Ibn al-Khatib
Muhammad III took the throne at the age of around 45, when his father died in 8 April 1302 (8 Shaban 701 AH) after 29 years of rule. There were allegations, cited by Ibn al-Khatib, that Muhammad III, perhaps impatient to assume power, killed his father by poison, although this rumour was never confirmed. An anecdote says that during his accession ceremony, when a poet recited:For whom are the banners today unfurled? For whom do the troops 'neath their standards march?