Abu Sa'id Uthman II

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Abu Sa'id Uthman II
Sultan of Morocco
Amīr al-Muslimīn
Sultan of Morocco
ReignNovember 1310 – August 1331
PredecessorAbu al-Rabi Sulayman
SuccessorAbu al-Hasan Ali ibn Othman
BornDecember 1276
Fez
DiedAugust 1331
Taza
Names
Abū Saʿīd ʿUthmān ibn Yūsuf al-Marīnī
DynastyMarinid
FatherAbu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd al-Haqq
MotherAisha bint Mhalhal al-Kholtī
ReligionIslam

Abu Sa'id Uthman II (

Marinid sultan of Morocco, reigning from 1310 to 1331. A younger son of Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd al-Haqq, Abū Sa'īd 'Uthmān succeeded his nephew Abū al-Rabï' Sulaymān
as Sultan of Morocco in November 1310, at the age of 33.

Biography

His full name was Abū Sa'īd 'Uthmān ibn Yūsuf Abū Ya'qūb ibn 'Abd al-Ḥaqq. He was the son of Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd al-Haqq[1] and his wife Aisha bint Mhalhal al-Kholtī[1] who was a daughter of the emir of the Khelouth Arabs,[1] Abu Atiyah Mhalhal bin Yahya al-Kholtī.[1] Abu Sa'id Uthman was described by his biographer as being of a white complexion, average height and well featured.[2]

Reign

Al-Attarine Madrasa, built in 1323–25 during Abu Sa'id Uthman II's reign.

Abu Sa'id Uthman inherited Morocco after a tumultuous period during which the Marinids had survived a dangerous rebellion in

laid siege to Marinid-owned Algeciras
.

Pious and preferring peace, Abu Sa'id Uthman refrained from any great enterprises. In 1313, hoping to divest himself of any entanglements on the

Nasr of Granada
.

In 1315, Abu Sa'id Uthman faced a rebellion by his son and designated heir, Abu Ali, who ensconced himself in

Abu al-Ḥasan Ali. However, Abu Sa'id Uthman granted Abu Ali an appanage centered on Sijilmasa in southern Morocco, which he would rule as a quasi-independent state for the next couple of decades. In 1316, Yahya ibn Afzi, governor of Ceuta
, revolted against the Marinid sultan, and managed to maintain Ceuta as effectively independent for nearly a dozen years, before returning to the fold.

In 1319, facing a renewed challenge from

Ismail I of Granada
appealed to the Marinid sultan for assistance, but Abu Sa'id Uthman imposed such onerous conditions that the Granadines decided to handle the matter without him.

In 1320 his son Abu Ali renewed his revolt against his father. From his base in

Marrakech), threatening to split the Marinid dominions in two. In 1322, the Marinid sultan Abu Sa'id Uthman marched against the south and defeated Abu Ali at the Oum er-Rebia. But, once again, he reconciled with his son and allowed him to retain Sijilmasa
.

Abu Sa'id Uthman built three significant

Fez: Fez al-Jedid (1320), Es-Sahrij (1321) and Al-Attarine
(1323).

In 1329, pressed by an invasion from

Abu al-Ḥasan. Satisfied by the terms, Abu Sa'id Uthman arranged a diversionary raid against Tlemcen
from the west, while dispatching a Marinid fleet to support the Ḥafṣid efforts in the east.

In August 1331, while arranging for the reception of the Tunisian princess, Abu Sa'id Uthman fell ill and died in the environs of

Abu al-Hasan
, although his other son Abu Ali retained his quasi-independent appanage in the south.

Preceded by
Marīnīd

1310–1331 		Succeeded by
Abū al-Ḥasan

References

  1. ^ a b c d al-Fāsī, ʻAlī ibn ʻAbd Allāh Ibn Abī Zarʻ; al-Gharnāṭī, Ṣāliḥ ibn ʻAbd al-Ḥalīm (1860). Roudh el-Kartas: Histoire des souverains du Maghreb (Espagne et Maroc) et annales de la ville de Fès (in French). Impr. impériale. p. 558.
  2. ^ Rawd al-Qirṭās fī Tārīkh Mulūk al-Maghrib wa Fa's, pp273-274 by Abū al-Ḥasan 'Alī ibn 'Abdallāh ibn Abī Zara'. French translation: A. Beaumier, Rawd al Kirtas. Histoire des Souverains du Maghreb et Annales de la Ville de Fès. Editions La Porte, Rabat, 1999.

Biography

  • Julien, Charles-André, Histoire de l'Afrique du Nord, des origines à 1830, édition originale 1931, réédition Payot, Paris, 1961
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