Native name	Al-Murābiṭūn
Conventional long name	Almoravid dynasty
Common name	Almoravids
Continent	Africa
Continent2	Europe
Region	South Europe & North Africa
Country	Algeria, Gibraltar, Mauritania, Morocco, parts of Portugal, Spain
Status	Empire
Year start	1040
Year end	1147
P1	Caliphate of Córdoba
P2	Zirid dynasty
S2	Almohad dynasty
Flag s2	Flag of Morocco 1147 1269.svg
Image map caption	The Almoravid empire (green) at its greatest extent, c. 1120.
Common languages	Classical Arabic, Berber languages, Hebrew, Mozarabic, Mande languages, African Romance, Andalusian Arabic.
Religion	mainly Islam, with some Catholic and Jewish minorities
Capital	Aghmat (1040-1062), Marrakech (1062-1147)
Government type	Monarchy
Title leader	Caliph
Leader1	Abdallah ibn Yasin
Year leader1	1040-1059
Leader2	Ishaq ibn Ali
Year leader2	1146–1147
Stat year1	1147 est.
Stat area1	3300000
Currency	Dinar

The Almoravids (Berber: Imṛabḍen, Arabic: Al-Murābiṭūn) were a Berber dynasty of North Africa, who lived between the current Senegal and south of Morocco.

It is affiliated to the Berber tribes of Sanhaja and Lamtuna. From the 11th century to the 12th century, their empire was extended over present-day Morocco, Mauritania, southern Spain and Portugal, western present-day Algeria and a part of what is now Mali. At its greatest extent, the empire stretched 3,000 kilometres north to south. Almoravids built the city of Marrakesh and made it their capital city which became then one of the most influential centers of power in Africa and the Mediterranean region.

Origins

In his book The Muslim Conquest and Settlement of North Africa and Spain, the author Abd al-Wahid Dhannūn Taha, based on several sources including bibliographic of Ibn Khaldun, provides, on pages 26 and 29 of his book, information on the geographical distribution of Sanhaja tribes. He does the same for the different tribes and tribal Berber branch of the Maghreb and information on the different tribes or ethnic groups (Arabs, Berbers and sub-Saharan African) who participated in the Muslim conquest of Visigothic Spain.

The exact meaning of "Murābiṭ" is a matter of controversy. Some have suggested that the word might be derived from the Arabic ribaṭ, meaning fortress (a term with which it shares the root r-b-ṭ). Most historians, however, now believe that it refers to ribat, meaning "ready for battle" (cf. jihad).

When the Almoravids began their political rise, the Kingdom of Fez (Morocco's first name) of the Idrisid dynasty was split into a series of small emirates located mainly north of the country, and headed by relatives of the royal family.

According to French historian Bernard Lugan and others, the lure of wealth from trade in the South (Sahara) and marketed to the North (the West) attracted various tribes to crossroads city such as Marrakech, which become the capital of various dynasties, especially those from the South (Almoravids, Almohads, Saadian).

The most powerful of the tribes of the Sahara near the Sénégal River was the Lamtuna, whose culture of origin was 'Wadi Noun' (Nul Lemta). They later came together as the upper Leger river culture, which founded the city of Aoudaghost. They converted to Islam in the ninth century.

About the year 1040 (or a little earlier) one of their chiefs, Yahya ibn Ibrahim, made the pilgrimage to Makkah. On his way home, he attended the teachers of the mosque at university of Al-Qayrawan, today's Kairouan in Tunisia; the first Arab-Muslim city in North Africa, who soon learnt from him that his people knew little of the religion they were supposed to profess, and that though his will was good, his own ignorance was great. By the good offices of the theologians of Al Qayrawan, one of whom was from Fez, Yahya was provided with a missionary, Abdallah ibn Yasin, a zealous partisan of the Malikis, one of the four Madhhab, Sunni schools of Islam.

His preaching was before long rejected by the Lamtunas; so on the advice of Yahya, who accompanied him, he retired to Saharan regions from which his influence spread. His creed was mainly characterized by a rigid formalism and a strict adherence to the dictates of the Qur'an, and the Orthodox tradition.

Abd-Allah ibn Yasin imposed a penitential scourging on all converts as a purification, and enforced a regular system of discipline for every breach of the law, including the chiefs themselves. Under such directions, the Almoravids were brought into excellent order. Their first military leader, Yahya ibn Ibrahim, gave them a good military organization. Their main force was infantry, armed with javelins in the front ranks and pikes behind, which formed into a phalanx; it was supported by camelmen and horsemen on the flanks.

