Marinid dynasty Imrinen /المرينيون (ar)
← 1244–1465 →
Flag Emblem
The Marinid empire at its maximal extent (1347-1348)
Capital	Fes
Religion	Sunni Islam
Government	Sultanate
Sultan
- 1215-1217	Abd al-Haqq I
- 1420-1465	Abd al-Haqq II
History
- Established	1244
- Disestablished	1465
Currency	Dinar
Today part of	Algeria  Gibraltar  Morocco  Spain Western Sahara

Marinid Dynasty

Country	Morocco
Ancestral house	Banu Marin
Founder	Abd al-Haqq I
Founding	1215

History of Morocco
This article is part of a series
Ancient Morocco Prehistoric and Berber Morocco Mauretania Tingitana
Early Islamic Morocco (7th C. – 11th C.) Umayyad Caliphate Barghawata Confederacy Emirate of Sijilmassa Idrisid kingdom Caliphate of Cordoba Fatimid Caliphate
Empire of Morocco (since 11th C.) Almoravid Empire Almohad Caliphate Kingdom of Marrakech, Kingdom of Fez, Imamate of the Souss, Oasis of Figuig, Kingdom of Sijilmassa, Land of Draa Kingdom of the Souss, Tekna Confederacy
European Protectorate (1912–1956) Treaty of Fez French Protectorate, Spanish Protectorate Rif Republic, Tangier Protocol
Modern Morocco (since 1956) Ifni War Sand War Green March Madrid Accords
Moroccan dynasties Idrisid dynasty Almoravid dynasty Almohad dynasty Marinid dynasty Wattasid dynasty Saadi dynasty Alaouite dynasty
Related Topics 1970s in Morocco 1980s in Morocco 1990s in Morocco 2000s in Morocco Economic history Military history Postal history Imperial cities
Morocco Portal v t e

The Marinid dynasty or Benemerine dynasty (Arabic: مرينيون Marīniyūn or بنو مرين Banū Marīn) was a Zenata Berber dynasty of Morocco.^[1] The Marinid dynasty overtook the Almohads controlling Morocco in 1244.^[2] 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 13th and 14th centuries. The last Marinid fortress in the Iberian Peninsula fell to Castile in 1344.^{[citation needed]} They were replaced in turn by the Wattasids in 1465.

They were the founders of Fes Jdid and built the most important monuments in Fes^[3].

History[link]

The Marinids were a nomadic Zenata Berber tribe from the area between Tlemcen and Tahert.^[4] They advanced through the Moulouya basin east of Morocco. As early as 1145, the Marinids engaged in several battles with the Almohads, the ruling dynasty at the time, who regularly defeated them until 1169. In that year, the Marinids began a dedicated pursuit to take Morocco from the Almohads. Following their expulsion from the south, the Marinids moved northwards under the command of Abu Yahya ibn Abd al-Haqq and took Fes in 1244, making it their capital. This date marks the beginning of the Marinid dynasty.

The Marinid leadership installed in Fes declared war on the Almohads, fighting with the aid of Christian mercenaries. Abu Yusuf Yaqub (1259–1286) captured Marrakech in 1269 and took control of most of the Maghreb towards the end of 1268, including what is now Morocco, Algeria and part of Tunisia. After the Nasrids ceded Algeciras to the Marinids, Abu Yusuf went to Al-Andalus to support the ongoing struggle against the Kingdom of Castile.

The Marinid dynasty then tried to extend its control to include the commercial traffic of the Strait of Gibraltar. To this end, they declared jihad on the Christians and successively occupied the cities of Rota, Algiers and Gibraltar, surrounding Tarifa for the first time in 1294.

Internal power struggles among the Marinids followed, but they did not prevent Abu Said Uthman II (1310–1331) from undertaking substantial construction work in Fes. Several madrassas for the education of public servants were founded as part of a drive to centralize public administration and to reduce the influence of the unreliable marabouts in his realm.

