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140-545: It was first built in 1218 or 1219 by Sayyid Ishaq ibn Yusuf, a member of the Almohad dynasty . The palace, built along the south shore of the Genil River, was located outside the city walls. It served as an almunia (from Arabic al-munya , meaning "farm"), a country villa that was used both as a private retreat for its elite owners as well as a farming estate with agricultural functions. A small ribat (religious retreat for Sufis )

280-493: A Khawarij . Ali's tumultuous rule lasted only five years. This period is known as the Fitna , or the first Islamic civil war. The followers of Ali later became the Shi'a ("shiaat Ali", partisans of Ali. ) minority sect of Islam and reject the legitimacy of the first three caliphs. The followers of all four Rāshidun Caliphs (Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali) became the majority Sunni sect. Under

420-534: A rationalist intellectualism in Almohad religious thought. Al-Mansur's father, Abu Ya'qub Yusuf , had also shown some favour towards philosophy and kept the philosopher Ibn Tufayl as his confidant. 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 an Islamic judge ) saw rationalism and philosophy as complementary to religion and revelation, his views failed to convince

560-441: A "sophisticated hybrid form of Islam that wove together strands from Hadith science, Zahiri and Shafi'i fiqh , Ghazalian social actions ( hisba ), and spiritual engagement with Shi'i notions of the imam and mahdi ". This contrasted with the highly orthodox or traditionalist Maliki school ( maddhab ) of Sunni Islam which predominated in the region up to that point. Central to his philosophy, Ibn Tumart preached

700-707: A Berber state in Tinmel in the Atlas Mountains in roughly 1120. The Almohads succeeded in overthrowing the Almoravid dynasty in governing Morocco by 1147, when Abd al-Mu'min (r. 1130–1163) conquered Marrakech and declared himself caliph. They then extended their power over all of the Maghreb by 1159. Al-Andalus followed the fate of Africa, and all Islamic Iberia was under Almohad rule by 1172. The Almohad dominance of Iberia continued until 1212, when Muhammad al-Nasir (1199–1214)

840-532: A center of knowledge, culture and trade. This period of cultural fruition ended in 1258 with the sack of Baghdad by the Mongols under Hulagu Khan . The Abbasid Caliphate had, however, lost its effective power outside Iraq already by c. 920. By 945, the loss of power became official when the Buyids conquered Baghdad and all of Iraq. The empire fell apart and its parts were ruled for the next century by local dynasties. In

980-568: A complicated blend of literalist jurisprudence and esoteric dogmatics. Some authors occasionally describe Almohads as heavily influenced by Mu'tazilism . Scholar Madeline Fletcher argues that while one of Ibn Tumart's original teachings, the murshida s (a collection of sayings memorized by his followers), holds positions on the attributes of God which might be construed as moderately Mu'tazilite (and which were criticized as such by Ibn Taimiyya ), identifying him with Mu'tazilites would be an exaggeration. She points out that another of his main texts,

1120-459: A fundamentalist or radical version of tawhid – 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 advocate tawhid ", which was adapted to "Almohads" in European writings. Ibn Tumart saw his movement as a revolutionary reform movement much as early Islam saw itself relative to

1260-736: A gathering of the Ansar (natives of Medina ) took place in the saqifa (courtyard) of the Banu Sa'ida clan. The general belief at the time was that the purpose of the meeting was for the Ansar to decide on a new leader of the Muslim community among themselves, with the intentional exclusion of the Muhajirun (migrants from Mecca ), though this has later become the subject of debate. Nevertheless, Abu Bakr and Umar , both prominent companions of Muhammad, upon learning of

1400-571: A head of state, a caliph should be elected by Muslims or their representatives. Shia Muslims , however, believe a caliph should be an imam chosen by God from the Ahl al-Bayt (the "Household of the Prophet"). Some caliphates in history have been led by Shia Muslims, like the Fatimid Caliphate (909–1171). From the late 20th century towards the early 21st century, in the wake of the invasion of Afghanistan by

1540-586: A large Castilian army, descended from the hills, besieging cities such as Jaén and Andújar . They raided throughout the regions of Jaén , Cordova and Vega de Granada and, before the end of the year, al-Bayyasi had established himself in the city of Cordova . Sensing a power vacuum, both Alfonso IX of León and Sancho 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

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1680-448: 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. 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

1820-507: A massive advance in the Christian reconquista – the old great Andalusian citadels fell in a grand sweep: Mérida and Badajoz in 1230 (to Leon), Majorca in 1230 (to Aragon), Beja in 1234 (to Portugal), Cordova 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), Jaén in 1246 (to Castile), Alicante in 1248 (to Castile), culminating in

1960-438: A palace there called Al-Muwarak on the site of the modern-day Alcázar of Seville . The successors of Abd al-Mumin, Abu Yaqub Yusuf (Yusuf I, ruled 1163–1184) and Abu 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, and Aragon . Ultimately they became less fanatical than

2100-462: A period of effective regency 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 (the loss of Alcácer do Sal to the Kingdom of Portugal in 1217 was an exception). In early 1224,

2240-457: A revolt against what he perceived as anthropomorphism in Muslim orthodoxy. His followers would become known as the al-Muwaḥḥidūn ("Almohads"), meaning those who affirm the unity of God. After his return to the Maghreb c. 1117, Ibn Tumart spent some time in various Ifriqiyan cities, preaching and agitating, heading riotous attacks on wine-shops and on other manifestations of laxity. He laid

