Morocco was in decline when the Berber Wattasids assumed power. The Wattasid family had been the autonomous governors of the eastern
Rif since the late 13th century, ruling from their base in Tazouta (near present-day
Nador). They had close ties to the Marinid sultans and provided many of the bureaucratic elite. While the
Marinid dynasty tried to repel the Portuguese and Spanish invasions and help the kingdom of
Granada to outlive the
Reconquista, the Wattasids accumulated absolute power through political maneuvering. When the Marinids became aware of the extent of the conspiracy, they slaughtered the Wattasids, leaving only
Abu Abd Allah al-Sheikh Muhammad ibn Yahya alive. He went on to found the
Kingdom of Fez and establish the dynasty to be succeeded by his son, Mohammed al-Burtuqali, in 1504. The Wattasid rulers failed in their promise to protect Morocco from foreign incursions and the Portuguese increased their presence on Morocco's coast. Mohammad al-Chaykh's son attempted to capture
Asilah and
Tangier in 1508, 1511 and 1515, but without success. In the south, a new dynasty arose, the Saadian dynasty, which seized
Marrakesh in 1524 and made it their capital. By 1537 the Saadis were in the ascendent when they defeated the
Portuguese Empire at
Agadir. Their military successes contrast with the Wattasid policy of conciliation towards the
Catholic kings to the north. As a result, the people of Morocco tended to regard the Saadians as heroes, making it easier for them to retake the Portuguese strongholds on the coast, including Tangiers,
Ceuta and
Maziɣen. The Saadians also attacked the Wattasids who were forced to yield to the new power. In 1554, as Wattasid towns surrendered, the Wattasid sultan,
Ali Abu Hassun, briefly
retook Fez. The Saadis quickly settled the matter by killing him and, as the last Wattasids fled Morocco by ship, they too were murdered by pirates. The Wattasid did little to improve general conditions in Morocco following the
Reconquista. It was necessary to wait for the Saadians for order to be reestablished and the expansionist ambitions of the kingdoms of the Iberian peninsula to be curbed. ==Coinage==