Abstract
The Marinid Kingdom (1215-1465) was a Muslim kingdom which emerged in al-Maghrib in the medieval period. This kingdom had a powerful naval force which could rival those of Christian kingdoms. The purpose of this article is to study the history and development of the Marinid naval force. On the whole, this study adopts a qualitative study approach by historical and content analysis of primary and secondary sources which discuss the history of the Marinid naval force. Research findings show that the Marinid Kingdom had strengthened its naval system to rival enemy might, particularly Christian kingdoms which controlled part of the Mediterranean Sea. In addition, the naval force was given attention as a defense measure to protect sovereignty and to carry out military expeditions in al-Andalus. This capacity to build and strengthen the naval force supported the political stability of the Marinid Kingdom in al-Maghrib territory. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n29p26
Highlights
The naval force was an essential component of Marinid’s military capability, consisting of the formation of a Marinid naval fleet for the purpose of military activities, in the territorial waters of al-Maghrib
The Marinid naval force was formed and strengthened for the purpose of controlling the Straits of Gibraltar, at once offsetting Christian naval forces. This can be seen from transport vessels crossing over to al-Andalus during the era of Sultan Abu Yusuf Ya‘qub. during the rule of Sultan Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali, the Marinid naval force had to face opposition from the Christian naval forces before they could transport ground military to al-Andalus to fight the Christian military in the Battle of Tarifa in the year 1340
Naval power was an important component of the Marinid military and was frequently used to achieve any mission, in military activity in al-Andalus
Summary
The naval force was an essential component of Marinid’s military capability, consisting of the formation of a Marinid naval fleet for the purpose of military activities, in the territorial waters of al-Maghrib. This situation is supported by the geographical location of al-Maghrib territory which was controlled by the Marinid Kingdom and faced the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. The building of naval bases, fortresses and watchtowers along the coast of al-Maghrib was part of the Kingdom’s efforts to match the strength of other powers, the Christian powers which controlled part of the Mediterranean Sea. The history of naval forces in the Mediterranean waters have been much debated and highlighted by both Muslim and Western scholars, such as al-‘Abbadi and ‘Abd al-‘Aziz (Undated) and Pyror (1988). The purpose of this article is to study the history and development of the Marinid naval force
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