Abu al-Hasan 'Ali
Encyclopedia
Abu Al-Hasan 'Ali ibn 'Othman (c. 1297 - May 24, 1351) was a sultan of the Marinid Dynasty who reigned in Morocco
and Al-Andalus
(r. 1331 - 1351). The son of Marinid
ruler Abu Sa'id Uthman II
and an Abyssinian mother, Abu al-Hassan had a dark complexion, and was known as the 'Black Sultan' of Morocco.
He succeeded his father Abu Sa'id Uthman II
in 1331. Abu al-Hassan married Fatima, daughter of the Hafsid ruler Abu Bakr of Ifriqiya
, sealing an alliance between the Marinids and Hafsids against the Abdalwadid
s of Tlemcen
.
In June, 1333, responding to the appeal of Nasrid ruler Muhammad IV
of Granada
, Abu al-Hassan landed a Moroccan army in Algeciras
. After a two month siege, he recovered Gibraltar
from Castile
(which had been taken by the Castilians in 1309). The very success of the Gibraltar campaign stoked fears that the Marinids would become too influential in the Granadan court, and provoked the assassination of Muhammad IV by resentful Granadan nobles only a few months later. In spite of this, Muhammad IV's brother and successor, Yusuf I
of Granada
maintained the alliance with the Marinid ruler.
In 1334, Abu al-Hassan received an appeal from his father-in-law, the Hafsid ruler Abu Bakr of Ifriqiya
, then fighting off an new invasion by the Abdalwadid
ruler Abu Tashufin of Tlemcen
. In early 1335, Marinid forces under Abu al-Hassan invaded Tlemcen from the west and dispatched a naval forced to assist the Hafsids from the east. The Abdalwadids were rolled back into the city of Tlemcen. The Marinid sultan Abu al-Hassan laid a three-year siege of Tlemcen
, turning his siege camp into a veritable adjoining city.
In 1336 or 1337, Abu al-Hassan suspended the siege of Tlemcen to campaign in southern Morocco, where his troublesome brother, Abu Ali, who ruled an appanage at Sijilmassa, was threatening to divide the Marinid dominions.
In May, 1337, after a two-year siege, Tlemcen
finally fell to a Marinid assault led by Abu al-Hassan. The Abdalwadid
sultan Abu Tashfin and his brothers were captured and killed and the sultanate of Tlemcen
(covering roughly modern western half of Algeria) was promptly annexed by the Marinids.
Flush from these victories, in 1339, Abu al-Hassan received an appeal from the Nasrid ruler Yusuf I
of Granada
to help roll back the Castilians
. The assembly of a large Marinid invasion force in Morocco prompted the Castilian king Alfonso XI
to wrap up his quarrel with Afonso IV
of Portugal
.
In April 1340, a Castilian fleet of some 32 galleys under admiral Alonso Jofre Tenório set out against the Marinid invasion fleet being outfitted at Ceuta
. The Marinid fleet, under the command of Muhammad ibn Ali al-Azafi destroyed the Castilian fleet at the naval battle
of Gibraltar (April 5, 1340). The Castilian admiral Tenorio was killed in battle and only five Castilian galleys managed to make it safely out.
With the sea now clear for an invasion, Abu al-Hassan spent the rest of the summer calmly ferrying his troops and supplies across the straits to Algeciras
, crossing himself with the bulk of the Marinid forces in August, 1340. The Marinid invasion force made junction with Granadan forces under Yusuf I
in September, and proceeded to lay siege to Tarifa
together.
