The Conquest of Fez or Capture of Fez took place in 1554 between the Algerian forces of

Salah Rais Salah Rais () ( 1488 – 1568) was the 7th King of Algiers, an Ottoman privateer and admiral. He is alternatively referred to as ''Sala Reis'', ''Salih Rais'', ''Salek Rais'' and ''Cale Arraez'' in several European sources, particularly in Sp ...

and the ruler of the

Saadi Sultanate The Saadi Sultanate (), also known as the Sharifian Sultanate (), was a state which ruled present-day Morocco and parts of Northwest Africa in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was led by the Saadi dynasty, an Arab Sharifian dynasty. The dyna ...

Mohammed ash-Sheikh ''Mawlay'' Mohammed al-Shaykh al-Sharif al-Hassani (), known as Mohammed al-Shaykh () (b. 1490 – d. 23 October 1557), was the first sultan of the Saadian dynasty of Morocco (1544–1557). He was particularly successful in expelling the Portugue ...

.Page 406, The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 3: c. 1050-c. 1600 (Volume 3) 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 The Sebou (Berber: Asif en Sbu, ) is a river in northern Morocco. At its source in the Middle Atlas mountains it is known as the Guigou River (Berber: Asif n Gigu). The river is 496 kilometers long and has an average water flow of 137 m3/s, wh ...

. One of the objectives of the expedition is to restore

Ali Abu Hassun Ali Abu Hassun (), also Abu al Hasan Abu Hasun or Abu Hasun, full name Abu al-Hasan Abu Hasun Ali ibn Muhammad (died September 1554), was a regent of the Crown of Morocco for the Wattasid dynasty during the 16th century. Life In 1545, he succ ...

, a

Wattassid The Wattasid dynasty (, ''al-waṭṭāsīyūn'') 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. Th ...

pretender, to the throne.

Background

Despite the Ottoman domination of most of

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

, 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 In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

world under the rule of the

Marinid dynasty The Marinid dynasty ( ) was a Berbers, Berber Muslim dynasty that controlled present-day Morocco from the mid-13th to the 15th century and intermittently controlled other parts of North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia) and of the southern Iberian P ...

. In the latter part of the 15th century the

Wattasid The Wattasid dynasty (, ''al-waṭṭāsīyūn'') 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. T ...

sultans were in control and they started losing the coast to the Portuguese and Spanish forces. An account also said that the last of the Wattasid sultans forged a tactical alliance with the Portuguese, which diminished his standing among religious leaders. As their power crumbled, the regime faced a new threat from the Saadis, who claimed they were '' shorfa'' or descendants of

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

. These migrants from north Africa expanded their territory and forged support and alliances. In 1544/1545

, 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 ''Mawlay'' Mohammed al-Shaykh al-Sharif al-Hassani (), known as Mohammed al-Shaykh () (b. 1490 – d. 23 October 1557), was the first sultan of the Saadian dynasty of Morocco (1544–1557). He was particularly successful in expelling the Portugue ...

, the first Saadi sultan. For his part, the Wattassid

, who expected Portuguese help to regain his throne, found himself on board a ship captured, on July 5, 1553 in the harbor of Vélez, by Salah Raïs on his return from a naval expedition against Majorca and Menorca. Salah Raïs sees this as an opportunity to intervene in Morocco by supporting the Wattassides. The relations between the

regency of Algiers The Regency of Algiers was an Early modern period, early modern semi-independent Administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman province and nominal Tributary states of the Ottoman Empire, vassal state on the Barbary Coast of North Afr ...

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 Tlemcen (; ) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran and is the capital of Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the port of Rachgoun. It had a population of ...

and its region. The Moroccans captured the city but were expelled by Ottoman janissaries and local supporters. 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 ''Beylerbey'' (, meaning the 'commander of commanders' or 'lord of lords’, sometimes rendered governor-general) was a high rank in the western Islamic world in the late Middle Ages and early modern period, from the Anatolian Seljuks and the I ...

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.

Battle

In 1553, Salah Rais left for Fez with 6,000 musketeers, 1,000

sipahi The ''sipahi'' ( , ) were professional cavalrymen deployed by the Seljuk Turks and later by the Ottoman Empire. ''Sipahi'' units included the land grant–holding ('' timar'') provincial ''timarli sipahi'', which constituted most of the arm ...

s and a contingent of 4,000 cavalrymen who were partisans of the

Kingdom of Kuku The Kingdom of Kuku was a kingdom in North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometime ...

. The Sultan of Fez, having been alerted to this offensive, gathered 30,000 horsemen and 10,000 men to defend Fez. 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. 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. 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 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. 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. Salah Reis defeated al-Shaykh at Qudyat-al-Mahali, a suburb near Fez. The troops of Salah Rais, entered victoriously in Fez in the night of January 7 to 8, 1554, and Wattasid Ali Abu Hassun was declared sovereign, as a

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

of the Ottoman sultan.

Consequences

The Sharif's chief wife and two daughters were captured by the Pasha of Algiers. The Algerians gained an immense booty after pillaging Fez and the Pasha managed to extort 300,000 ducats from the Jewish quarter. 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 him when they saw the Turks laying hands on the women and children and looting whatever they wanted. Numerous complaints arose about the Turks in Fez who seized women and committed all sorts of acts of violence. For four months the Ottoman troops, Turks and

Berbers Berbers, or the Berber peoples, also known as Amazigh or Imazighen, are a diverse grouping of distinct ethnic groups indigenous to North Africa who predate the arrival of Arab migrations to the Maghreb, Arabs in the Maghreb. Their main connec ...

from

Kabylia Kabylia or Kabylie (; in Kabyle: Tamurt n leqbayel; in Tifinagh: ⵜⴰⵎⵓⵔⵜ ⵏ ⵍⴻⵇⴱⴰⵢⴻⵍ; ), meaning "Land of the Tribes" is a mountainous coastal region in northern Algeria and the homeland of the Kabyle people. It is ...

, stayed in Fez and harassed its population until

bought the withdrawal of the Turks. Upon withdrawal, Salah Raïs assured the Saadi ruler that he would grant his enemy, Ali Abu Hassun, no further assistance. The latter reigned for nearly nine months over Fez before the Saadian Mohammed ech-Sheikh took over the city. 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.

References

{{reflist History of Fez, Morocco 16th century in the Regency of Algiers 16th century in Morocco Fez 1554 Battles involving the Kingdom of Kuku Fez 1554 1554 in Africa Algeria–Morocco military relations