Abdallah al-Ghalib bi'llah al-Sa'di

عبد الله الغالب بالله السعدي

Muhammad al-Shaykh's son and successor. His challenge to the Ottoman admiral — 'the sultan of the West will dispute Egypt's mahmal with you and come to you in Egypt' — showed, in al-Salabi's reading, his rejection of the Ottoman caliphate and his own ambition for the imamate. After his father's murder in 964/1557 he crushed the revolts of Mawlay Uthman in the Sous, Mawlay Umar in Debdou and Mawlay Abd al-Mu'min in Marrakesh, massacred three brothers who refused the bay'a to his son Muhammad al-Mutawakkil — sending Mawlay Umar, Abd al-Mu'min, Abd al-Malik and Ahmad al-Mansur fleeing to Tlemcen and Algiers — met Hasan b. Khayr al-Din inconclusively at Wadi al-Lin near Fez, and agreed to hand Badis to Spain in exchange for defence of Morocco's shores ¹.

Depth

At a glance

Roles: Ruler
Era: The Gunpowder Empires
Region: Maghreb
Identifiers: Wikidata
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Summary

Son of Muhammad al-Shaykh and his Sa'di successor ¹.

The challenge

He wrote to the Ottoman admiral: 'the sultan of the West will surely dispute Egypt's mahmal with you and come to you in Egypt' — a letter al-Salabi reads as resentment of the Ottoman caliphate and ambition for the imamate of all Muslims ².

Crushing the revolts

After his father's murder in 964/1557 he crushed Mawlay Uthman's rising in the Sous, Mawlay Umar's in Debdou and Mawlay Abd al-Mu'min's in Marrakesh; he massacred three brothers who refused bay'a to his son Muhammad al-Mutawakkil, sending his brothers fleeing to Tlemcen and Algiers. He met Hasan b. Khayr al-Din inconclusively at Wadi al-Lin near Fez, and agreed to surrender Badis to Spain in exchange for defence of Morocco's shores ¹.

Connections

Explore the connections

Child of: Muhammad al-Shaykh al-Sa'di
Opposed: Hasan b. Khayr al-Din Barbarossa
Allied with: Prince Philip (Philip II of Spain)
Parent of: Muhammad al-Mutawakkil 'ala-llah al-Sa'di

People and things also explored

Abd al-Malik al-Mu'tasim bi'llah al-Sa'di· Ahmad al-Mansur al-Dhahabi al-Sa'di· al-Muzawwar b. Bu Ghannam· Salih Reis· Battle of Mostaganem (965/1558)· Battle of Wadi al-Makhazin (986/1578)· the Sa'di attack on Tlemcen (963/1556)· Great Siege of Malta (973/1565)

Sources

al-Dawla al-Uthmaniyya — Ali Muhammad al-Salabi (2001) , p. 245-251
al-Dawla al-Uthmaniyya — Ali Muhammad al-Salabi (2001) , p. 245

Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Abdallah al-Ghalib bi'llah al-Sa'di”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/abdallah-al-ghalib-al-sadi/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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Wing

People

Prophets, companions, scholars, rulers, scientists, poets, travelers: women and men who shaped the story. Related

Abd al-Malik al-Mu'tasim bi'llah al-Sa'di

The Sa'di sultan who had fled to the Porte; the Ottomans armed him with five thousand well-equipped fighters to take Fez from his nephew al-Mutawakkil, then sent trainers, weapons and a corps against the Portuguese invasion. His reforms: renewed shipbuilding, maritime trade, a modern army on the Ottoman model of arms and ranks, strengthened diwans and a consultative body versed in home and foreign affairs — his brother Ahmad al-Mansur his right hand. He won the awe of his age even among Europeans; the contemporary French poet Agrippa d'Aubigné called him his people's fairest, sharp of mind, versed in Spanish, Italian, Armenian and Russian, an excellent Arabic poet. At Wadi al-Makhazin he cut the enemy from his fleet, blew the bridge, and repelled the first charge sword drawn though ill — 'since when does sickness bar Muslims from jihad?' — then died in his tent, finger to his lips: conceal it until victory.