2380-568: A shield protecting their thrones against the attacks of rebels". A summit was convened at Cairo in 1926 to discuss the revival of the caliphate, but most Muslim countries did not participate, and no action was taken to implement the summit's resolutions. Though the title Ameer al-Mumineen was adopted by the King of Morocco and by Mohammed Omar , former head of the Taliban of Afghanistan , neither claimed any legal standing or authority over Muslims outside

2520-549: Is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph ( / ˈ k æ l ɪ f , ˈ k eɪ -/ ; خَلِيفَةْ khalīfa [xæ'liːfæh] , pronunciation ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the entire Muslim world ( ummah ). Historically, the caliphates were polities based on Islam which developed into multi-ethnic trans-national empires. During

2660-518: 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. Egyptian historiographer Al-Qalqashandi (d. 1418) mentioned white flags in two places, the first being when he spoke about

2800-423: The 'aqida (which was likely edited by others after him), demonstrates a much clearer Ash'arite position on a number of issues. Nonetheless, the Almohads, particularly from the reign of Caliph Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur onward, embraced the use of logical reasoning as a method of validating the more central Almohad concept of tawhid . This effectively provided a religious justification for philosophy and for

2940-537: The Abbasid Caliph , 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 by Sancho II of Portugal , Alfonso IX of León , Ferdinand III of Castile and James I of Aragon . The next twenty years saw

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3080-588: The Abbasid dynasty took power, as the Abbasids were descended from Muhammad's uncle, ‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib and not from Ali. In 750, the Umayyad dynasty was overthrown by another family of Meccan origin, the Abbasids. Their time represented a scientific, cultural and religious flowering. Islamic art and music also flourished significantly during their reign. Their major city and capital Baghdad began to flourish as

3220-455: The Arabic word khalīfah ( خَليفة , pronunciation ), meaning 'successor', 'steward', or 'deputy'—and has traditionally been considered a shortening of Khalīfah rasūl Allāh 'successor of the messenger of God'. However, studies of pre-Islamic texts suggest that the original meaning of the phrase was 'successor selected by God'. In the immediate aftermath of the death of Muhammad,

3360-475: The Banu Hud dynasty that had once ruled the old taifa 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 distant Baghdad to offer recognition to

3500-595: The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa they occasionally entered into alliances with the kings of Castile . 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

3640-513: The Battle of Nahrawan , Ali was later assassinated by the Kharijite Ibn Muljam. Ali's son Hasan was elected as the next caliph, but abdicated in favour of Mu'awiyah a few months later to avoid any conflict within the Muslims. Mu'awiyah became the sixth caliph, establishing the Umayyad dynasty, named after the great-grandfather of Uthman and Mu'awiyah, Umayya ibn Abd Shams . Beginning with

3780-818: The Hintata , Ibn Tumart abandoned his cave in 1122 and went up into the High Atlas , to organize the Almohad movement among the highland Masmuda 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. Sometime around 1124, Ibn Tumart established his base at Tinmel , a highly defensible position in

3920-646: The Khwaja Salimullah were popularly given the term khalifa . The Bornu Caliphate, which was headed by the Bornu emperors, began in 1472. A rump state of the larger Kanem-Bornu Empire , its rulers held the title of caliph until 1893, when it was absorbed into the British Colony of Nigeria and Northern Cameroons Protectorate . The British recognised them as the 'sultans of Bornu', one step down in Muslim royal titles. After Nigeria became independent, its rulers became

4060-568: The Mughal Empire , who were the only Sunni rulers whose territory and wealth could compete with that of the Ottomans, started assuming the title of caliph and calling their capital as the Dar-ul-khilafat ("abode of the caliphate") since the time of the third emperor Akbar like their Timurid ancestors. A gold coin struck under Akbar called him the "great sultan , the exalted khalifah ". Although

4200-509: The Rif mountains in the north. One of their early bases beyond the mountains was Taza , where Abd al-Mu"min founded a citadel ( ribat ) and a Great Mosque circa 1142. 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

4340-519: The Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774 was disastrous for the Ottomans. Large territories, including those with large Muslim populations, such as Crimea , were lost to the Russian Empire. However, the Ottomans under Abdul Hamid I claimed a diplomatic victory by being allowed to remain the religious leaders of Muslims in the now-independent Crimea as part of the peace treaty; in return Russia became

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4480-480: The dhimmi status of religious minorities further stifled the once flourishing Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain ; Maimonides went east and many Jews moved to Castillian-controlled Toledo . According to the research of Muhammad al-Manuni , there were 400 paper mills in Fes under the reign of Sultan Yaqub al-Mansur in the 12th century. The Almohad ideology preached by Ibn Tumart is described by Amira Bennison as

4620-814: The huffaz 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. Abd al-Mu'min thus transformed the Almohad movement from a Masmuda aristocracy to a Mu'minid dynastic state. 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

4760-624: The partitioning of the Ottoman Empire and gave Greece a powerful position in Anatolia, to the distress of the Turks. They called for help and the movement was the result. The movement had collapsed by late 1922. On 3 March 1924, the first president of the Turkish Republic , Mustafa Kemal Atatürk , as part of his reforms , constitutionally abolished the institution of the caliphate. Atatürk offered

4900-650: The unity of God ' ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula ( Al-Andalus ) and North Africa (the Maghreb ). The Almohad movement was founded by Ibn Tumart among the Berber Masmuda tribes, but the Almohad caliphate and its ruling dynasty, known as the Mu'minid dynasty , were founded after his death by Abd al-Mu'min al-Kumi . Around 1121, Ibn Tumart

5040-598: The Almohad armies. These moves also had the corollary effect of advancing the Arabisation of future Morocco. Abd al-Mu'min spent the mid-1150s organizing the Almohad state and arranging for power to be passed on through his family line. In 1154, he declared his son Muhammad as his heir. 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

