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Marinid Dynasty in its Greatest Extent
''The Anglicised name used for this article derives from the Arabic 'Banu Marin' (also 'Benī Merīn', which is the source of the Spanish name).''
The 'Marinid dynasty' (aka 'Marinid' or 'Benemerine dynasty') was formed in 1244 and were largely concentrated in present-day
Morocco. They overtook the
Almohads in controlling most of the
Maghreb from the mid-
1300s to the
15th century, and also supported the
Kingdom of Granada, in
Al-Andalus, in the 12th and 13th centuries. The last Marinid fortress in
Spain fell to
Castile in 1344, and they were in turn replaced by the
Hafsid dynasty in 1465.
The Marinid (aka 'Beni Marin',
Arabic: مرينيون ''marîniyûn'' or بنو مرين ''banû marîn'';
Spanish ''MarinÃ''/''MarinÃes'') were originally a
Zenata-
Berber tribe of
North Africa. The Marinid stock was related to the
Umayyads in
Córdoba,
Spain .
History
The Marinids originally came from
Ifriqiya, through the southeast of present-day
Morocco, from which they were expelled in 1224 by another tribe, the
Hilali. As early as 1145 the Marinids engaged in battles with the
Almohad, which defeated them until 1169.
In
1169, the Marinids began their pursuit of taking
Morocco from the Almohads, the ruling dynasty at the time. Following their expulsion from the south, they moved northwards under command of
Abu Yahya ibn Abd al-Haqq and took
Fes in
1248, making it their capital. This marked the beginning of the Marinid dynasty.
The Marinid leadership installed in
Fes declared war on the Almohads with the aid of Christian
mercenaries.
Abu Yusuf Yaqub (1259-1286) captured
Marrakech in 1269, and then took control of most of the
Maghreb towards the end of
1268, including present-day Morocco,
Algeria and part of
Tunisia. After the
Nasrids cession of
Algeciras to the Marinidas, Abu Yusuf went to
Andalucia to support them in their struggle against the
Kingdom of Castile.
Having obtained this control, the Marinid dynasty tried to extend its control to the commercial traffic of the
Strait of Gibraltar. To this end, they declared ''
jihad'' on the
Christians and occupied the cities of
Rota,
Algiers and
Gibraltar successively, surrounding
Tarifa for the first time in
1294.
Internal power struggles among the Merinids followed, which didn't however prevent
Abu Said Utman II (1310-1331) from substantial construction work in Fez. Several
madrassas for the education of public servants were founded, in order to support the centralisation of
administration and to reduce the influence of the not always reliable
Marabuts.
The Marinids also strongly influenced the policy of the
Kingdom of Granada, from which they enlarged their army in 1275. In the mid 1300s, Castile made several incursions into Morocco and in
1267 a full-scale invasion of Morocco, but the Marinids successfully defended Morocco and drove out the
Spaniards.
Under
Abu Hasan (
1331-
1348) another attempt to reunite the
Maghreb was made. In 1337 the empire of the
Abdalwads in modern-day Algeria was conquered, followed in 1347 by the empire of the
Hafsids in
Ifriqiya (Tunisia). However in 1340 the Merinids suffered a crushing defeat at the hands a Castilian-Aragonese coalition at the
Battle of Rio Salado, and finally had to withdraw from Andalucia. Abu l-Hasan was deposed by his son
Abu Inan Faris (1348-1358), who tried to reconquer Algeria and Tunisia. Despite several successes, the dynasty began to decline after the murder of Abu Inan Faris, strangled by his own vizier in 1358.
Unruly
Bedouin and Berber tribes increasingly spread anarchy in Morocco, which accelerated the fall of the empire. The support of the Marabuts also declined, after the Merinids reduced their financial support in the 15th century due to a financial crisis. The empire became fractured into multiple small kingdoms and city-states, such as the
Kingdom of Fez, which partitioned from the Marinid dynasty in 1374, and opposed the
Kingdom of Marrakech. The Kingdom of Fez covered a vast area in today's eastern Algeria to the gates of
Tlemsen, Spanish ''
Plaza de soberanÃa'' and northern Morocco.
