• Amir of the Almoravids 1061–1106

Yusuf ibn Tashfin, also Tashafin, Teshufin, (Arabic: يوسف بن تاشفين ناصر الدين بن تالاكاكين الصنهاجي, romanized: Yūsuf ibn Tāshfīn Naṣr al-Dīn ibn Tālākakīn al-Ṣanhājī; reigned c. 1061 – 1106) was leader of the Berber Almoravid empire. He co-founded the city of Marrakesh and led the Muslim forces in the Battle of Sagrajas. Yusuf ibn Tashfin came to Al-Andalus from the Maghreb to help the Muslims fight against Alfonso VI, eventually achieving victory in Sagrajas and promoting an Islamic system in the region. In 1061 he took the title “Amir al-Muslimeen” recognising the suzerainty of the Abbasid Caliphate.

He was married to Zaynab an-Nafzawiyyah, whom he reportedly trusted politically

"A wise and shrewd man, neither too prompt in his determinations, nor too slow in carrying them into effect", Yusef was very much adapted to the rugged terrain of the Sahara and had no interests in the pomp of the Andalusian courts.[23] He spoke Arabic poorly.[24]

According to medieval Arabic writers, Yusuf was of average build and stature. He is further described as having "had a clear brown complexion and he had a thin beard. His voice was soft, his speech elegant. His eyes were black, his nose was hooked, and he had fat on the fleshy portions of his ears. His hair was curly and his eyebrows met above his nose."

Yusuf appears in El Cid: the Legend as the primary antagonist. In the film, he is a cruel, unforgiving and evil man. Much unlike his alleged reputation as an honorable man.