Generally, when reading through literature, historical or other, and at the cinema, or in documentaries of various sorts, the image presented of the Almoravids and Almohads is very poor. Thus, in the famed film, El-Cid, for instance, the Almoravids are portrayed as evil incarnate. Their leader Yusuf Ibn Tashfin, called Yusuf in the film, is darkened in deeds more than in skin; cruel as much as ugly; his being and manners all oozing with malevolence and wickedness. His opponent the Cid is the reverse, handsome, kind, generous, merciful, courageous etc. In truth, El-Cid was a mercenary, bloodthirsty renegade, unfaithful to his word, who slaughtered the woman and robbed and slaughtered the orphan. He was a cruel, violater of altars, says Lane Poole.[1] Yusuf Ibn Tashfin was, on the other hand, by far one of the greatest men in Islamic history, who deserves a whole article in appreciation.
The Almohads come out even more poorly than the Almoravids. Even authors usually kind to Muslims abhor the Almohads as fanatical, orthodox, who harmed Muslim civilisation.Fanatic barbarians, of the eleventh and twelfth centuries,' Lea tells us.
The savage instincts of the Berbers were indulged by tortures and all the arts of the most exquisite cruelty. Whenever these barbarians encountered a monastery not one of the holy fathers was left alive. There was now visited upon the Christians a severe retaliation for the unspeakable horrors which they had been in the habit of inflicting upon their infidel adversaries in the name of the Gospel of Peace,'Scott tells us.
`Almohad' persecution' was particularly stressed by Durant.[4] Yet, reality was far, very far, from that.
The Almoravids (Mid 11th -1147)
Decades before the Almoravid intervention in 1086 in Spanish affairs, anarchy had spread in Muslim Spain as it disintegrated into thirty or so small feuding kingdoms (called the Taifas de Reyes).
Decades before the Almoravid intervention in 1086 in Spanish affairs, anarchy had spread in Muslim Spain as it disintegrated into thirty or so small feuding kingdoms (called the Taifas de Reyes).
This chaos was exploited by the northern Christian neighbours to start their `Reconquista.'[5] They saw their opportunity, and they made the most of it, observes Lane Poole.[6] It culminated in a vast offensive, which resulted in the taking of the first major Muslim town Barbastro in 1065 by a combined army of papal, Norman, and Spanish forces. There, wholesale massacre of Muslims and mass rape of Muslim women took place. Many of the Reyes had thought their military alliance on the side of the Christian northern forces against fellow Muslims would save their realm, instead, they were conquered. A certain `monk of France,' possibly Hugh of Cluny himself, had sent a letter to Muqtadir ibn Hud of Saragossa advising him to accept Christianity; a new attitude, more aggressive, toward the Muslims was taking shape.As the threat to their little kingdoms and principalities rose, it made it clear to the Reyes, Lane Poole observes, that the Spaniards meant nothing less than re-conquest of all Spain, and the extermination of all Muslims.
The Muslim populations also became painfully aware of the relative helplessness of their own princes to stem the Christian advance, and acceding to pressures from below, the Taifa leaders were forced to appeal to the Almoravids in an attempt to halt the enemy.
In 1086, the Almoravids, tribesmen from the Moroccan High Atlas, crossed into Spain, and manoeuvring en masses to the sound of drums, they inflicted on the Christian knights a shattering defeat at Zallaqa near Bajadoz.
The Christian forces were awed and intimidated by the continuous drumming, which accompanied the swiftly executed manoeuvres of the Almoravid army. Ibn Tashfin slaughtered the Christian army so much so that Alfonso barely escaped with some five hundred horsemen. Thousands of the best knights of Spain `lay stiff and nerveless on that fatal field.'Before the battle, Alfonso as he looked upon his own splendid army exclaimed:
`With men like these I would fight devils, angels, and ghosts!'
`With men like these I would fight devils, angels, and ghosts!'
Twice the Almoravids were asked to intervene before being summoned to depart, their puritan faith hardly of the taste of the rather morally loose Reyes. Some such Reyes even plotted to have Ibn Tashfin, the Almoravid ruler, poisoned so as to rid themselves of an incumbent guest.[14] The third time he was invited, in 1090, Ibn
Tashfin crossed the straight of Gilbraltar from Morocco, removed the Reyes, and installed Almoravid rule all over the country.
Tashfin crossed the straight of Gilbraltar from Morocco, removed the Reyes, and installed Almoravid rule all over the country.
The Andalusian Al-Bakri, surrounded by the intellectual and material comforts of his country and his milieu (amidst the Reyes), considered these puritans of Islam as enemies.[15] He was not alone.
