Western Asia
Area	6,255,160 km2 (2,415,131 sq mi) 1
Population	313,428,000 1
Density	50.1 /km2 (130 /sq mi)
Countries	19 to 21 (see text)  Armenia  Azerbaijan  Bahrain  Cyprus  Georgia  Iran  Iraq  Israel  Jordan  Kuwait  Lebanon  Oman  Palestine  Qatar  Saudi Arabia  Syria  Turkey  UAE  Yemen
Nominal GDP	$2.742 trillion (2010) 2
GDP per capita	$8748 (2010) 2
Time zones	UTC+2 to UTC+5
Demonym	West Asian
Languages	Arabic, Aramaic, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Georgian, Greek, Hebrew, Kurdish, Persian, Turkish
Largest cities	Istanbul* Tehran Baghdad Riyadh Ankara
Notes	1Area and population figures include the UN subregion, Iran, and Sinai. 2GDP figures include the UN subregion and Iran. *Partly located in Europe.

Western Asia, West Asia, Southwest Asia or Southwestern Asia are terms that describe the westernmost portion of Asia. The terms are partly coterminous with the Middle East, which describes a geographical position in relation to Western Europe rather than its location within Asia. Due to this perceived Eurocentrism, international organizations such as the United Nations,^[1] have replaced Middle East and Near East with Western Asia. This region and Europe are collectively referred to as Western Eurasia.

History[link]

The world's earliest civilizations developed in Western Asia. For most of the last three millennia, the region has been united under one or two powerful states; each one succeeding the last, and at times, eastern and western based polities. The main states in this regard were the Assyrian Empire, the Babylonian Empire, the Achaemenid Empire, the Seleucid Empire, the Parthian Empire, the Roman Empire, the Sassanid Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Umayyad Caliphate, the Abbasid Caliphate, the Safavid Empire, and the Ottoman Empire.

Western Asia is the birthplace of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and other monotheistic religions.

Geography[link]

Western Asia is located directly south of Eastern Europe. The region is surrounded by seven major seas; the Aegean Sea, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea.

To the north, the region is delimited from Europe by the Caucasus Mountains, to the southwest, it is delimited from Africa by the Isthmus of Suez, while to the east, the region adjoins Central Asia and South Asia. The Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut deserts in eastern Iran somewhat naturally delimit the region from Asia itself.

Climate[link]

Western Asia is primarily arid and semi-arid, and can be subject to drought, but it also contains vast expanses of forest and fertile valleys. The region consists of grasslands, rangelands, deserts, and mountains. Water shortages are a problem in many parts of West Asia, with rapidly growing populations increasing demands for water, while salinization and pollution threaten water supplies.^[2] Major rivers, including the Tigris and Euphrates, provide sources for irrigation water to support agriculture.

There are two wind phenomena in Western Asia: the sharqi and the shamal. The sharqi (or sharki) is a wind that comes from the south and southeast. It is seasonal, lasting from April to early June, and comes again between late September and November. The winds are dry and dusty, with occasional gusts up to 80 kilometers per hour (50 miles per hour) and often kick up violent sand and dust storms that can carry sand a few thousand meters high, and can close down airports for short periods of time. These winds can last for a full day at the beginning and end of the season, and for several days during the middle of the season. The shamal is a summer northwesterly wind blowing over Iraq and the Persian Gulf states (including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait), often strong during the day, but decreasing at night. This weather effect occurs anywhere from once to several times a year.^[3]

Topography[link]

Western Asia contains large areas of mountainous terrain. The Anatolian Plateau is sandwiched between the Pontus Mountains and Taurus Mountains in Turkey. Mount Ararat in Turkey rises to 5,137 meters. The Zagros Mountains are located in Iran, in areas along its border with Iraq. The Central Plateau of Iran is divided into two drainage basins. The northern basin is Dasht-e Kavir (Great Salt Desert), and Dasht-e-Lut is the southern basin.

In Yemen, elevations exceed 3,700 meters in many areas, and highland areas extend north along the Red Sea coast and north into Lebanon. A fault-zone also exists along the Red Sea, with continental rifting creating trough-like topography with areas located well-below sea level.^[4] The Dead Sea, located on the border between the West Bank, Israel, and Jordan, is situated at 418 m (1371 ft) below sea level, making it the lowest point on the surface of the Earth.^[5]

Rub' al Khali, one of the world's largest sand deserts, spans the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula in Saudi Arabia, parts of Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Jebel al Akhdar is a small range of mountains located in northeastern Oman, bordering the Gulf of Oman.

