Editing History of Morocco (section)

===Apogee===
After the [[Nasrid dynasty|Nasrids]] [[Emirate of Granada|of Granada]] ceded the town of [[Algeciras]] to the Marinids, Abu Yusuf went to [[Al-Andalus]] to support the ongoing struggle against the [[Kingdom of Castile]]. The Marinid dynasty then tried to extend its control to include the commercial traffic of the [[Strait of Gibraltar]].

It was in this period that the Spanish Christians were first able to take the fighting to mainland present-day Morocco: in 1260 and 1267 they attempted an invasion, but both attempts were defeated. After gaining a foothold in Spain, the Marinids became active in the conflict between Muslims and Christians in Iberia. To gain absolute control of the trade in the Strait of Gibraltar, from their base at Algeciras they started the conquest of several Spanish towns: by the year 1294 they had occupied [[Rota, Spain|Rota]], [[Tarifa]] and [[Gibraltar]].

In 1276 they founded [[Fes Jdid]], which they made their administrative and military centre. While Fes had been a prosperous city throughout the Almohad period, even becoming the largest city in the world during that time,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hEvCpNW2qBwC&q=largest+cities+marinid&pg=PA252 |title=The Report: Morocco 2009 - Oxford Business Group - Google Boeken |publisher=Oxford Business |isbn=9781907065071 |access-date=2014-02-24}}</ref> it was in the Marinid period that Fes reached its golden age, a period which marked the beginning of an official, historical narrative for the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/348/1/uk_bl_ethos_426809.pdf |title=An Architectural Investigation of Marrind and Wattasid Fes Medina (674-961/1276-1554), In Terms of Gender, Legend, and Law |publisher=Etheses.whiterose.ac.uk |access-date=2014-02-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/348/1/uk_bl_ethos_426809.pdf |title=An architectural Investigation of Marinid and Watasid Fes |page=23|publisher=Etheses.whiterose.ac.uk|access-date=2014-02-24}}</ref> It is from the Marinid period that Fes' reputation as an important intellectual centre largely dates, they established the first [[madrasa]]s in the city and country.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9JQ3AAAAIAAJ&q=berber&pg=PA896 |title=E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam 1913-1936 - Google Boeken |year=1987 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9004082654 |access-date=2014-02-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=frhUbLo7aRsC&q=Muhammad+al-Dila%27i+berber&pg=PA91 |title=The Berbers and the Islamic State - Maya Shatzmiller - Google Boeken |isbn=9781558762244 |access-date=2014-02-24|last1=Shatzmiller |first1=Maya |author-link=Maya Shatzmiller |year=2000 |publisher=Markus Wiener Publishers }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Te5QRi35W5EC&q=ibn+marzuq&pg=PA121 |title=Islamic Art and Visual Culture: An Anthology of Sources - Google Boeken |date=2011-04-25 |isbn=9781405154017 |access-date=2014-02-24|last1=Fairchild Ruggles |first1=D. |publisher=Wiley }}</ref> The principal monuments in the medina, the residences and public buildings, date from the Marinid period.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.al-hakawati.net/english/Cities/fez.asp |title=Al- Hakawati |publisher=Al-hakawati.net |access-date=2014-02-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130625053121/http://www.al-hakawati.net/english/Cities/fez.asp |archive-date=25 June 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Despite internal infighting, Abu Said Uthman II (r. 1310–1331) initiated huge construction projects across the land. Several madrasas were built, the [[Al-Attarine Madrasa]] being the most famous. The building of these madrasas were necessary to create a dependent bureaucratic class, in order to undermine the marabouts and Sharifian elements.

The Marinids also strongly influenced the policy of the [[Emirate of Granada]], from which they enlarged their army in 1275. In the 13th century, the Kingdom of Castile made several incursions into their territory. In 1260, [[Crown of Castile|Castilian]] forces raided [[Salé]] and, in 1267, initiated a full-scale invasion, but the Marinids repelled them.

At the height of their power, during the rule of [[Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Othman|Abu al-Hasan Ali]] (r. 1331–1348), the Marinid army was large and disciplined. It consisted of 40,000 Zenata cavalry, while Arab nomads contributed to the cavalry and Andalusians were included as archers. The personal bodyguard of the sultan consisted of 7,000 men, and included Christian, Kurdish and Black African elements.<ref name="google1">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tPsUAAAAIAAJ&q=marinids&pg=PA574|title=The Encyclopedia of Islam, Volume 6, Fascicules 107-108 - Clifford Edmund Bosworth - Google Boeken|date=January 1989|isbn=9004090827|access-date=2014-02-24|last1=Bosworth|first1=Clifford Edmund|publisher=BRILL }}</ref> Under [[Abu al-Hasan 'Ali|Abu al-Hasan]] another attempt was made to reunite the [[Maghreb]]. In 1337 the [[Zayyanid dynasty|Abdalwadid]] [[kingdom of Tlemcen]] was conquered, followed in 1347 by the defeat of the [[Hafsid dynasty|Hafsid]] empire in [[Ifriqiya]], which made him master of a huge territory, which spanned from southern present-day Morocco to [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]]. However, within the next year, a revolt of Arab tribes in southern Tunisia made them lose their eastern territories. The Marinids had already suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of a Portuguese-Castilian coalition in the [[Battle of Río Salado]] in 1340, and finally had to withdraw from Andalusia, only [[Siege of Algeciras (1342–44)|holding on to Algeciras]] until 1344.

In 1348 Abu al-Hasan was deposed by his son [[Abu Inan Faris]], who tried to reconquer Algeria and Tunisia. Despite several successes, he was strangled by his own vizir in 1358, after which the dynasty began to decline.