How The Muslim Berbers Lost Spain & Portugal | Al-Andalus Documentary

throughout its existence al andalus was home to a rich and vibrant artistic and literary tradition interestingly this cultural progress would often occur despite there being political chaos in the background in the 11th century the muslim taifa states were often engaged in fighting each other whilst being vulnerable to the increasingly ambitious christian kingdoms of the north this opened the door for two successive groups of muslim berbers who emerged from the fringes of the sahara desert and were able to assert their authority over all of al andalus from the end of the 11th century until the beginning of the 13th century both the al-muravid and al-muhad would play key roles in the story of muslim iberia with both emerging at important junctures when the christian reconquista was gaining significant momentum these two energetic and ferocious berber groups proved to be worthy foes of the christian kingdoms putting a stop to the momentum of the reconquista even if it was just temporarily [Music] [Music] the berbers are a semi-nomadic people who inhabit northwestern africa a rugged group of people who weren't alien to harsh terrains the al-muravid berbers were endowed with a toughness that allowed their armies to flourish at the expense of their opponents early on this will help to explain why their presence in alandulus started so successfully to go hand in hand with that toughness the al-muravids were also united by a firm religious outlook that was inspired by the theologian abdullah ibn yasin who tried to spread orthodox sunni islam by preaching to certain berber tribes because even though islam had been present in the area since the 7th century the berbers were yet to fully incorporate islamic teachings into their way of life al-muravid means those who are united in the cause of god ibn yasin teamed up with the berber tribal leader yahya ibn umar to spread his message and yahia's power all of this was in the middle of the 11th century if we fast forward to the 1080s the al-muravid realm had effectively been divided into two portions the southern wing which focused on their holdings in the sahara desert and expanding into west africa at the expense of the ghana empire in the process contributing to the spread of islam in western africa whilst the northern wing was preoccupied with holding on to the realm traditionally associated with morocco it's this wing that we are particularly interested in because in 1086 its leader yusuf ibn tashfin was invited by the taifa petty states of al-andalus to help against the onslaught of the christian reconquista in this period the christians were definitely in the ascendancy king alfonso vi of lyon and castile was even able to extract parias or tribute from some of the taifa states yusuf ibn tashfin responded to the call the same year he crossed the strait of gibraltar and landed in southern spain in october 1086 the al-muraved forces joined by the armies of ki andalusian taiifas went head-to-head with the united forces of three different iberian christian kingdoms which were led by alfonso of lyon and castile resulting in a resounding victory for the muslims this military encounter would become known as the battle of sagrachas in spanish and the battle of zlaka in arabic zalaka meaning slippery ground because of all the bloodshed the battle is considered a major event in andalusian history because the el moravid's victory checked christian expansion for several years nevertheless because of issues he had to attend to in his african territories yusuf ibn tashfin could not take advantage of this victory thereby missing a vital opportunity to reconquer territory previously lost to the reconquista especially the major city of toledo which had fallen to the christians the year before in 1090 yusuf returned to iberia this time intending to absorb al-andalus into the el moravid empire [Music] this necessitated the removal of the taifa states that existed for much of the 11th century yusuf received the fatwa a ruling given by a recognized authority on a point of islamic law to depose the ta'ifa rulers many of whom were seen by ibn tashfin to be lacks in their islamic orthodoxy it's tough to disagree with him many of the taifa rulers were known for drinking wine and living an extravagant life that was more focused on a material outlook on life interestingly enough that same relaxed religious environment saw an increase of cultural output through incredible poetry and scholarship within a few years the el moravids had incorporated all of southern and western al andalus into its realm in 1102 yusuf's forces even managed to reconquer the city of valencia from the successors of the famed el sid this left the northeastern taifa of zaragotha as the last muslim territory which remained independent of the al-muravids during this time yusuf would carry out campaigns in iberia and subsequently leave for his court at marrakech in the period before the al-murava takeover muslim iberia was more vulnerable to christian aggression than it had ever been before in line with his orthodox religious outlook yusuf ibn tashfin established friendly relations with the abbasid khilafah in baghdad a shadow of its former self