5180-492: The Almohad authority. The Book 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. Caliph List of forms of government A caliphate ( Arabic : خِلَافَةْ , romanized :  khilāfah [xi'laːfah] )

5320-630: The Almohad camp, along with some of the previously Almoravid-aligned leaders of the Masufa tribe. This allowed them to defeat Tashfin decisively and capture Tlemcen in 1144. Tashfin fled to Oran, which the Almohads then attacked and captured, and he died in March 1145 while trying to escape. The Almohads pursued the defeated Almoravid army west to Fez, which they captured in 1146 after a nine-month siege. They finally captured Marrakesh in 1147, after an eleven-month siege. The last Almoravid ruler, Ishaq ibn Ali ,

5460-523: 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 for Eid prayers or for the movement of the makhzen slaves (which were the ordinary people of the country and the people of the markets)". By the end of the Almohad reign, dissident movements would adopt black in recognition of the Abbasid caliphate and in rejection of

5600-434: The Almohad governor of Jaén , 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 quiet Ferdinand III of Castile . Sensing his greater priority was Marrakesh, where recusant Almohad sheikh s 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

5740-417: The Almohad power structure and from whom he recruited some 40,000 into the army. They would later form the bodyguard of the caliph and his successors. 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. With his son appointed as his successor, Abd al-Mu'min placed his other children as governors of

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5880-633: The Almohads governed their co-religionists in Iberia and central North Africa through lieutenants, their dominions outside Morocco being treated as provinces. When Almohad emirs crossed the Straits it was to lead a jihad against the Christians and then return to Morocco. In 1212, the Almohad Caliph Muhammad 'al-Nasir' (1199–1214), the successor of al-Mansur, after an initially successful advance north,

6020-407: The Almohads were recognized for their use of white banners, which were supposed to evoke their "purity of purpose". This began a long tradition of using white as main dynastic color in what is now Morocco for the later Marinids and Saadian sultanates. Whether these white banners contained any specific motifs or inscriptions is not certain. Historian Ḥasan 'Ali Ḥasan writes: As for the flags of

6160-548: 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

6300-459: The Almoravids, and Ya'qub al-Mansur was a highly accomplished man who wrote a good Arabic style and protected the philosopher Averroes . In 1190–1191, he campaigned in southern Portugal and won back territory lost in 1189. His title of " al-Manṣūr " ("the Victorious") was earned by his victory over Alfonso VIII of Castile in the Battle of Alarcos (1195). From the time of Yusuf II , however,

6440-702: The American ambassador to Ottoman Turkey , Oscar Straus , to approach Sultan Abdul Hamid II to use his position as caliph to order the Tausūg people of the Sultanate of Sulu in the Philippines to submit to American suzerainty and American military rule; the Sultan obliged them and wrote the letter which was sent to Sulu via Mecca. As a result, the "Sulu Mohammedans ... refused to join the insurrectionists and had placed themselves under

6580-522: The Andalusi historian Ibn Ṣāḥib aṣ-Ṣalāt  [ ar ] . For example, the khaṭīb , or sermon-giver, of al-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. As the Almohads rejected the status of Dhimma , the Almohad conquest of al-Andalus caused the emigration of Andalusi Christians from southern Iberia to

6720-484: The Ansar for his succession, explained by the genealogical links he shared with them. Whether his candidacy for the succession was raised during Saqifah is unknown, though it is not unlikely. Abu Bakr later sent Umar to confront Ali to gain his allegiance, resulting in an altercation which may have involved violence. However, after six months, the group made peace with Abu Bakr and Ali offered him his fealty. Abu Bakr nominated Umar as his successor on his deathbed. Umar,

6860-580: 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 popular uprising 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

7000-639: The Christian north, which had an impact on the use of Romance within Almohad territory. After the Almohad period, Muslim territories in Iberia were reduced to the Emirate of Granada , in which the percentage of the population that had converted to Islam reached 90% and Arabic-Romance bilingualism seems to have disappeared. The Almohads worked to suppress the influence of the Maliki school of fiqh, even publicly burning copies of Muwatta Imam Malik and Maliki commentaries. They sought to disseminate ibn Tumart's beliefs; he

7140-560: The Christianity and Judaism which preceded it, with himself as its mahdi and leader. In terms of Muslim jurisprudence , the state gave recognition to the Zahiri ( ظاهري ) school of thought, though Shafi'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. Additionally, all Almohad leaders – both

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7280-506: 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, the Marinids from northern Morocco 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;

7420-435: The Foundations of Governance . The argument of this book has been summarised as "Islam does not advocate a specific form of government". He focussed his criticism both at those who use religious law as contemporary political proscription and at the history of rulers claiming legitimacy by the caliphate. Raziq wrote that past rulers spread the notion of religious justification for the caliphate "so that they could use religion as

7560-487: 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-important Sijilmassa , the gateway of the trans-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

7700-485: The Mahdi's privy council, composed of his earliest and closest companions; and the consultative Council of Fifty, composed of the leading sheikh s of the Masmuda tribes. The early preachers and missionaries ( ṭalaba and huffāẓ ) 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

7840-535: The Marinids seized Marrakesh, ending the Almohad domination of the Western Maghreb. The Almohad movement originated with Ibn Tumart , a member of the Masmuda , an Amazigh tribal confederation of the Atlas Mountains of southern Morocco. At the time, Morocco , western Algeria and Spain ( al-Andalus ), were under the rule of the Almoravids , a Sanhaja Berber dynasty. Early in his life, Ibn Tumart went to Spain to pursue his studies, and thereafter to Baghdad to deepen them. In Baghdad, Ibn Tumart attached himself to

