ALMOHADS

Arabic Al-muwahhidun (Those Who Affirm the Unity of God), a Berber confederation that created an Islamic empire in North Africa and Spain (11301269), founded on the religious teachings of Ibn Tumart (d. 1130). A Berber state had arisen in Tinmel in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco c. 1120, inspired by Ibn Tumart and his demands for puritanical moral reform and a strict concept of the unity of God (tawhid). In 1121 Ibn Tumart proclaimed himself the mahdi (a promised messianic figure), and, as spiritual and military leader, began the wars against the Almoravids. Under his successor, 'Abd al-Mu'min, the Almohads brought down the Almoravid state in 1147, subjugating the Maghrib, and captured Marrakech, which became the Almohad capital. Almoravid domains in Andalusia, however, were left virtually intact until the caliph Abu Ya'qub Yusuf (reigned 116384) forced the surrender of Seville in 1172; the extension of Almohad rule over the rest of Islamic Spain followed. During the reign of Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur (118499) serious Arab rebellions devastated the eastern provinces of the empire, whereas in Spain the Christian threat remained constant, despite al-Mansur's victory at Alarcos (1195). Then, at the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212), the Almohads were dealt a shattering defeat by a Christian coalition from Leon, Castile, Navarre, and Aragon. They retreated to their North African provinces, where soon afterward the Hafsids seized power at Tunis (1236), the 'Abd al-Wadids took Tilimsan (Tlemcen) (1239), and, finally, Marrakech fell to the Marinids (1269). The empire of the Almohads had kept its original tribal hierarchy as a political and social framework, with the founders and their descendants forming a ruling aristocracy; however, a Spanish form of central government was superimposed on this Berber organization. The original puritanical outlook of Ibn Tumart was soon lost, and the precedent for building costly Andalusian monuments of rich ornamentation, in the manner of the Almoravids, was set as early as Ibn Tumart's successor 'Abd al-Mu'min. The Booksellers' Mosque (Kutubiya) in Marrakech and the older parts of the mosque of Taza date from his reign. Neither did the movement for a return to traditionalist Islam survive; both the mystical movement of the Sufis and the philosophical schools represented by Ibn Tufayl and Averros (Ibn Rushd) flourished under the Almohad kings. Rabat, an important cultural centre during the Almohad period, was known particularly for its polychrome pottery. The wares are colourful and gay, usually painted in yellows, greens, and bright blues on a buff background. Almohad pottery wares, however, never reached the artistic level of the work from Syria, Egypt, and Persia, and most are considered products of folk rather than fine art.