Geology[link]

Plate tectonics[link]

Three major tectonic plates converge on Western Asia, including the African, Eurasian, and Arabian plates. The boundaries between the tectonic plates make up the Azores-Gibraltar Ridge, extending across North Africa, the Red Sea, and into Iran.^[6] The Arabian Plate is moving northward into the Anatolian plate (Turkey) at the East Anatolian Fault,^[7] and the boundary between the Aegean and Anatolian plate in eastern Turkey is also seismically active.^[6]

Water resources[link]

Several major aquifers provide water to large portions of Western Asia. In Saudi Arabia, two large aquifers of Palaeozoic and Triassic origins are located beneath the Jabal Tuwayq mountains and areas west to the Red Sea.^[8] Cretaceous and Eocene-origin aquifers are located beneath large portions of central and eastern Saudi Arabia, including Wasia and Biyadh which contain amounts of both fresh water and saline water.^[8] Flood or furrow irrigation, as well as sprinkler methods, are extensively used for irrigation, covering nearly 90,000 km² across Western Asia for agriculture.^[9]

Demographics[link]

The population of Western Asia is over 300 million. The most populous countries in the region are Iran and Turkey, each with around 75 million people, followed by Iraq with around 32 million people. The major languages are Arabic, which is an official language in 14 regional countries, followed by Turkish, and Persian. Islam is the major faith in Western Asia.

Economy[link]

The economy of Western Asia is diverse and the region experiences high economic growth. Turkey has the largest economy in the region, followed by Saudi Arabia and Iran. Petroleum is the major industry in the regional economy, as more than half of the world's oil reserves and around 40 percent of the world's natural gas reserves are located in the region.

Current definitions[link]

United Nations Statistics Division[link]

Regions of Asia described by the UN:

  North Asia

  Central Asia

  Western Asia

  South Asia

  East Asia

  Southeast Asia

  Eastern Europe

The countries and territories in the UN Subregion of Western Asia,^[10] listed below:

•  Armenia
•  Azerbaijan
•  Bahrain
•  Cyprus
•  Georgia
•  Iraq
•  Israel
•  Jordan
•  Kuwait
•  Lebanon
•  Oman
• Occupied Palestinian Territory
•  Qatar
•  Saudi Arabia
•  Syria
•  Turkey
•  United Arab Emirates
•  Yemen

Though not included in the UN subregion of Western Asia, Iran is commonly included within Western Asia.^[11][12] Afghanistan is also sometimes included in a broader definition of "Western Asia", although Afghanistan can be considered Central Asian,^[13][14] South Asian,^[15][16] or West Asian.^[12] The Sinai Peninsula of Egypt geographically belongs to West Asia.

Government of Canada[link]

The Canadian government uses "West Asian" in its statistics.^[12]

General data[link]