there was still a lot of legitimacy to be gained by being on good terms with the khalif in baghdad yusuf referred to the abbasid khalif as amir al-mu'mineen or commander of the faithful whilst giving himself the more humble title of amir al-muslimeen meaning commander of the muslims after apparently living to the age of 100 yusuf finally died in 1106. his son and successor ali ibn yusuf also had his court at marrakech so he would come to al-andalus primarily for military campaigns leaving the administration of muslim iberia to his brother tamim ali would go on to reign for almost four decades the first decade or so of his reign continued from the momentum left behind by his father at the battle of ukles in 1108 the al-muravids routed a castilian army which was led by the only son and heir apparent of alfonso the sixth sancho alfonses the young prince who was said to have had a muslim mother was killed in the defeat as a result of the battle the muslims took a number of important towns in central spain the following year in the algarve sintra and santarem were once again added to the fold of al-andalus the very next year mainland al-andalus was united under the al-muravids when the taifa state of zaragotha was conquered ali bin yusuf extended his authority over the balearic islands in 1116 as well but the tide of al-muravid victory soon stopped in 1118 the important city of zaragotha fell to the christian kingdom of aragon after being in al-muravidhans for less than a decade and despite the muslim victory at the battle of fraga in 1134 which resulted in the death of the aragonese king alfonso the first al-muravid power in iberia was firmly in decline towards the latter end of ali ibn yusuf's reign the fervor of the crusades had captivated christendom's imagination during the first half of the 12th century crusaders flocked to iberia in search of a fight with muslim armies in 1139 the christian victory at the battle of urike was a significant reason for the birth of the kingdom of portugal united coalitions of christian forces became more and more menacing and the results were telling the siege of lisbon in 1147 by a joint portuguese crusader force the siege of tortosa in 1148 the christians were once again in the ascendancy in addition to losing ground to the reconquista in iberia the al-muravids faced potentially crippling internal issues as well in 1143 ali ibn yusuf died leaving his state in a much more worse off position than he found it in the next four years saw a quick succession of three different rulers this rapid turnover of power meant that at the governing level the al-muravid state faced incredible chaos and turbulence all the while since the 1120s a new group of berbers called the al-muhads were undermining the al-muravids power base in morocco and by 1147 they would overthrow the al-muravids in morocco in time the al-muhad would go on to become the dominant power in the entire maghreb as well as in al andalus in the same way that the al-muravid movement was initiated by a berber theologian from the south of morocco the al-muhad had a similar origin story muhammad ibn tumart had returned to the maghreb in around 1117 after pursuing his religious studies in baghdad where he came under the influence of the great theologian al-ghazali returning home with a stricter and more doctrinaire perspective on religious matters ibn tu mart proclaimed himself to mahti and revolted against the ruling al-muravids for their perceived religious laxity [Music] although he died in 1130 his al-muhad movement would eventually topple the al-muravid in 1147 under the leadership of ibn tumar's lieutenant abdul mumin unlike their al-muravid predecessors the al-muhad proclaimed the establishment of their own khilafah thereby its rulers could claim to be khalifs the decay of al-muravid power in the mid-1140s left al-andalus vulnerable to christian attacks this vulnerability was compounded by the fact that for the first time the christian kingdoms were able to coordinate large-scale attacks on frontier cities and beyond santerim tortosa fraga and lisbon were all lost in the years 1147-1149 [Music] the christians even felt emboldened enough to besiege the southern coastal city of almeria way past the frontier the forces of navarre castile and aragon were propped up by the genoese navy and the city was forced to capitulate in 1147 although al-maria would be regained a decade later by the muslims it just goes to show how vulnerable al andalus was in this period even before their formal accession to imperial authority in 1147 the al-mahad started to get involved in the politics of al-andalus in 1145 a number of al-muravid officials in iberia saw that their masters were on their way out and subsequently decided to defect to the al-muhads in 1147 khalif abdulmurman sent out a force to south eastern iberia to formally annex al-andalus starting out with the city of al-jasiras the almahad forces moved westward all the way to the algarve seville was forced to surrender the following year after a lengthy siege after dealing with a serious rebellion in their african territories towards the end of the 1140s the almohads resumed their expansionist policy in al-andalus cordoba was saved from the threat of castile when it came under