Background
A younger son of Yūsuf Abū Ya'qūb, Abū Sa'īd 'Uthmān succeeded his nephew Abū al-Rabï' Sulaymān as Sultan of Morocco in November 1310, at the age of 33.
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Abu Sa'id 'Uthman II
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Julien, Charles-André, Histoire de l'Afrique du Nord, des origines à 1830, édition originale 1931, réédition Payot, Paris, 1961
Abū Sa'īd 'Uthmān inherited Morocco after a tumultuous period during which the Marinids had survived a dangerous rebellion in Ceuta, a long conflict with the Kingdom of Tlemcen and a severe check from Ferdinand IV of Castile, who, in the previous year (1309–10), had seized Gibraltar and laid siege to Marīnīd-owned Algeciras. Pious and preferring peace, Abū Sa'īd 'Uthmān refrained from any great enterprises. In 1313, hoping to divest himself of any entanglements on the Iberian peninsula, he returned the towns of Algeciras and Ronda to the Naṣrid ruler Nașr of Granada.
But Abū Sa'īd 'Uthmān gained courage when he heard Abū 'Alī had fallen ill, and hurried to lay siege to Fez and secure his son's capitulation. Abū 'Alī was removed from the line of succession, in favour of another son, Abū al-Ḥasan 'Alī. However, Abū Sa'īd 'Uthmān granted Abū 'Alī an appanage centered on Sijilmasa in southern Morocco, which he would rule as a quasi-independent state for the next couple of decades.
In 1316, Yahyā ibn 'Afzi, governor of Ceuta, revolted against the Marinid sultan, and managed to maintain Ceuta as effectively independent for nearly a dozen years, before returning to the fold. In 1319, facing a renewed challenge from Castile, the Naṣrid ruler Ismā'īl I of Granada appealed to the Marīnīd sultan for assistance, but Abū Sa'īd 'Uthman imposed such onerous conditions that the Granadines decided to handle the matter without him. From his base in Sijilmasa, Abu Ali seized control of much of southern Morocco (including Marrakech), threatening to split the Marinid dominions in two.
In 1322, the Marīnīd sultan Abū Sa'īd 'Uthmān marched against the south and defeated Abū 'Alī at the Oum er-Rebia. Abū Sa'īd 'Uthmān built three significant madrasas in Fez: Fez al-Jedid (1320), Es-Sahrij (1321) and El-'Ațțārīn(1323). Satisfied by the terms, Abū Sa'īd 'Uthmān arranged a diversionary raid against Tlemcen from the west, while dispatching a Marīnīd fleet to support the Ḥafṣid efforts in the east.
In August 1331, while arranging for the reception of the Tunisian princess, Abū Sa'īd 'Uthmān fell ill and died in the environs of Taza.
