Abu Yahya Abu Bakr ibn Abd al-Haqq () (died 1258) was a
Marinid
The Marinid dynasty ( ) was a 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 Peninsula ...
ruler from 1244 to 1258.
Life
Abu Yahya was the son of
Abd al-Haqq I
Abu Muhammad Abd al-Haqq I (1157 – 1217) was the first leader of the Marinid dynasty of the Maghreb.Uthman I and Muhammad I. When he ascended the throne in 1244, Abu Yahya shared control of
Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
with the various Marinid clans then grouped together in the east of Upper
Moulouya
The Moulouya River (Berber: ''iɣẓer en Melwect'', ) is a river in Morocco. Its sources are located in the Ayashi mountain in the Middle Atlas. It empties into the Mediterranean Sea near Saïdia, in northeast Morocco.
Water level in the riv ...
. He captured the territory of
Meknes
Meknes (, ) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th century by the Almoravid dynasty, Almoravids as a military settlement, Mekne ...
which became the first Marinid capital, but the
Almohad
The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb).
The Almohad ...
kingdom of Tlemcen
The Kingdom of Tlemcen or Zayyanid Kingdom of Tlemcen () was a kingdom ruled by the Berber Zayyanid dynasty in what is now the northwest of Algeria. Its territory stretched from Tlemcen to the Chelif bend and Algiers, and at its zenith reached ...
, but in 1248 he was killed and Abu Yahya wiped out what remained of the Almohad army in Guercif. Abu Yahya was now in control of all of eastern Morocco. Abu Yahya captured Fez in 1248 and reached the ocean. The fight against the Almohads continued for many years. By the time Abu Yahya died of illness in 1258, the Almohads only controlled the
High Atlas
The High Atlas, also called the Grand Atlas, is a mountain range in central Morocco, North Africa, the highest part of the Atlas Mountains.
The High Atlas rises in the west at the Atlantic Ocean and stretches in an eastern direction to the Moro ...
, the
Sous
The Sous region (also spelt Sus, Suss, Souss or Sousse) (, ) is a historical, cultural and geographical region of Morocco, which constitutes part of the region administration of Souss-Massa and Guelmim-Oued Noun. The region is known for the en ...
, the region of
Marrakesh
Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...
and the area between this city and
Oum Er-Rbia River
Oum Er-Rbia () is a large, long and high-throughput river in central Morocco.
The river is long. With an average water throughput of 105 m3/s, Oum Er-Rbia is the second-largest river in Morocco after the Sebou River. It originates in the M ...