Capture of Fez (1554)
Part of Conflicts between the Regency of Algiers and Morocco and Ottoman Expeditions to Morocco
Date7 January 1554
Location
Qudyat-al-Mahali, Fez, Morocco
34°02′36″N 05°00′12″W / 34.04333°N 5.00333°W / 34.04333; -5.00333
Result Algerian victory[1]
• Fez is conquered
Territorial
changes		 Fez becomes an Ottoman vassal[2]
Belligerents
Ottoman Algeria
Kingdom of Kuku[3][4]		 Saadi Sultanate
Commanders and leaders
Salah Rais Mohammed ash-Sheikh
Strength
6,000 musketeers
1,000 sipahis
4,000 Kabyle horsemen

or 4,000 men[5]		 30,000 horsemen
10,000 infantrymen


or 20,000 men [5]
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown
Conquest of Fez is located in Morocco
Conquest of Fez
Conquest of Fez
Location within Morocco

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.[2] 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.[6][7][8]

Background

Despite the Ottoman domination of most of North Africa, Morocco had managed to remain independent. At the heart of this kingdom was Fez, which became one of the most opulent cities in the medieval world under the rule of the Marinid dynasty.[9] In the latter part of the 15th century the Wattasid sultans were in control and they started losing the coastlines to the Portuguese and Spanish forces. an account also cited that the last of the Wattasid sultans forged a tactical alliance with the Portuguese, which diminished his standing among religious leaders.[10] As their power crumbled, the regime faced a new threat from the Saadis, who claimed they were shorfa or descendants of Muhammad.[2] These migrants from north Africa expanded their territory and forged support and alliances.[9]

In 1544/1545 Ali Abu Hassun, the Wattasid ruler of northern Morocco, hoping to gain military support from the Ottomans, formally recognised the authority of the Ottoman Sultan and declared himself a vassal of the Ottomans, however the Ottomans were unable to intervene in 1549 when Abu Hassun lost Fez to Mohammed al-Shaykh, the first Saadi sultan.[11][12][13]

The relations between the regency of Algiers and the Saadian sultan Mohammed al-Shaykh did not have a good start as the Ottomans supported their Wattasid rivals. The Saadian Sultan was treated as a subordinate and in a haughty manner by the Ottoman Sultan who referred to him as "governor of the province of Fez". Not accepting the haughty tone of the Sultan and wanting to take advantage of the resumption of the Ottoman war on other fronts, Mohammed al-Shaykh tried to annex Tlemcen and its region. The Moroccans captured the city but were expelled by Ottoman Janissaries and local supporters.[14] The following year, he repeated his attempt with an army of 17,000 fighters led by his three sons, but he was once again severely defeated. Following this defeat, Mohammed al-Shaykh welcomed with respect the ambassador of the beylerbey of Algiers to negotiate the end of the conflict and to fix the course of the Moulouya as the border between the Saadian dynasty and the regency of Algiers. However, Mohammed al-Shaykh resumed his incursions to the east of the Moulouya shortly afterwards and concluded an alliance with the Spaniards, which rekindled the war between him and Salah Raïs.[15]

Battle

In 1553, Salah Rais left for Fez with 6,000 musketeers, 1,000 sipahis and a contingent of 4,000 cavalrymen who were partisans of the kingdom of Koukou. The Sultan of Fez, having been alerted to this offensive, gathered 30,000 horsemen and 10,000 men to defend Fez.[3] Shortly thereafter, the Sultan of Fez prepared his army for battle. The pasha of Algiers, although he had a much smaller army, also prepared his army for battle against the advice of his officers.[1][16]

The Sultan of Fez met the troops of the regency of Algiers near Taza on December 5, 1553, but withdrew from that city to a fortress once he realized the superiority of the Ottoman artillery.[2] Shortly thereafter, Salah Raïs undertook a surprise night attack on the fortress where he charged a corps of 1,500 men he had selected. According to the historian Ernest Mercier, this first attack was a great success and the Moroccan soldiers were frightened by the detonations and forced to retreat to the heights in the direction of Fez.[1] After receiving a reinforcement of 600 men, brought from the province of Velez by the sons of Abu Hassun, the beylerbey launched the final assault on the city of Fez during the night of 4 to 5 January 1554 from the locality of Sebou where the Algerian army was stationed.[1][17] Salah Reis defeated al-Shaykh at Qudyat-al-Mahali, a suburb near Fez.[6]

The troops of Salah Rais, entered victoriously in Fez in the night of January 7 to 8, 1554,[18] and Wattasid Ali Abu Hassun was declared sovereign, as a vassal of the Ottoman sultan.[19][20][2]

