The Fight for Morocco at The Battle of Alcacer Quibir
By: Christian Jimenez/Arab America Contributing Writer
There have been many interesting and important battles throughout World Histories such as the Battle of Milvian Bridge or the Battle of Yarmouk, but another interesting battle and one that is important to the history of Morocco is the Battle of Alcacer Quibir.
History of Morocco and Surrounding Empires from 15th-16th Centuries
Since the 15th century, the country of Morocco was in a precarious position as they were surrounded by the new superpowers of the time. Towards the east, there was the great Ottoman Empire that had been making inroads into North Africa from Anatolia and the Middle East reaching the height of their power, and towards the north were the kingdoms from Iberia that were also at the height of their powers. First, there was Spain that found itself a great empire in the New World exploiting native and African populations and obtaining vast quantities of metals such as silver, and second, there was Portugal, who controlled the Indian Ocean Trade Routes, the Spice Trade, and began colonizing Brazil and growing sugar. This development helped them to obtain great profits and led to them conquer places from Africa to Asia, but the oldest target for the Portuguese was Morocco as they have been looking to conquer parts of its territory ever since the end of the Reconquista. The Portuguese started this path when they conquered the city of Ceuta in 1415 and later captured other cities such as Cenuger in 1458 and Tangier from 1460 to 1464. However, this time of Portuguese conquest in Morocco is different since the nation was undergoing a succession crisis that made the country vulnerable to both Portuguese and Ottoman expansion.
Moroccan Succession Crisis and Portuguese Invasion
The succession crisis was caused by the growing power of the Saadis who controlled southern Morocco from around the 15th century and were then able to defeat the Ottoman-backed Wattasid dynasty and Portuguese colonial ambitions in the country. The Saadis were able to achieve this because they had many strong rulers who managed to repel Ottoman and Portuguese incursions and maintain the country’s independence throughout most of the 16th century. However, this situation changed when one member of the Saadi family wanted to obtain the throne and asked the Ottomans for help as they provided him with an army, and he was soon able to capture the city of Fez in 1576. This man named Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik I was soon able to become the new ruler of Morocco, leaving the previous ruler, Abu Abdullah Mohammed II, to look for anyone that can help him retain his former position. Thus, he sought help from the only nation that could assist him, the Portuguese under King Sebastian I. Sebastian accepted Abdullah’s plea as a way to regain territory that had been lost at the hands of the previous Saadi rulers, and Sebastian was also worried about a potential Ottoman client, Abu Marwan, next to remaining Portuguese territories in Morocco and Portugal itself. Thus, the answer was obvious and Sebastian prepared for an invasion with Abdullah.
The Portuguese invaded after they departed from Portugal on June 24, 1578 and met Abdullah in Morocco. The Portuguese and Abdullah had an army of around 20,000 men including artillery and modern weaponry like arquebusiers. Meanwhile, the Moroccan army under Malik had an army of around 50,000 men, but it was not as well equipped as the Portuguese. However, unlike the Portuguese Malik did have a cavalry force as both sides faced each other in the Battle of Alcacer Quibir at the Wadi al-Makhazin between the Loukkos River and its many tributaries on August 4, 1578. Another interesting fact is that this battle was also known as the Battle of the Three Kings due to the presence of King Sebastian, former Sultan Abdullah, and Sultan Malik. In the end, the Moroccans under Malik won the battle by using his cavalry to encircle the immobile Portuguese, who possessed no cavalry of any sort. Eventually, the Portuguese tried escaping, but they attempted to perform this action by crossing a river resulting in many Portuguese deaths from drowning including former Sultan Abdullah and King Sebastian. Interestingly, Malik also died after the battle due to his illness at that time. The results were that after the battle each one of the three kings were dead, leaving the Morccan throne to Malik’s brother Ahmad al-Mansur. Ironically, the results of the battle fought over a succession crisis in Morocco led to a succession crisis in Portugal as Sebastian was childless. This battle turned out to be beneficial to the Spanish as King Philip II of Spain also became King Philip I of Portugal after the battle forming the Iberian Union lasting from 1580-1640. Meanwhile, the battle helped maintain independence from Morocco and is no doubt remembered by the millions of Moroccans living today.
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