page_title: Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Othman
section_title: Tlemcen
hierarchical_section_title: Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Othman / Campaigns / Tlemcen
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Carte décrivant les étapes de l'extension de l'Empire mérinide au 14e siecle
context_page_description: Abu Al-Hasan 'Ali ibn 'Othman, 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 ended in fiasco. In North Africa he extended his rule over Tlemcen and Ifriqiya, which together covered the north of what is now Algeria and Tunisia. Under him the Marinid realms in the Maghreb briefly covered an area that rivaled that of the preceding Almohad Caliphate. However, he was forced to retreat due to a revolt of the Arab tribes, was shipwrecked, and lost many of his supporters. His son Abu Inan Faris seized power in Fez. Abu Al-Hasan died in exile in the High Atlas mountains.
context_section_description: The ruler of Tlemcen, Ibn Tashufin (r. 1318–1337), initiated hostilities against Ifriqiya, besieged Béjaïa, and sent an army into Tunisia that defeated the Hafsid king Abu Yahya Abu Bakr II, who fled to Constantine while the Zayyanids occupied Tunis.
  Abu al-Hassan was married to a Hafsid princess, and in 1334 the Hafsids appealed to him for help, giving him a welcome excuse for invading his neighbor.
  In early 1335, Marinid forces under Abu al-Hassan invaded Tlemcen from the west and dispatched a naval force to assist the Hafsids from the east. The Zayyanids were rolled back into the city of Tlemcen. The Marinid sultan Abu al-Hassan laid a three-year siege of Tlemcen, turning his siege camp into a veritable adjoining city.
  In 1336 or 1337, Abu al-Hassan suspended the siege of Tlemcen to campaign in southern Morocco, where his troublesome brother, Abu Ali, who ruled an appanage at Sijilmassa, was threatening to divide the Marinid dominions.
  In May 1337, after a two-year siege, Tlemcen finally fell to a Marinid assault. Ibn Tashufin died during the fighting. His brothers were captured and killed and the Sultanate of Tlemcen (covering roughly modern western half of Algeria) was annexed by the Marinids. Abu al-Hasan received delegates from Egypt, Granada, Tunis and Mali congratulating him on his victory, by which he had gained complete control of the trans-Saharan trade.
caption: The Marinid empire at its greatest extent, around 1348.
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