Conquests

Northern Africa

From the year 1053, the Almoravids began to spread their religious way to the Berber areas of the Sahara, and to the regions south of the desert. After winning over the Sanhaja Berber tribe, they quickly took control of the entire desert trade route, seizing Sijilmasa at the northern end in 1054, and Aoudaghost at the southern end in 1055. Yahya ibn Ibrahim was killed in a battle in 1056, but Abd-Allah ibn Yasin, whose influence as a religious teacher was paramount, named his brother Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar as chief. Under him, the Almoravids soon began to spread their power beyond the desert, and subjected the tribes of the Atlas Mountains. They then came in contact with the Berghouata, a branch of the Masmuda of central Morocco, who followed a "heresy" founded by Salih ibn Tarif, three centuries earlier. The Berghouata made a fierce resistance, and it was in battle with them that Abdullah ibn Yasin was killed. They were, however, completely conquered by Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar, who took the defeated chief's widow, Zainab, as a wife.

, Spain, 1116. British Museum.]] In 1061, Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar made a division of the power he had established, handing over the more-settled parts to his cousin Yusuf ibn Tashfin, as viceroy, resigning to him also his favourite wife Zainab. For himself, he reserved the task of suppressing the revolts which had broken out in the desert, but when he returned to resume control, he found his cousin too powerful to be superseded. He returned to the Sahara, where, in 1087, having been wounded with a poisoned arrow, he died.

Yusuf ibn Tashfin had in the meantime brought what is now known as Morocco, Western Sahara and Mauretania into complete subjection. In 1062 he founded the city of Marrakech. In 1080, he conquered the kingdom of Tlemcen (in modern-day Algeria) and founded the present city of that name, his rule extending as far east as Oran.

Ghana Empire

There has been a belief by some that the Almoravids conquered the Ghana Empire sometime around 1075 AD. According to Arab tradition, the ensuing war pushed Ghana over the edge, ending the kingdom's position as a commercial and military power by 1100, as it collapsed into tribal groups and chieftaincies, some of which later assimilated into the Almoravids while others founded the Mali Empire. However, the Almoravid religious influence was gradual and not heavily involved in military strife, as Almoravids increased in power by marrying among the nation's nobility. Scholars such as Dierk Lange attribute the decline of ancient Ghana to numerous unrelated factors, only one of which can be likely attributable to internal dynastic struggles that were instigated by Almalvorid influence and Islamic pressures, but devoid of any military conversion and conquest.

Southern Iberia

In 1086 Yusuf ibn Tashfin was invited by the taifa Muslim princes of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) to defend them against Alfonso VI, King of León and Castile. In that year, Yusuf ibn Tashfin crossed the straits to Algeciras, inflicted a severe defeat on the Christians at the Battle of az-Zallaqah (Battle of Sagrajas). He was prevented from following up his victory by trouble in Africa, which he had to settle in person.

When he returned to Iberia in 1090, it was avowedly for the purpose of deposing the Muslim princes, and annexing their states. He had in his favour the mass of the inhabitants, who had been worn out by the oppressive taxation imposed by their spend-thrift rulers. Their religious teachers, as well as others in the east, (most notably, al-Ghazali in Persia and al-Tartushi in Egypt, who was himself an Iberian by birth, from Tortosa), detested the native Muslim princes for their religious indifference, and gave Yusuf a fatwa -- or legal opinion—to the effect that he had good moral and religious right, to dethrone the rulers, whom he saw as heterodox and who did not scruple to seek help from the Christians, whose habits he claimed they had adopted. By 1094, he had removed them all, except for the one at Zaragoza; and though he regained little from the Christians except Valencia, he re-united the Muslim power, and gave a check to the reconquest of the country by the Christians.

After friendly correspondence with the caliph at Baghdad, whom he acknowledged as Amir al-Mu'minin ("Commander of the Faithful"), Yusuf ibn Tashfin in 1097 assumed the title of Amir al Muslimin ("Commander of the Muslims"). He died in 1106, when he was reputed to have reached the age of 100.