A desperate Alfonso XI
appealed to his father-in-law, the Portuguese king Afonso IV
for assistance. In October, a Portuguese fleet under Manuel Pessanha, supplemented by a leased Genoese fleet, managed to move into position off Tarifa and cut off the besiegers' supply line to Morocco. In the meantime, Afonso IV of Portugal
led an army overland to join Alfonso XI of Castile
near Seville
, and together moved against the besiegers at Tarifa. The Marinid-Nasrid forces were defeated at the battle of Rio Salado
(October, 1340), and Abu al-Hassan forced to retreat back to Algeciras. After this defeat, Al-Hasan ended his campaigns in the Iberian Peninsula
. A few years later, Alfonso XI of Castile had only a little difficulty taking Algeciras
(March, 1344)
The death of Abu al-Hassan's father-in-law, the Hafsid sultan Abu Bakr of Tunisia in 1346, provoked a succession crisis in Ifriqiya
. Several Ifriqyian parties appealed to the Marinid ruler for assistance. In a campaign in early 1347, Abu al-Hassan's Moroccan army swept through Ifriqiya and entered Tunis
in September, 1347. By uniting Morocco, Tlemcen and Ifriqiya, the Marinid ruler Abu al-Hassan effectively accomplished the conquest of dominions as great as the Almohad
empire of the Maghreb
, and the comparison was not lost on contemporaries.
However, it was not to last. Wary of the nomadic Bedouin
Arab tribes of the south, Abu al-Hassan attempted to relieve their chieftans of feudatory rights and transform them into state functionaries, a move which they resisted. In April, 1348, a confederacy of rebel Arab tribes defeated Abu al-Hassan in a pitched battle near Kairouan
. Marinid authority in both Tunisia and Tlemcen collapsed in the aftermath. The sons of the late Abdalwadid
sultan Abu Tashufin recovered Tlemcen
, while a collection of Hafsid princelings staked out strongholds in Constantine, Bona and Bougie. The Marinid empire disintegrated with stunning rapidity, Abu al-Hassan's recent dream of recreating the Almohad empire became a dead letter.
In late 1349, Abu al-Hassan was compelled to leave Tunis
. The overland road to Morocco blocked, he had to take a sea-route home. But the homeward fleet got wrecked by a tempest off Bougie
, and the once-mighty sultan was left stranded in the heart of enemy territory. Abu al-Hassan escaped capture and made his way to some of his partisans in Algiers
. He managed to gather enough forces to attempt a march to recover Tlemcen
, but was defeated by the resurgent Abdalwadid
princes near the Chelif river.
By now, Abu al-Hassan's own son, Abu Inan
, whom he had left as regent in Fez
back in 1347, rebelled against his father and declared himself sovereign ruler of the Marinid empire. As many of his former supporters defected, Abd al-Hassan was forced to proceed to Sijilmassa, in southern Morocco, which he hoped to use as a base to recover his sultanate. But Abu Inan's armies descended on the area, forcing Abu al-Hassan to flee with what remained of his supporters to Marrakech
. In May 1350, Abu Inan defeated Abu al-Hassan by the banks of the Oum er-Rebia
. With Abu Inan on his heels, Abu al-Hassan fled into the high Atlas mountains
, taking refuge among the Hintata tribes. Broken, ill and without resources, the once-mighty Abu al-Hassan, finally agreed to abdicate in favor of Abu Inan in late 1350 or early 1351.
Abu al-Hassan died in May, 1351, still in his Atlas mountain hideout. His body was translated by Abu Inan
, allegedly with great public mourning, to the Marinid
necropolis at Chellah
.
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
and Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
(r. 1331 - 1351). The son of Marinid
Marinid
The Marinid dynasty or Benemerine dynasty was a Zenata Berber dynasty of Morocco. The Marinid dynasty overtook the Almohads in controlling Morocco in 1244. They controlled most of the Maghreb from the mid-14th century to the 15th century and supported the Kingdom of Granada in Al-Andalus in the...
ruler Abu Sa'id Uthman II
Abu Sa'id Uthman II
Abu Sa'id Uthman II was the 10th Marinid sultan...
and an Abyssinian mother, Abu al-Hassan had a dark complexion, and was known as the 'Black Sultan' of Morocco.