7980-523: The Mughal Empire is not recognised as a caliphate, its sixth emperor Aurangzeb has often been regarded as one of the few Islamic caliphs to have ruled the Indian peninsula. He received support from the Ottoman sultans such as Suleiman II and Mehmed IV . As a memoriser of Quran, Aurangzeb fully established sharia in South Asia via his Fatawa 'Alamgiri . He re-introduced jizya and banned Islamically unlawful activities. However, Aurangzeb's personal expenses were covered by his own incomes, which included

8120-407: The Mughals did not acknowledge the overlordship of Ottomans, they nevertheless used the title of caliph to honour them in diplomatic exchanges. Akbar's letter to Suleiman the Magnificent addressed the latter as having attained the rank of the caliphate, while calling Akbar's empire as the "Khilafat of realms of Hind and Sind." The fifth emperor Shah Jahan also laid claim to the Caliphate. Although

8260-519: The Muslim realm by the first half of the tenth century. The Umayyad dynasty, which had survived and come to rule over Al-Andalus , reclaimed the title of caliph in 929, lasting until it was overthrown in 1031. During the Umayyad dynasty, the Iberian Peninsula was an integral province of the Umayyad Caliphate ruling from Damascus . The Umayyads lost the position of caliph in Damascus in 750, and Abd al-Rahman I became Emir of Córdoba in 756 after six years in exile. Intent on regaining power, he defeated

8400-432: The Normans two years earlier, recognized Almohad authority right after. In the 1170s and 1180s, Almohad power in the eastern Maghreb was challenged by the Banu Ghaniya and by Qaraqush , an Ayyubid commander. Yaqub al-Mansur eventually defeated both factions and reconquered Ifriqiya in 1187–1188. In 1189–1190, the Ayyubid sultan Salah ad-Din (Saladin) requested the assistance of an Almohad navy for his fight against

8540-524: The Ottoman claim to the caliphate and proceed to have the Ottoman caliph issue orders to the Muslims living in British India to comply with the British government. The British supported and propagated the view that the Ottomans were caliphs of Islam among Muslims in British India, and the Ottoman sultans helped the British by issuing pronouncements to the Muslims of India telling them to support British rule from Sultan Selim III and Sultan Abdulmejid I . Around 1880, Sultan Abdul Hamid II reasserted

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8680-413: The Ottoman sultan Selim I defeated and annexed the Mamluk Sultanate of Cairo into his empire. Through conquering and unifying Muslim lands, Selim I became the defender of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina , which further strengthened the Ottoman claim to the caliphate in the Muslim world. Ottomans gradually came to be viewed as the de facto leaders and representatives of the Islamic world. However,

8820-400: The Rāshidun, each region ( Sultanate , Wilayah , or Emirate ) of the caliphate had its own governor (Sultan, Wāli or Emir ). Muāwiyah , a relative of Uthman and governor ( wali ) of Syria , succeeded Ali as caliph. Muāwiyah transformed the caliphate into a hereditary office, thus founding the Umayyad dynasty . In areas which were previously under Sasanian Empire or Byzantine rule,

8960-399: The USSR , the war on terror and the Arab Spring , various Islamist groups have claimed the caliphate, although these claims have usually been widely rejected among Muslims. Before the advent of Islam, Arabian monarchs traditionally used the title malik 'king', or another from the same Semitic root . The term caliph ( / ˈ k eɪ l ɪ f , ˈ k æ l ɪ f / ) derives from

9100-399: The Umayyads, the title of the caliph became hereditary. Under the Umayyads, the caliphate grew rapidly in territory, incorporating the Caucasus , Transoxiana , Sindh , the Maghreb and most of the Iberian Peninsula ( Al-Andalus ) into the Muslim world. At its greatest extent, the Umayyad Caliphate covered 5.17 million square miles (13,400,000 km ), making it the largest empire

9240-522: 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 the Maliki school of jurisprudence, which drew upon consensus ( ijma ) and other sources beyond the Qur'an and Sunnah in their reasoning, an anathema to the stricter Zahirism favored by Ibn Tumart. His antics and fiery preaching led fed-up authorities to move him along from town to town. After being expelled from Bejaia , Ibn Tumart set up camp in Mellala, in

9380-466: The borders of their respective countries. Since the end of the Ottoman Empire, occasional demonstrations have been held calling for the re-establishment of the caliphate. Organisations which call for the re-establishment of the caliphate include Hizb ut-Tahrir and the Muslim Brotherhood . The AKP government in Turkey, a former Muslim Brotherhood ally who has adopted Neo-Ottomanist policies throughout its rule, has been accused of intending to restore

9520-443: The building by adding two wings on either side and a small porch on the front. The building was restored again in the 1980s and in 1994 by Pedro Salmerón Escobar. Originally, the palace stood next to a large pool measuring 121 by 28 metres (397 by 92 ft), which formed part of an extensive water supply network used for agricultural irrigation . The pool may have also been used for aquatic games and displays. The original layout of

9660-411: The building, consisting of a central square chamber in the form of a qubba , with rectangular side chambers opening onto it, is an early example of a type of interior space which became common in Nasrid architecture. Only the central chamber of the palace was entered from the outside, such that the building was a relatively introverted space rather than one that was open to the gardens around it. Inside,

