Abu Yakub Yusuf (Sultan of Marinidov)

Abu Yakub Yusuf succeeded his father Abu Yusuf Yakub on the throne of Morocco in March 1286 , shortly after his last expedition to Spain and the peace treaty with Sancho IV of Castile . The succession of Abu Yakub was disputed by several of his relatives, including his brother, some of the applicants received protection from the rulers of the Kingdom of Tlemcen Abdalvadids . In response to this threat, Abu Yakub, in order to untie his hands in the fight against Tlemcen, first entered into an agreement with the ruler of Granada, Muhammad II , ceded to him all the possessions of the Marinids in Spain, with the exception of Algeciras , Tarifa , Ronda and Guadix .

In November 1288, Abu Yakub's own son, Abu Tabith, formed a conspiracy to remove his father. The plot was uncovered, but Abu Tabith and his advisers found refuge at the court of the ruler of the Abdalwadids Abu Saeed Usman . Abu Yakub soon reconciled with his son, but demanded that his fellow conspirators be brought to justice. Abu Said Usman refused to extradite them. Then the Marinid fleet blocked Tlemcen for most of 1290 , but did not succeed.

In 1291, the ceasefire with Sancho IV expired, and hostilities in Spain were resumed. While Abu Yakub was busy fighting Tlemcen, Sancho IV made arrangements with Sultan Nasridov Muhammad II Granadsky to capture the three remaining Marinid strongholds in Spain - Tarifa, Algeciras and Ronda - but for himself. With the help of the Granadians, Sancho IV captured Tarifa in October 1292 . But Sancho refused to comply with the agreement on the transfer of the citadel to Granada, and instead decided to leave Tarifa in his hands.

In response, Muhammad II immediately tried to restore relations with the Marinids. At a meeting in Tangier in early 1293, Abu Yakub agreed to help Muhammad II recapture Tarifa, but on condition that the city be returned to the Marinids, in exchange for this the Marinids agreed to give Alada and Ronda to Granada. As part of this deal, Muhammad II handed over to Abu Yakub four valuable copies of the Koran , which were compiled by the caliph Usman , who fled from Damascus to Cordoba in the 750s. The exiled Castilian infantry Don Juan (Uncle Sancho IV) participated in the conclusion of this transaction and agreed to take part in the campaign.

Abu Yakb embarked on his first crossing of the Straits in 1293 (or 1294 ) to besiege Tarifa . But the citadel under the command of the Castilian nobleman Alonso Perez de Guzmán , withstood the siege. It is said that when the infante Don Juan threatened to kill the son of Guzman, who was in captivity, Guzman threw a knife from the wall and told the infante not to hesitate to fulfill his threat.

Around 1294, Abu Yakub received a message that an uprising of the Berber Wattasids provoked by Tlemcen broke out in the mountains of Er-Reef . Plans to renew the siege of Tarifa were delayed, and Abu Yakub had to spend most of the year fighting the rebellion in Rif.

The failed siege of Tarifa convinced Abu Yakub to abandon plans to seize territory on the peninsula. In 1295, he officially handed over the last two remaining Marinid strongholds - Algeciras and Ronda - to Mohammed II.

The abandonment of territories in Spain freed Abu Yakubu's hands in the war with Tlemcen, which began in 1295 . The Marinid forces systematically and slowly moved along the coast, occupying Taurirt ( 1295 ), Ujdu ( 1296 ), Taunt and Nedroma ( 1297 ), until they finally approached Tlemcen in May 1299 . Tune in for a long siege, Abu Yakub built a siege camp, which turned into a real city, known as al-Mahalla al-Mansur ("Victory Camp"), with a market, public baths, a palace and a mosque. From here, the sultan led a siege of Tlemcen, sending troops to seize the remaining coastal possessions of the Abdalwadid sultanate, up to Algeria .

However, Tlemcen did not give up. The death of Emir Abdalvadid Usman in 1303 forced the townspeople to consider a proposal for surrender, but Abu Zayyan I , who joined the throne, rallied resistance and ensured the continuation of the siege.

In order to lift the siege, the agents of the Abdalvadids convinced the new Sultan Nasridov Muhammad III to transfer to Ceut in 1306 a candidate for the throne of Marinides, a certain Usman ibn Idris. Usman arrived in Granada ships and immediately declared himself ruler of Morocco . Abu Yakuba felt threatened, but did not lift the siege, but only intensified, seeing that Tlemcen was on the verge of falling. Units of Usman ibn Idris without resistance occupied the neighboring cities of Asila , Larash and most of the Gomar region.

In May 1307, Sultan Abu Yakub Yusuf was killed in a siege camp by a eunuch due to unknown harem intrigues. On the throne, he was succeeded by his son (or grandson) Abu Tabith , who decided to abandon the siege of Tlemcen and defeat Usman ibn Idris in Ceuta. The twelve years of the Abu Yakub war against Tlemcen ended in nothing.

• CA Julien, Histoire de l'Afrique du Nord, des origines à 1830 , Payot (1961, reedit. orig. 1931)
• CE Bosworth, The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual , Edinburgh University Press (2004), pp. 41–42 ISBN 9780748621378