Battle of Tabfarilla 1056
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1056 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | Mauritania | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Africa | Natural Earth |
| Participants | Almoravid dynasty, Godala | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 21.0621, -8.3045 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Tabfarilla was a military conflict between the Lamtuna and the Godala. Both of them Muslim Berber Sanhaja tribes of the Sahara Desert and one time allies, the Lamtuna formed the core of the Almoravids after the Godala broke away. The Almoravid Emir Yahya ibn Umar al-Lamtuni was sent against the Godala.
The battle took place in the Sahara between 21 March and 19 April of 448 AH/1056 AD at a spot called Tabfarilla near Azougui in present-day central Mauritania. The battle continued until night. The Almoravids, although reinforced by the Takrurs, were defeated and Yahya ibn Umar was killed in the battlefield.
The geographer Abu Abdullah al-Bakri relates in his Book of Roads and Kingdoms a legend indicating that the battlefield of Tabfarilla was haunted by the calls of ghostly muezzin frightening looters and passersby as nightfall approached.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Tabfarilla (revision 1370275011), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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