Abu ar-Rabi Sulayman ( abū ar-rabīʿ sulaymān) (March 1289 – 23 November 1310, reigned 28 July 1308 – 23 November 1310) was a

Marinid The Marinid Sultanate was a Berber Muslim empire from the mid-13th to the 15th century which controlled present-day Morocco and, intermittently, other parts of North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia) and of the southern Iberian Peninsula (Spain) ar ...

ruler of

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

. Son or grandson of

Abu Yaqub Yusuf Abu Ya`qub Yusuf or Yusuf I ( ''Abū Ya‘qūb Yūsuf''; 1135 – 14 October 1184) was the second Almohad ''Amir'' or caliph. He reigned from 1163 until 1184 in Marrakesh. He was responsible for the construction of the Giralda in Seville, whi ...

and brother of Abu Thabit Amir, whom he succeeded in 1308, at the age of 19.

History

Abu ar-Rabi Sulayman succeeded his brother Abu Thabit Amir as Marinid Sultan in July 1308. Abu Thabit had died at Tetouan in the

Rif The Rif or Riff (, ), also called Rif Mountains, is a geographic region in northern Morocco. This mountainous and fertile area is bordered by Cape Spartel and Tangier to the west, by Berkane and the Moulouya River to the east, by the Mediterrane ...

, while laying siege to

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territori ...

, then held by Othman ibn Idris, a

Nasrid The Nasrid dynasty ( ar, بنو نصر ''banū Naṣr'' or ''banū al-Aḥmar''; Spanish: ''Nazarí'') was the last Muslim dynasty in the Iberian Peninsula, ruling the Emirate of Granada from 1230 until 1492. Its members claimed to be of Arab ...

-sponsored pretender to the Marinid throne. It is alleged that emissaries of Abu al-Rabi were party to the talks at Alcalá de Henares in late 1309 between

Ferdinand IV of Castile Ferdinand IV of Castile (6 December 1285 – 7 September 1312) called the Summoned (''el Emplazado''), was King of Castile and León from 1295 until his death. His upbringing and the custody of his person were entrusted to his mother, Queen M ...

and

James II of Aragon James II (Catalan: ''Jaume II''; Spanish: ''Jaime II;'' 10 April 1267 – 2 or 5 November 1327), called the Just,, an, Chaime lo Chusto, es, Jaime el Justo. was the King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. He ...

directed against the

sultan Muhammad III of

Granada Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...

. After Muhammad III was deposed in a palace coup by his brother Nasr in March 1309, the Nasrids were quick to repair relations, abandoning the pretender Othman ibn Idris and actively assisting Abu al-Rabi in recovering

in July 1309. The Marinids were quick to return the favour. Abu al-Rabi dispatched a Marinid fleet to force the

Castilians Castilians (Spanish: ''castellanos'') are those people who live in certain former areas of the historical Kingdom of Castile, but the region's exact limits are disputed. A broader definition is to consider as Castilians the population belonging ...

to lift the siege of

Algeciras Algeciras ( , ) is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located in the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, near the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar ( es, Bahía de Algeci ...

in January 1310, and dispatched enough North African troops to assist the Granadines to fend off the

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to s ...

ese landing near Almeria. As part of the deal, a marriage treaty was contracted between Abu al-Rabi and a Granadine princess. The

ruler Nasr of

passed over the Iberian towns of

and

Ronda Ronda () is a town in the Spanish province of Málaga. It is located about west of the city of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its population is about 35,000. Ronda is known for its cliff-side location and a deep chasm ...

to the

Marinids The Marinid Sultanate was a Berber Muslim empire from the mid-13th to the 15th century which controlled present-day Morocco and, intermittently, other parts of North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia) and of the southern Iberian Peninsula (Spain) ar ...

as dowry. Like his brother before him, Abu al-Rabi Sulayman fell ill and died in November 1310. Without sons of his own, he was succeeded by an uncle,

Abu Sa'id Uthman II Abu Sa'id Uthman II (; Abū Sa'īd 'Abdullāh 'Uthmān ibn Yūsuf Abū Ya'qūb; ) (December 1276 – August 1331) was the 10th Marinid sultan of Morocco, reigning from 1310 to 1331. A younger son of Abū Ya'qūb Yusuf an-Nasir, Abū Sa'īd 'Uthm ...

sultan of

Sources

*C.A. Julien, ''Histoire de l'Afrique du Nord, des origines à 1830'', Payot (1961, reedit. orig. 1931) *C.E. Bosworth
''The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual''
Edinburgh University Press (2004), pp. 41–42 {{DEFAULTSORT:Abu Al-Rabi 1291 births 1310 deaths People from Fez, Morocco Marinid sultans of Morocco 13th-century Berber people 14th-century Berber people 13th-century Moroccan people 14th-century Moroccan people 14th-century monarchs in Africa