Name: Battle of Tarifa and the Testing of the Muslims
Start: 1340-10-30

Battle of Tarifa and the Testing of the Muslims

واقعة طريف وتمحيص المسلمين

30 October 1340 CE · 9 Rabi' I 741 AH

Sultan Abu al-Hasan crossed in late 740 and encamped before Tarifa; Yusuf I of Granada joined him with the Andalus army, they ringed the town and set engines — but the Taghiya's second fleet sealed the Strait, starved the camp, and he mustered the Christian nations with Afonso of Portugal at his side; a hidden force he slipped into Tarifa by night burst on the Muslim rear as battle joined, their lines dissolved, the royal women were taken — Aisha the sultan's cousin and Fatima among them — and the Christian king's power over the Andalus frontier was sealed ¹.

Overview

The battle of Tarifa, which Ibn Khaldun calls "the battle of Tarifa and the testing of the Muslims". In it the sultan of the Maghrib, Abu al-Hasan al-Marini, and the sultan of al-Andalus, Abu al-Hajjaj Yusuf, met the army of the king of Castile, Alfonso XI, and it ended in the defeat of the Muslims. ²

Before the battle

Abu al-Hasan crossed with his fleet at the end of 740 AH and camped at the square of Tarifa. Abu al-Hajjaj came to him with the army of al-Andalus, and they surrounded the town and set up the siege engines. ²

The Christian side sent out a fleet that blocked the strait and cut off the supplies to the camp, so the Muslims' stay lengthened and their provisions ran out. The lord of Lisbon of Portugal joined the king of Castile. ²

The battle

Ibn Khaldun relates that an ambush force entered Tarifa by night. When the fighting broke out the next day, it appeared on the backs of the Muslims, their line was broken, and they retreated. Women who defended themselves were killed, and the Christians reached the concubines of the sultan. ²

Ibn Khaldun describes the defeat as a "testing" of the Muslims, and mentions that the king of Castile grew strong by it over the frontiers of al-Andalus. ²

The Gregorian date is derived from the Hijri year.

Naval battle of the Strait and the taking of the Muslim fleet

Sultan Abu al-Hasan al-Marini prepared for jihad, sent his viziers to the coasts to fit out the fleets, summoned the Maghreb and marched to Ceuta; the Taghiya sent his fleet into the Strait to bar the crossing. The Almohads (Ifriqiya's heirs) contracted their fleet to Zayd ibn Farhun, who brought sixteen ships from Tripoli, Gabes, Djerba, Tunis, Bona and Bijaya, and the two-Maghreb fleets at Ceuta's anchorage neared a hundred sail under Muhammad ibn Ali al-Azafi — the fleets closed, grappled for boarding, the wind of victory rose, the Muslims cut them down, killed their admiral 'al-Maland' and towed the prizes into Ceuta, where the sultan sat for congratulations.

Battle of Tarifa and the Testing of the Muslims

At a glance

In time

Overview

Before the battle

The battle

Connections

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Time

Naval battle of the Strait and the taking of the Muslim fleet