Capture of Fez (1576)

Last updated
Capture of Fez
Part of Ottoman Expeditions to Morocco
Ottoman miniature of the Capture of Morocco commanded by Ramazan Pasha.jpg
Ottoman miniature depicting the capture of Morocco under the command of the Algerian governor Ramazan Pasha
DateMarch 1576
Location
Fez, Saadi Sultanate
34°18′N4°54′W / 34.3°N 4.9°W / 34.3; -4.9
Result

Ottoman Algerian victory

Belligerents
Saadi Sultanate Flag of Algiers.jpg Regency of Algiers
Flag of Ottoman Empire (1517-1793).svg  Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Mulay Muhammed Abd al-Malek
Ramazan Pasha
Strength
Turkish sources: 60,000 [8] [9] Turkish sources: 14,700 [8]
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown
Morocco location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Capture of Fez
class=notpageimage|
Location of capture of Fez in Morocco.

The Capture of Fez occurred in 1576 at the Moroccan city of Fez, when an Ottoman force from Algiers supported the prince Abd al-Malik in gaining the throne of the Saadi Sultanate against his nephew and rival claimant Mulay Muhammed al-Mutawakkil in exchange for making the Sultanate an Ottoman vassal. [10] [3]

Contents

Background

The Saadi sovereign Abdallah al-Ghalib had been paying an annual tribute of vassalage to the Ottomans, his successor al-Mutawakkil had to accept the conditions of Murad III by the end of 1574 and pay annual taxes, however this did not prevent the Ottomans from supporting Abd al-Malik against him. [11]

During his exile Abd al-Malik had learned Turkish, adopted the Ottoman dress, joined the Janissary corps and became a trusted member of the Ottoman establishment. [2] Abd al-Malik petitioned Murad III for military assistance in seizing the Saadi throne from Al-Mutawakkil, he made a proposition of making Morocco an Ottoman vassal with little effort on the part of Istanbul. [2]

Battle

In 1576 an Ottoman force commanded by Ramazan Pasha and Abd al-Malik left Algiers to install Abd al-Malik as the ruler of Morocco and vassal to the Ottoman sultan. [3] [12] Among its divisions was a contingent of Janissaries, 1,000 Zwawas from the kingdom of Kuku [13] and two thousand troops led by Abd al-Malik himself. [14] A decisive battle took place at ar-Rukn, near Fez, [15] [10] [12] which Al-Mutawakkil lost, in part due to the desertion of his Andalusian contingents right before the battle. [12] [2] Abd al-Malik then occupied Fez on 11 March 1576. [15] Al-Mutawakkil fled to Marrakesh but was defeated again and forced to take refuge in the Sous. [15] [2] Abd al-Malik assumed rule over Morocco as a vassal of the Ottomans. [4] [5] [6] [7] [12] Murad III’s name was recited in the Friday prayer and stamped on coinage, two traditional signs of sovereignty in the Islamic world. [16]

Aftermath

Abd al-Malik recognized the Ottoman Sultan Murad III as Caliph, and reorganized his army along Ottoman lines and adopted Ottoman customs, but negotiated for the Ottoman troops to leave his country in exchange for a large payment in gold, suggesting that he had a looser concept of vassalage than what the Ottoman sultan may have supposed. [2] [3] At his request, 300 Janissaries and 1,000 Zwawas remained in Fes to form his honour guard. [13] The two year reign of Abd al-Malik was understood by all to be a period of de facto Moroccan vassalage to Istanbul. [4]

Abd al-Malik hastened to send his annual tax to Istanbul, the first annual tax he sent was 200,000 gold coins. [17] [18] In a letter that Abd al-Malik had written to the qaid of Tetouan dated 18 March 1576 he referred to himself as the servant of the Ottoman sultan and ruler of the Moors, Morocco, Marrakesh, Sous and Taroudant. [19] : 302  He conducted large scale reform movements in Morocco, hundreds of Turkish officers, technicians and craftsmen came to Morocco and entered his service. [18] His brief reign opened a period of the “Turkification” of Morocco which continued under his successor Ahmad al-Mansur, Abd al-Malik spoke Turkish, dressed in Ottoman fashion, reorganised his administration and his army in imitation of Ottoman practices and used Ottoman Turkish titles for his officials. [20] [21]

Meanwhile, Al-Mutawakkil fled to Spain and then Portugal, when Sebastian of Portugal promised to help him regain his throne. This led to an expedition and the Battle of Ksar El Kebir in 1578, also known as the Battle of Three Kings which was a considerable defeat for the Portuguese and having lost their childless monarch Portugal passed into the hands of Spanish throne. Prior to the battle, Abd al-Malik had recognised himself as a vassal of the Sublime Porte. [22]

Abd al-Malik was succeeded by his brother Ahmad al-Mansur who continued to formally recognize the suzerainty of the Ottoman Sultan at the beginning of his reign, though this status changed in the following years as Ahmad sought to break with Ottoman dependence. [23] [24]

