Abu Ya‘qub Yusuf or Yusuf I ( ''Abū Ya‘qūb Yūsuf''; 1135 – 14 October 1184) was the second

Almohad The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb). The Almohad ...

Amir Emir (; ' (), also transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ceremonial authority. The title has ...

'' or caliph. He reigned from 1163 until 1184 in Marrakesh. He was responsible for the construction of the

Giralda The Giralda ( ) is the bell tower of Seville Cathedral in Seville, Spain. It was built as the minaret for the Great Mosque of Seville in al-Andalus, during the reign of the Almohad dynasty, with a Renaissance-style belfry added by the Catholics ...

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

, which was part of a new grand mosque. He was a keen student of philosophy and patron of

Averroes Ibn Rushd (14 April 112611 December 1198), archaically Latinization of names, Latinized as Averroes, was an Arab Muslim polymath and Faqīh, jurist from Al-Andalus who wrote about many subjects, including philosophy, theology, medicine, astron ...

Life

Yusuf was the son of

Abd al-Mu'min Abd al-Mu'min (c. 1094–1163) (; full name: ʿAbd al-Muʾmin ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAlwī ibn Yaʿlā al-Kūmī Abū Muḥammad) was a prominent member of the Almohad movement. Although the Almohad movement itself was founded by Ibn Tumart, Abd al-Mu' ...

, the first caliph of the Almohad dynasty. His mother was Safiyya bint Abi Imran, a

Masmuda The Masmuda (, Berber: ⵉⵎⵙⵎⵓⴷⵏ) is a Berber tribal confederation , one of the largest in the Maghreb, along with the Zenata and the Sanhaja. Today, the Masmuda confederacy largely corresponds to the speakers of the Tashelhit lan ...

woman from Tinmel, the daughter of Abu Imran Musa ibn Sulayman al-Kafif, a companion of

Ibn Tumart Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad Ibn Tūmart (, ca. 1080–1130) was a Muslim religion, religious scholar, teacher and political leader, from the Sous in southern present-day Morocco. He founded and served as the spiritual and first military leader ...

. Yusuf supported the Almohad doctrine and, like his predecessors, favored the literalist Zahiri school of

Islamic jurisprudence ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

and was a religious scholar in his own right. He was said to have memorized by heart ''

Sahih Bukhari () is the first hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. Compiled by Islamic scholar al-Bukhari () in the format, the work is valued by Sunni Muslims, alongside , as the most authentic after the Qur'an. Al-Bukhari organized the bo ...

'' and ''

Sahih Muslim () is the second hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. Compiled by Islamic scholar Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj () in the format, the work is valued by Sunnis, alongside , as the most important source for Islamic religion after the Q ...

'', two collections of

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

statements Statement or statements may refer to: Common uses *Statement (computer science), the smallest standalone element of an imperative programming language * Statement (logic and semantics), declarative sentence that is either true or false *Statement, ...

considered canonical in

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...

and was a patron of the theologians of his era. Respected men of letters such as

Ibn Rushd Ibn Rushd (14 April 112611 December 1198), archaically Latinized as Averroes, was an Arab Muslim polymath and jurist from Al-Andalus who wrote about many subjects, including philosophy, theology, medicine, astronomy, physics, psychology, math ...

and

Ibn Tufayl Ibn Ṭufayl ( – 1185) was an Arab Andalusian Muslim polymath: a writer, Islamic philosopher, Islamic theologian, physician, astronomer, and vizier. As a philosopher and novelist, he is most famous for writing the first philosophical no ...

were entertained at his court. Yusuf favored the Córdoban polymath ibn Maḍāʾ as his

chief judge Chief judge may refer to: In lower or circuit courts The highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. * Chief judge (Australia) * Chief judge (United States) In supreme courts Some of Chief ...

; during the Almohad reforms, the two oversaw the banning of any religious material written by non-Zahiris. Yusuf's son al-Mansur would eventually take the reforms even further, actually burning non-Zahiri books instead of merely banning them.Shawqi Daif, Introduction to Ibn Mada's ''Refutation of the Grammarians'', pg. 6. Cairo, 1947. In 1170 he invaded

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...

, conquering

al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...

and ravaging

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

and

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

. The following year he established himself in

."The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain," taken from Ahmed Mohammed al-Maqqari's ''Nafhut Tibb min Ghusn al-Andalus al-Ratib wa Tarikh Lisan ad-Din

Ibn al-Khatib Lisan ad-Din Ibn al-Khatib (; 16 November 1313 – 1374) was an Arab Andalusi polymath, poet, writer, historian, philosopher, physician and politician from Emirate of Granada. Being one of the most notable poets from Granada, his poems decorate ...

''. Translated by Pascual de Gayangos y Arce from copies in the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

. Pg. 319.

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

: The Orientalist Translation Fund of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Sold by W. H. Allen Ltd and M. Duprat. He ordered the construction of numerous buildings, such as the

Alcázar of Seville The Alcázar of Seville, officially called Royal Alcázar of Seville (), is a historic royal palace in Seville, Spain. It was formerly the site of the Al-Andalus, Islamic-era citadel of the city, begun in the 10th century and then developed into ...

, the Buhaira Gardens, and the fortress of

Alcalá de Guadaíra Alcalá de Guadaíra () is a town located approximately 17 km southeast of Seville, Spain, Seville, Spain; in recent years the expansion of Seville has meant that Alcalá has become a suburb of that city. Alcalá used to be known as ''Alcal� ...

. The arrival of the zealous Almohads heralded the end of the

Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain The golden age of Jewish culture in Spain was a Muslim ruled era of Spain, with the state name of Al-Andalus, lasting 800 years, whose state lasted from 711 to 1492 A.D. This coincides with the Islamic Golden Age within Muslim ruled territorie ...

. Abu Ya'qub Yusuf was wounded at the Siege of Santarém (1184), in which he died on the road to Seville, near Évora. His body was sent from Seville to Tinmel where he was buried. Abdelwahid al-Marrakushi "al-Mojib fi Talkhis Akhbar al-Maghrib" he Pleasant Book in Summarizing the History of the Maghreb(1224) pp.125-126

References

{{S-end 1135 births 1184 deaths 12th-century caliphs 12th-century monarchs in Africa Almohad caliphs People from Tinmel People from Marrakesh 12th-century Berber people