Yusuf ibn Tashfin

Coin of the Emir Yusuf ibn Tashfin: on the lapel (right) the Emir Ali , Yusuf's son and successor is named

Yusuf ibn Tashfin ( Arabic يوسف بن تاشفين, DMG Yūsuf b. Tāšfīn ; * 1009 ; † September 2, 1106 ) was a ruler of the Almoravids (1061–1106).

Life

Yusuf ibn Tashfin was cousin of the Almoravid leader Abu Bakr ibn Umar (1056-1087) and was entrusted with the reign of Morocco in 1070 when Abu Bakr had to suppress a tribal uprising in the Sahara . Yusuf took advantage of Abu Bakr's absence and began to organize an administration and to build up a mercenary army . When Abu Bakr returned, he renounced the power struggle with Yusuf in 1073 and withdrew to the Sahara. Yusuf ibn Tashfin became the founder of the Tashfinid dynasty, which led the Almoravids until 1147.

In the following period, Yusuf subjugated the principalities of Miknasa and Magrawa from his new capital Marrakech , conquered Fez in 1075 , Tangier in 1077 and Ceuta in 1083 . As early as 1081, western Algeria was subdued as far as Algiers , until the Almoravids were stopped by the Hammadids ( Sanhadscha ) with the help of the Banu Hilal in 1082.

As early as 1082, the Almoravids were asked to intervene in Andalusia against the Christian empires. Only after a renewed request from the Abbadids , the Aftasids and the Zirids of Granada , Yusuf followed this request, landed in Andalusia and on October 23, 1086 destroyed the army of Castile in the battle of Zallaqa ( Sagrajas in Spanish ) . After another campaign failed in 1088 due to the lack of support from the Taifa kingdoms , the Zirids of Granada and the Abbadids of Seville were overthrown in 1090 and the other Taifa kingdoms were annexed by 1095. Only Valencia under El Cid (until 1102) and Saragossa under the Hudids (until 1110) were initially able to maintain their independence.

In 1098 the Abbasids recognized Yusuf ibn Tashfin with the title “amir al-muslimin” (prince of the Muslims). Extensive construction work began under Yusuf, but it mainly focused on the expansion of the capital Marrakech (including the construction of the mosque ). Mosques were also built in Fes, Tlemcen (1082) and Algiers (1096).

Yusuf ibn Tashfin was succeeded by his son Ali ibn Yusuf (1106–1143).

reception

Yusuf ibn Tashfin is the protagonist in a novel in Urdu by the writer Nasim Hijazi, in the television series Pukaar by the Pakistan Television Corporation and in the film El Cid , in which he is played under the name "Ben Yussuf" by Herbert Lom . In the video game Age of Empires II: The Conquerors , he is described as a man who "never shows his face and always hides behind a cloth".

literature

• Ulrich Haarmann : History of the Arab World. Edited by Heinz Halm . 4th revised and expanded edition. CH Beck, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-406-47486-1 ( Beck's historical library ).
• Stephan Ronart, Nandy Ronart: Lexicon of the Arab World. A historical-political reference work. Artemis Verlag, Zurich et al. 1972, ISBN 3-7608-0138-2 .

predecessor	Office	successor
Abu Bakr ibn Umar	Almoravid rulers 1061 / 87–1106	Ali ibn Yusuf