9800-404: The buildings of al-Andalus were constructed in this period. The Almohad Caliphate ( Berber languages : Imweḥḥden , from الموحدون al-Muwaḥḥidun , " the Monotheists " or "the Unifiers") was a Moroccan Berber Muslim movement founded in the 12th century. The Almohad movement was started by Ibn Tumart among the Masmuda tribes of southern Morocco. The Almohads first established

9940-408: The caliphate to Ahmed Sharif as-Senussi , on the condition that he reside outside Turkey; Senussi declined the offer and confirmed his support for Abdulmejid . The title was then claimed by Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca and Hejaz , leader of the Arab Revolt , but his kingdom was defeated and annexed by ibn Saud in 1925. Egyptian scholar Ali Abdel Raziq published his 1925 book Islam and

10080-524: The caliphate were united to any degree, excepting the final period of the Rashidun Caliphate under Ali himself. The caliphate was reputed to exercise a degree of religious tolerance towards non-Ismaili sects of Islam as well as towards Jews, Maltese Christians and Copts . The Shiʻa Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah of the Fatimid dynasty , who claimed descent from Muhammad through his daughter, claimed

10220-771: The caliphate. After the Umayyad campaigns in India and the conquest on small territories of the western part of the Indian peninsula, early Indian Muslim dynasties were founded by the Ghurid dynasty and the Ghaznavids , most notably the Delhi Sultanate . The Indian sultanates did not extensively strive for a caliphate since the Ottoman Empire was already observing the caliphate. The emperors of

10360-425: The caliphs lowered taxes, provided greater local autonomy (to their delegated governors), greater religious freedom for Jews and some indigenous Christians, and brought peace to peoples demoralised and disaffected by the casualties and heavy taxation that resulted from the decades of Byzantine–Persian warfare . Ali's reign was plagued by turmoil and internal strife. The Persians, taking advantage of this, infiltrated

10500-556: The capital from Baghdad to Samarra created a division between the caliphate and the peoples they claimed to rule. In addition, the power of the Mamluks steadily grew until Ar-Radi (934–941) was constrained to hand over most of the royal functions to Muhammad ibn Ra'iq . In 1261, following the Mongol conquest of Baghdad , the Mamluk rulers of Egypt tried to gain legitimacy for their rule by declaring

10640-403: The city of Cairo there in 969. Thereafter, Cairo became the capital of the caliphate, with Egypt becoming the political, cultural and religious centre of the state. Islam scholar Louis Massignon dubbed the fourth century AH /tenth century CE as the " Ismaili century in the history of Islam". The term Fatimite is sometimes used to refer to the citizens of this caliphate. The ruling elite of

10780-461: The city, defeated the rebels, and had everyone involved executed. In March 1159, Abd al-Mu'min led a new campaign to the east. He conquered Tunis by force when the local Banu Khurasan leaders refused to surrender. Mahdia was besieged soon after and surrendered in January 1160. The Normans there negotiated their withdrawal and were allowed to leave for Sicily . Tripoli, which had rebelled against

10920-685: The command of Yazid son of Muawiya, an army led by Umar ibn Saad, a commander by the name of Shimr Ibn Thil-Jawshan killed Ali's son Hussein and his family at the Battle of Karbala in 680, solidifying the Shia-Sunni split . Eventually, supporters of the Banu Hashim and the supporters of the lineage of Ali united to bring down the Umayyads in 750. However, the Shi‘at ‘Alī , "the Party of Ali", were again disappointed when

11060-530: The control of our army, thereby recognizing American sovereignty." Political Militant [REDACTED] Islam portal After the Armistice of Mudros of October 1918 with the military occupation of Constantinople and Treaty of Versailles (1919), the position of the Ottomans was uncertain. The movement to protect or restore the Ottomans gained force after the Treaty of Sèvres (August 1920) which imposed

11200-453: The crusaders, which al-Mansur declined. 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 from Córdoba to Seville . They founded a great mosque there; its tower, the Giralda , was erected in 1184. The Almohads also built

11340-511: 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 old Order of Calatrava fortress near Ciudad Real ) and Capilla . But Capilla refused to hand them over, forcing

11480-414: The earlier Ottoman caliphs did not officially bear the title of caliph in their documents of state, inscriptions, or coinage. It was only in the late eighteenth century that the claim to the caliphate was discovered by the sultans to have a practical use, since it allowed them to counter Russian claims to protect Ottoman Christians with their own claim to protect Muslims under Russian rule. The outcome of

11620-475: The end of Ramadan 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 true Mahdi , 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

11760-530: The existing Islamic rulers of the area who defied Umayyad rule and united various local fiefdoms into an emirate. Rulers of the emirate used the title "emir" or "sultan" until the tenth century, when Abd al-Rahman III was faced with the threat of invasion by the Fatimid Caliphate. To aid his fight against the invading Fatimids, who claimed the caliphate in opposition to the generally recognised Abbasid caliph of Baghdad, Al-Mu'tadid , Abd al-Rahman III claimed

11900-577: The fall of the greatest of Andalusian cities, the ex-Almohad capital of Seville , 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 Hudd had attempted to check the Leonese advance early on, but most of his Andalusian army was destroyed at the battle 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

12040-529: The fold. Three years after Ibn Tumart's death he was officially proclaimed "Caliph". After 1133, Abd al-Mu'min quickly expanded Almohad control across the Maghreb, while the embattled Almoravids retained their capital in Marrakesh. Various other tribes rallied to the Almohads or to the Almoravids as the war between them continued. Initially, Almohad operations were limited to the Atlas mountains. In 1139, they expanded to

12180-420: The fortress of Tasghîmût that protected the approach to Aghmat , which was conquered by the Almohads in 1132), 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 the Ahl ad-dār ("House of the Mahdi"), composed of Ibn Tumart's family. This was supplemented by two councils: an inner Council of Ten,