The Almoravid power was at its height at Yusuf's death, and the Moorish empire then included all North-West Africa as far as Algiers, and all of Iberia south of the Tagus, with the east coast as far as the mouth of the Ebro, and included the Balearic Islands.

Decline

Three years afterwards, under Yusuf's son and successor, Ali ibn Yusuf, Sintra and Santarém were added, and Iberia was again invaded in 1119 and 1121, but the tide had turned, the French having assisted the Aragonese to recover Zaragoza. In 1138, Ali ibn Yusuf was defeated by Alfonso VII of León, and in the Battle of Ourique (1139), by Afonso I of Portugal, who thereby won his crown. Lisbon was recovered by the Portuguese in 1147.

Ali ibn Yusuf was a pious non-entity, who fasted and prayed while his empire fell to pieces under the combined action of his Christian foes in Iberia and the agitation of Almohads (the Muwahhids) in Morocco. After Ali ibn Yusuf's death in 1143, his son Tashfin ibn Ali lost ground rapidly before the Almohads, and in 1146 he was killed by a fall from a precipice while attempting to escape after a defeat near Oran.

His two successors were Ibrahim ibn Tashfin and Is'haq ibn Ali, but their reigns were short. The conquest of the city of Marrakech by the Almohads in 1147 marked the fall of the dynasty, though fragments of the Almoravids (the Banu Ghaniya), continued to struggle in the Balearic Islands, and finally in Tunisia.

Interestingly, family names such as Morabito, Murabito and Mirabito are common in western Sicily, the Aeolian Islands and southern Calabria in Italy. These names may have appeared in this region as early as the eleventh century, when Robert Guiscard and the Normans conquered the Muslim emirate of Sicily. In addition to southern Italy, there are also sizable populations of Mourabit (also spelled Morabit, Murabit or Morabet) in modern-day Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Mauritania.

List of Almoravid rulers

Abdallah ibn Yasin (1040–1059)

Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar (1061–1087), joint reign

Yusuf ibn Tashfin (c. 1061–1106), joint reign

Ali ibn Yusuf (1106–43)

Tashfin ibn Ali (1143–46)

Ibrahim ibn Tashfin (1146)

Ishaq ibn Ali (1146–47)

.]]

Bibliography

General History of Africa, Africa from the Seventh to the Eleventh Century, Ed. M. Elfasi, Ch. 13 I.Hrbek and J.Devisse, The Almoravids (pp. 336–366), UNESCO, 1988

Notes

Category:History of North Africa Category:History of Morocco Category:History of Mauritania Category:Medieval Spain Category:Medieval Portugal Category:Al-Andalus Category:Morocco Category:Berber people Category:Muslim dynasties Category:Berber dynasties

Name	Syed Zaid Zaman Hamid
Birth date	March 14, 1964
Residence	Rawalpindi
Nationality	Pakistan
Other names	Syed Zaid Zaman Hamid
Known for	BrassTacks TV Series
Occupation	Security Consultant & Political commentator
Religion	Islam
Website	Official Site Profile Page

Syed Zaiduzzaman Hamid, better known as Zaid Hamid, is a Pakistani security consultant and political commentator. His byline in newspaper articles has been Zaid Zaman.

Early life and education

Zaid was born in Karachi, in 1964. His father, Col. (Retd) Zaman Hamid has served in the Pakistan Army. Zaid's early life was spent in Karachi. He received a Bachelor of Engineering (BE) degree in Computer Systems Engineering from NED University, Karachi in 1980's.

Political views

Through his TV programmes, Hamid has claimed that a nexus between India's RAW, the CIA and Israel's Mossad is responsible for the destabilization of Pakistan. He also claims that the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, were part of a plan hatched by "Hindu Zionists" and "Western Zionists", and that it was "an attempt by the Indians to stage an attack just like the Americans, who executed the September 11 attacks perfectly". have criticized Hamid and have described his views on politics and security as conspiracy theories. Hamid has been referred to by some critics as "Pakistan's answer to Glenn Beck".

