Almoravid dynasty

The Almoravids are a Berber dynasty of Morocco, who form an empire in the 11th century that stretches over the western Maghreb and Al-Andalus.

Their capital is Marrakesh, a city they found in 1062.

The dynasty originates among the Lamtuna and the Gudala, nomadic Berber tribes of the Sahara, traversing the territory between the Draa, the Niger and the Senegal rivers.

The Almoravids are crucial in preventing a fall of Al-Andalus to the Iberian Christian kingdoms, when they decisively beat a coalition of the Castilian and Aragonese armies at the Battle of Sagrajas.

This enables them to control an empire that stretches 3,000 kilometers north to south.

However, the rule of the dynasty is relatively short-lived.

The Almoravids fall - at the height of their power - when they fail to quell the Masmuda-led rebellion initiated by Ibn Tumart.

As a result, their last king Ishaq ibn Ali is killed in Marrakesh in April 1147 by the Almohads, who replace them as a ruling dynasty both in Morocco and Al-Andalus.

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