The religious component is fundamental in the creation and establishment of the Almohad Caliphate (12th-13th centuries), due to its origin from a religious movement.

In this conference we will focus on the importance of religiosity in the historical and cultural construction of the Almohad Caliphate. The central objective is therefore related to an essential question: can the development of urbanism be influenced or determined by this religious practice?

Thus, we propose to reflect on how the practice of the Muslim religion influenced, directly and indirectly, the configuration of urbanism in the cities of the Almohad caliphate. Additionally, we will examine its reflexes in important reforms, namely, in the articulation of the urban systems of these cities due to the construction of different buildings for religious practices, such as mosques and ablution complexes. In fact, one of the determinant aspects in this connection, between religion and urbanism, is the need of the element of water for the rituals of purification in the Muslim religion and that during the Almohad period is one of the main objectives of the Caliphate. .

Biographical note
Dolores Villalba Sola holds a doctorate and a degree in Art History from the Universidad de Granada. Specialized in Almohad architecture and heritage management, she is currently Visiting Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities of the New University of Lisbon and FCT post-doctoral researcher at the Institute of Medieval Studies of the same University, where she is developing the project entitled: “Almohad architecture, city and town planning in a light of Arab and Christian sources”.