Country, with flag	Area (km²)	Population (2010)	Density (per km²)	Capital	Nominal GDP[17] (2010)	Per capita[18] (2010)	Currency	Government	Official languages
Anatolia:
Turkey1	783,562	73,722,988	94.1	Ankara	$741.85 billion	$10,399	Turkish lira	Parliamentary republic	Turkish
Arabian Peninsula:
Bahrain	665	1,234,596	1,646.1	Manama	$22.66 billion	$20,475	Bahraini dinar	Constitutional monarchy	Arabic
Kuwait	17,820	3,566,437	167.5	Kuwait City	$131.32 billion	$36,412	Kuwaiti dinar	Constitutional monarchy	Arabic
Oman	212,460	2,694,094	9.2	Muscat	$55.62 billion	$18,657	Omani rial	Absolute monarchy	Arabic
Qatar	11,437	1,696,563	123.2	Doha	$129.49 billion	$76,168	Qatari riyal	Absolute monarchy	Arabic
Saudi Arabia	1,960,582	27,136,977	12	Riyadh	$443.69 billion	$16,996	Saudi riyal	Absolute monarchy	Arabic
United Arab Emirates	82,880	8,264,070	97	Abu Dhabi	$301.88 billion	$59,717	UAE dirham	Federal Constitutional monarchy	Arabic
Yemen	527,970	23,580,000	44.7	Sana'a	$31.27 billion	$1,282	Yemeni rial	Presidential republic	Arabic
South Caucasus:
Armenia	29,800	3,264,500	108.4	Yerevan	$9.39 billion	$2,846	Armenian dram	Presidential republic	Armenian
Azerbaijan	86,600	9,165,000	105.8	Baku	$54.37 billion	$6,008	Azerbaijani manat	Presidential republic	Azerbaijani
Georgia	69,700	4,636,400	68.1	Tbilisi	$11.67 billion	$2,658	Georgian lari	Semi-presidential republic	Georgian
Fertile Crescent:
Iraq	438,317	31,672,000	73.5	Baghdad	$82.15 billion	$2,564	Iraqi dinar	Parliamentary republic	Arabic, Kurdish
Israel	20,770	7,653,600	365.3	Jerusalem3	$213.15 billion	$28,686	Israeli new shekel	Parliamentary republic	Arabic, Hebrew
Jordan	92,300	6,318,677	68.4	Amman	$27.53 billion	$4,500	Jordanian dinar	Constitutional monarchy	Arabic
Lebanon	10,452	4,228,000	404	Beirut	$39.25 billion	$10,044	Lebanese pound	Parliamentary republic	Arabic
Palestine	6,220	4,260,636	667	Jerusalem3	$6.6 billion	$1,600	dinar, shekel	Presidential republic	Arabic
Syria	185,180	23,695,000	118.3	Damascus	$59.33 billion	$2,877	Syrian pound	Presidential republic	Arabic
Iranian Plateau:
Iran	1,648,195	78,868,711	45	Tehran	$357.22 billion	$4,741	Iranian rial	Islamic republic	Persian
Mediterranean Sea:
Cyprus	9,250	1,088,503	117	Nicosia	$23.17 billion	$28,237	Euro	Presidential republic	Greek, Turkish
Sinai Peninsula:
Egypt 2	61,000	850,000	82	Cairo	$218.47 billion	$2,789	Egyptian pound	Military junta	Arabic
Notes: 1 The figures for Turkey includes East Thrace, which is not a part of Anatolia. 2 The area and population figures for Egypt only include the Sinai Peninsula. 3 The status of Jerusalem is disputed.

Map of Western Asia[link]

Arm.

Azerbaijan

Bah.

Cyprus

Egypt

Georgia

Iran

Iraq

Isr.

Jordan

Kuwait

Leb.

(Az.)

Oman

Pal.

Pal.

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Syria

Turkey

UAE

Yemen

Aegean Sea

Arabian Sea

Aral Sea

Black Sea

Caspian Sea

Gulf of Aden

Gulf of Oman

Mediterranean Sea

Persian Gulf

Red Sea

Sea of Azov

AFRICA

ASIA

EUROPE

See also[link]

	Geography portal
	Asia portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Western Asia

• Cinema of West Asia
• West Asian Football Federation
• West Asian Games

References[link]

Find more about Western Asia on Wikipedia's sister projects:
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	Images and media from Commons
	Learning resources from Wikiversity
	News stories from Wikinews
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Textbooks from Wikibooks

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This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (March 2011)

Benjamin Fulford (古歩道ベンジャミン 1961–) is a Canadian journalist living in Japan.

He is the great-grandson of George Taylor Fulford.^[1]

In the early 1980s he went to Japan to study at Sophia University. After receiving a B.A. from the University of British Columbia, he returned to Japan in the mid-1980s to pursue a career in journalism.

On July 14, 2009 the Tokyo District Court awarded American broadcast journalist Steven L. Herman more than Yen 1,700,000 (17K euro) in the civil libel case brought against Fulford and his publisher (Herman vs. Fulford, Fusosha & M. Katagiri).^[2]

After the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Fulford claimed on Japanese television that "[t]he American government in cooperation with [the] Federal Reserve, the Rockefellers, and other powerful groups, they are planning the eruption of Mt. Fuji Volcano. The earthquake and the tsunami was March 11th, 2011, 03.11.11. The Mt. Fuji Eruption they are planning is for April 11th, 2011." Fulford attributed the earthquake, tsunami and his predicted eruption of Mt. Fuji to HAARP, a scientific facility used by physicists to research the upper atmosphere. There has been no such eruption of Mt. Fuji since 1708.^[3][4][5]

Publications[link]

• 9.11テロ捏造 -日本と世界を騙し続ける独裁国家アメリカ (9.11 fake terrorism -Dictatorial America cheating Japan and the world) ISBN 4-19-862195-0
• 暴かれた9.11疑惑の真相 (Exposed truth of 9.11 suspicion) ISBN 978-4-594-05228-7
• ヤクザ・リセッション: さらに失われる10年 (Yakuza recession: Another lost decade) ISBN 4-334-93323-8
• 泥棒国家の完成 (Completion of Kleptocracy) ISBN 4-334-93332-7
• 日本マスコミ「臆病」の構造 (Japan's chicken journalism) ISBN 4-7966-4375-3
• 石井紘基議員刺殺事件について (About the assassination of Koki Ishii)
• ドル消滅の仕組み (The mechanism of dollar collapse)

etc.