Notes

  1. ↑ ‎هيسبريس تمودا Volume 29, Issue 1 Editions techniques nord-africaines, 1991
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Akyeampong, Emmanuel Kwaku; Gates, Professor Henry Louis Jr. (2012-02-02). Dictionary of African Biography. Oxford University Press. p. 23. ISBN   978-0-19-538207-5.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Levtzion, Nehemia (1977). "The Western Maghrib and Sudan" . In Oliver, Roland (ed.). The Cambridge History of Africa, vol. 3: From c.1050 to c.1600. Cambridge University Press. p.  408. doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521209816.007. ISBN   9780521209816.
  4. 1 2 3 Barletta, Vincent (2010-05-15). Death in Babylon: Alexander the Great and Iberian Empire in the Muslim Orient: Pages 82 and 104. University of Chicago Press. p. 82. ISBN   978-0-226-03739-4.
  5. 1 2 Langues et littératures, Volume 1Faculté des lettres et des sciences humaines
  6. 1 2 La Kalaa des Béni Abbès au XVIe siècle. p.276. Youssef Benoudjit Dahlab, 1997
  7. 1 2 Islam et Occident méditerranéen: de la conquête aux Ottomans p.289 - Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques
  8. 1 2 Önalp, Ertuğrul. Osmanlının güney seferleri: XVI. yüzyılda Hint okyanusu'nda Türk-Portekiz mücadelesi. Berikan Yayınevi, 2010.
  9. ↑ Büyüktuğrul, Afif. Osmanli deniz harp tarihi. T.C. Deniz Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı, 1970.
  10. 1 2 The Stukeley plays: The Battle of Alcazar by George Peele Charles Edelman p.13
  11. ↑ Belleten. Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, 1996. Page 380: “‬Murad'ın ( 1574 sonu ) yıllık vergi verme konusunda , şartlarını kabul zorunda kalmışur . Buna rağmen verilen ta'viz yine de Osmanlı Sultanı'nın el - Mütevekkil'e karşı amcası Abdülmelik'i desteklemesini engelleyememiş“
  12. 1 2 3 4 Hess, Andrew C. (2010). The Forgotten Frontier: A History of the Sixteenth-century Ibero-African Frontier. University of Chicago Press. p. 96. ISBN   9780226330310.
  13. 1 2 Hugh Roberts (2014). Berber Government The Kabyle Polity in Pre-colonial Algeria. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 175. ISBN   978-0-85773-689-5.
  14. ↑ Hess, Andrew (1978). The Forgotten Frontier : A History of the Sixteenth-Century Ibero-African Frontier. University of Chicago Press. p. 96. ISBN   9780226330310.
  15. 1 2 3 Véronne, Chantal de la (2012). "Saʿdids". In Bearman, P.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C.E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W.P. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Brill.
  16. ↑ Itzkowitz, Norman. Ottoman empire and Islamic tradition. University of Chicago Press, 2008.
  17. ↑ Öztuna, Yılmaz. Osmanli devleti tarihi. No. 1. Faisal Finans Kurumu, 1986. Page 272: “İlk yillik vergi olmak üzere Istanbul'a 200.000 altın gönderdi ve Sultan Murad'ın sådık bir bendesi olduğunu bildirdi . Osmanlı teşkilâtını örnek alarak Fas ordu ve yönetiminde reforma başladı“
  18. 1 2 Öztuna, Yılmaz. Türk tarihinden yapraklar. Vol. 11. Ötüken Neşriyat AŞ, 1969.
  19. ↑ Ceran, İsmail. Vâdilmehâzin Savaşı (4 Ağustos 1578). Belleten. Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, 1996. “Abdülmelik, 18 Mart 1576 (983) tarihinde Tetuan kaidi Ahmed Mulay el-Fedhol'a yazdığı mektubunda şu ifadeler ile; "Osmanlı Sultanı'nın hâdimi,”
  20. ↑ García-Arenal, Mercedes. 2006. Messianism and puritanical reform: Mahdīs of the Muslim west. Leiden: Brill.
  21. ↑ Reviving the Islamic Caliphate in Early Modern Morocco. Stephen Cory. Routledge. 8 Apr 2016.
  22. ↑ Berthier, Pierre. La bataille de l'Oued el-Makhâzen: dite bataille des Trois Rois (4 aout 1578). Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CNRS, 1985.
  23. ↑ Rivet, Daniel (2012). Histoire du Maroc: de Moulay Idrîs à Mohammed VI. Fayard
  24. ↑ A Struggle for the Sahara:Idrīs ibn ‘Alī’s Embassy toAḥmad al-Manṣūr in the Context ofBorno-Morocco-Ottoman Relations, 1577-1583  Rémi Dewière Université de Paris Panthéon Sorbonne

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmed I</span> 14th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1603 to 1617

Ahmed I was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1603 to 1617. Ahmed's reign is noteworthy for marking the first breach in the Ottoman tradition of royal fratricide; henceforth, Ottoman rulers would no longer systematically execute their brothers upon accession to the throne. He is also well known for his construction of the Blue Mosque, one of the most famous mosques in Turkey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murad III</span> 12th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1574–1595)

