Editing Almoravid dynasty (section)

=== Architecture ===
{{Main|Almoravid architecture}}
The Almoravid period, along with the subsequent Almohad period, is considered one of the most formative stages of [[Moroccan architecture|Moroccan]] and [[Moorish architecture]], establishing many of the forms and motifs of this style that were refined in subsequent centuries.<ref name=":023">{{Cite book|last=Marçais|first=Georges|title=L'architecture musulmane d'Occident|publisher=Arts et métiers graphiques|year=1954|location=Paris}}</ref>{{Sfn|Salmon|2018}}{{Sfn|Bennison|2016|p=276}}<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Basset|first1=Henri|title=Sanctuaires et forteresses almohades|last2=Terrasse|first2=Henri|publisher=Larose|year=1932|location=Paris}}</ref> Manuel Casamar Perez remarks that the Almoravids scaled back the Andalusi trend towards heavier and more elaborate decoration which had developed since the [[Caliphate of Córdoba]] and instead prioritized a greater balance between proportions and ornamentation.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Perez|first=Manuel Casamar|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/Al_Andalus_The_Art_of_Islamic_Spain|title=Al-Andalus: The Art of Islamic Spain|publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art|year=1992|isbn=0870996371|editor-last=Dodds|editor-first=Jerrilynn D.|location=New York|pages=75–83|chapter=The Almoravids and Almohads: An introduction}}</ref>

The two centers of artistic production in the Islamic west before the rise of the Almoravids were Kairouan and Córdoba, both former capitals in the region which served as sources of inspiration.{{Sfn|Bennison|2016|p=278}} The Almoravids were responsible for establishing a new imperial capital at [[Marrakesh]], which became a major center of architectural patronage thereafter. The Almoravids adopted the architectural developments of [[al-Andalus]], such as the complex [[interlacing arches]] of the [[Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba|Great Mosque in Córdoba]] and of the [[Aljafería|Aljaferia palace]] in [[Zaragoza]], while also introducing new ornamental techniques from the east such as ''[[muqarnas]]'' ("stalactite" or "honeycomb" carvings).{{Sfn|Salmon|2018}}<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tabbaa|first=Yasser|date=2008|title=Andalusian roots and Abbasid homage in the Qubbat al-Barudiyyin in Marrakesh|journal=Muqarnas|volume=25|pages=133–146|doi=10.1163/22118993_02501006}}</ref>

[[File:Marrakesh 02 054 (4826882276).jpg|thumb|In their North African constructions, the Almoravids explored the use of [[Foil (architecture)|cusping]] to make arches more decorative, as seen here in the [[Almoravid Qubba]] in Marrakesh.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Draper|first=Peter|date=2005|title=Islam and the West: The Early Use of the Pointed Arch Revisited|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0066622x00003701|journal=Architectural History|volume=48|page=12|doi=10.1017/s0066622x00003701|s2cid=194947480|issn=0066-622X}}</ref>]]
After taking control of Al-Andalus in the [[Battle of Sagrajas]], the Almoravids sent Muslim, Christian and Jewish artisans from Iberia to North Africa to work on monuments.<ref>Parker, R. (1981). ''A Practical Guide to Islamic Monuments in Morocco''. Charlottesville, Virginia: Baraka Press. p. 14</ref> The [[Djamaa el Kebir|Great Mosque]] in [[Algiers]] ({{Circa|1097}}), the [[Great Mosque of Tlemcen]] (1136) and [[University of al-Qarawiyyin|al-Qarawiyyin]] (expanded in 1135) in [[Fez, Morocco|Fez]] are important examples of Almoravid architecture.<ref name=":04" /> The [[Almoravid Qubba]] is one of the few Almoravid monuments in Marrakesh surviving, and is notable for its highly ornate interior dome with carved stucco decoration, complex arch shapes, and minor ''muqarnas'' cupolas in the corners of the structure.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Bloom|first=Jonathan M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IRHbDwAAQBAJ&q=Architecture+of+the+Islamic+West%3A+North+Africa+and+the+Iberian+Peninsula%2C+700-1800&pg=PP1|title=Architecture of the Islamic West: North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, 700–1800|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2020|isbn=978-0300218701|location=|pages=}}</ref>{{Rp|114}} The central nave of the expanded Qarawiyyin Mosque notably features the earliest full-fledged example of muqarnas vaulting in the western Islamic world. The complexity of these muqarnas vaults at such an early date—only several decades after the first simple muqarnas vaults appeared in distant Iraq—has been noted by architectural historians as surprising.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal|last=Tabbaa|first=Yasser|date=1985|title=The Muqarnas Dome: Its Origin and Meaning|journal=Muqarnas|volume=3|pages=61–74|doi=10.1163/22118993-90000196|jstor=1523084}}</ref>{{Rp|64}} Another high point of Almoravid architecture is the intricate ribbed dome in front of the mihrab of the Great Mosque of Tlemcen, which likely traces its origins to the 10th-century ribbed domes of the Great Mosque of Córdoba. The structure of the dome is strictly ornamental, consisting of multiple ribs or intersecting arches forming a twelve-pointed star pattern. It is also partly see-through, allowing some outside light to filter through a screen of pierced and carved arabesque decoration that fills the spaces between the ribs.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Almagro|first=Antonio|date=2015|title=The Great Mosque of Tlemcen and the Dome of its Maqsura|journal=Al-Qantara|volume=36|issue=1|pages=199–257|doi=10.3989/alqantara.2015.007|doi-access=free|hdl=10261/122812|hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":1" />{{Rp|116–118}}