References[link]

External links[link]

• benjaminfulford.net
• benjaminfulford.com (Japanese)
• benjaminfulford.com (English)
• Benjamin Fulford's Blog (Japanese/English)

This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (May 2009)

Syed Zaiduzzaman Hamid, better known as Zaid Hamid, is a Pakistani security consultant and political commentator.^[1][2] His byline in newspaper articles has been Zaid Zaman.^[2]

Early life and education[link]

Zaid was born in Karachi, in 1964. His father, Col. Zaman Hamid (Retd), served in the Pakistan Army. Zaid spent his early life in Karachi. He received a Bachelor of Engineering (BE) degree in Computer Systems Engineering from NED University, Karachi in 1980's.^[3]

Political views[link]

Through his TV programmes, Hamid has claimed that a nexus between India's RAW, the CIA and 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 that it was an attempt by the Indians to stage an attack just like the Americans executed the September 11 attacks.^[1][2][4][3]

Criticism[link]

A number of noted Pakistani journalists, writers and Islamic scholars^[5] have criticized Hamid and have described his views on politics and security as conspiracy theories.^[6][7][8][9]

References[link]

External links[link]

• BrassTacks website
• Syed Zaid Zaman Hamid

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2011)

Battle of Manzikert

Alp Arslan (Persian: آلپ ارسلان‎ ālp arslān; Arabic: الب ارسلان‎ alb arslān or آلب آرسلان ālb ārslān; 1029 – 15 December 1072) was the third sultan of the Seljuq dynasty and great-grandson of Seljuk, the eponymous founder of the dynasty. His real name was Muhammad bin Da'ud Chaghri, and for his military prowess, personal valour, and fighting skills he obtained the surname آلپ ارسلان Alp Arslan, which means "Heroic Lion"^[1] in Turkic.

Career[link]

Alp Arslan led Seljuq Turks to victory against the Byzantines in 1071.

He succeeded his father Çağrı Bey as governor of Khorasan in 1059. When his uncle Tughril died he was succeeded by Suleiman, Alp Arslan's brother. Alp Arslan and his uncle Kutalmish both contested this succession. Alp Arslan defeated Kutalmish for the throne and succeeded on 27 April 1064 as sultan of Great Seljuq, and thus became sole monarch of Persia from the river Oxus to the Tigris.

In consolidating his empire and subduing contending factions he was ably assisted by Nizam ul-Mulk, his vizier, and one of the most eminent statesmen in early Muslim history. With peace and security established in his dominions, he convoked an assembly of the states and declared his son Malik Shah I his heir and successor. With the hope of capturing Caesarea Mazaca, the capital of Cappadocia, he placed himself at the head of the Turkish cavalry, crossed the Euphrates and entered and invaded the city. He then marched into Armenia and Georgia, which he conquered in 1064.

Byzantine struggle[link]

In 1068, en route to Syria, Alp Arslan Oush invaded the Byzantine Empire. The Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes, assuming the command in person, met the invaders in Cilicia. In three arduous campaigns, the first two of which were conducted by the emperor himself while the third was directed by Manuel Comnenos (great-uncle of Emperor Manuel Comnenos), the Turks were defeated in detail in 1070 and driven across the Euphrates. In 1071 Romanos again took the field and advanced with possibly 30,000 men, including a contingent of the Cuman Turks as well as contingents of Franks and Normans, under Ursel de Baieul, into Armenia.

At Manzikert, on the Murat River, north of Lake Van, Diogenes was met by Alp Arslan. The sultan proposed terms of peace, which were rejected by the emperor, and the two forces met in the Battle of Manzikert. The Cuman mercenaries among the Byzantine forces immediately defected to the Turkish side; and, seeing this, "the Western mercenaries rode off and took no part in the battle."^[2] The Byzantines were totally routed.

