Marinid Sultanate

Marinid Sultanate المرينيون al-marīniyyūn (ar)
1244–1465
The Marinid Sultanate circa 1360[1]
Status	Sultanate
Capital	Fez
Official languages	Arabic[2]
Common languages	Maghrebi Arabic, Berber languages
Religion	Sunni Islam
Sultan
• 1215–1217 (first)	Abd al-Haqq I
• 1420–1465 (last)	Abd al-Haqq II
History
• Established	1244
• Disestablished	1465
Currency	Dinar
Preceded by Succeeded by Almohad Caliphate Wattasid dynasty

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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) around Gibraltar.^[3] It was named after the Banu Marin (Arabic: بنو مرين, Berber: Ayt Mrin^[4]), a Zenata Berber tribe.^[5][3] The sultanate was ruled by the Marinid dynasty (Arabic: المرينيون al-marīniyyūn), founded by Abd al-Haqq I.^[5][6]

In 1244, after being at their service for several years, the Marinids overthrew the Almohads which had controlled Morocco.^[7] At the height of their power in the mid-14th century, during the reigns of Abu al-Hasan and his son Abu Inan, the Marinid dynasty briefly held sway over most of the Maghreb including large parts of modern-day Algeria and Tunisia.^[3] The Marinids supported the Emirate of Granada in al-Andalus in the 13th and 14th centuries and made an attempt to gain a direct foothold on the European side of the Strait of Gibraltar. They were however defeated at the Battle of Río Salado in 1340 and finished after the Castilians took Algeciras from the Marinids in 1344, definitively expelling them from the Iberian Peninsula.^[8] Starting in the early 15th century the Wattasid dynasty, a related ruling house, competed with the Marinid dynasty for control of the state and became de facto rulers between 1420 and 1459 while officially acting as regents or viziers. In 1465 the last Marinid sultan, Abd al-Haqq II, was finally overthrown and killed by a revolt in Fez, which led to the establishment of direct Wattasid rule over most of Morocco.^[3][9]

In contrast to their predecessors, the Marinids sponsored Maliki Sunnism as the official religion and made Fez their capital.^[10][3] Under their rule, Fez enjoyed a relative golden age.^[11] The Marinids also pioneered the construction of madrasas across the country which promoted the education of Maliki ulama, although Sufi sheikhs increasingly predominated in the countryside.^[3] The influence of sharifian families and the popular veneration of sharifian figures such as the Idrisids also progressively grew in this period, preparing the way for later dynasties like the Saadians and Alaouites.^[12]