Abd al-Malik crushed the Portuguese at the Battle of Alcazarquivir in 1578.

Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik I (Arabic: أبو مروان عبد الملك الغازي‎) was the Sultan of the Saadi Dynasty from 1576 until his death at the Battle of Alcazarquivir against Portugal in 1578.

[edit] Reign

After the murder on his father Mohammed ash-Sheikh in 1557 and the following struggle for power Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik had to flee his brother Abdallah al-Ghalib (1557-1574), leave Morocco and stay abroad until 1576. He took service with the Ottomans and was able to invade Morocco with their help in 1576 and achieve the Capture of Fez. Marwan recognised the superiority of the Ottomans but decided to send them back to Algeria.

In the following period he tried to revive trade with Europe and especially England, startin an Anglo-Moroccan alliance with Elizabeth I. According to Richard Hakluyt, quoting Edmund Hogan, ruler "Abdelmelech" bears "a greater affection to our Nation than to others because of our religion, which forbids the worship of Idols".^[1]

After losing the throne to Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik I, his predecessor Abu Abdallah Mohammed II, 1574-1576, (son of Abu Marwan's brother Abdallah al-Ghalib) had been able to flee to Portugal and to convince King Sebastian to field a military campaign against Morocco. The campaign turned out to be a complete failure at the battle of Qsar al-Kabir in 1578. During the battle Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik, already very ill, died.

He was succeeded by Ahmad al-Mansur (1578-1603).

[edit] See also

• Anglo-Moroccan alliance
• Islam and Protestantism

[edit] Notes

[edit] Bibliography

• Stephan and Nandy Ronart: Lexikon der Arabischen Welt. Artemis Verlag, 1972 ISBN 3-7608-0138-2

[edit] See also

• List of rulers of Morocco
• History of Morocco
• Saadi Dynasty

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