Emperor Romanos IV was himself taken prisoner and conducted into the presence of Alp Arslan, who treated him with generosity, and, terms of peace having been agreed to, dismissed him, loaded with presents and respectfully attended by a military guard. The following conversation is said to have taken place after Romanos was brought as a prisoner before the Sultan^[3]:

Alp Arslan: "What would you do if I was brought before you as a prisoner?"

Romanos: "Perhaps I'd kill you, or exhibit you in the streets of Constantinople."

Alp Arslan: "My punishment is far heavier. I forgive you, and set you free."

Alp Arslan's victories changed the balance in near Asia completely in favour of the Seljuq Turks and Sunni Muslims. While the Byzantine Empire was to continue for nearly another four centuries, and the Crusades would contest the issue for some time, the victory at Manzikert signalled the beginning of Turkish ascendancy in Anatolia. Most historians, including Edward Gibbon, date the defeat at Manzikert as the beginning of the end of the Eastern Roman Empire. Certainly the entry of Turkic farmers following their horsemen ended the themes in Anatolia which had furnished the Empire with men and treasure.

State organization[link]

Alp Arslan humiliating Emperor Romanos IV after the Battle of Manzikert. From a 15th-century illustrated French translation of Boccacio's De Casibus Virorum Illustrium.

Alp Arslan's strength lay in the military realm. Domestic affairs were handled by his able vizier, Nizam al-Mulk, the founder of the administrative organization which characterized and strengthened the sultanate during the reigns of Alp Arslan and his son, Malik Shah. Military fiefs, governed by Seljuq princes, were established to provide support for the soldiery and to accommodate the nomadic Turks to the established Anatolian agricultural scene. This type of military fiefdom enabled the nomadic Turks to draw on the resources of the sedentary Persians, Turks and other established cultures within the Seljuq realm, and allowed Alp Arslan to field a huge standing army, without depending on tribute from conquest to pay his soldiery. He not only had enough food from his subjects to maintain his military, but the taxes collected from traders and merchants added to his coffers sufficiently to fund his continuous wars.

According to the poet Saadi Shirazi: Arslan possessed a fort, which raised at the height of Alwand, from all were those within its walls, for its roads were a labyrinth, like the curls of a bride. From a learned traveler Arslan once inquired: "Didst thou ever, in thy wanderings, see a fort as strong as this?". "Splendid it is," was the travelers reply, "but methinks not it confers much strength. Before thee, did not other kings possess it for a while, then pass away? After thee, will not other kings assume control, and eat the fruits of the tree of thy hope?"

In the estimation of the wise, the world is a false gem that passes each moment from one hand to another. (the fort was sacked by the Mongols led by Hulagu).

Suleiman ibn Kutalmish was the son of the contender for Arslan's throne; he was appointed governor of the north-western provinces and assigned to completing invasion of Anatolia. An explanation for this choice can only be conjectured from Ibn al-Athir’s account of the battle between Alp-Arslan and Kutalmish, in which he writes that Alp-Arslan wept for the latter's death and greatly mourned the loss of his kinsman.

Death[link]

The dominion of Alp Arslan after Manzikert extended over much of western Asia. He soon prepared to march to the conquest of Turkestan, the original seat of his ancestors. With a powerful army he advanced to the banks of the Oxus. Before he could pass the river with safety, however, it was necessary to subdue certain fortresses, one of which was for several days vigorously defended by the governor, Yussuf el-Harezmi, a Khwarezmian. He was, however, obliged to surrender and was carried a prisoner before the sultan, who condemned him to death. Yussuf, in desperation, drew his dagger and rushed upon the sultan. Alp Arslan, who took great pride in his reputation as the foremost archer of his time, motioned to his guards not to interfere and drew his bow, but his foot slipped, the arrow glanced aside and he received the assassin's dagger in his breast. Alp Arslan died four days later from this wound on 25 November 1072 in his 42nd year, and was taken to Merv to be buried next to his father Chaghri Beg. Upon his tomb lies the following inscription:

“O those who saw the sky-high grandeur of Alp Arslan, behold! He is under the black soil now...”

As he lay dying, Alp Arslan whispered to his son that his vanity had killed him. "Alas," he is recorded to have said, "surrounded by great warriors devoted to my cause, guarded night and day by them, I should have allowed them to do their job. I had been warned against trying to protect myself, and against letting my courage get in the way of my good sense. I forgot those warnings, and here I lie, dying in agony. Remember well the lessons learned, and do not allow your vanity to overreach your good sense..."

Legacy[link]

Alp Arslan's conquest of Anatolia from the Byzantines is also seen as one of the pivotal precursors to the launch of the crusades.

