The Almoravid and Almohad Empires

The first combined history of two of the great Islamic empires of the 10th-13th centuriesAfrican invaders of Spain? Berber nationalists who destroyed the convivencia between Muslims, Christians and Jews? Or key contributors to the maturation of Islamic society in the Maghrib?The Almoravid and Almohad empires ruled substantial parts of the Maghrib and al-Andalus between the 10th and mid-13th centuries. This is the first survey of the rise and fall of these two hugely powerful empires whose rule fostered the emergence of the Islamic society which endured, in Morocco especially, until the early 20th century. Amira K. Bennison focuses on these dynasties from a positive perspective, placing them in their proper context of medieval Mediterranean and Islamic history.Key Features:Places the Almoravids and Almohads within the broader sweep of Islamic historyPresents chapters on politics, society, economy & trade, religion & knowledge and art & architecture*Includes 50 illustrations: maps, genealogical tables, photographs, plans and diagramsKeywords: Almoravid, Almohad, Empire, the Maghrib, al-Andalus, Mediterranean.

From the APF:
This is the first book in English to provide a comprehensive account of the rise and fall of the Almoravids and the Almohads, the two most important Berber dynasties of the medieval Islamic west, an area that encompassed southern Spain and Portugal, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. The anhja Almoravids emerged from the Sahara in the 1050s to conquer vast territories and halt the Christian advance in Iberia. They were replaced a century later by their rivals, the Almohads, supported by the Mamda Berbers of the High Atlas. Although both have often been seen as uncouth, religiously intolerant tribesmen who undermined the high culture of al-Andalus, this book argues that the eleventh to thirteenth centuries were crucial to the Islamisation of the Maghrib, its integration into the Islamic cultural sphere, and its emergence as a key player in the western Mediterranean, and that much of this was due to these oft-neglected Berber empires.

“Given the importance of the subject, it is astonishing that this is the first full length study in English of these two empires. Bennison's thoughtful and well researched book marks a major advance in our understanding of this important period in the history of the Maghreb and the Iberian peninsula. It will be widely appreciated by scholars and students alike.”

Bennison bases her book on three particular premises: that the Almoravids and Almohads should be considered major contributors to Islamic civilization more broadly; that they were in many ways quite distinct groups and should not be lumped together simply as two examples of Berber empires; and that the relationship between Andalusia and Maghrebi parts of their empires was much more complex than has often been presented. She succeeds on all fronts over the course of the book, and gives a sense of the scale of the Almoravids' and Almohads' achievements together with the complexities of their distinct endeavors.'--Harry Munt "Times Literary Supplement"
Every scholar of the Islamic West should read this. Most importantly, the book is free of the various biases that have up to now conspired to marginalise the history of these two important medieval dynasties: these are dynasties which deserve to be studied in their own right, and not as mere appendages to Islamic or European history. Bennison does them justice in a book that will certainly remain for some time the standard English-language treatment of the subject.--Brian A. Catlos (University of Colorado at Boulder) "The English Historical Review"
-- "Hugh Kennedy, SOAS University of London"

Amira K. Bennison is a Reader in the History and Culture of the Maghrib at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Magdalene College.. She is author of The Great Caliphs: The Golden Age of the 'Abbasid Empire (2009) and co-editor (with Alison L. Gascoigne) of Cities in the Premodern Islamic World (2007).

'Given the importance of the subject, it is astonishing that this is the first full-length study in English of these two empires. Bennison's thoughtful and well-researched book marks a major advance in our understanding of this important period in the history of the Maghreb and the Iberian peninsula. It will be widely appreciated by scholars and students alike.'Hugh Kennedy, SOAS, University of LondonAfrican invaders of Spain? Religious fundamentalists who disrupted the generally good relations between Muslims, Christians and Jews? Or key contributors to the maturation of Islamic society in the Maghrib?The Almoravids and Almohads were the two most important Berber dynasties of the medieval Islamic west - an area that encompassed southern Spain and Portugal, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia - and their empires covered substantial parts of the Maghrib and al-Andalus between the tenth and mid-thirteenth centuries. This is the first comprehensive account in English of the rise and fall of these two hugely powerful empires whose rule fostered the emergence of the Islamic society which endured, in Morocco especially, until the early twentieth century. Amira K. Bennison focuses on these dynasties from a positive perspective, placing them in their proper context of medieval Mediterranean and Islamic history.Key Features The first combined history of two of the great Islamic empires between the tenth and thirteenth centuries Places the Almoravids and Almohads within the broader sweep of Islamic history Contains chapters on politics, society, economy and trade, religion and learning, and art and architecture Illustrated with maps, genealogical tables and photographs* Includes a glossary of Arabic termsAmira K. Bennison is Reader in the History and Culture of the Maghrib at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Magdalene College. She is author of The Great Caliphs: the Golden Age of the 'Abbasid Empire (2009) and Jihad and its Interpretations in Pre-Colonial Morocco (2002).Cover image: Kutubiyya Mosque, Marrakesh

This is the first book in English to provide a comprehensive account of the rise and fall of the Almoravids and the Almohads, the two most important Berber dynasties of the medieval Islamic west, an area that encompassed southern Spain and Portugal, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. The Sanhaja Almoravids emerged from the Sahara in the 1050s to conquer vast territories and halt the Christian advance in Iberia. They were replaced a century later by their rivals, the Almohads, supported by the Masmuda Berbers of the High Atlas. Although both have often been seen as uncouth, religiously intolerant tribesmen who undermined the high culture of al-Andalus, this book argues that the eleventh to thirteenth centuries were crucial to the Islamisation of the Maghrib, its integration into the Islamic cultural sphere, and its emergence as a key player in the western Mediterranean, and that much of this was due to these oft-neglected Berber empires.

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