The Christians, concerned at this new conquering thrust of Islam, were disconcerted by these veiled adversaries who charged on camel back to the sound of drums.
As a result, the historical reputation of the Almoravids suffered from great prejudices. The Almoravid conquest, Wiet et al, note, was not, as Al Bakri described it, a bloody holy war waged by fanatical disciples of a strange religion.'
They had conquered the whole of Morocco patiently, with the littlest amount of blood spilled. Their installation at Marrakech, their rapid expansion in southern Morocco, as revealed by excavations, emphasize the considerable degree of their cultural evolution, their faculty of assimilation and inventiveness, that of a people, whom Ibn Hawqal in the tenth century, just as Al-Bakri in the 11th century, wrongly regarded as little better than savages.
The Almoravids also drew upon the African goldmines for minting coinage, and secured great prosperity for the region. They were the first to achieve the unity of Spain and North West Africa, which hadt the greatest possible repercussions on economic affairs and also on cultural affairs, even though the Almoravid Empire did not last very long.
More importantly, the Almoravid intervention kept Spain in Muslim hands for another half century at least (that is until the end of their rule in 1147). They also halted the Spanish advance, which, as it was going to do in the following centuries, was to progress further south into North Africa. Hence, other than saving the Muslim realm for this period of time, the Almoravids also allowed Muslim civilisation to prosper for longer than it would have been had the Spaniards retaken the country.
Coming after them, the Almohads were going to extend both Muslim political survival and the prosperity of Muslim civilisation until nearly the middle of the 13th century. Thus, the crucial role of these two powers from Morocco can be seen if one thinks of all the eminent names who lived in the realm of Islam under Almoravid and Almohad rule, such as the herbalists Al-Ghafiqi (d. 1165) wrote Kitab al-Adwiyat al-Mufradah (The Book of Simple Drugs) and Ibn al-Baytar (1197-1248), of Malaga, the author of the largest pharmacological encyclopedia that has survived to our time; the traveller Ibn Jubair (Ibn Jubayr); Ibn Rushd (1126-1192); the astronomer Jabir Ibn Aflah (d. 1145) and so many more, who would have been lost to Islamic civilisation had Spain been lost prior to the Almoravids, and their successors, the Almohads.
The Almohads (1147- 1269)
The Almoravids, were at first, great warriors, but soon after Ibn Tashfin's death succumbed to the same corruptions of their predecessors (The Reyes de Taifa).
The Almoravids, were at first, great warriors, but soon after Ibn Tashfin's death succumbed to the same corruptions of their predecessors (The Reyes de Taifa).
They came to Spain hardy rough warriors, unused to ease or luxuries, delighting in feats of strength and prowess, filled with a fierce but simple zeal for their religion,' says Lane Poole, the following generation, however, `lost their martial habits, their love for deeds of daring, their pleasure in enduring hardships in the brave way of war In twenty years, in place of the former Berber army now was a disorganised crowd of sodden debauchees, miserable poltroons, who had drunk and fooled away their manhood's vigour and become slaves to all appetites that make men cowards.
Soon Spain fell back into the usual chaos, the usual infighting between the various factions: Almoravid and Andalusian, Arab and Berber... Muslim Spain disintegrated into another multitude of warring city states just like those of decades before. These divisions were hardly lost on the combined Christian forces, who resumed their assaults under the conduct of King Alfonso I of Aragon, named El-Batallador (The Fighter) because of his deep thrusts into Muslim territory, taking their towns and cities one after the other; and slaughtering the population being the rule. At the taking of Lisbon, this time by an alliance of European armies, and following the tragic fate of the Muslim population once the city was retaken (1147), the English priest could not hold being moved by the fate of the Muslims:
`We are inclined to feel pity for our enemies in their evil fortunes, and to feel sorry that the lashes of divine justice are not yet at an end.'
The Almohads, another Berber dynasty from deep into Morocco crossed into Spain, and again saved Muslim Spain, beating off Christian armies further north. Then, on 18th July, 1196, Abu Yusuf Yaqub, the son of a slave girl, now ruler, who like the famous Ibn Abi-Abi `Amir', was to take the honorific title of Al-Mansur (The
Victorious) inflicted a crushing defeat on Alfonso VIII of Castile at Alarcos, the Christian army being virtually
exterminated. So generous in victory was Abu Yusuf, he freed twenty thousand Christian prisoners without ransom. All Spain was at the mercy of Abu Yusuf, but he was obliged to cut short his operations to return to Africa, where a rebellion, sponsored and encouraged by Salah Eddin's successors threatened him form the rear. Abu Yusuf quelled the rebellion, but by the time he returned to Spanish matters, his forces had been drained, and considerably so. Still, Spain, and North Africa were safe in Muslim hands.
