Battle of Wadi al-Laban

The Battle of Wadi al-Laban, also Battle of Oued el Leben, occurred in March–April 1558 between Morocco and Ottoman forces under Hasan Pasha, the son of Hayreddin Barbarossa. The battle was rather inconclusive, and occurred north of Fes, at Wadi al-Laban ("The river of milk"), an afluent of the Sebou River, one day north of Fes.

The conflict was initiated when the Moroccan ruler Mohammed ash-Sheikh refused to give allegiance to the Ottomans. The Moroccan ruler had formed an alliance with the Spanish against the Ottomans.

Hasan Pasha, the son of Barbarossa, was named by the Ottoman Empire beylerbey of the Regency of Algiers in June 1557, in order to continue the fight against the Moroccan ruler. He had Mohammed ash-Sheikh assassinated in October 1557 by one of his body guards.

Hasan Pasha then invaded Morroco in early 1558, but he was stopped by the Morroccans north of Fez at the battle of Wadi al-Laban. The battle was rather indecisive, and Hasan Pasha had to retreat upon hearing of Spanish preparations for an offensive from Oran. He re-embarked from the port of Qassasa in northern Morocco, just west of Melilla, and from there returned to Algiers to prepare a defense against the Spaniards, who soon attacked in the Mostaganem expedition.