Godala in the context of "Almoravid"

The Almoravid dynasty (Arabic: المرابطون, romanized: Al-Murābiṭūn, lit. 'those from the ribats') was a Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire that stretched over the western Maghreb and al-Andalus, starting in the 1050s and lasting until its fall to the Almohads in 1147.

The Almoravids emerged from a coalition of the Lamtuna, Gudala, and Massufa, nomadic Berber tribes living in what is now Mauritania and the Western Sahara, traversing the territory between the Draa, the Niger, and the Senegal rivers. During their expansion into the Maghreb, they founded the city of Marrakesh as a capital, c. 1070. Shortly after this, the empire was divided into two branches: a northern one centered in the Maghreb, led by Yusuf ibn Tashfin and his descendants, and a southern one based in the Sahara, led by Abu Bakr ibn Umar and his descendants.

The Lamtuna (Berber languages: Ilemteyen) are a nomadic Berber tribe belonging to the Iẓnagen / Sanhaja (Zenaga) confederation, who traditionally inhabited areas from Sous to Adrar Plateau. During the Almoravid period, many Lamtunas emigrated northwards. Currently, the Lemtuna Tribe is based in the South of Mauritania (Monguel and Agueilat). The chief of this Tribe is Mr. Limam Ould Teguedi (former Minister of Justice, former Minister of Culture and former Attorney General of Mauritania). Among notable families are the family of Ehl Aly Ibn Ibrahim, the family of Ehel Sidelemine, Ehl Abdawa, Ehl Mohamed El-Emine and Ehl Mohammed Ghali. Sahrawi Tajakant as well as Messouma tribes are of the most recognisable offshoots of the Lamtunas. They inhabit areas in Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania and Western Sahara. The Banu Ghaniya, the successors of this dynasty in Tripoli and the Nafusa Mountains and the governors of the Spanish Balearic Islands until about the middle of the 13th century, originated from this tribe as well.

One of the members of the Sanhaja confederation, the Lamtuna inhabited the areas of Adrar and Tagant. During the 11th century, the Lamtuna, Godala, and Masufa tribes were united under the Lamtuna leader, Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Tifat (Tarsina). After Tarsina's death his successor Yahya ibn Ibrahim, of the Godala tribe, married a member of the Urtantac family that governed the Lamtuna, expanding both his personal influence and that of the family. The Lamtuna sat at the top of the ruling class as well as holding positions in important administrative and military posts in the Almoravid dynasty. After Abdallah ibn Yasin's death in 1059 Almoravid leadership was assumed by the chief of the Lamtuna, Abu Bakr ibn Umar, who fought against rebels in Mauritania in 1060. His cousin, Yusuf ibn Tashfin, continued to lead the Almoravids in southern Morocco and it was under his leadership that most of the Maghreb and Al-Andalus was conquered.

Yahya Ibn Ibrahim (Arabic: يحيى بن إبراهيم الجدالي) (c. 1048) was a leader of the Godala tribe in the Adrar plateau modern day Mauritania. Yahya Ibn Ibrahim's primary significance was in his involvement with Abdallah ibn Yasin, a Berber Muslim theologian with whom he founded the Almoravid movement. Yahya Ibn Ibrahim is the first Almoravid emir. His successor Yahya ibn Umar was his nephew.

Gaetuli was the Romanised name of an ancient Berber people inhabiting Getulia. The latter district covered the large desert region south of the Atlas Mountains, bordering the Sahara. Other documents place Gaetulia in pre-Roman times along the Mediterranean coasts of what is now Algeria and Tunisia, and north of the Atlas. During the Roman period, according to Pliny the Elder, the Autololes Gaetuli established themselves south of the province of Mauretania Tingitana, in modern-day Morocco. The name of the Godala people is hypothesized to be derived from the word Gaetuli.