Saadi Sultanate
The Saadi Sultanate[a] (Arabic: السعديون, romanized: as-saʿdiyyūn), also known as the Sharifian Sultanate (Arabic: السلطنة الشريفة),[6] was a state which ruled present-day Morocco and parts of West Africa in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was led by the Saadi dynasty, also known as the Zaydanids,[6][7] an Arab Sharifian dynasty from southern Morocco.[8][9][10]
For other uses, see Saadi (disambiguation).
Saadi Sultanateالسعديون (Arabic)
1510
1541
1554
1578
1591
1659
The dynasty's rise to power started in 1510, when Muhammad al-Qa'im was declared leader of the tribes of the Sous valley in their resistance against the Portuguese who occupied Agadir and other coastal cities. Al-Qai'm's son, Ahmad al-Araj, secured control of Marrakesh by 1525 and, after a period of rivalry, his brother Muhammad al-Shaykh captured Agadir from the Portuguese and eventually captured Fez from the Wattasids, securing control over nearly all of Morocco. After Muhammad al-Shaykh's assassination by the Ottomans in 1557 his son Abdallah al-Ghalib enjoyed a relatively peaceful reign. His successors, however, fought with each other, culminating in the 1578 Battle of Ksar el-Kebir (or "Battle of the Three Kings"), where a Portuguese military intervention on behalf of Muhammad II al-Mutawakkil was thoroughly defeated by Saadian forces. In the wake of this victory, Ahmad al-Mansur became sultan and presided over the apogee of Saadian power. In the later half of his reign he launched a successful invasion of the Songhai Empire, resulting in the establishment of a Pashalik centered on Timbuktu. After Al-Mansur's death in 1603, however, his sons fought a long internecine conflict for succession which divided the country and undermined the dynasty's power and prestige. While the Saadian realm was reunified at the end of the conflict in 1627, new factions in the region rose to challenge Saadian authority. The last Saadian sultan, Ahmad al-Abbas, was assassinated in 1659, bringing the dynasty to an end. Moulay al-Rashid later conquered Marrakesh in 1668 and led the 'Alawi dynasty to establish a new sultanate over Morocco.[3][11][12]
The Saadians were an important chapter in the history of Morocco. They were the first Arab Sharifian dynasty to rule Morocco since the Idrisids, establishing a model of political-religious legitimacy which continued under the later 'Alawis, another Sharifian dynasty.[12] They successfully resisted Ottoman expansion, making Morocco the only part of North Africa to remain outside Ottoman suzerainty, but followed Ottoman example by modernizing their army and adopting gunpowder weapons.[11] During the long reign of Ahmad al-Mansur in the late 16th century, Morocco established itself as an ambitious regional power that expanded into West Africa and pursued relations with Europe, including a potential alliance with England against Spain.[3][11] The Saadians were also significant patrons of art and architecture, with Abdallah al-Ghalib and Ahmad al-Mansur both responsible for some of the most celebrated monuments of Moroccan architecture.[13][14]
Origins of the dynasty[edit]
The Banu Zaydan claimed descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through the line of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Fatima Zahra (Muhammad's daughter), and more specifically through Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya, grandson of Hasan ibn Ali.[2] Since the early 14th century they had been established at Tagmadert in the valley of the Draa River.[3][14]: 350 In the mid-15th century some of them established themselves at Tidsi in the Sous valley, near Taroudant.[3][14]: 350 [11]: 210 They claimed Sharifian origins through an ancestor from Yanbu and rendered Sufism respectable in Morocco. The name Saadi or Saadian derives from "sa'ada" meaning happiness or salvation. Others think it derives from the name Bani Zaydan or that it was given to the Bani Zaydan (shurafa of Tagmadert) by later generations and rivals for power, who tried to deny their Hassanid descent by claiming that they came from the family of Halimah Saadiyya, Muhammad's wet nurse. Their putative ancestor is Zaydan Ibn Ahmed a Sharif from Yanbu.[15]
Society[edit]
Population[edit]
The 16th century during which the Saadians rose to power also saw many social and demographic changes in Morocco. The existing population was joined by large waves of emigrants and refugees from the Iberian Peninsula after the fall of Granada in 1492, the last Muslim emirate of Al-Andalus, and the subsequent expulsion of the Jews from Spain and soon after from Portugal. At the beginning of the century around 100,000 Andalusi Muslims and Jews settled in the country as a result, and were followed by another 20,000 to 30,000 around a century later when Spain began expelling the Moriscos.[12]: 197 The Andalusi arrivals revitalized many of the country's northern cities, with notable examples like Tétouan.[45]
The arrival of large numbers of Sephardic Jews from the Iberian Peninsula also had a profound impact on the Jewish community in Morocco and North Africa. It increased the Jewish population and revitalized Jewish cultural activity, while also splitting the community along ethnic lines for many generations.[46] In Fez, for example, the Megorashim of Spanish origin retained their heritage and their Spanish language while the indigenous Moroccan Toshavim, who spoke Arabic and were of Arab and Berber heritage, followed their own traditions. Members of the two communities worshiped in separate synagogues and were even buried separately. It was only in the 18th century that the two communities eventually blended together, with Arabic eventually becoming the main language of the entire community while the Spanish (Sephardic) minhag became dominant in religious practice; a situation which was repeated elsewhere in Morocco, with the notable exception of the Marrakesh community.[47][48]: 36
In addition to the Andalusians and Moriscos, other foreigners arrived due to varying geopolitical and military factors. There is a documented presence of relatively large numbers of Christian European captives resulting from Saadian victories against the Portuguese. By the end of the 16th century, during the reign of Ahmad al-Mansur, there were about 2000 of them in Marrakesh, the capital. Many of them worked on the sultan's construction projects or in the production of armaments, where European expertise was valued.[12]: 198 Saadian expansionism across the Sahara and into the Niger River region also meant an influx of thousands of Black sub-Saharan Africans as slaves or captives.[12]: 199 [38]: 151–152 Lastly, due to Ottoman expansion in the region and growing Ottoman-Saadian relations, there were also many Turkish or Ottoman mercenaries and soldiers of fortune.[12]: 199 [11]: 215 Many of these new arrivals were recruited in the service of the state or tied to the state's operations. After the collapse of the Saadian state many would go on to play independent roles, sometimes as outlaws or, in the case of the Moriscos in Salé for example, as corsairs.[12]: 201