The Marinids also strongly influenced the policy of the Emirate of Granada, from which they enlarged their army in 1275. In the 13th century, the Kingdom of Castile made several incursions into Morocco. In 1260, Castilian forces raided Salé and, in 1267, initiated a full-scale invasion of Morocco, but the Marinids repelled them.

Under Abu al-Hasan (1331–1348) another attempt was made to reunite the Maghreb. In 1337 the empire of the Abdalwadids in (what is now) Algeria was conquered, followed in 1347 by the defeat of the Hafsid empire in Ifriqiya. However in 1340 the Marinids suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of a Portuguese-Castilian coalition in the Battle of Río Salado, and finally had to withdraw from Andalusia. Abu al-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, who was strangled by his own vizir in 1358.

Unruly Arab Bedouin tribes increasingly spread anarchy in Morocco, which accelerated the decline of the empire. The Marinids reduced their funding of the marabouts in the wake of a financial crisis in the 15th century, and the marabouts' political support for the Marinids waned. The empire fractured into multiple small kingdoms and city-states.

Marinid rulers after 1358 came under the control of the Wattasids, who as viziers exercised the real power in the empire. They rotated Marinid sultans, who were often still children, in quick succession to ensure a strong viziership. The Wattasids were equally unable to consolidate the empire, so that in 1415 Portugal was able to occupy the town of Ceuta and by 1513 had gained control over all important harbours on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. After Abd al-Haqq II (1421–1465) tried in vain to break the power of the Wattasids, he finally toppled the Marinid dynasty.

Chronology of events[link]

The Marinid Tombs in Fes, Morocco

Coin minted during the reign of Abu Inan Faris (1348-1358)

