Almohad

[ al-muh-had ]

noun

1. a member of a Muslim dynasty ruling in Spain and northern Africa during the 12th and 13th centuries.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Almohad¹

From the Arabic word al-muwaḥḥid literally, the one who professes the unity of God

Example Sentences

The 12th-century mosque was built where the Almohad dynasty established its first capital in a remote Atlas valley before going on to seize Marrakech, proclaim its leader Caliph, and march on across the region propelled by religious zeal.

From Reuters

In Seville, the 15th-century cathedral — the largest Gothic-style building in Europe — stands on the footprint of an Almohad mosque whose graceful minaret was repurposed as a church tower, while in Córdoba, a Renaissance cathedral bursts from the austere, rhythmic heart of the mezquita, itself built atop the remains of a sixth-century Visigothic basilica.

From New York Times

There’s a development I like in a broader trip, where you come to Seville, see the Giralda, which was originally built as the minaret of the old Almohad mosque, now part of this cathedral, and then you’ll journey a little farther and go to Córdoba and see this stunning mosque that has been turned into a church, and then finally it culminates in this last gasp of Islam in Spain, the Emirate of Granada, which then obviously results in the Catholic monarchs and the end of Muslim Spain.

From New York Times

Seville was conquered by the Moors in the 8th Century, later becoming one of the two capitals of the Almohad Caliphate.

From BBC

Even from the great mosque at Tinmel, once the Almohad capital, it would be impossible to re-enter the feeling I still had as I stood in that great house on the other side of the Atlas.

From New York Times