The Almohads Military Strategy in the Western Mediterranean

Abstract

Almohads (al-muwaḥḥidun) annexed a vast area of the Islamic West to their state by extending their conquest to the East. They then entered into conflict with the Arab tribes in Ifriqiya (or al-Maghrib al-Adna, i.e. Lower West) and Banu Ghaniya, rulers of the Eastern Islands (Balearic Islands). The Almohads attached great importance to this eastern front, leading them to wage huge military attacks there under the leadership of the Almohads rulers themselves. They had however a far more dangerous front to deal with in the North, but failed to accord it its due attention. Despite all the military efforts exerted by the Almohads in Al Andalus, their efforts did not match the losses incurred because of the Eastern Front the conquest of which was neither urgent nor necessary. Additionally, they were unable to preserve what their predecessors, the Almoravids, had achieved in Al Andalus due to internal revolts and the attrition resulting from the Reconquest Movement (Reconquista). Such an orientation and vision clearly showed the deficiencies of the Almohads' military strategy in the West Mediterranean whose catastrophic consequences for their domains Al Andalus and North Africa clearly materialized after the defeat in the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (al Uqa¯b). As a result, the Reconquista seized the Eastern Islands shortly after the Almohads conquest. Major cities such as Cordoba, Valencia, Murcia, Jaen, Sevilla and important fortresses thus fell in the hands of the Christians who also attacked Almohads in their own territories in Al-Maghreb.