He succeeded his father Abu Sa'id Uthman II
Abu Sa'id Uthman II
Abu Sa'id Uthman II was the 10th Marinid sultan...
in 1331. Abu al-Hassan married Fatima, daughter of the Hafsid ruler Abu Bakr of Ifriqiya
Ifriqiya
In medieval history, Ifriqiya or Ifriqiyah was the area comprising the coastal regions of what are today western Libya, Tunisia, and eastern Algeria. This area included what had been the Roman province of Africa, whose name it inherited....
, sealing an alliance between the Marinids and Hafsids against the Abdalwadid
Abdalwadid
Zayyanids or Abd al-Wadids , or Banu Zayan, is the name of a Berber zenata dynasty in North Africa. The Zayyanids, whose capital was Tlemcen existed from 1235 to 1556...
s of Tlemcen
Tlemcen
Tlemcen is a town in Northwestern Algeria, and the capital of the province of the same name. It is located inland in the center of a region known for its olive plantations and vineyards...
.
In June, 1333, responding to the appeal of Nasrid ruler Muhammad IV
Muhammed IV, Sultan of Granada
Muhammed IV was the Nasrid ruler of the Moorish Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula from 1325 to 1333. He was the son of Ismail I, Sultan of Granada and the sixth Nasrid ruler of Granada in Iberia...
of Granada
Emirate of Granada
The Emirate of Granada , also known as the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada , was an emirate established in 1238 following the defeat of Muhammad an-Nasir of the Almohad dynasty by an alliance of Christian kingdoms at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212...
, Abu al-Hassan landed a Moroccan army in Algeciras
Algeciras
Algeciras is a port city in the south of Spain, and is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar . Port of Algeciras is one of the largest ports in Europe and in the world in three categories: container,...
. After a two month siege, he recovered Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
from Castile
Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...
(which had been taken by the Castilians in 1309). The very success of the Gibraltar campaign stoked fears that the Marinids would become too influential in the Granadan court, and provoked the assassination of Muhammad IV by resentful Granadan nobles only a few months later. In spite of this, Muhammad IV's brother and successor, Yusuf I
Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada
Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada was the seventh Nasrid ruler of the Moorish Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula. He was Sultan between 1333 and 1354.-Qualities:...
of Granada
Granada
Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
maintained the alliance with the Marinid ruler.
In 1334, Abu al-Hassan received an appeal from his father-in-law, the Hafsid ruler Abu Bakr of Ifriqiya
Ifriqiya
In medieval history, Ifriqiya or Ifriqiyah was the area comprising the coastal regions of what are today western Libya, Tunisia, and eastern Algeria. This area included what had been the Roman province of Africa, whose name it inherited....
, then fighting off an new invasion by the Abdalwadid
Abdalwadid
Zayyanids or Abd al-Wadids , or Banu Zayan, is the name of a Berber zenata dynasty in North Africa. The Zayyanids, whose capital was Tlemcen existed from 1235 to 1556...
ruler Abu Tashufin of Tlemcen
Tlemcen
Tlemcen is a town in Northwestern Algeria, and the capital of the province of the same name. It is located inland in the center of a region known for its olive plantations and vineyards...
. In early 1335, Marinid forces under Abu al-Hassan invaded Tlemcen from the west and dispatched a naval forced to assist the Hafsids from the east. The Abdalwadids were rolled back into the city of Tlemcen. The Marinid sultan Abu al-Hassan laid a three-year siege of Tlemcen
Tlemcen
Tlemcen is a town in Northwestern Algeria, and the capital of the province of the same name. It is located inland in the center of a region known for its olive plantations and vineyards...
, turning his siege camp into a veritable adjoining city.
In 1336 or 1337, Abu al-Hassan suspended the siege of Tlemcen to campaign in southern Morocco, where his troublesome brother, Abu Ali, who ruled an appanage at Sijilmassa, was threatening to divide the Marinid dominions.
