Yusuf II, Almohad Caliph

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Yusuf II (also Yusuf al-Mustansir, 1197 - 1224) (Arabic: يوسف بن الناصر) was Caliph of Morocco from 1213 until his death. Son of the previous caliph, Muhammad an-Nasir, Yusuf assumed the throne following his father's death, at the age of only 16 years.

Yusuf followed his father in leaving Ifriqiya in the hands of governor Abû Muhammad ben Abî Hafs, further contributing to its eventual breakaway under the Hafsid dynasty. Yusuf was soon challenged for the control of the Maghreb as well as Morocco itself by the growing power of the Marinid dynasty. The sheikhs of Marrakesh attempted to invoke a clause allowing the selection of a new caliph, further contributing to the political instability.

Yusuf was succeeded by Abdul-Wahid I following his death in 1224.

[edit] Viziers

Yusuf had three viziers in the first year of his reign:

Abû Sa`îd ben Jâm`i (1214-1214) (also vizier to Muhammad an-Nâsir)
Abû Yahyâ al-Hizrajîy (1214-1214) (أبو يحيى الهزرجي)
Abû `Alî ben Achrafîy (1214-1214) (أبو علي بن أشرفي)
Abû Sa`îd ben Jâm`i (again) (1214-1223)

Abû Sa`îd ben Jâm`i would also serve as vizier to Abdul-Wahid I.

[edit] References

This article began as a translation of the corresponding article in the French Wikipedia, accessed September 30, 2005.
Julien, Charles-André, Histoire de l'Afrique du Nord, des origines à 1830, édition originale 1931, réédition Payot, Paris, 1994.