The Capture of Fez occurred in 1576 at the Moroccan city of Fez, when an Algerian-Ottoman force from the Regency of 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.''The Stukeley plays: The Battle of Alcazar by George Peele'' Charles Edelman p.1

/ref>

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. 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. Abd al-Malik petitioned

Murad III Murad III (; ; 4 July 1546 – 16 January 1595) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1574 until his death in 1595. His rule saw battles with the Habsburg monarchy, Habsburgs and exhausting wars with the Safavid Iran, Safavids. The long-inde ...

for military assistance in seizing the Saadi throne from Al-Mutawakkil, he made a proposition of making

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 ...

an Ottoman vassal with little effort on the part of Istanbul.

Battle

In 1576 an Algerian-Ottoman force commanded by Ramazan Pasha and Abd al-Malik left Algiers to install Abd al-Malik as the ruler of

and vassal to the Ottoman sultan. Among its divisions was a contingent of Janissaries, 1,000 Zwawas from the kingdom of Kuku and two thousand troops led by Abd al-Malik himself. A decisive battle took place at ar-Rukn, near Fez, which Al-Mutawakkil lost, in part due to the desertion of his Andalusian contingents right before the battle. Abd al-Malik then occupied Fez on 11 March 1576. Al-Mutawakkil fled to Marrakesh but was defeated again and forced to take refuge in the Sous. Abd al-Malik assumed rule over Morocco as a vassal of the Ottomans.

’s name was recited in the Friday prayer and stamped on coinage, two traditional signs of sovereignty in the Islamic world.

Aftermath

Abd al-Malik recognized the Ottoman Sultan Murad III as

Caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

, 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. At his request, 300 Janissaries and 1,000 Zwawas remained in Fes to form his honour guard. The two year reign of Abd al-Malik was understood by all to be a period of de facto Moroccan vassalage to Istanbul. Abd al-Malik hastened to send his annual tax to Istanbul, the first annual tax he sent was 200,000 gold coins. 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. He conducted large scale reform movements in Morocco, hundreds of Turkish officers, technicians and craftsmen came to Morocco and entered his service.Öztuna, Yılmaz
Türk tarihinden yapraklar. Vol. 11.
Ötüken Neşriyat AŞ, 1969. 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. Meanwhile, Al-Mutawakkil fled to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and then

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, when Sebastian of Portugal promised to help him regain his throne. This led to an expedition and the

Battle of Ksar El Kebir A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

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. 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.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

Notes

{{reflist History of Fez, Morocco Fez Fez Conflicts in 1576 1570s in the Ottoman Empire 16th century in Morocco 16th century in the Regency of Algiers Battles involving the Regency of Algiers Algeria–Morocco military relations Morocco–Ottoman Empire relations