Year 1309 (MCCCIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe March 14 – Sultan Muhammad III is deposed during a palace coup after a 7-year reign, and is replaced by his half-brother Abu al-Juyush Nasr, as ruler of the Emirate of Granada. Muhammad III is spared and allowed to live in Almuñécar, but his vizier, Abu Abdallah ibn al-Hakim, is killed. April After his ascent to the throne, Nasr sends envoys to the Marinid court at Fez, Morocco . Kings James II (the Just) and his ally Ferdinand IV (the Summoned) ask Pope Clement V, without mentioning their collaboration with the Marinids, to grant a crusading bull and financial support from the church. In response, Aragon and Castile plan to blockade the Strait of Gibraltar with their fleets (some 40 galleys), and to expel the Saracen forces from Spain. May 12 – Sultan Abu al-Rabi Sulayman launches an attack on Ceuta. He concludes an alliance with James II (the Just), and concedes commercial benefits to Castilian merchants. Abu al-Rabi also sends 1,000 measures of wheat to Aragon. A few months later, Marinid forces, without Castilian support, occupy Ceuta on July 20. Expelling Saracen forces from Morocco. July – Siege of Algeciras: Castilian forces led by Ferdinand IV (the Summoned) begin the siege of Algeciras. King Denis I (the Poet King) sends a contingent of 700 knights to support the siege. He provides Ferdinand, in accordance with his friendship, a loan of 16,600 silver marks. August 11 – Siege of Almería: Aragonese forces (some 12,000 men) under James II (the Just) land on the coast of Almería and begin blockading the city with his fleet. His forces include siege engines such as mangonels and trebuchets. James orders multiple unsuccessful assaults on the city and is forced (due to a shortage of supplies) to make a truce in December.Joseph F. Callaghan (2011). The Gibraltar Crusade: Castile and the Battle for the Strait, pp. 131–132. University of Pennsylvania Press. . August 15 – Conquest of Rhodes: The Byzantine garrison of the city of Rhodes surrenders to the Crusader forces of the Knights Hospitaller under Grand Master Foulques de Villaret – completing their conquest of Rhodes. The knights establish their headquarters on the island and rename themselves as the Knights of Rhodes. September 12 – Siege of Gibraltar: Castilian forces