From 2002 to July 2008 under Turkmen calendar reform, the month of August was named after Alp Arslan.

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Alp Arslan

References[link]

Yusef ibn Tashfin also, Tashafin, or Teshufin; or Yusuf; (Full name: Yûsuf bnu Tâšfîn Nâçereddîn bnu Tâlâkâkîn as-Sanhâjî, Arabic: يوسف بن تاشفين ناصر الدين بن تالاكاكين الصنهاجي ‎; reigned c. 1061 - 1106) was a king of the Almoravid empire, he founded the city of Marrakech and led the Muslim forces in the Battle of Zallaqa.

Succession to power[link]

Yusuf ibn Tashfin emerged from a line of Berber military leaders. Abu Bakr ibn Umar, a natural leader of Lamtuna extraction, a branch of the Branès, one of the original disciples of ibn Yasin who served as a spiritual liaison for followers of the Maliki school of thought, was appointed general after the death of his brother Yahya ibn Ibrahim. His brother oversaw the military for ibn Yasin but was killed in a Saharan revolt in 1056. Ibn Yasin, too, would die in battle against the Barghawata three years later. Abu-Bakr was an able general, taking the fertile Sūs and its capital Aghmāt a year after his brother's death. And would go on to suppress numerous revolts in the Sahara himself, on one such occasion entrusting his pious cousin Yusuf with the stewardship of Sūs and thus the whole of his northern provinces. He appears to have handed him this authority in the interim but even went as far as to give Yusuf his wife, Zaynab an-Nafzawiyyat, purportedly the richest woman of Aghmāt.^[1] This sort of trust and favor on part of a seasoned veteran and savvy politician reflected the general esteem in which Yusuf was held, not to mention the power he attained as a military figure in his absence. Daunted by Yusuf's newfound power, Abu Bakr saw any attempts at recapturing his post politically unfeasible and returned to the fringes of the Sahara to settle the unrest of the southern frontier.

Taifa appeal[link]

In the year 1091 the last sovereign king of al-Andalusia, al-Mu'tamid, saw his Abbadid-inherited taifa of Seville, controlled since 1069, in jeopardy of being taken by the increasingly stronger king of Castile-León, Alfonso VI. The Taifa period followed the demise of the Umayyad Caliphate. Previously, the emir launched a series of aggressive attacks on neighboring kingdoms, as to garner more territory for himself, but his military aspirations and capabilities paled in comparison to the Castilian king, who in the name of Christendom, in 1085, capturing a culturally refined Toledo and inducing parias, or tribute, from proud Muslim princes in places like Granada; al-Mu'tamid of Seville being no exception. The tribute of the emirs bolstered the economy of the Christian kingdom. These are the circumstances that led to the Almoravid conquest and the famous quote, rebuffing his son, Rashid, who advised him not to call on Yusef ibn Tashfin, where al-Mu'tamid said

I have no desire to be branded by my descendants as the man who delivered al-Andalus as prey to the infidels. I am loath to have my name cursed in every Muslim pulpit. And, for my part, I would rather be a camel-driver in Africa than a swineherd in Castile.^[2]

Military exploits[link]

Yusef was an effective general and administrator, evidenced by his ability to organize and maintain the loyalty of the hardened desert warriors and the territory of Abu Bakr, as well as his ability to expand the empire, cross the Atlas Mountains onto the plains of Morocco, reaching the Mediterranean and capturing Fez in 1075, Tangier in 1079, Tlemcen in 1080, Ceuta in 1083, as well as Algiers, Ténès and Oran in 1082-83. He is regarded as the co-founder of the famous Moroccan city Marrakech (in Berber Murakush, corrupted to Morocco in English). The site had been chosen and work started by Abu Bakr in 1070. The work was completed by Yusef, who then made it the capital of his empire, in place of the former capital Aghmāt. By the time Abu Bakr died in 1087, after a skirmish in the Sahara as result of a poison arrow, Yusef had crossed over into al-Andalus and also achieved victory at the Battle of az-Zallaqah, also known as the Battle of Sagrajas in the west. He came to al-Andalus with a force of 15,000 men, armed with javelins, daggers, most of his soldiers carried two swords, shields, cuirass of the finest leather and animal hide, as well as drummers for psychological combat. Yusef's cavalry was said to have included 6,000 shock troops from Senegal mounted on white Arabian horses. Camels were also put to use. On October 23, 1086, the Almoravid forces, accompanied by 10,000 Andalusian fighters from local Muslim provinces, decisively checked the Reconquista, defeating the largest Christian army ever assembled up to that point, significantly outnumbered. The death of Yusef's heir, however, prompted his speedy return to Africa.