12320-499: The greater part of the Almohad army in Spain across the straits in 1228 to confront Yahya. That same year, Portuguese and Leonese 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, Muhammad ibn Yusuf ibn Hud al-Judhami , who claimed descendance from

12460-468: The hand and offered them to the Ansar as potential choices. He was countered with the suggestion that the Quraysh and the Ansar choose a leader each from among themselves, who would then rule jointly. The group grew heated upon hearing this proposal and began to argue among themselves. Umar hastily took Abu Bakr's hand and swore his own allegiance to the latter, an example followed by the gathered men. Abu Bakr

12600-478: The line, Idris al-Wathiq , was reduced to the possession of Marrakesh , where he was murdered by a slave in 1269. The use of Berber languages was important in Almohad doctrine . Under the Almohads, the khuṭba (sermon) at Friday prayer was made to be delivered in Arabic and Berber , with the latter referred to as al-lisān al-gharbī (Arabic: اللسان الغربي , lit.   'the western tongue') by

12740-489: 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 the Sous 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

12880-653: The medieval period, three major caliphates succeeded each other: the Rashidun Caliphate (632–661), the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750), and the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1517). In the fourth major caliphate, the Ottoman Caliphate , the rulers of the Ottoman Empire claimed caliphal authority from 1517 until the Ottoman caliphate was formally abolished as part of the 1924 secularisation of Turkey . An attempt to preserve

13020-451: The meeting became concerned of a potential coup and hastened to the gathering. Upon arriving, Abu Bakr addressed the assembled men with a warning that an attempt to elect a leader outside of Muhammad's own tribe, the Quraysh , would likely result in dissension as only they can command the necessary respect among the community. He then took Umar and another companion, Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah , by

13160-483: 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 bloody Battle of al-Buhayra (named after

13300-573: The ninth century, the Abbasids created an army loyal only to their caliphate, composed predominantly of Turkic Cuman, Circassian and Georgian slave origin known as Mamluks. By 1250 the Mamluks came to power in Egypt. The Mamluk army, though often viewed negatively, both helped and hurt the caliphate. Early on, it provided the government with a stable force to address domestic and foreign problems. However, creation of this foreign army and al-Mu'tasim's transfer of

13440-515: The official protector of Christians in Ottoman territory. According to Barthold, the first time the title of "caliph" was used as a political instead of symbolic religious title by the Ottomans was the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca with the Russian Empire in 1774, when the Empire retained moral authority on territory whose sovereignty was ceded to the Russian Empire. The British would tactfully affirm

13580-501: The outskirts of the city, where he received his first disciples – notably, al-Bashir (who would become his chief strategist) and Abd al-Mu'min (a Zenata Berber, who would later become his successor). In 1120, Ibn Tumart and his small band of followers proceeded to Morocco , stopping first in Fez , where he briefly engaged the Maliki scholars of the city in debate. He even went so far as to assault

13720-476: The palace came under the new dynasty's possession. Muhammad I's grandson, Muhammad III (r. 1302–1309) temporarily lived here after he was dethroned, before he moved to Almuñécar . The decoration of the palace dates from the reign of Isma'il I (r. 1314–1325) or of Yusuf I (r. 1333–1354). It's possible that the current structure was also rebuilt at that time. In 1892 the Spanish architect Rafael Contreras expanded

13860-561: The palace is decorated with carved stucco on its walls. The stucco decoration culminates in a cornice of muqarnas , above which is a ceiling consisting of a square wooden cupola painted with interlacing geometric motifs . Almohad dynasty In Al-Andalus: The Almohad Caliphate ( IPA : / ˈ æ l m ə h æ d / ; Arabic : خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or دَوْلَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or ٱلدَّوْلَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِيَّةُ from Arabic : ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ , romanized :  al-Muwaḥḥidūn , lit.   'those who profess

14000-471: 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 Almohad sheikhs . One of the recusants was his cousin, Abd Allah al-Bayyasi ("the Baezan "),

14140-570: The piecemeal loss of territory through the revolt of tribes and districts enabled the rise of their most effective enemies, the Marinid dynasty , 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 . The Fatimid Caliphate

14280-445: The provinces of the caliphate. His sons and descendants became known as the sayyid s ("nobles"). 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 the sayyid s. They became known as the abna' al-muwahhidin or "Sons of the Almohads". Abd al-Mu'min also altered the Almohad structure set up by Ibn Tumart by making

14420-464: The re-establishment of the Abbasid caliphate in Cairo . The Abbasid caliphs in Egypt had no political power; they continued to maintain the symbols of authority, but their sway was confined to religious matters. The first Abbasid caliph of Cairo was Al-Mustansir (r. June–November 1261). The Abbasid caliphate of Cairo lasted until the time of Al-Mutawakkil III , who ruled as caliph from 1508 to 1516, then he

14560-506: The region, the Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym , reacted to the Almohad advance by gathering an army against them. The Almohads routed them in the Battle of Sétif in April 1153. 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

14700-414: The regular army ( jund ), then the religious corps – the muezzins , the hafidh and the hizb – followed by the archers, the conscripts, and the slaves. 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

14840-507: The religiously learned and the laymen – were hostile toward the Malikite school favored by the Almoravids. During the reign of Abu Yaqub, chief judge Ibn Maḍāʾ oversaw the banning of all religious books written by non-Zahirites; when Abu Yaqub's son Abu Yusuf took the throne, he ordered Ibn Maḍāʾ to undertake the actual burning of such books. In terms of Islamic theology , the Almohads were Ash'arites , their Zahirite-Ash'arism giving rise to

