Abu Faris al-Mustansir Abd al-Aziz ibn Ali () was the Marinid Sultan of Morocco from 1366 until his death in 1372. He assumed the throne at a time when Marinid authority was in decline, but during his rule managed to reverse this trend. After his death the kingdom returned to anarchy.

Background

Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz came to power at a time when the Moorish states of

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

, Morocco and Tlemcen were all weak, and were all prone to meddling in each other's affairs. Abu Faris was one of the sons of

Abu al-Hasan ibn Uthman Abu Al-Hasan 'Ali ibn 'Othman (c. 1297 – 24 May 1351), () was a sultan of the Marinid dynasty who reigned in Morocco between 1331 and 1348. In 1333 he captured Gibraltar from the Castilians, although a later attempt to take Tarifa in 1339 ende ...

, and before coming to the throne was held captive in the palace of Fez.

Rule

In 1366 Sultan Muhammad II ibn Faris of Morocco tried to remove the vizier Umar bin Abdulla al-Yabani from office, and was killed in response. Abu Faris Abdul-Aziz came to the throne. Once he was firmly in control he had the vizier killed. Abu Faris was one of the more decisive of the Marinid rulers. He defeated the neighboring

Zayyanid The Zayyanid dynasty ( ar, زيانيون, ''Ziyānyūn'') or Abd al-Wadids ( ar, بنو عبد الواد, ''Bānu ʿabd āl-Wād'') was a Berber Zenata dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of Tlemcen, mainly in modern Algeria centered on the town of ...

kingdom of Tlemcen The Kingdom of Tlemcen or Zayyanid Kingdom of Tlemcen ( ar, الزيانيون) was a Berber kingdom in what is now the northwest of Algeria. Its territory stretched from Tlemcen to the Chelif bend and Algiers, and at its zenith reached Sijilm ...

, to the east. Abu Faris also reestablished control over

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...

, where a Marinid prince supported by the Hintata chief of the

Atlas Mountains The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. It separates the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range. It stretches around through Moroc ...

had seceded from the sultanate of Fez. When Abu Faris captured Tlemcen he took the diplomat

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 ...

(1332–1406) prisoner, and enlisted him in his own service. Later Ibn Khaldun was to establish lasting fame for his great world history, which he started to write around 1372. Ibn Ridwan al-Malaqi (1318–1381), author of a major treatise on political ethics, was another of Abu Faris's senior administrators. He gave asylum to

Lisan ad-Din ibn al-Khatib Lisan ad-Din Ibn al-Khatib ( ar, لسان الدين ابن الخطيب, Lisān ad-Dīn Ibn al-Khaṭīb) (Born 16 November 1313, Loja, Granada, Loja– died 1374, Fes; full name in ar, محمد بن عبد الله بن سعيد بن عبد ا ...

, former vizier of

Muhammed V of Granada Abu Abdallah Muhammad V () (4 January 1339 – 16 January 1391), known by the regnal name al-Ghani bi'llah ( ar, الغني بالله, al-Ghanī bi-ʾllāh, He who is contented with God), was the eighth Nasrid ruler of the Emirate of Granada ...

. Abu Faris arranged for the Marinid forces in

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

to help al-Khatib to escape to Morocco. He built the Muristan al-Azizi (Azizi Hospital) in Fez and an adjacent fountain that have both survived until modern times. Abu Faris died in 1372 and was succeeded by his infant son

Muhammad abu Zayyan as-Saîd II Abu Zayyan as-Sa'id Muhammad ibn Abd al-Aziz( Arabic: أبو زيان السيد محمد بن عبد العزيز), was Marinid Sultan of Morocco from 1372 to 1374. Life Muhammad Abu Zayyan ascended the throne as a minor on the death of his fa ...

. The kingdom again descended into anarchy. In 1374 Muhammad V of Granada took control of Gibraltar.

References

Citations Sources * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abu Faris Abdul Aziz 1372 deaths People from Fez, Morocco Marinid sultans of Morocco 14th-century Berber people 14th-century Moroccan people 14th-century monarchs in Africa Year of birth unknown