeeded by several "Taifa" kingdoms, which allowed Jews to practice their religion openly.[156]
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... Almohades were Berber-speaking and the Almohades were particularly loyal to the Berber tongue. But Arabic was the official language of their government and their makhzen was full of Andalusians.
Even more important to the future of Morocco was the large-scale Arab immigration that began in the eleventh century. Before that time the Arabs in Morocco consisted mainly of the descendants of the relatively small numbers of initial invaders and of the Idrisids, who had married Berber women. Many of these early arrivals had been aristocrats from Arabia who settled in the cities. The character of the Arab migrations of the eleventh century was distinctly different. The Fatimids, at this time ruling from their capital in Cairo and infuriated by Berber refusal to acknowledge to acknowledge their hegemony, encourages masses of beduin Arabs of the Beni Hilal and Beni Salim tribes to migrate into North Africa. Over a long period, they displaced the Berbers from some of the best lands or settled among them. This immigration introduced for the first time comparatively large numbers of Arabs into the Moroccan population and quickly spread the use of the Arabic language.
The Banu Hilal took land which they had largely destroyed, and whose cultivation then began to decline. As nomadism spread, territories of the local tribes changed and shrank; the Zenata were pushed west, the Kabyles north. Populations mixed, leading to gradual Arabisation of the plains inhabitants. The Berber language persisted in less accessible mountain ranges.
Abd al-Mu'min, came from western Algeria, and, according to the chroniclers, he brought forty thousand of his countrymen with him to Morocco in order to reinforce his personal power.
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