14980-412: The second caliph, was killed by a Persian slave called Abu Lu'lu'a Firuz . His successor, Uthman, was elected by a council of electors ( majlis ). Uthman was killed by members of a disaffected group. Ali then took control but was not universally accepted as caliph by the governors of Egypt and later by some of his own guard. He faced two major rebellions and was assassinated by Abd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam ,

15120-689: The sewing of caps and trade of his written copies of the Quran. Thus, he has been compared to the second caliph, Umar bin Khattab, and Kurdish conqueror Saladin . The Mughal emperors continued to be addressed as caliphs until the reign of Shah Alam II . Other notable rulers such as Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji , Alauddin Khilji , Firuz Shah Tughlaq , Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah , Babur , Sher Shah Suri , Nasir I of Kalat , Tipu Sultan , Nawabs of Bengal , and

15260-463: The sister of the Almoravid emir Ali ibn Yusuf , in the streets of Fez , because she was going about unveiled, after the manner of Berber women. After being expelled from Fez, he went to Marrakesh , 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

15400-503: The skills of his successor, Abd al-Mu'min . Ibn Tumart's death was kept a secret for three years, a period which Almohad chroniclers described as a ghayba or "occultation". This period likely gave Abd al-Mu'min time to secure his position as successor to the political leadership of the movement. Although a Zenata Berber from Tagra (Algeria), 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

15540-457: The state belonged to the Ismaili branch of Shi'ism. The leaders of the dynasty were Ismaili imams and had a religious significance to Ismaili Muslims. They are also part of the chain of holders of the office of the caliphate, as recognised by some Muslims. Therefore, this constitutes a rare period in history in which the descendants of Ali (hence the name Fatimid, referring to Ali's wife Fatima ) and

15680-405: The theological school of al-Ash'ari , and came under the influence of the teacher al-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 the attributes of God as being incompatible with His unity, and therefore a polytheistic idea. Ibn Tumart represented

15820-571: The title as a way of countering Russian expansion into Muslim lands. His claim was most fervently accepted by the Sunni Muslims of British India . By the eve of World War I , the Ottoman state, despite its weakness relative to Europe, represented the largest and most powerful independent Islamic political entity. The sultan also enjoyed some authority beyond the borders of his shrinking empire as caliph of Muslims in Egypt, India and Central Asia. In 1899, John Hay , U.S. Secretary of State, asked

15960-519: The title of caliph himself. This helped Abd al-Rahman III gain prestige with his subjects, and the title was retained after the Fatimids were repulsed. The rule of the caliphate is considered as the heyday of Muslim presence in the Iberian Peninsula, before it fragmented into various taifas in the eleventh century. This period was characterised by a flourishing in technology, trade and culture; many of

16100-586: The title of caliph in 909, creating a separate line of caliphs in North Africa. Initially controlling Algeria , Tunisia and Libya , the Fatimid caliphs extended their rule for the next 150 years, taking Egypt and Palestine , before the Abbasid dynasty was able to turn the tide, limiting Fatimid rule to Egypt. The Fatimid dynasty finally ended in 1171 and was overtaken by Saladin of the Ayyubid dynasty . The caliphate

16240-488: The title was tried, with the Sharifian Caliphate , but this caliphate fell quickly after its conquest by the Sultanate of Nejd (present-day Saudi Arabia ), leaving the claim in dormancy . Throughout the history of Islam, a few other Muslim states, almost all of which were hereditary monarchies , have claimed to be caliphates. Not all Muslim states have had caliphates. The Sunni branch of Islam stipulates that, as

16380-517: The traditional Maliki ulema , with whom the Almohads were already at odds. After the decline of Almohadism, Maliki Sunnism ultimately became the dominant official religious doctrine of the region. By contrast, the teachings of Ibn Rushd and other philosophers like him were far more influential for Jewish philosophers – including Maimonides , his contemporary – and Christian Latin scholars – like Thomas Aquinas – who later promoted his commentaries on Aristotle . Most historical records indicate that

16520-518: The two armies and attacked the other army causing chaos and internal hatred between the companions at the Battle of Siffin . The battle lasted several months, resulting in a stalemate. To avoid further bloodshed, Ali agreed to negotiate with Mu'awiyah. This caused a faction of approximately 4,000 people, who would come to be known as the Kharijites , to abandon the fight. After defeating the Kharijites at

16660-516: The valley of the Nfis in the High Atlas. Tinmal would serve both as the spiritual center and military headquarters of the Almohad movement. It became their dar al-hijra (roughly 'place of retreat'), emulating the story of the hijra (journey) of Muhammad 's to Medina in the 7th century. For the first eight years, the Almohad rebellion was limited to a guerilla war along the peaks and ravines of

16800-406: The world had yet seen and the seventh largest ever to exist in history. Geographically, the empire was divided into several provinces, the borders of which changed numerous times during the Umayyad reign. Each province had a governor appointed by the caliph. However, for a variety of reasons, including that they were not elected by Shura and suggestions of impious behaviour, the Umayyad dynasty

16940-454: The youthful caliph died in an accident, without any heirs. The palace bureaucrats in Marrakesh , led by the wazir 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 in al-Andalus . The challenge

17080-570: 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, the Nasrid dynasty (" Banū Naṣr ", Arabic : بنو نصر ) rose to power in Granada . After the great Christian advance of 1228–1248, the Emirate of Granada

17220-484: 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 by Murcians at Aspe that same year. But Christian raiders had been stopped at Cáceres and Requena . Trust in the Almohad leadership was severely shaken by these events –