Consequences

The Sharifs chief wife and two daughters were captured by the Pasha of Algiers.[21] The Algerians gained an immense booty after pillaging Fez and the Pasha managed to extort 300,000 ducats from the Jewish quarter.[21] The population of Fez were happy about the return of the Wattasid sovereign and gave Salah Reis an excellent welcome, however they began rebelling against them when they saw the Turks laying hands on the women and children and looting whatever they wanted.[6] Numerous complaints arose about the Turks in Fez who seized women and committed all sorts of acts of violence.[22] For four months the Ottoman troops, Turks and Berbers from Kabylia, stayed in Fez and harassed its population until Ali Abu Hassun bought the withdrawal of the Turks.[2] Upon withdrawal, Salah Raïs assured the Saadi ruler that he would grant his enemy, Ali Abu Hassun, no further assistance.[5] The latter reigned for nearly nine months over Fez before the Saadian Mohammed ech-Sheikh took over the city.[23][24] Salah Raïs was installed in part for his services at the Penon of Velez Gomara, an advance base for raiding the Spanish coast and shipping.[25]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Mercier, Ernest (1891). Histoire de l'Afrique septentrionale (Berbérie) depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu'à la conquête française (1930) (in French). Ernest Leroux.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Page 406, The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 3: c. 1050-c. 1600 (Volume 3)
  3. 1 2 Kaddache, Mahfoud (1998). L'Algérie durant la période ottomane (in French). Office des publications universitaires. ISBN 978-9961-0-0099-1.
  4. ↑ La Kalaa des Béni Abbès au XVIe siècle Youssef Benoudjit Dahlab
  5. 1 2 3 The Present State of the Empire of Morocco. Its Animals, Products, Climate, Soil, Cities, Ports, Provinces, Coins, Weights, and Measures. With the Language, Religion, Laws, Manners, Customs, and Character, of the Moors; the History of the Dynasties Since Edris; the Naval Force and Commerce of Morocco; and the Character, Conduct, and Views, Political and Commercial, of the Reigning Emperor. Translated from the French of M. Chenier. Vol. 1. [-2.], Volume 2
  6. 1 2 3 Abitbol, Michel. Histoire du Maroc. Tempus Perrin, 2014.
  7. ↑ de Haëdo, Diego, and Henri-Delmas de Grammont. "Hassan Pacha, roi pour la deuxième fois et douzième." Histoire du Maghreb (1998): 125-133.
  8. ↑ Buloz, François, Charles Buloz, Ferdinand Brunetière, Francis Charmes, René Doumic, and André Chaumeix, eds. Revue des deux mondes. Vol. 140. Au Bureau de la Revue des deux mondes, 1897.
  9. 1 2 Meredith, Martin (2014). Fortunes of Africa: A 5,000 Year History of Wealth, Greed and Endeavour. London: Simon and Schuster UK. ISBN 978-1-4711-3546-0.
  10. ↑ Fage, J. D.; Oliver, Roland Anthony (1975). The Cambridge History of Africa: From c. 500 B.C. to A.D. 1050, Vol. 3. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 405. ISBN 0-521-20981-1.
  11. ↑ Jamil M. Abun-Nasr (20 August 1987). A History of the Maghrib in the Islamic Period. Cambridge University Press. p.156. ISBN 978-0-521-33767-0.
  12. ↑ Ahmad Al-Mansur: Islamic Visionary - p.11 Richard Lee Smith Pearson Longman,
  13. ↑ The Last Great Muslim Empires. p.103. By H. J. Kissling, Bertold Spuler, N. Barbour, J. S. Trimingham, H. Braun, H. Hartel
  14. ↑ Stapleton, Timothy J. (2013). A Military History of Africa, Vol. 1. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-313-39569-7.
  15. ↑ Merouche, Lemnouar (2007-10-15). Recherches sur l'Algérie à l'époque ottomane II.: La course, mythes et réalité (in French). Editions Bouchène. ISBN 978-2-35676-055-5.
  16. ↑ Page 87-88, The Present State of the Empire of Morocco. Its Animals, Products, Climate, Soil, ... Translated from the French of M. Chenier. of 2; Volume 2
  17. ↑ Hamet, Ismaël (1857-1932) Auteur du texte (1923). Histoire du Maghreb : cours professé à l'Institut des hautes études marocaines / Ismaël Hamet,...{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ↑ Elbl, Martin (2013-12-27). Portuguese Tangier (1471-1662): Colonial Urban Fabric as Cross-Cultural Skeleton. Baywolf Press / Éditions Baywolf. ISBN 978-0-921437-50-5.
  19. ↑ Bibliothèque de l'Institut d'études supérieures islamiques d'alger (in French). 1957.
  20. ↑ Page 157, Jamil M. Abun-Nasr (20 August 1987). A History of the Maghrib in the Islamic Period
  21. 1 2 History of Algiers, Volume 2. P.378. Joseph Morgan.
  22. ↑ Mohammad al Saghir ibn al Hādjadj ibn Abd-Allah al Wofrāni. Nozhet-el hādi bi akhbar moulouk el-Karn el-Hadi [Texte imprimé : 1511-1670] / [par] Mohammad al Saghir ben al Hadj ben Abd-Allah al Wafrani ; [publ. par O. Houdas]. Paris : E. Leroux, 1889. Biblothèque nationale de France, département Philosophie, histoire, sciences de l’homme, 4-O2-545(3,3). Page 57: “Mais peu de temps s'était écoulé que des plaintes nombreuses s'élevèrent contre les Turcs qui s'emparaient des femmes et commettaient toutes sortes d'excès. Abou Hassoun se hâta de leur remettre les sommes qu'il leur avait promises et les éloigna de Fez où bien peu d'entre eux demeurèrent”
  23. ↑ Ben-Sasson, Menahem; Cohen, Joseph (2004). Juifs de Fès (in French). Éditions Élysée. ISBN 978-0-88545-096-1.
  24. ↑ Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (1989-01-01). The Encyclopaedia of Islam: Fascicules 111-112 : Masrah Mawlid. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-09239-6.
  25. ↑ Bagley, F.R.C. (1969). The Muslim World: The last great Muslim empires. Leiden: Brill Archive. p. 17.
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