Reverter

Reverter was a Catalan Christian who served the Almoravid rulers of Morocco and the Maghrib as a military commander. The Encyclopaedia of Islam writes his name as al-Ruburtayr or al-Rubertayr and calls him "celebrated". ² The articles read mention him only in passing, within longer accounts of the end of the Almoravid state, so this record is short and says plainly what they do not give.

The article on Ali ibn Yusuf ibn Tashufin describes how that ruler spent most of his reign in Morocco itself. It says he gave special attention to Spain and kept most of his military forces for the jihad against Christendom there, leaving only light forces to protect his capital and the Moroccan mountains. These were made up mainly of Christian mercenaries, and they were commanded by Reverter. The article judges that this policy contributed to the fall of the kingdom. ² The article on 'Abd al-Mu'min calls him one of the most devoted and skilful generals of the Almoravids and the leader of their Christian militia. ¹

The same article records that he was killed in an engagement with the Almohads in 539/1145, in eastern Morocco, and calls his death a tragic blow for the Almoravids at a time when 'Abd al-Mu'min had grown strong enough to leave guerrilla warfare in the hills and face them in the plain. ¹ The place is given only as eastern Morocco; the sources read name no town or battle.

The article on the Almohads states that when they arrived the only Christian presence in Morocco was the militia, which was incorporated into the Almohad army along with its commander, described as the son of the famous Reverter, Count of Barcelona. It adds that this militia, like the Almoravid one before it, was recruited mostly from prisoners taken into slavery. ³ The museum records the phrase as printed. The other two articles call Reverter a Catalan commander and do not call him a count, and the sources read do not explain how the "Count of Barcelona" title relates to him or to his son, so the museum does not combine them.

The museum was asked about a "Christian lord of Zaragoza" of this name. No article read links Reverter to Zaragoza or to Aragon, so that connection is not recorded here and remains a question for other sources. The articles also give no birth date, no family, no religion or conversion beyond the word "Christian", and no account of his campaigns. A fuller record needs Latin or Arabic chronicles of the period.