Much of the history of Algeria has taken place on the fertile coastal plain of North Africa, which is often called the Maghreb. North Africa served as a transit region for people moving towards Europe or the Middle East, thus, the region's inhabitants have been influenced by populations from other areas, including the Carthaginians, Romans, and Vandals. The region was conquered by the Muslims in the early 8th century AD, but broke off from the Umayyad Caliphate after the Berber Revolt of 740. During the Ottoman period, Algeria became an important state in the Mediterranean sea which led to many naval conflicts. The last significant events in the country's recent history have been the Algerian War and Algerian Civil War.
The history of human habitation in Morocco spans since the Lower Paleolithic, with the earliest known being Jebel Irhoud. Much later Morocco was part of Iberomaurusian culture, including Taforalt. It dates from the establishment of Mauretania and other ancient Berber kingdoms, to the establishment of the Moroccan state by the Idrisid dynasty followed by other Islamic dynasties, through to the colonial and independence periods.
The Almohad Caliphate or Almohad Empire was a North African Berber Muslim empire founded in present day Morocco at the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa.
The Hammadid dynasty, also known as the Hammadid Emirate or the Kingdom of Bejaia, was a medieval Islamic kingdom located in the central Maghreb, encompassing present-day Algeria. It was established at the beginning of the 11th century when Hammad ibn Buluggin declared himself emir, thus splitting the Zirid domains into two separate dynasties. Under the reign of Emir Al Nasir, the emirate briefly became the most important state in the Maghreb, and reached its greatest territorial extent, stretching from Tlemcen in the west to Tunis in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the desert oasis of Ouargla and Oued Righ in the south. While they briefly controlled the principality of Fez in the west and cities like Sfax, Kairouan, Laribus, and Tripoli to the east.
Abd al Mu'min was a prominent member of the Almohad movement. Although the Almohad movement itself was founded by Ibn Tumart, Abd al-Mu’min was the founder of the ruling dynasty and creator of the Almohad empire. As a leader of the Almohad movement he became the first Caliph of the Almohad Empire in 1133, after the death in 1130 of the movement's founder, Ibn Tumart, and ruled until his death in 1163. Abd al-Mu'min put his predecessor's doctrine of Almohadism into practice, defeated the Almoravids, and extended his rule across Al-Andalus and as far as Tunis in Ifriqiya, thus bringing the Maghreb in North Africa and Al-Andalus in Europe under one creed and one government.
The Marinid Sultanate was a Berber Muslim empire from the mid-13th to the 15th century which controlled present-day Morocco and, intermittently, other parts of North Africa and of the southern Iberian Peninsula (Spain) around Gibraltar. It was named after the Banu Marin, a Zenata Berber tribe. The sultanate was ruled by the Marinid dynasty, founded by Abd al-Haqq I.
Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb ibn Yūsuf ibn Abd al-Muʾmin al-Manṣūr, commonly known as Yaqub al-Mansur or Moulay Yacoub, was the third Almohad Caliph. Succeeding his father, al-Mansur reigned from 1184 to 1199. His reign was distinguished by the flourishing of trade, architecture, philosophy and the sciences, as well as by victorious military campaigns in which he was successful in repelling the tide of the Reconquista in the Iberian Peninsula.
Abu Abd Allah Amghar Ibn Tumart was a Muslim Berber religious scholar, teacher and political leader, from the Sous in southern present-day Morocco. He founded and served as the spiritual and first military leader of the Almohad movement, a puritanical reform movement launched among the Masmuda Berbers of the Atlas Mountains. Ibn Tumart launched an open revolt against the ruling Almoravids during the 1120s. After his death his followers, the Almohads, went on to conquer much of North Africa and part of Spain. Although the Almohad movement itself was founded by Ibn Tumart, his disciple Abd al-Mu'min was the founder of the ruling dynasty and creator of the Almohad empire.
The Kutubiyya Mosque or Koutoubia Mosque is the largest mosque in Marrakesh, Morocco. It is located in the southwest medina quarter of Marrakesh, near the Jemaa el-Fnaa market place, and is flanked by large gardens.
The Menara Gardens are a historic public garden and orchard in Marrakech, Morocco. They were established in the 12th century by the Almohad Caliphate ruler Abd al-Mu'min. Along with the Agdal Gardens and the historic walled city of Marrakesh, the gardens have been listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. The gardens are laid out around a central water basin and reservoir, next to which is a pleasure pavilion dating in its current form from the 19th century. The reservoir and its pavilion, often framed in pictures against the background of the High Atlas Mountains to the south, are considered one of the iconic views and symbols of Marrakesh.
