Mohammed ash-Sheikh
In the 16th century the Saadis rose to power in southern Morocco and challenged the Wattasids. In the meanwhile, the Ottoman Empire came close to Fez after the conquest of Algeria in the 16th century. In January 1549 the Saadi sultan Mohammed ash-Sheikh took Fez and ousted the last Wattasid sultan Ali Abu Hassun. They later retook the city in 1554 with Ottoman support, but this reconquest was short-lived and later that same year the Wattasids were decisively defeated by the Saadis. The Ottomans would try to invade Morocco after the assassination of Mohammed ash-Sheikh in 1558, but were stopped by his son Abdallah al-Ghalib at the Battle of Wadi al-Laban north of Fez. Hence, Morocco remained the only North-African state to remain outside Ottoman control.