Almohad architecture corresponds to a period from the 12th to early 13th centuries when theAlmohads ruled over the westernMaghreb (present-dayMorocco and westernAlgeria) andal-Andalus (a large part of present-daySpain and southernPortugal). It was an important phase in the consolidation of a regionalMoorish (or western Islamic) architecture shared across these territories, continuing some of the trends of the precedingAlmoravid period and ofAlmoravid architecture.

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.^[1][2][3][4] The main sites of Almohad architecture and art includeFez,Marrakesh,Rabat, andSeville, as well as important mosques inTaza andTinmel.^[5][2]

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 and proportions, rather than on detailed surface decoration.^{[1]: 228–231 [6]: 196 [2]: 86–88 [7]} Earlier motifs were refined and were given a grander scale. While surface ornament still remained important, architects strove for a balance between decorated surfaces and empty spaces, allowing the interaction of light and shadows across carved surfaces to play a role.^{[2]: 86–88 [7]}

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.^{[1]: 232–234}

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.^{[6]: 195–196} 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."^[6]: 196

The AlmohadKutubiyya andTinmal mosques are often considered the prototypes of later Moroccan and Andalusi mosques,^[2][1] although theGreat Mosque of Taza (later modified by theMarinids) is the oldest surviving Almohad mosque (begun in 1142).^[5]: 121 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.^[5]

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.^[8][1][2] 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^[8]), 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).^[1][2][3][5]

Al-Mansur 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 ofBab Agnaou.^[3]

The Almohad caliphs also constructed multiple country estates just outside the main cities where they resided, continuing a tradition that existed under the Almoravids.^{[6]: 196–212} 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.^{[6]: 196–212} 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.^{[6]: 239–240 [9]} 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.^[10]

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.^{[6]: 199–210 [11]: 70–71}

The Almohads were also prolific builders of fortifications and forts across their realm. They were responsible for building (or rebuilding) thecity walls of Córdoba,Seville,Fez, andTaza, as well as many smaller forts and castles across Morocco and southern Spain and Portugal.^[1] 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.^[12] 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.^[3] Likewise, theCalahorra Tower in Córdoba is believed to be an originally Almohad structure designed to defend the river and the city'sold bridge.^[3]: 326

The decoration aroundmihrab arches inside mosques also evolved into richer and more monumental forms in the great ceremonial stone gates of Almohad architecture such as Bab 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.^{[1]: 243–244 [2]} This style remained evident inMarinid gateways (e.g. the main gate ofChellah) and in later Moroccan gateways.^[1]

The Almohads also made use ofribbed vaults to cover rooms in military structures, as exemplified by Almohad-era constructions in thecastle of Villena. This type of vaulting had previously been used in religious buildings in al-Andalus, such as theGreat Mosque of Córdoba and theBab al-Mardum Mosque inToledo.^[13]

• Almohad architecture

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