Abu Ali Omar

Abu Ali Omar was the Marinid prince who threatened to split Morocco in two. A designated heir of Sultan Abu Sa'id Uthman II, he rebelled in 1315 and entrenched himself in Fez; when he fell ill the sultan besieged the city and forced his surrender.

He lost the succession to his brother Abu al-Hasan and received an appanage centred on the Saharan trading city of Sijilmasa. In 1320 he rose again and seized much of southern Morocco, Marrakesh included, until defeated in 1322, when he was again allowed to keep Sijilmasa.

He then allied with the Zayyanid sultan Abu Tashufin of Tlemcen, the Marinids' enemy. In 1332 Abu al-Hasan, by then sultan, took Sijilmasa and had his brother put to death.