When Yusef returned to al-Andalus in 1090, he saw the lax behavior of the taifa kings, both spiritually and militarily, as a breach of Islamic law and principles, and left Africa with the express purpose of usurping the power of all the Muslim principalities, under the auspices of the Abbasid caliph of Baghdad, who he had shared correspondence with and under the shibboleth "The spreading of righteousness, the correction of injustice and the abolition of unlawful taxes."^[3] The emirs in such cities as Seville, Badajoz, Almeria and Granada had grown accustomed to the extravagant ways of the east. On top of doling out tribute to the Christians and giving Andalusian Jews unprecedented freedoms and authority, they had levied burdensome taxes on the populace to maintain this lifestyle. After a series of fatwas and careful deliberation, Yusef saw the implementation of orthodoxy as long overdue. That year he exiled the emirs 'Abdallah and his brother Tamim from Granada and Málaga, respectively, to Aghmāt, and a year later al-Mutamid of Seville would suffer the same fate. When all was said and done, Yusef united all of the Muslim dominions of the Iberian Peninsula, with the exception of Zaragoza, to the Kingdom of Morocco, and situated his royal court at Marrakech. He took the title of amir al-muslimin (Prince of the Muslims), seeing himself as humbly serving the caliph of Baghdad, but for all intents and purposes he was considered the caliph of the western Islamic empire. The military might of the Almoravids was at its peak.

The Sanhaja confederation, which consisted of a hierarchy of Lamtuna, Musaffa and Djudalla Berbers, represented the military's top brass. Amongst them were Andalusian Christians and heretic Africans, taking up duties as diwan al-gund, Yusef's own personal bodyguard; including 2,000 black horsemen, whose tasks also included registering soldiers and making sure they were compensated financially. The occupying forces of the Almoravids were made up largely horsemen, totaling no less than 20,000. Into the major cities of al-Andalus, Seville (7,000), Granada (1,000), Cordoba (1,000), 5,000 bordering Castile and 4,000 in western Andalusia, succeeding waves of horsemen in conjunction with the garrisons that had been left there after the Battle of Sagrajas, made responding, for the Taifa emirs, difficult. Soldiers on foot used bows & arrows, sabres, pikes, javelins, each protected by a cuirass of Moroccan leather and iron piked shields. During the siege of the fort-town Aledo, in Murcia, previously captured by the Spaniard Garcia Giménez, Almoravid and Andalusian hosts are said to have used catapults, in addition to their customary drum beat. Yusef also established naval bases in Cadiz, Almeria and neighboring ports along the Mediterranean. Ibn-Maymun, the governor of Almeria, had a fleet at his disposal. Another such example is the Banu-Ganiya fleet based off the Balearic Islands that dominated the affairs of the western Mediterranean for much of the 12th century.^[4]

Siege of Valencia[link]

Although the Almoravids had not gained much in the way of territory from the Christians, rather they merely offset the Reconquista, Yusef did succeed in capturing Valencia. A city divided between Muslims and Christians, under the waffling rule of a petty emir paying tribute to the Christians, including the famous El Cid, Valencia proved to be an obstacle for the Almoravid military, despite their untouchable reputation. Abu Bakr ibn Ibrahim ibn Tashfin and Yusef's nephew Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad both failed in defeating the El Cid. Yusef then sent Abu'l-Hasan 'Ali al-Hajj but he was not successful either. In 1097, upon his fourth trip to al-Andalus, Yusef sought to personally dig down and fight the armies of Alfonso VI, making way toward the all but abandoned, yet historically important, Toledo. Such a concerted effort was meant to draw the Christian forces, including those laying siege to Valencia, into the center of Iberia. On August 15, 1097, the Almoravids delivered yet another blow to Alfonso's forces, a battle in which the El Cid's son was killed.

