High Middle Ages · Africa · Politics

1254

Almohad Caliphate collapses in Morocco

1254

The once-mighty Almohad dynasty, which had ruled from the Atlas Mountains to the Ebro, lost its last territories to the Marinid Berbers. Their austere theology and geometric architecture survived them, but the dream of a unified North African empire under Berber rule died in the streets of Marrakesh. The great Koutoubia mosque and its minaret, the dynasty's most enduring monument, still dominates the Marrakesh skyline.