almahad control in 1149 granada held out until 1155 under the leadership of the banu ghaniya the 1150s sur abdulmumin cultivate his imperial ambition eastward into north africa going as far as tunis and tripoli this meant he never actually campaigned in iberia during his reign in 1163 he was organizing a major expedition to al-andalus that he would lead in person but old age caught up with him and he died before the expedition could take place [Music] abdul mumin had worked hard to turn the al-muhad movement into a hereditary dynasty and thus he was succeeded by his son abu yakub yusuf or yusuf the first yusuf did have some political experience by the time he came to the throne but he seemed to lack the military leadership exhibited by his late father instead he seemed to have been more of a bibliophile in temperament and was more interested in intellectual affairs a major book collector yusuf gathered prominent scholars of the time around him such as ibn tufail and ibn rust luckily for the new khalif there had been a recent split within the christian camp the death of alfonso the seventh in 1157 led to a re-division of the kingdom of castile and the kingdom of lyon this would serve the al-muhards as the two kingdoms would compete with each other and they could therefore take advantage of this rivalry amongst the christians this was on display in 1170 when the almohads approached fernando ii of lyon to help them against his own father-in-law alfonso the first of portugal the portuguese were making significant headway in the region around by the hos but fernando wanted these gains for himself the joint muslim christian coalition would force alfonso to retreat nevertheless the main concern for the al-muhads in iberia during the 1160s was not the christian kingdoms but a muslim ruler known as the wolf king el rey lobo ibn mardanesh was an independent muslim ruler in the levante region of iberia who stubbornly clung onto power ruling from his capital at murcia his realm stretched across the shark al-andalus region known in english as eastern al-andalus he was aided by his father-in-law ibn hamushk of khain who even captured granada from the al-muhadz in 1162 by the beginning of the 1170s however rising discontent from within ibn mardhanesh's realm partly due to him relying increasingly on christian support resulted in him losing key supporters who defected to the al-muhads ebin mardanesh's death from natural causes in 1172 brought all of mainland al-andalus under al-muhad authority in line with al-muhar tradition ibn mardanesh's family was incorporated into the government and given jobs despite the el mahat bringing some much needed stability to the major cities al-andalus continued to be vulnerable to christian aggression whenever the khalif was not on the peninsula so in 1171 khalif yusuf crossed into iberia with a huge army although he would stay in his andalusian capital of seville for the next five years the khalif achieved very little military activity was largely limited to raids and counter-raids the almohad seemed to have found it very difficult to garrison threatened outposts and just generally struggled to organize defensive warfare along the frontier the khalif's departure in 1176 for his capital at marrakech naturally brought about a sense of foreboding across al andalus of impending christian aggression eight years later in 1184 the khalif returned and marched to the western frontier with portugal besieging the city of santeram on the banks of the targus river the almahad's initially made headway but the khalif had made a habit out of proving to be indecisive at important junctures during campaigns so when he heard reports that christian reinforcements from lyon were coming to relieve the siege he was unnerved and called for a retreat in the ensuing confusion the khalif was wounded and died of his wounds a few days later the mantle of power was taken by his son yakuba mansur who unlike his father exhibited the trait of a capable military leader the new khalif was initially preoccupied with revolt in his maghrebi territories so al-andalus was once again put on the back burner the revolts in africa were spearheaded by the banu ghaniya family which still resiliently held out against the almahads in majorca in the balearic islands having somewhat neutralized the danger of the revolt for the time being the khalif could turn his attention to al-andalus in 1190. the khalif's campaign resulted in the recapture of silves and the place of his father's death santharem from the portuguese santarem's fortifications were demolished once they took over it showing that the al-muhads did not intend on holding it a fact that speaks volumes about their military capability it is interesting to note that inhabitants of frontier settlements sometimes had to be paid by the khalif to stay there this means that oftentimes frontier towns were not economically viable and had to be supported with grants from other parts of the empire such as seville but this policy was not sustainable especially during times of hardship elsewhere thereby making the conquest of muslim frontier towns an alluring and achievable task for the christians in 1195 khalifa kubal mansour arrived on the peninsula again this campaign would mark the