Skip to main content
EditionEnglish edition·Édition française
What was the Saadi dynasty?
Seal of Magna Bureau Magna Bureau No Single Capital Owns the Whole Truth
Universal Encyclopedia

What was the Saadi dynasty?

The Saadian dynasty restored Morocco's golden age in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Sharifian sultans from the Draa Valley, the Saadians expelled the Portuguese from Agadir in 1541, annihilated their crusade at the Battle of the Three Kings in 1578, and under Ahmad al-Mansur turned Marrakech into a capital of sugar, gold, and marble.

The short answer

The Saadians rose as leaders of holy war against the Portuguese enclaves on the Atlantic coast. Muhammad al-Shaykh took Fez in 1549 and ended Wattasid rule, uniting Morocco under sharifian — Prophetic-descended — kingship. When the Portuguese king Sebastian landed in 1578 to restore a deposed Saadian claimant, Sultan Abd al-Malik met him at Alcácer Quibir; the catastrophe that followed made the Saadians masters of Morocco and ended Portugal's independence.

The full file

Encyclopedia

Read the full file

The Saadian dynasty restored Morocco's golden age in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Sharifian sultans from the Draa Valley, the Saadians expelled the …

Related questions

What was the Abbasid Caliphate?What was the Aksumite Empire?What was the Ashanti Empire?What was the Austro-Hungarian Empire?What was the Benin Empire?What was the British Empire?What was the Bulgarian Empire?What was Cahokia?What was the Carolingian Empire?What was Carthage?What was the Chola Empire?What was the Caliphate of Córdoba?

More from the Bureau

All questionsFactbookRankings

Across the Bureau

The Alaouite dynasty: Morocco's unbroken throneThe Amazigh: North Africa's first peopleMorocco — Country ProfileHistory of Morocco — TimelineDid Morocco acquire 36 Atmos 2000 self-propelled artillery guns?Did Morocco acquire 600 FIM-92K Stinger Block I MANPADS missiles?What is the population of Morocco?Who is the president of Morocco?