How did the Almoravids expand their rule across North Africa and Muslim Spain?

The Almoravids, a confederation of Saharan Berber tribes, expanded their empire through a combination of religious reform and military conquest. Inspired by the teachings of ‘Abd Allāh ibn Yāsīn, they unified under leaders like Abū Bakr al-Lamtūnī and Yūsuf ibn Tāshufīn to conquer Morocco and western Algeria between 1054 and 1092, establishing their capital at Marrakech.1

In Muslim Spain, the Almoravids intervened to support local rulers against Christian advances. After defeating Alfonso VI at the Battle of al-Zallāqah in 1086, Yūsuf ibn Tāshufīn recognized the need to consolidate power to protect Spanish Islam. Beginning in 1090, he systematically deposed the rulers of the ṭā’ifa states, eventually bringing almost all of Muslim Spain under Almoravid control.12

This union was consolidated under ‘Alī ibn Yūsuf, fostering a period where Andalusian civilization flourished within the empire. However, the dynasty eventually struggled to maintain its territories against the Christian reconquest and the rise of the Almohads in the Atlas Mountains.12