Merinid rulers after
1358 came under the control of the
Wattasids which exercised the real power in the empire as
viziers. They rotated Merinid sultans, often still children, in quick succession to ensure a strong viziership. The Wattasids were however equally unable to consolidated the empire, so that in
1415 Portugal occupired the town of
Ceuta and by
1513 had occupied all important harbours on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. After
Abdalhaqq II (1421-1465) tried in vain to break the power of the Wattasids, they finally toppled the dynasty of the Merinids.
Chronology of events
★
1215: Banu Marin (Marinids) attack the
Almohads when the very young 16 years old Almohad caliph
Yusuf II Al-Mustansir took power in
1213. The battle took place on the coast of
Rif.
★
1217:
Abd al-Haqq I dies during a victorious combat against Almohads. His son
Uthman ibn Abd al-Haqq (Uthman I) succeeds to the throne. Marinids take possession of Rif and seemed to want to remain there. The Almohades take the initiative of vain counter-attacks.
★
1240:
Uthman I is assassinated by one of his
Christian slaves. His brother
Muhammad ibn Abd Al-Haqq (Muhammad I) succeeds him.
★
1244: Muhammad I is killed by an officer of his own Christian mercenaries' militia.
Abu Yahya ibn Abd al-Haqq, the third son of Abd Al-Haqq, succeeds him.
★
1249: Severe repression of an anti-marinids in
Fes.
★
1258: Abu Yahya ibn Abd al-Haqq dies of disease. He is buried in the
necropolis of
Chellah near
Rabat. His uncle
Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd Al-Haqq, fourth son of Abd Al-Haqq succeeds to the throne.
★
1260: Raid of the
Castilians over
Salé.
★
1269: Seizure of
Marrakech and the end of the almohad domination in Western
Maghreb. The marinids prefer build a new city
Fes Jdid that will replace Marrakech as a capital city 1276.
★
1274: The marinids seizure of
Sijilmassa.
★
1276: Founding of
Fes Jdid (''New Fes''), a new city beside
Fes which is considered rather as a new district of Fes in opposition to
Fes el Bali (''Old Fes'').
★
1286: Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd Al-Haqq dies of disease in
Algesiras (nowadays in
Spain) after a fourth expedition to Spain. His son
Abu Yaqub Yusuf an-Nasr replaces him.
★
1286: Abu Yaqub Yusuf an-Nasr fights against the revolts which occurred in around
Draa River and the province of
Marrakech.
★
1296: Construction of Sidi Boumediene mosque , or Sidi Belhasan in
Tlemcen (nowadays
Algeria).
★
1299: Beginning of Tlemcen's
siege by the Marinids which will last nine years.
★
1288: Abu Yaqub Yusuf an-Nasr receives envoys of
king de Granada in Fes to which it was returned the town of
Cadiz (nowadays
Spain).
★
1291: Construction of the mosque of
Taza, the first preserved marinid building.
★
1307: Abu Yaqub Yusuf an-Nasr is assassinated by an
eunuch for an obscure business of
harem. His son
Abu Thabit Amir succeeds him to the throne.
★
1308: Abu Thabit dies of disease in
Tetouan, a city which he had just founded. He dies of a disease after one year in power. His brother,
Abu al-Rabi Sulayman succeeds him.
★
1309: Abu al-Rabi Sulayman enters
Ceuta.
★
1310: Abu al-Rabi dies carried of disease after having repressed a revolt of army official in Taza. Among them Gonzalve, chief of the Christian militia. His brother
Abu Said Uthman succeeds him to the throne.
★
1323: Construction of the
Attarin's madrasa in Fes.