Muhammad ibn 'A'isha, Yusef's son, who he had appointed governor of Murcia, succeeded in delivering an effective pounding to the Cid's personnel at Alcira, still not capturing the city, but satisfied with the results of his campaigns, Yusef left for his court at Marrakesh only to return two years later on a new effort to take the provinces of eastern Andalusia. El Cid had died in the same year, 1099, and his wife, Jimena, had been ruling until the coming of another Almoravid campaign at the tail end of 1100, led by Yusef's trusted lieutenant Mazdali ibn Banlunka. After a seven month siege, Alfonso and Jimena, hopeless to the prospects of staving off the Almoravids, set fire to the great mosque in anger and abandoned the city. Yusef had finally conquered Valencia and exerted complete dominance over the east of al-Andalus, now unquestionably the most powerful ruler in western Europe.^[5] He receives mention in the Spanish epic Poema del Cid, also known as El Cantar del Mio Cid, the oldest of its kind.

Description and character[link]

"A wise and shrewd man, neither too prompt in his determinations, nor too slow in carrying them into effect", Yusef was very much adapted to the rugged terrain of the Sahara and had no interests in the pomp of the Andalusian courts.^[6] According to Abd Allah's "Roudh el-Kartas" (History of the Rulers of Morocco) and A.Beaumier's French translation of the 14th century work, Yusef was of "Brown color, middle height, thin, little beard, soft voice, black eyes, straight nose, lock of Muhammad falling on the top of his ear, eyebrow joined, wooly hair"[1] He went on to live to 100 years old and, unlike his predecessors, not die in battle.

Legacy[link]

His son and successor, Ali ibn Yusuf, was viewed just as devout a Muslim as his father.Córdoba, in about 1119, served as the launch pad for Andalusian insurrection. Christians on the northern frontier gained momentum shortly after his father's death, and the Almohads, beginning about 1120, were to engulf the southern frontier. This ultimately led to the disintegration of Yusef's hard-fought territories by the time of Ibrahim ibn Tashfin (1146) and Ishaq ibn Ali (1146–1147), the last of the Almoravid dynasty.

While Yusef was the most honorable of Muslim rulers, he spoke Arabic poorly. Ali ibn Yusef in 1135 exercised good stewardship by attending to the University of Al-Karaouine and ordering the extension of the mosque from 18 to 21 aisles, expanding the structure to more than 3,000 square meters. Some accounts suggest that Ali ibn Yusef hired two Andalusian architects to carry out this work who also built the central aisle of the Great Mosque of Tlemcen, Algeria, in 1136.

According to Richard Fletcher's Moorish Spain:

The Almoravids had never been liked in al-Andalus outside the limited circles of the rigorist critics of the taifa rulers. They had come as deliverers but they behaved like conquerors. The leadership may have been sincerely devout but the rank and file were not. Almoravid rule has been described by a modern authority as "an extended looting expedition" ... To the end of the Almoravid regime there was not a single traceable Berber among its civil servants: instead, Andalusi clerks were shipped over to Morocco. The Almoravids indulged in all the luxuries and delights of al-Andalus but failed to do the job they had been called into do: the lost territories in the Tagus and Ebro valleys remained in Christian hands.

In popular culture[link]

• Ben Yussuf is the name of Yusef ibn Tashfin in El Cid.
• Yusef appears in Age of Empires II: The Conquerors as one of the primary antagonists in the "El Cid" campaign. However, he is described as "never showing his face", always covering it with a cloth.
• Yusef ibn Tashfin appears as Hero in the Drama Serial "Pukaar" presented by Pakistan Television Center in 1995, Pakistan. In this series the main characters were Yousaf bin Tashfin,(played by Asal Din Khan), Zainab (Yousaf's wife), Ali (Yousaf's son), Alfonso VI (played by Ayub Khosa), Mutamid bin abi abbad (played by Hissam Qazi(Late)), and princesses of Leon (played by Laila Wasti).

References[link]

Sources[link]

• Richard Fletcher, Moorish Spain, (University of California Press, 1992)
• Ibn Idhari, Al-bayan al-mughrib Part III, annotated Spanish translation by A. Huici Miranda, Valencia, 1963.
• N. Levtzion & J.F.P. Hopkins, Corpus of early Arabic sources for West African history, Cambridge University Press, 1981, ISBN 0-521-22422-5 (reprint: Markus Wiener, Princeton, 2000, ISBN 1-55876-241-8). Contains English translations of extracts from medieval works dealing with the Almoravids; the selections cover some (but not all) of the information above.
• E. A. Freeman, History and Conquests of the Saracens, (Oxford, 1856)
• Codera, Decadencia y desaparicion de los Almoravides en España (1889)
• H. R. Idris, Regierung und Verwaltung des vorderen Orients in islamischer Zeit, (Brill Academic Publishers, 1997)