Ibn Rushd lived in the midst of disturbed political conditions.

Ibn Rushd lived in the midst of disturbed political conditions. He was born in the reign of the Almoravides who were overthrown in Marrakush in 542/1147 by the Almohades, who conquered Cordova in 543/1148. The Almo­hade movement was started by Ibn Tumart who called himself al-Mahdi.

He tried to imitate the Fatimids, who had appeared a century before and founded an empire in Egypt, in their encouragement of philosophy, their secret interpretations, and their excellence in astronomy and astrology.[^4] His three Almo­hade successors 'Abd al-Mu'min, Abu Ya`qub, and Abu Yusuf, whom Ibn Rushd served, were known for their encouragement of science and philosophy. When Abu Ya`qub became Amir, he ordered Ibn Rushd to write commen­taries on Aristotle.

This is the account given by al-Marrakushi. Ibn Rushd said: “When I entered into the presence of the Prince of the Believers Abu Ya`qub, I found him with Abu Bakr Ibn Tufail alone. Abu Ya`qub began praising me, mentioning my family and ancestors. The first thing the Prince of the Believers said to me ... was, `What is their opinion about the heavens?' referring to the philosophers. `Are they eternal or created?' Confusion and fear took hold of me....

But the Prince of the Believers understood my fear and confusion, and turned to Ibn Tufail and began talking about the question he had asked me, mentioning what Aristotle, Plato, and all the philosophers had said…”.[^5] In another account given by the same biographer, Ibn Rushd relates that Ibn Tufail summoned him one day and told him that the Prince of the Believers complained of the difficulty of the expression of Aristotle and his translators, and mentioned the obscurity of his aims saying: “If someone would tackle these books, summarize them, and expound their aims after understanding them thoroughly, it would be easier for people to grasp them.” And Ibn Tufail got himself excused on the plea of old age and his occupation in government service and asked Ibn Rushd to take up this work.

Thus, Ibn Rushd started his commentaries on the books of Aristotle. He deserved for this undertaking the title of the “Commentator”[^6] for which he was renowned in medieval Europe. Dante in his Divine Comedy mentions him together with Euclid, Ptolemy, Hippocrates, Avicenna, and Galen, designating him as the great Commentator.