★
1329: Victory against the
Castilians in
Algeciras, establish a foothold in the south of the Iberian peninsula with the hope of reversing the
Reconquista.
★
1331: Abu Said Uthman dies. His son
Abu al-Hasan ibn Uthman succeeds him .
★
1337: First occupation of
Tlemcen.
★
1340: Castillians defeat of the Marinids at the
battle of Rio Salado close to
Tarifa, the southernmost town of the Iberian peninsula.
★
1344: The Castilians take over
Algesiras. Marinids ejected from Iberia.
★
1347: Abu al-Hasan ibn Uthman destroys the
Hafsid dynasty of
Tunis and restores his authority on all
Maghreb but this success was of short duration.
★
1348: Abu al-Hasan dies, his son
Abu Inan Faris succeeded him as Maririd ruler.
★
1348: The
Black Death and the rebellions of
Tlemcen and
Tunis mark the beginning of the decline of Marinids which will not manage to drive back the
Portuguese and the
Spaniards, thus allowing them, by the means also of their successors
Wattasids settling on the coast.
★
1350: Construction of
Bou Inania's medersa in
Meknes.
★
1351: Second seizure of Tlemcen.
★
1357: Defeat of Abu Inan Faris in front of Tlemcen. Construction of another
Bou Inania's medersa in Fes.
★
1358: Abu Inan is assassinated by his
vizir. Confusions started. Each vizier tries to install his weakest candidate on the throne.
★
1358:
Abu Zian as-Said Muhammad ibn Faris was named a Marinid Sultan by the vizirs, just after the assassination of Abu Inan. His reign will last a few months only.
Abu Yahya abu Bakr ibn Faris comes to power. He also reigned only a few months.
★
1359:
Abu Salim Ibrahim is nominated a Sultan by the vizirs. He is one of sons of
Abu al-Hasan ibn Uthman. He is supported by
king of Castille Pedro the Cruel.
★
1359: Resurgence of the Zianids of Tlemcen.
★
1361: Abu Salim Ibrahim is replaced by
Abu Umar Tachfin. This one was supported by the Christian militia and was named successor of Abu Salim Ibrahim by the vizirs. He reigned only a few months.
★
1361: The period called the "reign of the vizirs" is over.
★
1362:
Muhammad ibn Yaqub takes power. He is a small son of Abu al-Hasan ibn Uthman who had taken refuge in Castille.
★
1366: Muhammad ibn Yaqub is assassinated by his vizir. He is replaced by
Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz ibn Ali, one of the sons of Abu al-Hasan ibn Uthman who until this time, had been held locked up in the palace of Fes.
★
1370: Third seizure of Tlemcen.
★
1372: Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz ibn Ali dies of disease leaving the throne to his very young son
Muhammad as-Said. This led to a new period marked by instability. The vizirs try on several occasions to impose a
puppet sovereign.
★
1373: Muhammad as-Said who is presented like a heir to his father Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz ibn Ali at the 5 years old cannot reign as he dies in 1373.
★
1374:
Abu al-Abbas Ahmad, supported by the
Nasrid princes of Granada takes power.
★
1374: Partition of the empire into two Kingdoms; the
Kingdom of Fes and the
Kingdom of Marrakech.
★
1384: Abu al-Abbas is removed temporarily by the Nasrids after 10 years of reign. Nasrids replace him with
Abu Faris Musa ibn Faris, a disabled person and son of Abu Inan Faris which ensured a kind of interim during the reign of Abu al-Abbas Ahmad from 1384 to 1386.
★
1384:
Abu Zayd Abd ar-Rahman reigns over the
Kingdom of Marrakech from 1384 to 1387 while the Marinid throne is still based in Fes.
★
1386:
Al-Wathiq ensures the second part of the interim in the reign of Abu al-Abbas from 1386 to 1387.
★
1387: Abu Al-Abbas begins to give vizirs more power. Morocco knows six years of peace again although Abu Al-Abbas benefits from this period to reconquer
Tlemcen and
Algiers.
