Almoravid Fortification System

Timeline

1. c. 1171–1180Moroccan coast–Atlas foothills · MoroccoIn the 1170s the Almohad regime still garrisoned the ribat forts built by the Almoravids along trade routes and mountain passes, using stone towers and walls to control tribal corridors and the entrances to Saharan trade.
2. c. 1173–1180South of the Tagus (Badajoz–Silves corridor) · Al-AndalusThe castle groups along the southern Iberian frontier took shape under the Almoravids and in the 1170s still resisted Castilian and Portuguese southward offensives; their thick walls, arrow slits, and ditches made them a major obstacle to the Christian Reconquista.
3. c. 1175–1195Coastal forts of Rabat and Tangier · MoroccoAlmohad sultans added walls and barracks atop old Almoravid forts, and port fortresses such as Rabat became dual nodes for resisting Almohad threats from the north and controlling Atlantic sea lanes.