Uthman ibn Abi al-Ula
Abu Sa'id Uthman ibn Abi al-Ula (Arabic: ابو سعید عثمان بن أَبِي العلا; also Don Uzmén in Castilian sources;[1] died 1330) was a Marinid prince who led an unsuccessful rebellion aiming to capture the throne, and fled to the Nasrid Emirate of Granada in its aftermath.
Descended from a branch of the Marinid dynasty, he entered the Nasrid service under Muhammad III after a failed rebellion against Sultan Abu Yaqub Yusuf in his native Morocco.
When Muhammad III came into conflict with Abu Yaqub Yusuf over Ceuta, Uthman allied himself with Granada, conquered a part of Morocco and declared himself Sultan.
Under Ismail, he was appointed the overall chief of the Volunteers (shaykh al-ghuzat) and in this role won a decisive victory against a Castilian Army at the 1319 Battle of Sierra Elvira.
Uthman belonged to the Banu Abi al-Ula, a family related to the Berber Marinid dynasty ruling over Morocco, many of whose members served as governors and administrative officials.
[8] It was the new Marinid sultan, Abu al-Rabi Sulayman (r. 1308–1310), who in 1309 succeeded in defeating Uthman at Aladan and forcing him to abandon North Africa and seek refuge in the Nasrid emirate.
[9] In 1314, as commander of the North African garrison at Málaga, he played a critical role in the overthrow of Emir Nasr (r. 1309–1314), since it was the promise of support by his troops that gave the decisive impetus to the conspiracy to raise Ismail I (r. 1314–1325) to the Nasrid throne.
[10][12] Uthman's power and prestige grew continually in Granada, and he was able to secure his position as shaykh al-ghuzat (overall commander of the "Volunteers of the Faith") by side-lining potential rivals, such as his distaff relatives, the Banu Rahhu ibn Abdallah clan, which was exiled to Tunis.
[13] Such was his authority that when Granada requested Marinid aid in 1319 against an all-out Castilian attempt to capture the city, Sultan Abu Sa'id Uthman II (r. 1310–1331), fearful of the former rebel, demanded as a precondition that he be handed over to Fez and kept in prison.
[19] Uthman thus became the dominant figure at court: having secured complete control, not only of the Volunteers of the Faith, but of the army as its effective commander-in-chief, he now also assumed the reins of government.
Yahya was appointed shaykh al-ghuzat, leading the North African troops to abandon Uthman, who was left only with his own family's followers.
[19][20] Faced with this abrupt reversal of fortune, Uthman chose to dissemble his intentions, pretending that he planned to seek refuge in North Africa.
[24] Another son of his, Idris, also entered Nasrid service after leading a failed coup to seize power at Fez in 1357, and in turn became shaykh al-ghuzat in 1359–1362.
