Marinid Relations with Iberia

Timeline

1. 1331–1333Fez · MoroccoIn 1331 Abu al-Hasan Ali became Marinid sultan, quickly unifying Morocco and expanding to Tlemcen and Hafsid Ifriqiya, and rebuilding the alliance with the Nasrid dynasty of Granada. Answering a call for aid from Granada sultan Muhammad IV, he decided to intervene militarily in Iberia.
2. 1333Gibraltar · GibraltarIn February 1333, seven thousand Marinid troops under Prince Abd al-Malik crossed the strait to Algeciras and, after besieging Gibraltar for over four months, forced the Castilian garrison to surrender on June 17. Alfonso XI promptly launched a fourth siege but signed a four-year truce on August 24; the Marinids consolidated control over Gibraltar and massively rebuilt its fortifications.
3. 1338–1340Tarifa–Algeciras line · AndalusiaBetween 1338 and 1340, Abu al-Hasan assembled a vast army in North Africa, intending to reverse a century of Christian reconquest. In July 1340 his forces crossed the strait to besiege Tarifa, but Pope Benedict XII proclaimed a crusade and funded Castile; a combined Castilian, Portuguese, and Aragonese army routed the Marinid–Granadan coalition at the Battle of the Salado on October 30, halting the expansion of Abu al-Hasan's North African empire.