The Battle of the 3 Kings occurred when a succession issue occurred in the Morocco thrown. The battle is named because of all the kings involved in the battle on both sides were killed. Portuguese King Sebastian intervened in the Moroccan crisis on the side of his ally Abu Abdallah Mohammed II. Abdallah had been toppled by his uncle Abd al-Malik. The Abdallah/Portuguese alliance with a force of a majority European force of 24,000 men (although Berber's were 1/4 of the force), with the al-Malik loyalists were possibly as high as 100,000 men. The battle began with an exchange of musket and cannon fire on both sides. Soon the battle evolved into a vicious melee. Sebastian led a charge and his body was never found. Abdallah drowned while feeling, while Al-Malik died of natural causes. 23,000/24,000 men were killed or captured on the Abdallah/Portuguese alliance. One ironic legacy is that this battle cause a succession crisis in Portugal, because of the death of King Sebastian. In Morocco, the battle helped build up the Saadi dynasty.
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