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

Name: Naval battle of the Strait and the taking of the Muslim fleet
Start: 1340

واقعة الزقاق البحرية وملك أسطول المسلمين

1340 CE · 740 AH

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 ¹.

Depth

At a glance

Era: The Mongol and Post-Mongol Era
Region: Maghreb · al-Andalus & Europe
Review: Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it

In time

The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks · The Mongol and Post-Mongol Era

Overview

A naval battle in the Strait (the Straits of Gibraltar) around 740 AH, shortly before the crossing of the sultan Abu al-Hasan al-Marini. Ibn Khaldun calls it "the battle of the naval Strait, and the taking of the fleet of the Muslims". ²

Preparations

Abu al-Hasan equipped fleets on the coasts, mobilised the people of the Maghrib and marched to Ceuta. The Christian side sent out its fleet into the Strait to stop him crossing. Zayd ibn Farhun, commander of the fleet of Bejaia, reached Ceuta with sixteen ships, and the fleets of the Maghrib gathered at the port of Ceuta and reached about a hundred. ²

The battle

The sultan placed the command of the fleet under Muhammad ibn Ali al-Azafi, lord of Ceuta, and ordered him to engage the Christian fleet. Ibn Khaldun says that the Muslims were victorious, killed the enemy fleet's commander, "Almand", and drove his fleet to the port of Ceuta. ²

The Gregorian date is derived from the Hijri year.

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant: Muhammad ibn Ali al-Azafi· Abu al-Hasan al-Marini, sultan of the Maghrib

People and things also explored

Battle of Tarifa and the Testing of the Muslims· The fall of al-Jazira al-Khadra and the breaking of the fleet· The Kairouan disaster· Abu al-Hasan al-Marini's entry into Ifriqiya· Abu Inan Faris al-Marini· Abu al-Hasan al-Marini, sultan of the Maghrib· Muhammad ibn Ali al-Azafi

Sources

Kitab al-Ibar of Ibn Khaldun , p. 1964-1965
Kitab al-Ibar of Ibn Khaldun , p.1964-1965

Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Naval battle of the Strait and the taking of the Muslim fleet”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/battle-of-the-strait-740/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.

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Battle of Tarifa and the Testing of the Muslims

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.