Tashfin ibn Ali (died 23 March 1145, or 25 March 1145 CE;

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: تاشفين بن علي ) was the 6th Almoravid

Emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...

, he reigned in 1143–1145.

Biography

Tashfin ibn Ali was appointed Governor of

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

and

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of Almería, province of the same name. It lies in southeastern Iberian Peninsula, Iberia on the Mediterranean S ...

in 1129, as well as of Córdoba in 1131, during the reign of his father Ali ibn Yusuf.Extrait de la Chronique intitulée Kamel-Altevarykh par Ibn-Alatyr, RHC Historiens orientaux I, p. 413. He was the supreme governor of Al Andalus from 1126-1137 and would in these years, lead the Almoravids to some notable victories ( Aceca in 1130, Fraga in 1134, Badajoz in 1134, Escalona 1137) but he also suffered some losses therein. From 1138, the year after his departure to Morocco, the impetus was on the side of the Christians and the Muslims suffered major losses in raids and the capture of important fortresses ( Oreja in 1139, Coria in 1142). This was in part due to the renewed offensive of the Almohads in Morocco. He succeeded his father in 1143. In 1145, he went to fight the

Almohads 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 ...

, under the leadership 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' ...

, in the

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

area. He was besieged for several days by the Almohad forces and finally opted for escaping by sea. He subsequently called on a fleet from Almeria, burned his military encampment and while trying to join the port by night on horseback, he fell off a cliff in the

Atlas Mountains The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. They separate the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range, which stretches around through M ...

and died in March 1145. He was succeeded first by his son

Ibrahim ibn Tashfin Ibrahim ibn Tashfin () (died 1147) was the seventh Almoravid Emir, who reigned shortly in 1146–1147. Once the news of the death of his father Tashfin ibn Ali reached Marrakech Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Mo ...

, who was still an infant, and soon after by his brother

Ishaq ibn Ali Ishaq ibn Ali () (died April 1147) was the 8th and last Almoravid Emir who reigned shortly in 1147. Ishaq was the uncle of his predecessor as emir, Ibrahim ibn Tashfin, and was killed after the conquest of Marrakech by the Almohads. Due to r ...

References

1145 deaths Almoravid emirs Muslims of the 1113–1115 Balearic Islands expedition People from Marrakesh 12th-century Moroccan people Year of birth unknown Deaths by horse-riding accident 12th-century Berber people {{Al-Andalus-bio-stub