Murad III was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1574 until his death in 1595. His rule saw battles with the Habsburgs and exhausting wars with the Safavids. The long-independent Morocco was for a time made a vassal of the empire but regained independence in 1582. His reign also saw the empire's expanding influence on the eastern coast of Africa. However, the empire was beset by increasing corruption and inflation from the New World which led to unrest among the Janissary and commoners. Relations with Elizabethan England were cemented during his reign as both had a common enemy in the Spanish. He was also a great patron of the arts, commissioning the Siyer-i-Nebi and other illustrated manuscripts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Alcácer Quibir</span> 1578 battle in Morocco

The Battle of Alcácer Quibir was fought in northern Morocco, near the town of Ksar-el-Kebir and Larache, on 4 August 1578.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik I Saadi</span> Moroccan Saadi Dynasty ruler from 1576 to 1578

Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik I, often simply Abd al-Malik or Mulay Abdelmalek, was the Saadian Sultan of Morocco from 1576 until his death right after the Battle of al-Kasr al-Kabir against Portugal in 1578.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saadi Sultanate</span> 1510–1659 state in Morocco and West Africa

The Saadi Sultanate was a state which ruled present-day Morocco and parts of West Africa in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was led by the Saadi dynasty, an Arab Moroccan Sharifian dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmad al-Mansur</span> 7th Ruler of Saadi Dynasty

Ahmad al-Mansur was the Saadi Sultan of Morocco from 1578 to his death in 1603, the sixth and most famous of all rulers of the Saadis. Ahmad al-Mansur was an important figure in both Europe and Africa in the sixteenth century. His powerful army and strategic location made him an important power player in the late Renaissance period. He has been described as "a man of profound Islamic learning, a lover of books, calligraphy and mathematics, as well as a connoisseur of mystical texts and a lover of scholarly discussions."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wattasid dynasty</span> 1472–1554 Berber dynasty ruling Morocco

The Wattasid dynasty was a ruling dynasty of Morocco. Like the Marinid dynasty, its rulers were of Zenata Berber descent. The two families were related, and the Marinids recruited many viziers from the Wattasids. These viziers assumed the powers of the Sultans, seizing control of the Marinid dynasty's realm when the last Marinid, Abu Muhammad Abd al-Haqq, who had massacred many of the Wattasids in 1459, was murdered during a popular revolt in Fez in 1465.

Abu Abdallah Mohammed II, Al-Mutawakkil, often simply Abdallah Mohammed was the Sultan of Morocco from 1574 to 1576. He was the oldest son of Abdallah al-Ghalib and became Sultan after his father's death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tahirid Sultanate</span> Former Arab Muslim dynasty

The Tahirid Sultanate were an Arab Muslim dynasty that ruled Yemen from 1454 to 1517. They succeeded the Rasulid Dynasty and were themselves replaced by the Mamluks of Egypt after only 63 years in power.

Guillaume Bérard was a French Consul established in Fez, Morocco, in 1577 by Henry III of France. He was the first European to be named Consul in Morocco. His nomination followed the mission of Louis Cabrette, a French captain who had been used as an envoy to France by Sultan Al-Malek in 1576. Guillaume Bérard was born in Saorge near Nice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morocco–Turkey relations</span> Bilateral relations

Turkey–Morocco relations are the foreign relations between Morocco and Turkey, and spanned a period of several centuries, from the early 16th century when the Ottoman Empire neighbored Morocco to until modern times.

The Battle of Tadla occurred in September 1554 in Tadla, Morocco, between Ali Abu Hassun, last ruler of the Wattasid dynasty, and Mohammed ash-Sheikh, ruler of the Saadis.

Muley Xeque was a Moroccan prince, born in Marrakech in 1566 and died in Vigevano in 1621. Exiled in Spain, he converted to Catholicism in Madrid and was known as Felipe de África, Philip of Africa or Philip of Austria, in addition to the nickname of The Black Prince.

Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Abd al-Aziz, known by the regnal name al-Mustansir (المستنصر), was Marinid Sultan of Morocco from 1374 to 1384.

The Conquest of Fez or Capture of Fez took place in 1554 between the Algerian forces of Salah Rais and the ruler of the Saadi Sultanate, Mohammed ash-Sheikh. The battle took place on 7 January at Qudyat-al-Mahali, a suburb near Fez and occurred after Salah Reis’ two previous victories against the Saadians, one at Taza and another at the Sebou river.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ottoman expeditions to Morocco</span>

In the 16th century the Ottomans several expeditions to Morocco.

The Moroccan invasion of the Songhai Empire began with an expedition sent in 1590 by Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur of the Saadian dynasty, which ruled over Morocco at the time. The Saadian army, led by Judar Pasha, arrived in the Niger valley region in 1591 and won its first and most decisive victory against the forces of Askia Ishaq II at the Battle of Tondibi and occupied the capital of Gao shortly after.

Sahaba el-Rehmania was the wife of the Moroccan sultan of the Saadian dynasty Mohammed al-Shaykh and the mother of Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik. Gifted in diplomacy, she held a leading political role throughout her life. She was ambassador to the Ottoman Empire at the court of Sultan Murad III.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.