In May, 1337, after a two-year siege, Tlemcen
Tlemcen
Tlemcen is a town in Northwestern Algeria, and the capital of the province of the same name. It is located inland in the center of a region known for its olive plantations and vineyards...
finally fell to a Marinid assault led by Abu al-Hassan. The Abdalwadid
Abdalwadid
Zayyanids or Abd al-Wadids , or Banu Zayan, is the name of a Berber zenata dynasty in North Africa. The Zayyanids, whose capital was Tlemcen existed from 1235 to 1556...
sultan Abu Tashfin and his brothers were captured and killed and the sultanate of Tlemcen
Tlemcen
Tlemcen is a town in Northwestern Algeria, and the capital of the province of the same name. It is located inland in the center of a region known for its olive plantations and vineyards...
(covering roughly modern western half of Algeria) was promptly annexed by the Marinids.
Flush from these victories, in 1339, Abu al-Hassan received an appeal from the Nasrid ruler Yusuf I
Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada
Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada was the seventh Nasrid ruler of the Moorish Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula. He was Sultan between 1333 and 1354.-Qualities:...
of Granada
Emirate of Granada
The Emirate of Granada , also known as the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada , was an emirate established in 1238 following the defeat of Muhammad an-Nasir of the Almohad dynasty by an alliance of Christian kingdoms at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212...
to help roll back the Castilians
Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...
. The assembly of a large Marinid invasion force in Morocco prompted the Castilian king Alfonso XI
Alfonso XI of Castile
Alfonso XI was the king of Castile, León and Galicia.He was the son of Ferdinand IV of Castile and his wife Constance of Portugal. Upon his father's death in 1312, several disputes ensued over who would hold regency, which were resolved in 1313...
to wrap up his quarrel with Afonso IV
Afonso IV of Portugal
Afonso IV , called the Brave , was the seventh king of Portugal and the Algarve from 1325 until his death. He was the only legitimate son of King Denis of Portugal by his wife Elizabeth of Aragon.-Biography:...
of Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
.
In April 1340, a Castilian fleet of some 32 galleys under admiral Alonso Jofre Tenório set out against the Marinid invasion fleet being outfitted at Ceuta
Ceuta
Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain and an exclave located on the north coast of North Africa surrounded by Morocco. Separated from the Iberian peninsula by the Strait of Gibraltar, Ceuta lies on the border of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta along with the other Spanish...
. The Marinid fleet, under the command of Muhammad ibn Ali al-Azafi destroyed the Castilian fleet at the naval battle
Naval battle
A naval battle is a battle fought using boats, ships or other waterborne vessels. Most naval battles have occurred at sea, but a few have taken place on lakes or rivers. The earliest recorded naval battle took place in 1210 BC near Cyprus...
of Gibraltar (April 5, 1340). The Castilian admiral Tenorio was killed in battle and only five Castilian galleys managed to make it safely out.
With the sea now clear for an invasion, Abu al-Hassan spent the rest of the summer calmly ferrying his troops and supplies across the straits to Algeciras
Algeciras
Algeciras is a port city in the south of Spain, and is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar . Port of Algeciras is one of the largest ports in Europe and in the world in three categories: container,...
, crossing himself with the bulk of the Marinid forces in August, 1340. The Marinid invasion force made junction with Granadan forces under Yusuf I
Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada
Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada was the seventh Nasrid ruler of the Moorish Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula. He was Sultan between 1333 and 1354.-Qualities:...
in September, and proceeded to lay siege to Tarifa
Tarifa
Tarifa is a small town in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia, on the southernmost coast of Spain. The town is located on the Costa de la Luz and across the Straits of Gibraltar facing Morocco. The municipality includes Punta de Tarifa, the southernmost point in continental Europe. There are five...
together.