• 1215: The Banu Marin (Marinids) attacks the Almohads when the 16 year old Almohad caliph Yusuf II Al-Mustansir comes to power in 1213. The battle takes place on the coast of the Rif. In the reign of Yusuf II Al-Mustansir a great tower is erected to protect the royal palace in Seville.^[5]
• 1217: Abd al-Haqq I dies during victorious combat against the Almohads. His son Uthman ibn Abd al-Haqq (Uthman I) succeeds to the throne. Marinids take possession of the Rif and seem to want to remain there. The Almohades counterattack in vain.
• 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 mercenary militia. Abu Yahya ibn Abd al-Haqq, the third son of Abd Al-Haqq, succeeds him.
• 1249: Severe repression of anti-Marinid forces in Fes.
• 1258: Abu Yahya ibn Abd al-Haqq dies of disease. His uncle, Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd Al-Haqq, fourth son of Abd Al-Haqq, succeeds to the throne.
• 1260: The Castilians raid Salé.
• 1269: Seizure of Marrakesh and the end of Almohad domination of the western Maghreb.
• 1274: The Marinids seize Sijilmassa.
• 1276: Founding of Fes Jdid ("New Fes"), a new city near Fes, which comes to be considered a new district of Fes, in contrast to Fes el Bali ("Old Fes").
• 1286: Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd Al-Haqq dies of disease in Algeciras after a fourth expedition to the Iberian Peninsula. His son Abu Yaqub Yusuf an-Nasr replaces him.
• 1286: Abu Yaqub Yusuf an-Nasr combats revolts in and around the Draa River and the province of Marrakesh.
• 1288: Abu Yaqub Yusuf an-Nasr receives in Fes the envoys of the king of Granada, to whom the town of Cadiz is returned.
• 1291: Construction of the mosque of Taza, the earliest preserved Marinid building.
• 1296: Construction of Sidi Boumediene mosque, or Sidi Belhasan, in Tlemcen.
• 1299: Beginning of Tlemcen's siege by the Marinids, which will last nine years.
• 1306: Conquest and destruction of Taroudant.
• 1307: Abu Yaqub Yusuf an-Nasr is assassinated by a eunuch in connection with some obscure matter related to the harem. His son Abu Thabit Amir succeeds to the throne.
• 1308: Abu Thabit dies of disease after only one year in power in Tetouan, a city which he has just founded. His brother, Abu al-Rabi Sulayman succeeds him.
• 1309: Abu al-Rabi Sulayman enters Ceuta.
• 1310: Abu al-Rabi dies of disease after having repressed a revolt of army officials in Taza. Among them is Gonzalve, chief of the Christian militia. His brother Abu Said Uthman succeeds him to the throne.
• 1323: Construction of the Attarin's madrassa in Fes.
• 1325: Ibn Battuta begins his 29-year journey across Africa and Eurasia.
• 1329: The Marinids defeat the Castilians in Algeciras, establishing 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: A combined Portuguese–Castilian army defeats the Marinids in the battle of Rio Salado, close to Tarifa, the southernmost town of the Iberian peninsula. The Marinids return to Africa.
• 1344: The Castilians take over Algeciras. The Marinids are ejected from Iberia.
• 1347: Abu al-Hasan ibn Uthman destroys the Hafsid dynasty of Tunis and restores his authority over all the Maghreb.
• 1348: Abu al-Hasan dies, his son Abu Inan Faris succeeds him as Marinid ruler.
• 1348: The Black Death and the rebellions of Tlemcen and Tunis mark the beginning of the decline of the Marinids, who are unable to drive back the Portuguese and the Castilians.
• 1350: Construction of Bou Inania's madrassa in Meknes.
• 1351: Second seizure of Tlemcen.
• 1357: Defeat of Abu Inan Faris in front of Tlemcen. Construction of another of Bou Inania's madrassas in Fes.
• 1358 Abu Inan is assassinated by his vizir. A time of confusion starts. Each vizir tries to install weak candidates on the throne.
• 1358: Abu Zian as-Said Muhammad ibn Faris is named sultan by the vizirs, just after the assassination of Abu Inan. His reign lasts only a few months. Abu Yahya abu Bakr ibn Faris comes to power, but also reigns only a few months.
• 1359: Abu Salim Ibrahim is nominated sultan by the vizirs. He is one of the sons of Abu al-Hasan ibn Uthman and is supported by the king of Castille, Pedro.
• 1359: Resurgence of the Zianids of Tlemcen.
• 1361: Abu Umar Tachfin is named the successor to Abu Salim Ibrahim by the vizirs, with the support of the Christian militia. He reigns only a few months.
• 1361: The period called the "reign of the vizirs" ends.
• 1362: Muhammad ibn Yaqub assumes power. He is a young son of Abu al-Hasan ibn Uthman, who had taken refuge in Castile.
• 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, beginning a new period of instability. The vizirs try on several occasions to install a puppet sovereign.
• 1373: Muhammad as-Said is presented as the heir to his father, Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz ibn Ali, but being only five years old cannot reign, and dies in the same year.
• 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 temporarily removed by the Nasrids. The Nasrids replace him with Abu Faris Musa ibn Faris, a disabled son of Abu Inan Faris. This ensures 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 follow the sudden death of Abu Al-Abbas in Taza make it possible for the Christian sovereigns to carry the war into 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, king Henry III of Castile arrives in Morocco, seizes Tetouan, massacres half of the population and reduces the rest to slavery.
• 1415: King John I of Portugal seizes Ceuta. This conquest marks the beginning of overseas European expansion.
• 1420: Abu Said Uthman dies. He is replaced by his son, Abu Muhammad Abd al-Haqq, who is only one year old.
• 1437: Failure of a Portuguese expedition to Tangier. Many prisoners are taken and the infant Fernando, the Saint Prince is kept as a hostage. A treaty is made with the Portuguese enabling them to embark if they return Ceuta. Fernando is kept as a hostage to guarantee the execution of this pact. Influenced by Pope Eugene IV, Edward of Portugal sacrifices his brother for national trade interests.
• 1458: King Afonso V of Portugal prepares an army for a crusade against the Ottomans in response to the call of Pope Pius II, but he instead uses the army to attack a small port located between Tangier and Ceuta.
• 1459: Abu Muhammad Abd Al-Haqq revolts against his own Wattasid vizirs. Only two brothers survive, who will become the first Wattasid sultans in 1472.
• 1462: Ferdinand IV of Castile takes over Gibraltar.
• 1465: Abu Muhammad Abd Al-Haqq appoints a Jewish vizir, Aaron ben Batash, provoking a popular revolt. The sultan dies in the revolt when his throat is cut. The Portuguese king Afonso V finally manages to take Tangier, benefitting from the troubles in Fes.
• 1472: Abu Abdallah sheikh Muhammad ibn Yahya, one of the two Wattasid vizirs surviving the 1459 massacre, installs himself in Fes, where he founds the Wattasid dynasty.

