Siege of Mazagan (1562)
| Great Siege of Mazagan | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Moroccan–Portuguese conflicts | |||||||
Defesa de Mazagão, illustration by Roque Gameiro in História de Portugal, Popular e Ilustrada, volume 4 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Kingdom of Portugal | Sultanate of Morocco | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Rui de Sousa de Carvalho Álvaro de Carvalho | Abu Abdallah Mohammed II Saadi | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| About 2,800 soldiers |
85,000–120,000 men 24 cannons | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
117 killed 270 wounded | Heavy | ||||||
The siege of Mazagan of 1562, also known as the Great Siege of Mazagan (Portuguese: Grande Cerco de Mazagão) was an armed engagement that took place in the modern city of El Jadida, then known as Mazagan, between Portuguese forces and those of the Saadi dynasty, which had unified Morocco a few years prior.
The Moroccans ultimately failed to breach the defenses of the city, and in the face of continuous Portuguese reinforcements and vigorous defence were forced to withdraw after a two and a half month long siege. It was one of the hardest fought sieges withstood by the Portuguese at Mazagan, of a total of nine.