A desperate Alfonso XI
Alfonso XI of Castile
Alfonso XI was the king of Castile, León and Galicia.He was the son of Ferdinand IV of Castile and his wife Constance of Portugal. Upon his father's death in 1312, several disputes ensued over who would hold regency, which were resolved in 1313...
appealed to his father-in-law, the Portuguese king Afonso IV
Afonso IV of Portugal
Afonso IV , called the Brave , was the seventh king of Portugal and the Algarve from 1325 until his death. He was the only legitimate son of King Denis of Portugal by his wife Elizabeth of Aragon.-Biography:...
for assistance. In October, a Portuguese fleet under Manuel Pessanha, supplemented by a leased Genoese fleet, managed to move into position off Tarifa and cut off the besiegers' supply line to Morocco. In the meantime, Afonso IV of Portugal
Afonso IV of Portugal
Afonso IV , called the Brave , was the seventh king of Portugal and the Algarve from 1325 until his death. He was the only legitimate son of King Denis of Portugal by his wife Elizabeth of Aragon.-Biography:...
led an army overland to join Alfonso XI of Castile
Alfonso XI of Castile
Alfonso XI was the king of Castile, León and Galicia.He was the son of Ferdinand IV of Castile and his wife Constance of Portugal. Upon his father's death in 1312, several disputes ensued over who would hold regency, which were resolved in 1313...
near Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, and together moved against the besiegers at Tarifa. The Marinid-Nasrid forces were defeated at the battle of Rio Salado
Battle of Rio Salado
The Battle of Río Salado was a battle of King Afonso IV of Portugal and King Alfonso XI of Castile against sultan Abu al-Hasan 'Ali of the Marinid dynasty of Morocco and the Nasrid ruler Yusuf I of the Kingdom of Granada.-Campaign:...
(October, 1340), and Abu al-Hassan forced to retreat back to Algeciras. After this defeat, Al-Hasan ended his campaigns in the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
. A few years later, Alfonso XI of Castile had only a little difficulty taking Algeciras
Algeciras
Algeciras is a port city in the south of Spain, and is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar . Port of Algeciras is one of the largest ports in Europe and in the world in three categories: container,...
(March, 1344)
The death of Abu al-Hassan's father-in-law, the Hafsid sultan Abu Bakr of Tunisia in 1346, provoked a succession crisis in Ifriqiya
Ifriqiya
In medieval history, Ifriqiya or Ifriqiyah was the area comprising the coastal regions of what are today western Libya, Tunisia, and eastern Algeria. This area included what had been the Roman province of Africa, whose name it inherited....
. Several Ifriqyian parties appealed to the Marinid ruler for assistance. In a campaign in early 1347, Abu al-Hassan's Moroccan army swept through Ifriqiya and entered Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
in September, 1347. By uniting Morocco, Tlemcen and Ifriqiya, the Marinid ruler Abu al-Hassan effectively accomplished the conquest of dominions as great as the Almohad
Almohad
The Almohad Dynasty , was a Moroccan Berber-Muslim dynasty founded in the 12th century that established a Berber state in Tinmel in the Atlas Mountains in roughly 1120.The movement was started by Ibn Tumart in the Masmuda tribe, followed by Abd al-Mu'min al-Gumi between 1130 and his...
empire of the Maghreb
Maghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
, and the comparison was not lost on contemporaries.
However, it was not to last. Wary of the nomadic Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
Arab tribes of the south, Abu al-Hassan attempted to relieve their chieftans of feudatory rights and transform them into state functionaries, a move which they resisted. In April, 1348, a confederacy of rebel Arab tribes defeated Abu al-Hassan in a pitched battle near Kairouan
Kairouan
Kairouan , also known as Kirwan or al-Qayrawan , is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia. Referred to as the Islamic Cultural Capital, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city was founded by the Arabs around 670...
. Marinid authority in both Tunisia and Tlemcen collapsed in the aftermath. The sons of the late Abdalwadid
Abdalwadid
Zayyanids or Abd al-Wadids , or Banu Zayan, is the name of a Berber zenata dynasty in North Africa. The Zayyanids, whose capital was Tlemcen existed from 1235 to 1556...
sultan Abu Tashufin recovered Tlemcen
Tlemcen
Tlemcen is a town in Northwestern Algeria, and the capital of the province of the same name. It is located inland in the center of a region known for its olive plantations and vineyards...
, while a collection of Hafsid princelings staked out strongholds in Constantine, Bona and Bougie. The Marinid empire disintegrated with stunning rapidity, Abu al-Hassan's recent dream of recreating the Almohad empire became a dead letter.