Victorious) inflicted a crushing defeat on Alfonso VIII of Castile at Alarcos, the Christian army being virtually
exterminated. So generous in victory was Abu Yusuf, he freed twenty thousand Christian prisoners without ransom. All Spain was at the mercy of Abu Yusuf, but he was obliged to cut short his operations to return to Africa, where a rebellion, sponsored and encouraged by Salah Eddin's successors threatened him form the rear. Abu Yusuf quelled the rebellion, but by the time he returned to Spanish matters, his forces had been drained, and considerably so. Still, Spain, and North Africa were safe in Muslim hands.
Abu Yaqub, other than bringing peace and security in both Spain and North-West Africa, improved the irrigation systems and embellished the cities with fine buildings. In 1170-1171, Abu Yaqub had made Seville his capital, and rebuilt the portion of the wall adjacent to the river, after a calamitous flood. The Alcazar, or citadel, originally built by Abd al- Rahman II, was restored, and was also built the main mosque (1172-1176), of which only the minaret, now called the Giralda, still remains. The three hundred feet high Giralda in Seville was both a minaret and also served as an observatory. When Seville was lost to Ferdinand III of Castile (1248), it boasted seventy-two mosques.
In Morocco, Almohad rule coincided with a great period of prosperity and brilliance of learning. The Almohad built the Marrakech Kutubiya Mosque, which accommodated no less than 25,000 people, but was also famed for its books, manuscripts, libraries and book shops, which gave it its name; the first book bazaar in history. Abu Yaqub, Deverdun says, `had a great soul and love for collecting books.' He founded a great library, which was eventually carried to the Casbah, and turned into a public library, under the management of the most erudite. Their service, says Ibn Farhun, was one of the privileged state positions, for which were selected only the best scholars. Some books in the library constituted part of the Almohad treasury, in fact, and were as prized as precious metals. There are, for instance, two copies of the Qur'an written in Mansub character that Salah Eddin, had offered Abu Yaqub.
During the crusades, the Almohads had dispatched 180 vessels to help the Muslims fight the crusaders during the third crusade (which involved Salah Eddin against Richard the Lion Heart) in the east.
Under the Almohads, the sovereigns did not just encourage the construction of schools and libraries, and sponsored scholars of every sort, but also, they were so keen, they even attended their scholars' funerals. Illustrious physicians also lived and worked in the Almohad court, especially under the third Caliph, Abu Yaqub and constituted a sort of corporation presided by one amongst them. Ibn Rushd, Ibn Tufail, Ibn Zuhr, and many more philosophers and scholars found sanctuary and served the Almohad rulers. And, contrary to their accusers who talked of their enmity to learning, libraries thrived under their rule, including private libraries. Three main collections (all dating from the mid 13th century) can be cited: the Maktaba of Ibn Tarawa, who was a great amateur of chroniclers, besides being a manuscript writer; the Maktaba of al-Qaysi and the Maktaba of Ibn as-Suqr, the main librarian of the imperial library. His collection required five full camel loads to be carried.
The Almohads checked for a while Christian advances, yet, soon afterwards, their rule was to fall to the same fates as their predecessors. As most often happens, at his death, the illustrious victor at Alarcos, Abu Yusuf (Al-Mansur), was succeeded by his son Al-Nasir (1199-1214), who was of a very different mould. Al-Nasir cared neither for science nor for religion, neglected government, and specialised in pleasure. At the very decisive battle of Navas de Tolosa, in 1212, Al-Nasir's much superior army was too disunited to face effectively a smaller, and yet united Christian army. Al-Nasir' army was crushed. In the wake of the battle, 70,000 Muslim prisoners were slaughtered at the order of the Bishops of Toledo and Narbonne who were at the scene. Soon the beginning of the end of Muslim Spain will begin. One after the other Muslim towns and cities were retaken by the Christians: Cordova 1236; Valencia: 1238; Seville: 1248 etc... Only Grenada will be left in Muslim hands, to be taken in 1492. And there will be no strong army from North Africa to hold back the Spanish advance. The local wars between the Spanish monarchies were some relief for the Muslims. By the time the Spaniards and Portuguese resumed their thrust into North Africa, in the 15th century, the Ottomans were powerful enough and willing to come and lend a hand, and help keep the place under Islamic rule.
