The Almohad Dynasty (from Arabic, "the monotheists" or "the
Unitarians"), was a Moroccan Berber-Muslim dynasty founded in the
12th century that established a Berber state in Tinmel in the Atlas
Mountains of north-western Africa, in roughly 1120.
Led by Abd al-Mu'min al-Kumi (Emir of Marrakech after 1149) between
1130 and his death in 1163, the Almohads defeated the ruling
Almoravids, extending their power over all northern Africa as far
as Libya. Al-Andalus, Moorish Iberia (modern Portugal and southern
Spain) under the Almoravid dynasty, followed the fate of Africa,
and in 1170 the Almohads transferred their capital to
Seville.
The Almohad dominance of Iberia continued until 1212, when Muhammad
III, "al-Nasir" (1199–1214) was defeated at the Battle of Las
Navas de Tolosa in the Sierra Morena by an alliance of the
Christian princes of Castile, Aragón, Navarre, and Portugal. Nearly
all of the Moorish dominions in Iberia were lost soon after, with
the great Moorish cities of Córdoba and Seville falling to the
Christians in 1236 and 1248 respectively.
The Almohads continued to rule in Africa until the piecemeal loss
of territory through the revolt of tribes and districts enabled the
rise of their their most effective enemies, the Marinids in 1215.
The last representative of the line, Idris II was reduced to the
possession of Marrakech, where he was murdered by a slave in 1269;
allied with the Ziyyanids, the Marinids seized Marrakech, ending
the Almohad domination of Western Maghreb.
Flag of the Almohad Dynasty