'Given the importance of the subject, it is astonishing that this is the first full-length study in English of these two empires. Bennison's thoughtful and well-researched book marks a major advance in our understanding of this important period in the history of the Maghreb and the Iberian peninsula. It will be widely appreciated by scholars and students alike.' Hugh Kennedy, SOAS, University of London African invaders of Spain? Religious fundamentalists who disrupted the generally good relations between Muslims, Christians and Jews? Or key contributors to the maturation of Islamic society in the Maghrib? The Almoravids and Almohads were the two most important Berber dynasties of the medieval Islamic west - an area that encompassed southern Spain and Portugal, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia - and their empires covered substantial parts of the Maghrib and al-Andalus between the tenth and mid-thirteenth centuries. This is the first comprehensive account in English of the rise and fall of these two hugely powerful empires whose rule fostered the emergence of the Islamic society which endured, in Morocco especially, until the early twentieth century. Amira K. Bennison focuses on these dynasties from a positive perspective, placing them in their proper context of medieval Mediterranean and Islamic history. Key Features - The first combined history of two of the great Islamic empires between the tenth and thirteenth centuries - Places the Almoravids and Almohads within the broader sweep of Islamic history - Contains chapters on politics, society, economy and trade, religion and learning, and art and architecture - Illustrated with maps, genealogical tables and photographs - Includes a glossary of Arabic terms Amira K. Bennison is Reader in the History and Culture of the Maghrib at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Magdalene College. She is author of The Great Caliphs: the Golden Age of the 'Abbasid Empire (2009) and Jihad and its Interpretations in Pre-Colonial Morocco (2002). Cover image: Kutubiyya Mosque, Marrakesh (c) Amira K. Bennison Cover design: [EUP logo] edinburghuniversitypress.com ISBN (cover): 978-0-7486-4680-7 ISBN (PPC): 978-0-7486-4681-4 Barcode

Amira K. Bennison is a Reader in the History and Culture of the Maghrib at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Magdalene College.. She is author of The Great Caliphs: The Golden Age of the 'Abbasid Empire (2009) and co-editor (with Alison L. Gascoigne) of Cities in the Premodern Islamic World (2007).