In 1549, the Wattasid had lost Fez and then Tlemcen to the southern Saadian rivals under their leader Mohammed ash-Sheikh. Ali Abu Hassun fled to the neighbouring Ottoman Empire possession of Algiers, where he was offered asylum. Ali Abu Hassun was able with the help of the Ottomans under Salah Rais to reconquer Fez in 1554. Ali Abu-Hassun was put in place as Sultan of Fez, supported by Janissaries. Ali Abu Hassun soon paid off the Turkish troops, and gave them the base of Peñon de Velez, which the Moroccans had reconquered from Spain in 1522.