Abu Yaqub Yusuf I

Son of Almohad Empire founder Abd al-Mu'min, Abu Yaqub Yusuf was an avid scholar of philosophy, medicine, and Arabic philology. In 1169, his personal court physician Ibn Tufayl introduced young jurist Ibn Rushd (Averroës) to the Caliph; Abu Yaqub famously asked him whether the heavens were created or eternal, commissioning Averroës' life's work of Aristotelian commentaries.

He transformed Seville and Marrakesh into world cultural capitals, completing the Koutoubia minaret in Marrakesh, constructing the Alcázar of Seville, and laying the foundation for the towering Giralda minaret. He died of battle wounds during the siege of Santarém in 1184.