fwo_557664 - ALMORAVIDS - ALI BEN YUSUF Demi quirate 1139-1143 Sans atelier

ALMORAVIDS - ALI BEN YUSUF

(XIth / AH 500-537)

The Almoravid Dynasty ruled Spain and Morocco in the 11th and 12th centuries. Initially, formed around a Berber tribe, they formed a brotherhood of warrior monks around Abdullah ibn Yacine who founded a military monastery (ribât in Arabic) hence the name of el-morabitum or Almoravides (those of the ribât) . He was the founder of the dynasty which conquered a true Empire extending over Africa and Muslim Spain where they intervened against the Christians and defeated Alfonso VI of Castile in 1186 at Sarajas.