Abu Inan Faris (1329 – 10 January 1358) ( ar, أبو عنان فارس بن علي) was a Marinid ruler of

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

. He succeeded his father Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Othman in 1348. He extended his rule over

Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ar, تلمسان, translit=Tilimsān) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran, and capital of the Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the p ...

and Ifriqiya, which covered the north of what is now

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

and

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, but was forced to retreat due to a revolt of Arab tribes there. He died strangled by his vizier in 1358.

History

Abu Inan's father Abu'l Hasan had taken the town of

in 1337. In 1347 Abu'l Hasan annexed Ifriqiya, briefly reuniting the Maghrib territories as they had been under the Almohads. However, Abu'l Hasan went too far in attempting to impose more authority over the Arab tribes, who revolted and in April 1348 defeated his army near Kairouan. Abu Inan Faris, who had been serving as governor of Tlemcen, returned to Fez and declared that he was sultan. Tlemcen and the central Maghreb revolted. Abu Inan took the title of ''

Amir al-Mu'minin Amir al-Mu'minin ( ar, أَمِير ٱلْمُؤْمِنِين, amīr al-muʾminīn) is an Arabic title designating the supreme leader of an Islamic community. It is usually translated as "Commander of the Faithful", though sometimes also as "Prin ...

'' ("commander of the believers"). Abu'l Hasan had to return from Ifriqiya by sea. After failing to retake Tlemcen and being defeated by his son, Abu'l Hasan died in May 1351. In 1352 Abu Inan Faris recaptured Tlemcen. He also reconquered the central Maghreb. He took Béjaïa in 1353. The

Nasrid The Nasrid dynasty ( ar, بنو نصر ''banū Naṣr'' or ''banū al-Aḥmar''; Spanish: ''Nazarí'') was the last Muslim dynasty in the Iberian Peninsula, ruling the Emirate of Granada from 1230 until 1492. Its members claimed to be of Arab ...

rulers of Granada were concerned that if Abu Inan was able to gain full control of the Maghreb, he would then invade Granada. To weaken him, they sponsored a rebellion by his brother Abul Fadl, who had briefly been governor of Tunis from December 1349. Sultan Abul-Hajjaj of Granada hired ships from Castile and used them to take Abul-Fadl and his supporters to Sousse, where he launched a short-lived rebellion. Abu Inan continued his eastward expansion, and took

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

in 1357, becoming master of Ifrikiya. Due to the intrigues of his ''vizier'', Faris bin Maymum, he was forced to retreat from Tunisia in 1357. Abu Inan fell ill in November 1357. His ''vizier'' Hasan bin Umar al-Fududi had a dispute with his heir apparent Abu Zayyan Muhammad, so nominated his young son Abu Bakr Sa'id as his successor instead. When Abu Inan began to recover from his illness, the vizier feared he would be punished for nominating Abu Bakr. On 10 January 1358 he had Abu Inan strangled.

Legacy

Under Abu Inan's rule the Black Death and the rebellions of

and

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

marked the beginning of the decline of the Marinids. They proved unable to drive back the Portuguese and the

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both ...

, who settled on the North African coast during the reign of the Wattasids, which succeeded to the Marinids. Abu Inan commissioned one of his secretaries, Ibn Juzayy, to record an account of

Ibn Battuta Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berber Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, largely in the Muslim ...

's 29 years of travelling. The result, Ibn Battuta's '' rihla'', was completed in December 1355. Abu Inan built

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

s in

Meknes Meknes ( ar, مكناس, maknās, ; ber, ⴰⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ, amknas; french: Meknès) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th c ...

and Fes in 1350, and built another madrasa in Fes in 1357. The Bou Inania Madrasa of Fes and that of Meknes were named after him.

References

Citations Sources * * . First published in 1986, . * *

History

Legacy

References

Further reading