zenith of almahad power in iberia hearing of the khalif's arrival the king of castile alfonso viii marched south to challenge him instead of waiting for his leonese allies alfonso met the khalif on the battlefield at alarcos in central spain the castilian field army was destroyed and the muslims had won a decisive victory in open field for the first time in a long time typically al-muhad military success was undermined by the lack of supplies on their campaigns they seemed to have been too underdeveloped as a state to maintain long supply trains but at alakos the battle happened pretty soon after the khalif set out on his expedition so supplies had been fresh in addition the battle took place in open country as opposed to a lengthy siege alarcos enforced the key lesson on the christians as long as they didn't meet the al-muhards in open field the advantage laid decisively with them khalif yakuba mansoor wanted to build on the momentum of the victory and campaigned yearly for the next two years in the process reclaiming several small towns and fortresses along the frontier these successes earned him truces with the major christian kingdoms so when he died in 1198 his son and successor muhammad al-nasir inherited an al-andalus which was relatively stable for the time being in north africa the banu ghaniya was still proving to be a major nuisance to the al-muhards they were taking more and more territory in ifr so in 1203 the almohads decided to strike at their base in majorca and finally took control of all the balearic islands whilst the first decade of the 13th century seemed to have been relatively peaceful in iberia the al-muhad's grip on the maghreb was rapidly loosening by 1209 they could only exercise real control of territories only as far east as talemsan at roughly this time the christian kingdoms of castile and aragon began agitating for war to compound matters the kingdom of lyon a traditional ally of the al-muhads was threatened by the pope with ecclesiastical sanctions if they attacked their christian brethren in castile the khalif began receiving reports of increased christian raids into muslim territories and so in 1211 he arrived in iberia the following year in 1212 the old castillian king alfonso determined to right the wrong of alarcos marched at the head of a large army which had contingents from all over christian iberia and even crusader forces from beyond the two sides met near hayen in southern spain and what ensued was a massive defeat for the muslims at the battle of las navas de tolosa lack of supplies meant that the christian army soon had to withdraw from the south but the damage the loss did to almohad prestige was significant the battle is often seen as being an important turning point in the reconquista which facilitated the lightning quick conquests of the 1230s and 1240s after his disastrous defeat khalif and nasir fled back to marrakesh where he was assassinated the very next year in 1213 he was succeeded by his infant son youssef ii whose mother happened to be a christian despite the victory at the battle of las navas de tolosa and the youth of the new al-muhad leader the christians could not press their advantage home this was due to their own internal issues portugal castile and aragon were all ruled by adolescent kings therefore they were more interested in maintaining the stability of their own realms as such things remained relatively stable in alandalus the young khalif's advisors even signed a truce with castile things began to take a more chaotic turn when khalif yusuf ii died in 1224 apparently gored by one of his cows he left no sons behind and the ensuing succession crisis would bring about the downfall of the empire up until this point the almahad ruling family had largely remained united but after 1224 the dynasty was consumed by internecine conflict the throne switched hands every year or so in 1228 the almohad claiman in seville al-mamun left iberia to stake his claim to the throne in marrakesh and with his departure al-muhad power in iberia came to an end al-andalus was now a sitting duck for the christian kingdoms their energetic rulers would go on to become legends of the reconquista over the next two decades cordoba seville valencia badajoz and many more major cities fell to the christians only granada was left to continue the legacy of elandalus [Music] as usual i want to thank my patrons for their generous support if you want to support the channel there's a link to my patreon in the description to this video don't forget to like comment and subscribe if you guys enjoyed this video until next time peace [Music]

Channel: Hikma History

Views: 125,931

Keywords: اغنية المرابطون, مرابطون, almoravides y almohades, ازدهار الدولة المغربية المرابطون والموحدون, les almoravides, Almohad, Berber History, تاريخ المغرب القديم, histoire du maroc, Reconquista, Muslim Spain, Yusuf ibn Tashfin, Morocco History, Muslim Heritage Iberia, Moorish History, الزلاقة, يوسف بن تاشفين, batalla de sagrajas, Should Spain apologise for the Reconquista?, تحضير نص انسان ما بعد الموحدين, الموحدين, دولة الموحدين, amazigh, الامازيغ, berbère, البربر, islamic history, berbers

Id: oYtYl_SAdb4

Length: 28min 55sec (1735 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 24 2022