Editing History of Morocco (section)

==Wattasid dynasty (c. 1472–1554)==
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2021}}{{Main|Wattasid dynasty}}
[[File:Wattasids - Simplified map.PNG|thumb|Map of the Wattasid sultanate (dark red) and its vassal states (light red)]]
Morocco was in decline when the Berber Wattasids assumed power. The Wattasid family had been the autonomous governors of the eastern [[Rif]] since the late 13th century, ruling from their base in Tazouta (near present-day [[Nador]]). They had close ties to the Marinid sultans and provided many of the bureaucratic elite. While the [[Marinid dynasty]] tried to repel the Portuguese and Spanish invasions and help the kingdom of [[Granada]] to outlive the [[Reconquista]], the Wattasids accumulated absolute power through political maneuvering. When the Marinids became aware of the extent of the conspiracy, they slaughtered the Wattasids, leaving only [[Abu Abd Allah al-Sheikh Muhammad ibn Yahya]] alive. He went on to found the [[Kingdom of Fez]] and establish the [[dynasty]] to be succeeded by his son, Mohammed al-Burtuqali, in 1504.

The Wattasid rulers failed in their promise to protect Morocco from foreign incursions and the Portuguese increased their presence on Morocco's coast. Mohammad al-Chaykh's son attempted to capture [[Asilah]] and [[Tangier]] in 1508, 1511 and 1515, but without success.

In the south, a new dynasty arose, the Saadian dynasty, which seized [[Marrakesh]] in 1524 and made it their capital. By 1537 the Saadis were in the ascendent when they [[Fall of Agadir|defeated]] the [[Portuguese Empire]] at [[Agadir]]. Their military successes contrasts with the Wattasid policy of conciliation towards the [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] kings to the north.

As a result, the people of Morocco tended to regard the Saadians as heroes, making it easier for them to retake the Portuguese strongholds on the coast, including Tangiers, [[Ceuta]] and [[El Jadida|Maziɣen]]. The Saadians also attacked the Wattasids who were forced to yield to the new power. In 1554, as Wattasid towns surrendered, the Wattasid sultan, [[Ali Abu Hassun]], briefly [[Capture of Fez (1554)|retook Fez]]. The Saadis quickly settled the matter by killing him and, as the last Wattasids fled Morocco by ship, they too were murdered by pirates. The Wattasid did little to improve general conditions in Morocco following the ''[[Reconquista]]''. While the Saadians managed to reestablish and curbed the expansionist ambitions of the kingdoms of the Iberian peninsula.