References

External links

BrassTacks website

Brass Tacks Security Consultancy website

Category:9/11 conspiracy theorists Category:Conspiracy theorists Category:Living people Category:Pashtun people Category:Pakistani scholars Category:International relations scholars Category:1964 births Category:People from Karachi Category:NED University of Engineering and Technology alumni

Name	Joe Chambers
Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth name	Joe Chambers
Born	June 25, 1942
Origin	Stoneacre, Virginia, United States
Instrument	Drum kit, piano, vibraphone
Genre	Jazz
Occupation	Musician, composer
Associated acts	Wayne Shorter, Eric Dolphy, M'Boom

Joe Chambers (born June 25, 1942) is an American jazz drummer, pianist, vibraphonist and composer most notable for his work with Wayne Shorter on the album Adam's Apple. He attended the Philadelphia Conservatory for one year. In the 1960s and 70s Chambers gigged with many high-profile artists such as Eric Dolphy, Charles Mingus, Lou Donaldson, Chick Corea, Freddie Hubbard, Jimmy Giuffre and Bobby Hutcherson. Other artists Joe Chambers has worked with in his career include Andrew Hill, Archie Shepp, Miles Davis, David Murray, Joe Henderson, Franck Amsallem and Max Roach. He has been a member of several incarnations of Roach's M'Boom percussion ensemble.

He has also taught, including at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York, NY. At the school he leads the "Outlaw Band," In 2008, he was hired to be the Thomas S. Kenan Distinguished Professor of Jazz in the Department of Music at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Discography

As leader

1971: The Almoravid

1973: Almoravid, (Muse)

1976: New World, (Finite)

1977: Double Exposure (Muse)

1981: New York Concerto

1991: Phantom of the City

1998: Mirrors (Blue Note)

2006: The Outlaw

2010: Horace to Max

As sideman

With Donald Byrd

Mustang! Blue Note, 1964

Fancy Free Blue Note, 1969

With Chick Corea

Tones for Joan's Bones Atlantic Records, 1966

With Miles Davis

The Complete In A Silent Way Sessions, Blue Note Records, 1969

With Art Farmer

Something Tasty, Baystate, 1979

With Don Friedman

Metamorphosis, Prestige Records, 1966

With Joe Henderson

Mode for Joe Blue Note, 1966

Joe Henderson Big Band, Polygram Records, 1992

With Andrew Hill

Andrew!!!, Blue Note Records, 1964

One For One, Blue Note Records, 1965

Compulsion!!!, Blue Note Records, 1965

With Freddie Hubbard

Breaking Point, Blue Note Records, 1964

With Bobby Hutcherson

Dialogue, Blue Note Records, 1965

Components, Blue Note Records, 1965

Happenings (album), Blue Note Records, 1966

Spiral, Blue Note Records, 1965-1968

Oblique, Blue Note Records, 1967

Patterns, Blue Note Records, 1968

Total Eclipse, Blue Note Records, 1968

Medina, Blue Note Records, 1969

Now!, Blue Note Records, 1969

With Hubert Laws

Wildflower, Atlantic Records, 1972

With M'Boom

Collage, Soul Note, 1984

With Charles Mingus

Something Like A Bird, Atlantic Records, 1978

Me, Myself and Eye,'' Atlantic Records, 1978

With Sam Rivers

Contours, Blue Note Records, 1965

With Woody Shaw

Cassandranite, Muse, 1965

With Archie Shepp

Fire Music, Impulse!, 1965

On This Night, Impulse!, 1965

New Thing at Newport, Impulse!, 1965 (also features a set by John Coltrane)

For Losers Impulse!, 1969

Kwanza Impulse!, 1969

On Green Dolphin Street, Denon, 1977

With Wayne Shorter

Et Cetera Blue Note, 1965

The All Seeing Eye Blue Note, 1965

Adam's Apple Blue Note, 1966

Schizophrenia Blue Note, 1967

With The Super Jazz Trio

The Super Jazz Trio, Baystate Records, 1978

The Standard, Baystate Records, 1980

With Hidefumi Toki

City, Baystate Records, 1978

With Charles Tolliver

Paper Man (1969) - Black Lion Records

With McCoy Tyner

Tender Moments Blue Note, 1967

With Miroslav Vitous

Infinite Search, Embryo, 1969

With Tyrone Washington

Natural Essence Blue Note, 1967

With Joe Zawinul

Zawinul Atlantic, 1970

References

External links

Interview with Brian L. Knight

Category:1942 births Category:Living people Category:American jazz drummers Category:American jazz pianists

Category:Mainstream jazz drummers Category:Mainstream jazz pianists Category:Musicians from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:Post-bop drummers Category:Post-bop pianists Category:Muse Records artists Category:Candid Records artists Category:Blue Note Records artists