Kingdom of Fez
Encyclopedia
The Kingdom of Fez or Wattasid sultanate was the name given to the northern part of Morocco
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...

 between 1472 and 1554 with its capital at Fez.
The Wattasid are a branch of the Zenete, a Berber
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...

 clan whose origins lie in what is now modern day Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

.

Overview

Morocco endured a prolonged multifaceted crisis in the 15th and early 16th brought about by economic, political, social and cultural issues. Population growth remained stagnant and traditional commerce with black Africa cut off as the Portuguese occupied all ports. At the same time, towns were impoverished and intellectual life on the decline.

History

Morocco was in decline when the The Berber Wattasid dynasty assumed power. While the previous rulers, the Merinid, tried to repel the Portuguese and Spanish invasions and help the kingdom of Grenada
Grenada
Grenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...

 to outlive the Reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...

, the Wattasids accumulated power through political maneuvering. When the Merinids became aware of the extent of the conspiracy, they slaughtered the Wattasids, leaving only Abu Abd Allah ach-Chaykh Muhammad ben Yahya alive. He went on to found the Kingdom of Fez and establish the dynasty to be succeeded by his son, Mohammed al-Burtuqali, in 1504.

The Wattasid rulers failed in their promise to protect Morocco from foreign incursions and the Portuguese increased their presence on Morocco's coast. Mohammad al-Chaykh's son attempted to capture Assilah and Tangiers in 1508, 1511 and 1515, but without success.

In the south, a new dynasty arose: the Saadians who seized Marrakesh in 1524 and made it their capital. By 1537 the Saadians were in the ascendent when they defeated the Portuguese at Agadir
Agadir
Agadir is a major city in southwest Morocco, capital of the Agadir province and the Sous-Massa-Draa economic region .-Etymology:...

. Their military successes contrast with the Wattasid policy of conciliation towards the Catholic kings to the north.

As a result the people of Morocco tended to regard the Saadians as heroes, making it easier for them to retake the Portuguese strongholds on the coast, including Tangiers, 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...

 and Mazagan. The Saadians also attacked the Watttasids who were forced to yield to the new power. In 1554, as Wattasid towns surrendered, the Wattasid sultan, Abou Hasan Ali, briefly retook Fez. The Saadians quickly settled the matter by killing him and, as the last Wattasids fled Morocco by ship, they too were murdered by pirates.

The Wattasid did little to improve general conditions in Morocco following the Reconquista. It was necessary to wait for the Saadians for order to be reestablished and the expansionist ambitions of the kingdoms of the Iberian peninsula to be curbed.

Chronology of events

  • 1479 By the Treaty of Alcáçovas
    Treaty of Alcaçovas
    The Treaty of Alcáçovas put an end to the War of the Castilian Succession in favor of Isabella I of Castile, and confirmed Castilian control of the Canary Islands and Portuguese control of the Madeira , Azores and Cape Verde islands , all in the Atlantic Ocean The Treaty of Alcáçovas (also known...

     (1479) and the Treaty of Tordesillas
    Treaty of Tordesillas
    The Treaty of Tordesillas , signed at Tordesillas , , divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between Spain and Portugal along a meridian 370 leagueswest of the Cape Verde islands...

     (1494), Spain
    Spain
    Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

     recognized the kingdom as being in the Portuguese
    Kingdom of Portugal
    The Kingdom of Portugal was Portugal's general designation under the monarchy. The kingdom was located in the west of the Iberian Peninsula, Europe and existed from 1139 to 1910...

     sphere of influence.

  • 1485 Treaty with Spain: The sultanate agrees to not help the Kingdom of Granada; Spain
    Spain
    Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

     agrees not to capture Moroccan ships in the Alboran Sea
    Alboran Sea
    |300px|thumb|]]The Alboran Sea is the westernmost portion of the Mediterranean Sea, lying between Spain on the north and Morocco and Algeria on the south...

    .

  • 1488 Portuguese conquer Safi
    Safi, Morocco
    Safi is a city in western Morocco on the Atlantic Ocean. The capital of the Doukkala-Abda Region, it has a population of 282,227 , but is also the centre of an agglomeration which has an estimated 793,000 inhabitants ....


  • 1491 Abū `Abd Allāh Muhammed XIII (El Zagal) went to Fez, but was captured and blinded.

  • 1492 Arrival of Spanish Muslims and Jews.

  • 1497 Spain captures Melilla
    Melilla
    Melilla is a autonomous city of Spain and an exclave on the north coast of Morocco. Melilla, along with the Spanish exclave Ceuta, is one of the two Spanish territories located in mainland Africa...


  • 1502 Portugal captures Mazagan.

  • 1505 Portugal captures Agadir
    Agadir
    Agadir is a major city in southwest Morocco, capital of the Agadir province and the Sous-Massa-Draa economic region .-Etymology:...

    .

  • 1506 Portugal captures Mogador.

  • 1511 Saadians capture Rabat
    Rabat
    Rabat , is the capital and third largest city of the Kingdom of Morocco with a population of approximately 650,000...


  • 1524 Saadians capture Marrakesh

  • 1527 Battle of Vado de Bacuna bethween the Wattasids and the Saadians. Boabdil
    Boabdil
    Abu `Abdallah Muhammad XII , known as Boabdil , was the twenty-second and last Nasrid ruler of Granada in Iberia. He was also called el chico, the little, or el zogoybi, the unfortunate...

     is killed.

  • 1541 Saadians capture Agadir
    Agadir
    Agadir is a major city in southwest Morocco, capital of the Agadir province and the Sous-Massa-Draa economic region .-Etymology:...


  • 1541 Saadians capture Safi
    Safi, Morocco
    Safi is a city in western Morocco on the Atlantic Ocean. The capital of the Doukkala-Abda Region, it has a population of 282,227 , but is also the centre of an agglomeration which has an estimated 793,000 inhabitants ....


  • 1542 Hasan Hâsim captures Tetuan

  • 1548 the last wattasid king is captured by the Saadians.

  • 1550 Saadians conquer Fez.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK