344 ALMOHADES ALMOND January, 1846. On the fall of the constitution in 1823 he retired into France, whence he re- turned on the invitation of the regent Christina, was chosen president of the popular branch of the cortes, and in 1835 was appointed captain general of Valencia, where he ruled with great severity. Under Mendizabal he was succes- sively minister of war and minister of foreign affairs, and the latter position he held also under Espartero in 1842-'3. In 1837 he was appointed senator. ALMOHADES, a Moslem dynasty of northern Africa and Spain, which reigned in the latter half of the 12th century and in the earlier half of the 13th. The term is an abbreviation of Al-Mowahedun, which means the Unitarians. The origin of their power is traced to a certain Mohammed, or, with his full name, Abu Ab- dillah Mohammed ben Yumert, who travelled to 06rdova for education, and thence to Cairo and Bagdad to complete his studies. On his return from the east, Mohammed became con- spicuous by the austerity of his life and the boldness of his preaching. He was made tutor of Abd-el-Mumen, a youth of high birth, whose mind he filled with a belief that he was re- served to inaugurate a purified Moslem creed. At Morocco he took up his abode in a burial ground, where he preached to the people the coming of the great Mahdi (director), who was to establish the reign of universal justice and peace upon the earth. One day as he was thus preaching, Abd-el-Mumen remarked, " You are yourself the great Mahdi," and immediately swore allegiance to him, in which he was fol- lowed by 50, and soon after by 70 others. They retreated to the mountains, preaching the unity of God, and soon their number was swelled to 20,000; and a victory over the king's brother established the influence of the Almohades. The war was kept up against them with varying success, but about 1130 they marched against Morocco, and obtained a com- plete victory. The Mahdi now summoned his followers, and, announcing his approaching de- parture, laid down his power, and was said to have been translated. Abd-el-Mumen was then elected sovereign. He overran Oran and Fez, and about 1147 reduced Morocco, the last ref- uge of the Almoravides, to extremities. After a desperate defence, the city was taken, and Abd-el-Mumen massacred the inhabitants and razed the town. In Spain the Almohades were equally successful. The Almoravides were de- feated at every point. Abd-el-Mumen pro- claimed a holy war, but died in the midst of his preparations, in 1 1 63. His son Yusuf suc- ceeded, at the age of about 24, and reigned until about 1184, when he died, while besieg- ing Santarem in Portugal. Yacub ibn Yusuf or Al-Mansour, his successor, carried on the war against the Christians, and in 1195 defeated Alfonso VIII. of Castile at Alarcos. He died in Africa in 1199. Mohammed Abu-Abdallah, his son, succeeded him. He levied a vast army against the Christians. Pope Innocent III. having authorized a crusade, the clergy ex erted themselves to repel the invasion ; and on June 12, 1212, the battle of Navas de Tolosa was fought, in which Mohammed barely es- caped with life, leaving, it is said, 170,000 dead on the field. He returned to Morocco, and resigning his crown to his son Yusuf Abu- Yacub, who was only 11 years old, died in 1213. With the latter prince, who died child- less in 1223, the direct Almohade line ter- minated. Al- Adel and Al-Mamoun, both nearly related to Abu- Yacub, held for a time the empire of the Almohades, but it was soon torn asunder by internal divisions, and shortly after the middle of the 13th century disappeared. ALMON, John, an English political writer, born in Liverpool in 1738, died Dec. 12, 1805. In 1759 he established himself as a bookseller in London. On the death of George II. he published a review of his reign, after which he published a "Eeview of the Administration of Mr. Pitt," besides "Anecdotes of Lord Chat- ham " (3 vols. 8vo), " Biographical Anecdotes of Eminent Persons " (3 vols.), and an edition of " Junius " (2 vols.), in which he attempted to prove that Hugh Boyd was Junius. He put his pen and press at the disposal of John Wilkes, and published a pamphlet on " Jury- men and Libellers," for which he was tried, but acquitted. He was also arraigned for sell- ing copies of Junius's letter to the king, com- pelled to pay a fine, and to find bail to keep the peace for two years. He was the publisher of Wilkes's "North Briton," and wrote his life. In 1774 he established the "Parlia- mentary Kegister." He also compiled "The Remembrancer, or Impartial Repository of Pub- lic Events from 1775 to 1784" (17 vols. 8vo, and a prior volume relating to American affairs). In his latter years he became proprie- tor and editor of the "General Advertiser." ALMOND (amygdalu), a genus of plants, the type of the sub-order amygdalece, comprehend- ing the almond, plum, peach, cherry, nectarine, and a few unimportant bushes of a somewhat Almond Fruit, Flower, Leaves, and Nat
