Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur (Arabic: ابو يوسف يعقوب المنصور) (c. 1160 – January 23, 1199) (also known as Moulay Yacoub), was the third Almohad caliph Succeeding his father, Abu Ya'qub Yusuf, Yakub al-Mansur reigned from 1184 to 1199 with distinction. During his tenure, trade, architecture, philosophy and the sciences flourished, to say nothing of military conquests. In 1191 Yaqub al-Mansur repelled the occupation of Paderne Castle and the surrounding territory near Albufeira, in the Algarve which had been controlled by the Christian army of King Sancho I since 1128. In the Battle of Alarcos, on July 18, 1195, he defeated Castilian King Alfonso VIII. After victory, he took the title al-Mansur Billah ("Made Victorious by God"). He died in Marrakech, Morocco. During his reign, he undertook several major projects. He built the Koutoubia Mosque and the El Mansouria mosque in Marrakech and a kasbah in the southern part of its medina. He attempted to build what would have been the world's largest mosque in Rabat. However, construction on the mosque stopped after al-Mansur died. Only the beginnings of the mosque had been completed, including the Hassan Tower. Al-Mansur protected the philosopher Averroes and kept him as a favorite at court.
The historian Abou Mohammed Salah ben Abd el-Halim of Grenada, writing in 1326, says in his Roudh el-Kartas (History of the Rulers of Morocco, French translation by A. Beaumier, 1860, PDF, p. 155 [1] ) "He was the son of a black woman."
The town of Moulay Yacoub, outside of Fez, Morocco, is named after Al-Mansur, and is best known for its therapeutic hot springs.
| Preceded by Abu Ya'qub Yusuf |
Almohad dynasty 1184–1199 |
Succeeded by Muhammad an-Nasir |
