Muhammad al-Shaykh al-Wattasi

Muhammad al-Shaykh al-Wattasi was one of the few Wattasid princes to survive the 1458 purge ordered by Marinid Sultan Abd al-Haqq II. Taking refuge in Asilah, he reorganized Zenata tribal forces and, after the chaotic collapse of the Marinid state, entered Fez victoriously in 1472, establishing the Wattasid dynasty.

During his thirty-two-year reign, he welcomed thousands of Andalusian Muslim and Jewish refugees fleeing the Spanish Reconquista and Fall of Granada (1492), integrating their artisanal skills into the Moroccan economy while managing Portuguese coastal aggression.