Doukkala is a natural region of Morocco made of fertile plains and forests. Nowadays it is part of the Casablanca-Settat administrative region.
Almohad doctrine or Almohadism was the ideology underpinning the Almohad movement, founded by Ibn Tumart, which created the Almohad Empire during the 12th to 13th centuries. Fundamental to Almohadism was Ibn Tumart's radical interpretation of tawḥid—"unity" or "oneness"—from which the Almohads get their name: al-muwaḥḥidūn (المُوَحِّدون).
The history of Marrakesh, a city in southern Morocco, stretches back nearly a thousand years. The country of Morocco itself is named after it.
Bab Oudaya, also known as Bab Lakbir or Bab al-Kabir, is the monumental gate of the Kasbah of the Udayas in Rabat, Morocco. The gate, built in the late 12th century, is located at the northwest corner of the Kasbah, uphill from the medina of Rabat. It is often cited as one of the most beautiful gates of Almohad and Moroccan architecture.
The Minbar of the Kutubiyya Mosque is a minbar produced in Cordoba, Spain, in the early 12th century by order of the Almoravid amir Ali ibn Yusuf. The minbar was commissioned for the main mosque of Marrakesh, the Almoravid capital in Morocco. After the Almohad conquest of Marrakesh in 1147, the minbar was moved to the new Kutubiyya Mosque built by Abd al-Mu'min. It remained there until 1962, when it was moved into storage and then to the El Badi Palace for public display, where it remains today. Made primarily of wood and decorated with a variety of techniques, the minbar is considered one of the high points of Moorish, Moroccan, and Islamic art. It was enormously influential in the design of subsequent minbars produced across Morocco and the surrounding region.
The Battle of al-Buhayra was a battle between the Almoravid and the Almohad armies in May 1130 CE just outside Marrakesh, Morocco.
The History of Fez begins with its foundation by Idris I and Idris II at the end of the 8th century and the beginning of the 9th century CE. It initially consisted of two autonomous and competing settlements on opposing shores of what is now known as the Oued Fes. Initially inhabited by a largely Berber (Amazigh) population, successive waves of mainly Arab immigrants from Ifriqiya (Tunisia) and al-Andalus (Spain/Portugal) over time gave the nascent city an Arab character as well. After the downfall of the Idrisid dynasty, it was contested between different Zenata groups allied with either the Fatimid Caliphate or the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba. In the 11th century the Almoravid sultan Yusuf ibn Tashfin conquered the region and united its two settlements into what is today the Fes el-Bali quarter. Under the rule of the Almoravids and of the Almohads after them, despite losing the status of capital to Marrakesh, the city remained the economic and political center of northern Morocco and gained a reputation for religious scholarship and mercantile activity.
TheAlmohad Conquest of Marrakesh occurred in 1147 when the Almohad movement seized control of the Almoravid capital, Marrakesh. Almoravid Emir Ishaq ibn Ali's troops managed to maintain their hold on the city until Abd al-Mu'min led Almohad forces successfully penetrated the city's defenses after an extended siege. Before this event, the Almohads had already gained control over a significant portion of Almoravid territories in North Africa and al-Andalus.
Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar b. Yaḥyā al-Hintātī, chief of the Hintata, was a close companion of Ibn Tumart and a shaper of the Almohad Empire greatly responsible for the unification of the Almohad corps. His grandson Abū Zakariyyāʾ Yahyā b. ʿAbd al-Waḥīd founded the Hafsid dynasty in Ifriqiya. He lived a long life and helped maintain ties between the Almohad movement's early revolutionary doctrine and its later dynastic period established by ʿAbd al-Muʾmin.
The Council of Ten was a group of Ibn Tumart's earliest and closest disciples, at the top of the hierarchy of the Almohad movement. It was composed of members from different tribes, including ‘Abd al-Mu’min al-Kumi of the Zanata, the chronicler al-Baydhaq of the Sanhaja, and the tribal chief Abu Hafs ‘Umar al-Hintati of the Masmuda. The Council of Ten evoked the image of the Prophet Muhammad's ten companions, though sources indicate that, for the Almohad council, ten was more of a name than a fixed number of members.
Almohad Caliphate 
