Editing History of Morocco (section)

===Conquests===
Abd al-Mu'min then came forward as the lieutenant of the Mahdi Ibn Tumart. Between 1130 and his death in 1163, Abd al-Mu'min not only rooted out the Murabits ([[Almoravids]]), but extended his power over all northern Africa as far as [[Egypt]], becoming amir of [[Marrakesh]] in 1149.

[[Al-Andalus]] followed the fate of Africa. Between 1146 and 1173, the Almohads gradually wrested control from the Murabits over the Moorish principalities in Iberia. The Almohads transferred the capital of Muslim Iberia from [[Córdoba, Andalusia|Córdoba]] to [[Seville]]. They founded a great mosque there; its tower, the [[Giralda]], was erected in 1184 to mark the accession of Ya'qub I. The Almohads also built a palace there called Al-Muwarak on the site of the modern day [[Alcázar of Seville]].

[[File:Sevilla Almohade.JPG|thumb|The Almohads transferred the capital of Al-Andalus to [[Seville]].]]

The Almohad princes had a longer and more distinguished career than the Murabits. The successors of Abd al-Mumin, [[Abu Yaqub Yusuf]] (Yusuf I, ruled 1163–1184) and [[Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur]] (Yaʻqūb I, ruled 1184–1199), were both able men. Initially their government drove many Jewish and Christian subjects to take refuge in the growing Christian states of Portugal, Castile, and [[Aragon]]. Ultimately they became less fanatical than the Murabits, and Ya'qub al-Mansur was a highly accomplished man who wrote a good [[Arabic language|Arabic]] style and protected the philosopher [[Averroes]]. His title of "''al-Manṣūr''" ("the Victorious") was earned by his victory over [[Alfonso VIII of Castile]] in the [[Battle of Alarcos]] (1195).

From the time of [[Yusuf II]], however, the Almohads governed their co-religionists in Iberia and central North Africa through lieutenants, their dominions outside [[Morocco]] being treated as provinces. When Almohad emirs crossed the Straits it was to lead a [[jihad]] against the Christians and then return to Morocco.<ref>{{cite book|last=Barton|first=Simon|title=A History of Spain|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2009|isbn=978-0-230-20012-8|location=London|pages=63–66}}</ref>