In late 1349, Abu al-Hassan was compelled to leave Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
. The overland road to Morocco blocked, he had to take a sea-route home. But the homeward fleet got wrecked by a tempest off Bougie
Bougie
Bougie, Bougis or Bougy as a place name or surname may refer to:- Places :*Bougy , village, Département Calvados, Normandy, France*Bougy-lez-Neuville, village, Département Loiret, France...
, and the once-mighty sultan was left stranded in the heart of enemy territory. Abu al-Hassan escaped capture and made his way to some of his partisans in Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
. He managed to gather enough forces to attempt a march to recover Tlemcen
Tlemcen
Tlemcen is a town in Northwestern Algeria, and the capital of the province of the same name. It is located inland in the center of a region known for its olive plantations and vineyards...
, but was defeated by the resurgent Abdalwadid
Abdalwadid
Zayyanids or Abd al-Wadids , or Banu Zayan, is the name of a Berber zenata dynasty in North Africa. The Zayyanids, whose capital was Tlemcen existed from 1235 to 1556...
princes near the Chelif river.
By now, Abu al-Hassan's own son, Abu Inan
Abu Inan Faris
Abu Inan Faris was a Marinid ruler. He succeeded his father Abu al-Hasan ibn Uthman as sultan of Morocco in 1348. He died strangled by his vizier in 1358.- History :...
, whom he had left as regent in Fez
Fes
Fes or Fez is the second largest city of Morocco, after Casablanca, with a population of approximately 1 million . It is the capital of the Fès-Boulemane region....
back in 1347, rebelled against his father and declared himself sovereign ruler of the Marinid empire. As many of his former supporters defected, Abd al-Hassan was forced to proceed to Sijilmassa, in southern Morocco, which he hoped to use as a base to recover his sultanate. But Abu Inan's armies descended on the area, forcing Abu al-Hassan to flee with what remained of his supporters to Marrakech
Marrakech
Marrakech or Marrakesh , known as the "Ochre city", is the most important former imperial city in Morocco's history...
. In May 1350, Abu Inan defeated Abu al-Hassan by the banks of the Oum er-Rebia
Oum Er-Rbia River
Oum Er-Rbia , is a river in central Morocco. The river is 555 km long and is the longest in the country. With an average water debit of 105 m3/s, Oum Er-Rbia is the second largest river in Morocco after the Sebou River. It takes source in the Middle Atlas and passes through the city of Khénifra and...
. With Abu Inan on his heels, Abu al-Hassan fled into the high Atlas mountains
Atlas Mountains
The Atlas Mountains is a mountain range across a northern stretch of Africa extending about through Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. The highest peak is Toubkal, with an elevation of in southwestern Morocco. The Atlas ranges separate the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines from the Sahara Desert...
, taking refuge among the Hintata tribes. Broken, ill and without resources, the once-mighty Abu al-Hassan, finally agreed to abdicate in favor of Abu Inan in late 1350 or early 1351.
Abu al-Hassan died in May, 1351, still in his Atlas mountain hideout. His body was translated by Abu Inan
Abu Inan Faris
Abu Inan Faris was a Marinid ruler. He succeeded his father Abu al-Hasan ibn Uthman as sultan of Morocco in 1348. He died strangled by his vizier in 1358.- History :...
, allegedly with great public mourning, to the Marinid
Marinid
The Marinid dynasty or Benemerine dynasty was a Zenata Berber dynasty of Morocco. The Marinid dynasty overtook the Almohads in controlling Morocco in 1244. They controlled most of the Maghreb from the mid-14th century to the 15th century and supported the Kingdom of Granada in Al-Andalus in the...
necropolis at Chellah
Chellah
Chellah, or Sala Colonia is a necropolis and complex of ancient Roman Mauretania Tingitana and medieval ruins at Rabat, Morocco. It is the most ancient human settlement on the mouth of the Bou Regreg River.-History:...
.