Encyclopedia of Islam

Almohad dynasty

---

began to lose control of the remote regions of their 

empire by the early 13th century. Later Almohad 

caliphs would publicly disown the religious doc-

trines of Ibn Tumart.

Almohad cultural influences included an aus-

tere architectural style, of which numerous exam-

ples remain in Morocco and Spain. Despite earning 

a reputation for intolerance toward Christian and 

Jewish minorities, Almohad openness to philo-

sophical ideas allowed philosophers such as Ibn 

Tufayl (d. 1185) and i

bn

 r

Ushd

 (Averroës, d. 1198) 

to expound their teachings. However, Ibn Rushd’s 

works were later banned and burned by the 

caliph

Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur (r. 1184–99). The Sufi 

movement also expanded under the Almohads, 

epitomized by the influential mystic i

bn

 

al

-a

rabi

(d. 1240). Nevertheless, the Almohad inability to 

maintain their vast holdings, win the support of 

the Maliki 

Ulama

, defeat Christian opponents in 

Spain, or subdue competing Berber tribes in North 

Africa led to their ultimate downfall. In 1269, the 

only dynasty to successfully unite North Africa 

perished, as Marrakesh fell before the rising tide of 

their rivals, the Merinid Berbers.

See also  a

lmoravid

 

dynasty

;  m

aliki

  l

egal

s

chool

.

Stephen Cory