★
1393: Abu Al-Abbas dies.
Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz ibn Ahmad is designated as the new Sultan. The troubles which followed the sudden death of Abu Al-Abbas in
Taza made it possible to the Christian sovereigns to carry the war in Morocco.
★
1396:
Abu Amir Abdallah succeeds to the throne.
★
1398: Abu Amir dies. His brother
Abu Said Uthman ibn Ahmad takes power.
★
1399: Benefitting from the anarchy within the Marinid kingdom, the king
Henry III of Castile unloads in Morocco, seizes
Tetouan, massacres half of the population and reduced it to
slavery.
★
1415: King
John I of Portugal seizes
Ceuta. This conquest marks the beginning of the overseas European expansion.
★
1420: Abu Said Uthman dies. He is replaced by his son
Abu Muhammad Abd al-Haqq at the age of 1 year.
★
1437: Failure of a Portuguese at an expedition to
Tangier. Many prisoners are being held and the infant
Ferdinand I of Portugal is kept as a hostage. A treaty intervened where the Portuguese obtained to be able to re-embark themselves in condition of returning
Ceuta back. Ferdinand is kept as a hostage to guarantee the execution of this pact. Influenced by
Pope Eugene IV,
Edward of Portugal sacrifies his brother for his trade interests.
★
1458: The king
Afonso V of Portugal prepares an army for a crusade against the
Ottomans after the call of
Pope Pius II. He finally preferred to turn over his force against a small port located between
Tangier and
Ceuta.
★
1459: Abu Muhammad Abd Al-Haqq revolts against his own Wattasid viziers. Only two brothers survived. They will become the first
Watassids sultans in
1472.
★
1462: Ferdinand IV of Castille takes over
Gibraltar.
★
1465: Abu Muhammad Abd Al-Haqq has his throat cut in Fes during a popular revolt. The Portuguese king Alphonse V finally manages to take Tangier while benefitting from the troubles in Fes.
★
1472:
Abu Abdallah sheikh Muhammad ibn Yahya, one of the two Wattasid viziers survivors of
1459 massacre will install himself in
Fes where he would found the
Wattasid dynasty.
Chronology of Marinid rulers
★
Abd al-Haqq I (1195-1217)
★
Uthman I (1217-1240)
★
Muhammad I (1240-1244)
★
Abu Yahya ibn Abd al-Haqq (1244 - 1258)
★ Umar (1258 - 1259)
★
Abu Yusuf Yaqub (1259 - 1286)
★
Abu Yaqub Yusuf (1286 - 1306)
★
Abu Thabit (1307 - 1308)
★ Abu l-Rabia (1308 - 1310)
★
Abu Said Uthman II (1310 - 1331)
★
Abu al-Hasan 'Ali (1331 - 1348)
★
Abu Inan Faris (1348 - 1358)
★ Muhammad II as Said (1359)
★ Abu Salim Ali II (1359 - 1361)
★ Abu Umar Taschufin (1361)
★ Abu Zayyan Muhammad III (1362 - 1366)
★ Abu l-Fariz Abdul Aziz I (1366 - 1372)
★ Abu l-Abbas Ahmad (1372 - 1374)
★ Abu Zayyan Muhammad IV (1384 - 1386)
★ Muhammad V (1386 - 1387)
★ Abu l-Abbas Ahmad (1387 - 1393)
★ Abdul Aziz II (1393 - 1398)
★ Abdullah (1398 - 1399)
★ Abu Said Uthman III (1399 - 1420)
★
Abdalhaqq II (1420 - 1465)
External links
★
A map showing the rule of the Marinids ca. 1400.
References
★ JULIEN, Charles-André, ''Histoire de l'Afrique du Nord'', des origines à 1830, édition originale 1931, réédition Payot, Paris, 1994
★
Marinid Dynasty at britannica
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