Marinid rulers[link]

Court of the medersa Bou Inania in Meknes (Morocco)

• 1215-1269 : leaders of the Marinids, engaged in a struggle against the Almohads, based in Taza from 1216 to 1244
  • Abd al-Haqq I (1215–1217)
  • Uthman I (1217–1240)
  • Muhammad I (1240–1244)
• Since 1244 : Marinid Emirs based in Fez
  • Abu Yahya ibn Abd al-Haqq (1244–1258)
  • Umar (1258–1259)
  • Abu Yusuf Yaqub (1259–1269)
• 1269-1465 : Marinid Sultans of Fez and Morocco
  • Abu Yusuf Yaqub (1269–1286)
  • Abu Yaqub Yusuf (1286–1306)
  • Abu Thabit Amir (1307–1308)
  • Abu al-Rabi Sulayman (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 Tashfin (1361)
  • Abu Zayyan Muhammad III (1362–1366)
  • Abu l-Fariz Abdul Aziz I (1366–1372)
  • Muhammad as-Saîd (1372-1374)
  • Abu l-Abbas Ahmad (1374–1384)
  • 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)
  • Abd al-Haqq II (1420–1465)

Marinid vizirs[link]

• 1344: Askar Ibn Tahabrit

Wattasid dynasty

• 1420-1448 : Abu Zakariya Yahya
• 1448-1458 : Ali ibn Yusuf
• 1458-1459 : Yahya ibn Abi Zakariya Yahya

See also[link]

• Marinid Tombs in Fes
• List of Sunni Muslim dynasties

External links[link]

• A map showing the rule of the Marinids ca. 1400.

Line notes[link]

Bibliography[link]

• JULIEN, Charles-André, Histoire de l'Afrique du Nord, des origines à 1830, édition originale 1931, réédition Payot, Paris, 1994 (French)
• Marinid Dynasty at britannica

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 from:711 till:750 text:Umayyad Caliphate
 from:1147 till:1153 text:2nd Taifa period

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 from:750 till:929 text:Emirate of Cordoba
 from:1031 till:1091 text:1st Taifa period
 from:1228 till:1266 text:3rd Taifa period

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 from:929 till:1031 text:Caliphate of Cordoba
 from:1238 till:1492 text:Nasrid dynasty

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 from:744 till:1058 text:Berghawata of Tamesna
 from:1121 till:1269 text:Almohads
 from:1509 till:1659 text:Saadi dynasty
 from:1666 till:2012 text:Alaouite dynasty
 

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 from:789 till:927 text:Idrisids
 from:1040 till:1147 text:Almoravids
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 from:1619 till:1668 text:Republic of Salé
 

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 from:710 till:1019 text:Kingdom of Nekor
 from:1236 till:1337 text:Abdalwadid 1st period

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 from:790 till:1066 text:Banu Ifran Confederacy
 from:1348 till:1352 text:Abdalwadid 2nd period
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 from:800 till:909 text:Aghlabids
 from:973 till:1152 text:Zirid dynasty
 from:1359 till:1556 text:Abdalwadid 3rd period

 bar:hist37
 from:761 till:909 text:Rustamid
 from:1014 till:1152 text:Hammadid
 from:1229 till:1574 text:Hafsid dynasty
 from:1705 till:1957 text:Husainid Dynasty

 bar:hist38
 from:909 till:973 text:Fatimid Caliphate
 from:1185 till:1202 text:Banu Ghaniya
 from:1517 till:1830 text:Ottoman Empire
 from:1949 till:1969 text:Senussi