17360-460: Was also built nearby at the same time, consisting of a simple square hall covered by a sixteen-sided cupola with groin-vault squinches , with a sloped roof on the outside. This was later converted into a Christian hermitage and is now known as the Ermita de San Sebastián ("Hermitage of Saint Sebastian") or the rábita ("ribat"). In 1237, Muhammad I of the Nasrid dynasty took over Granada and

17500-692: Was an Isma'ili Shi'i caliphate, originally based in Tunisia , that extended its rule across the Mediterranean coast of Africa and ultimately made Egypt the centre of its caliphate. At its height, in addition to Egypt, the caliphate included varying areas of the Maghreb , Sicily, the Levant and the Hejaz . The Fatimids established the Tunisian city of Mahdia and made it their capital city, before conquering Egypt and building

17640-566: Was assassinated in Marrakesh in October 1227, by the partisans of Yahya, who was promptly acclaimed as the new Almohad caliph Yahya "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 caliph Abd al-Ala Idris I 'al-Ma'mun' . He promptly purchased a truce from Ferdinand III in return for 300,000 maravedis , allowing him to organize and dispatch

17780-535: Was claimed by the sultans of the Ottoman Empire beginning with Murad I (reigned 1362 to 1389), while recognising no authority on the part of the Abbasid caliphs of the Mamluk-ruled Cairo. Hence the seat of the caliphate moved to the Ottoman capital of Edirne . In 1453, after Mehmed the Conqueror 's conquest of Constantinople , the seat of the Ottomans moved to Constantinople , present-day Istanbul . In 1517,

17920-512: Was defeated at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in the Sierra Morena by an alliance of the Christian princes of Castile , Aragon , Navarre and Portugal . Nearly all of the Moorish dominions in Iberia were lost soon after, with the great Moorish cities of Córdoba and Seville falling to the Christians in 1236 and 1248, respectively. The Almohads continued to rule in northern Africa until

18060-426: Was defeated by an alliance of the three Christian kings of Castile , Aragón and Navarre at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in the Sierra 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 next caliph Yusuf II "al-Mustansir" . The Almohads passed through

18200-524: Was deposed briefly in 1516 by his predecessor Al-Mustamsik , but was restored again to the caliphate in 1517. The Ottoman sultan Selim I defeated the Mamluk Sultanate and made Egypt part of the Ottoman Empire in 1517. Al-Mutawakkil III was captured together with his family and transported to Constantinople as a prisoner where he had a ceremonial role. He died in 1543, following his return to Cairo. The Abbasid dynasty lost effective power over much of

18340-436: Was followed by the men of Tinmel, then the other Masmuda tribes in order, and rounded off by the black fighters, the ʻabīd . Each unit had a strict internal hierarchy, headed by a mohtasib , and divided into two factions: one for the early adherents, another for the late adherents, each headed by a mizwar (or amzwaru ); then came the sakkakin (treasurers), effectively the money-minters, tax-collectors, and bursars, then came

18480-473: Was immediately raised by one of them, then governor in Murcia , who declared himself Caliph Abdallah 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 the deposition and assassination of Abd al-Wahid I, and the expulsion of the al-Jami'i clan . This coup has been characterized as

18620-508: Was killed. In 1151, Abd al-Mu'min launched an expedition to the east. This may have been encouraged by the Norman 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 captured Béjaïa , the capital of the Hammadids . The last Hammadid ruler, Yahya ibn Abd al-Aziz , fled by sea. The Arab tribes of

18760-400: Was little means to stop the sudden onslaught. In late 1225, with surprising ease, the Portuguese raiders reached the environs of Seville . 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

18900-496: Was near-universally accepted as head of the Muslim community (under the title of caliph) as a result of Saqifah , though he did face contention as a result of the rushed nature of the event. Several companions, most prominent among them being Ali ibn Abi Talib , initially refused to acknowledge his authority. Ali may have been reasonably expected to assume leadership, being both cousin and son-in-law to Muhammad. The theologian Ibrahim al-Nakha'i stated that Ali also had support among

19040-457: Was not universally supported within the Muslim community. Some supported prominent early Muslims like Zubayr ibn al-Awwam ; others felt that only members of Muhammad's clan, the Banu Hashim , or his own lineage, the descendants of Ali, should rule. There were numerous rebellions against the Umayyads, as well as splits within the Umayyad ranks (notably, the rivalry between Yaman and Qays ). At

19180-431: Was practically all that remained of old al-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 in Fez , and after

19320-479: Was recognized by his followers as the Mahdi , and shortly afterwards he established his base at Tinmel in the Atlas Mountains . Under Abd al-Mu'min (r. 1130–1163), they succeeded in overthrowing the ruling Almoravid dynasty governing Morocco in 1147, when he conquered Marrakesh and declared himself caliph . They then extended their power over all of the Maghreb by 1159. Al-Andalus followed, and all of Muslim Iberia

19460-812: Was the author of the Aʿazzu Mā Yuṭlab , the Counterpart of the Muwatta ( محاذي الموطأ ), and the Compendium of Sahih Muslim ( تلخيص صحيح مسلم ). 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 included Averroes , 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

19600-436: Was under Almohad rule by 1172. The turning point of their presence in the Iberian Peninsula came in 1212, when Muhammad al-Nasir (1199–1214) was defeated at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in the Sierra Morena by an alliance of the Christian forces from Castile , Aragon and Navarre . Much of the remaining territories of al-Andalus were lost in the ensuing decades, with the cities of Córdoba and Seville falling to

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