Aside from more ornamental religious structures, the Almoravids also built many fortifications, although most of these in turn were demolished or modified by the Almohads and later dynasties. The new capital, Marrakesh, initially had no city walls but a fortress known as the Ksar el-Hajjar ("Fortress of Stone") was built by the city's founder, Abu Bakr ibn Umar, in order to house the treasury and serve as an initial residence.{{sfn|Deverdun|1959}}{{Sfn|Wilbaux|2001|p=}} Eventually, circa 1126, Ali Ibn Yusuf also constructed a [[Walls of Marrakesh|full set of walls]], made of [[rammed earth]], around the city in response to the growing threat of the Almohads.{{sfn|Deverdun|1959}}{{Sfn|Wilbaux|2001|p=}} These walls, although much restored and partly expanded in later centuries, continue to serve as the walls of the [[Medina quarter|medina]] of Marrakesh today. The medina's main gates were also first built at this time, although many of them have since been significantly modified. Bab Doukkala, one of the western gates, is believed to have best preserved its original Almoravid layout.<ref name=":22">{{Cite journal|last1=Allain|first1=Charles|last2=Deverdun|first2=Gaston|date=1957|title=Les portes anciennes de Marrakech|url=http://www.hesperis-tamuda.com/fr/index.php/archives/archives-1959-1950/132-hesperis-tamuda-1957|journal=Hespéris|volume=44|pages=85–126|access-date=24 March 2021|archive-date=28 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228031528/http://www.hesperis-tamuda.com/fr/index.php/archives/archives-1959-1950/132-hesperis-tamuda-1957|url-status=dead}}</ref> It has a classic [[bent entrance]] configuration, of which variations are found throughout the medieval period of the Maghreb and Al-Andalus.{{Sfn|Wilbaux|2001|p=}}<ref name=":12">{{Cite book|last1=Barrucand|first1=Marianne|title=Moorish architecture in Andalusia|last2=Bednorz|first2=Achim|publisher=Taschen|year=1992|isbn=3822876348}}</ref>{{Rp|116}} Elsewhere, the archaeological site of [[Tasghîmût]], southeast of Marrakesh, and Amargu, northeast of Fes, provide evidence about other Almoravid forts. Built out of rubble stone or rammed earth, they illustrate similarities with older [[Hammadid dynasty|Hammadid]] fortifications, as well as an apparent need to build quickly during times of crisis.<ref name=":023"/>{{Rp|219–220}}{{Sfn|Bennison|2016|pp=299–300}} The walls of Tlemcen (present-day Algeria) were likewise partly built by the Almoravids, using a mix of rubble stone at the base and rammed earth above.<ref name=":023"/>{{Rp|220}}

In domestic architecture, none of the Almoravid palaces or residences have survived, and they are known only through texts and [[archaeology]]. During his reign, Ali Ibn Yusuf added a large palace and royal residence on the south side of the Ksar el-Hajjar (on the present site of the [[Kutubiyya Mosque]]). This palace was later abandoned and its function was replaced by the [[Kasbah of Marrakesh|Almohad Kasbah]], but some of its remains have been excavated and studied in the 20th century. These remains have revealed the earliest known example in Morocco of a [[Riad (architecture)|riad]] garden (an interior garden symmetrically divided into four parts).{{Sfn|Wilbaux|2001|p=71}}<ref name=":023"/>{{Rp|404}} In 1960 other excavations near [[Chichaoua]] revealed the remains of a domestic complex or settlement dating from the Almoravid period or even earlier. It consisted of several houses, two [[hammam]]s, a water supply system, and possibly a mosque. On the site were found many fragments of architectural decoration which are now preserved at the [[Museum of History and Civilizations|Archeological Museum of Rabat]]. These fragments are made of deeply-carved [[stucco]] featuring Kufic and cursive Arabic inscriptions as well as vegetal motifs such as [[palmette]]s and [[Acanthus (ornament)|acanthus leaves]].{{Sfn|Lintz|Déléry|Tuil Leonetti|2014|pp=219–223}} The structures also featured painted decoration in red [[ochre]], typically consisting of border motifs composed of two interlacing bands. Similar decoration has also been found in the remains of former houses excavated in 2006 under the 12th-century Almoravid expansion of the Qarawiyyin Mosque in Fes. In addition to the usual border motifs were larger interlacing geometric motifs as well as Kufic inscriptions with vegetal backgrounds, all executed predominantly in red.{{Sfn|Lintz|Déléry|Tuil Leonetti|2014|pp=195–197}}
<gallery widths="150" heights="150" class="center" caption="Almoravid architecture">
File:Cúpula almorávide (Marrakech).jpg|The [[Almoravid Qubba]] in [[Marrakesh]].
File:Koutoubia bab ali.jpg|Remains of ''Bab 'Ali'' (right), a stone gate built for Ali ibn Yusuf's palace in Marrakesh next to the Ksar el-Hajjar fortress
File:Moorish gates (49907885093).jpg|[[Bab Doukkala]], one of the original [[Walls of Marrakesh|gates of Marrakesh]] constructed circa 1126
File:Grande mosquée et dépendance Minaret de la Mosquée 021.jpg|Interior of the [[Great Mosque of Tlemcen]]
File:Qarawiyyin Bab al-Ganaiz 02.jpg|Detail of the Almoravid-era bronze overlays on the doors of [[University of al-Qarawiyyin|al-Qarawiyyin's]] ''Bab al-Gna'iz''.<ref name=":03"/>
</gallery>