The Battle of Salé was a raid of the Moroccan city of

Salé Salé ( ar, سلا, salā, ; ber, ⵙⵍⴰ, sla) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the right bank of the Bou Regreg river, opposite the national capital Rabat, for which it serves as a commuter town. Founded in about 1030 by the Banu Ifran ...

by King

Alfonso X of Castile Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Germ ...

in 1260, when the city was governed by the

Marinid dynasty 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) a ...

. The city remained under Castilian occupation for two weeks, during which they captured 3,000 residents and took them as slaves. However, the Marinid dynasty regained control of the city after Sultan Yacoub ben Abdelhaq ordered his troops to march to the city gates. According to historian

Ibn Khaldun Ibn Khaldun (; ar, أبو زيد عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن خلدون الحضرمي, ; 27 May 1332 – 17 March 1406, 732-808 AH) was an Arab The Historical Muhammad', Irving M. Zeitlin, (Polity Press, 2007), p. 21; "It is, of ...

, when the Marinid dynasty took control over Salé from the

Almohad Caliphate The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the Tawhid, unity of God) was a North African Berbers, Berber M ...

, Yacoub ben Abdellah Marinid rebelled against his uncle

Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd Al-Haqq Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd al-Haqq () (c. 1212 – 20 March 1286) was a Marinid ruler of Morocco. He was the fourth son of Marinid founder Abd al-Haqq, and succeeded his brother Abu Yahya in 1258. He died in 1286. He was the son of Abd al-Haqq ...

, and sought the assistance of King Alfonso X. Ruy López de Mendoza,

Admiral of Castile Admiral of Castile was the representative of the King of Castile at the head of the Navy. It was a dignity created in 1247 that lasted until 1705. Admiral of Castile The title of Admiral of Castile was created by King Ferdinand III the Saint in ...

formed an armada to assist the Castilian crusades on the North African coast. Salé was an important strategic and commercial centre, and also the gateway to Azghar, the region of northern Morocco. The day before

Eid al-Fitr , nickname = Festival of Breaking the Fast, Lesser Eid, Sweet Eid, Sugar Feast , observedby = Muslims , type = Islamic , longtype = Islamic , significance = Commemoration to mark the end of fasting in Ramadan , dat ...

in year 658 of the

Hijra Hijra, Hijrah, Hegira, Hejira, Hijrat or Hijri may refer to: Islam * Hijrah (often written as ''Hejira'' in older texts), the migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE * Migration to Abyssinia or First Hegira, of Muhammad's followers ...

(September 1260), thirty-seven warships were sent to Salé by King Alfonso X. On 2

Shawwal Shawwal ( ar, شَوَّال, ') is the tenth month of the lunar based Islamic calendar. ''Shawwāl'' stems from the verb ''shāla'' () which means to 'lift or carry', generally to take or move things from one place to another, Fasting during S ...

, Castilian warriors landed in Salé and took the opportunity to perform the largest massacre in the history of the city. Citizens of Salé were busy celebrating Eid al-Fitr, and the Castilians killed many of them. The warriors plundered properties and destroyed everything in their path. Women, children, and the elderly were rounded up into the

Great Mosque of Salé The Great Mosque of Salé ( ar, المسجد الأعظم, Masjid Al Aadam) is a mosque in Salé, Morocco. Covering an area of , it is the third-largest mosque in Morocco, and was originally built between 1028 and 1029. It has been destroyed and ...

, where 3,000 of them were taken as slaves to

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

. For two weeks, Salé remained under the occupation of the Castilians, before Sultan Yacoub ben Abdelhaq rushed to the aid of the city, and quickly ordered his troops to march to the gates of the city. He ordered that all Castilian soldiers were to be killed, but some were able to escape the attack after ransacking houses, and looting and burning shops. Following the liberation of the city, the Sultan ordered the construction of the Borj Adoumoue and a wall opposite the

Bou Regreg The Bou Regreg ( ar, أبو رقراق) is a river located in western Morocco which discharges to the Atlantic Ocean between the cities of Rabat and Salé. The estuary of this river is termed Wadi Sala. The river is 240 kilometres long, with a t ...

. After the failure of the battle, Ruy López de Mendoza fled to Portugal in fear of King Alfonso X.

Notes

* No ships were recorded to have been lost by the Castilians.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Sale Salé Conflicts in 1260 Sale 13th century in Morocco Massacres in Morocco