Everything about Ismail Ibn Sharif totally explained
Moulay Ismail Ibn Sharif Ibn Al Nasr (
1645/6-
1727, reigned
1672-
1727) (
Arabic: مولاي إسماعيل بن الشريف ابن النصر) was the second ruler of the
Moroccan Alaouite dynasty. Like others of the dynasty, Ismail claimed to be a descendant of
Muhammad through his grandson
Hassan ibn Ali. He is also known in his native country as the "Warrior King."
He ruled from
1672 to
1727 succeeding his brother Moulay
Al-Rashid who died after a fall from his horse. The then twenty-six year old
Moulay Ismail inherited a country weakened by internal tribal wars and royal successions. The
Alaouite sultan is said to be the father of 888 children through a
harem of 500 women. This harem was a cause of great fascination for Western observers.
Meknes, the capital city he built, is sometimes called the "
Versailles of
Morocco", because of its extravagance. Some of the stones were plundered from the ancient Roman
ruins at
Volubilis.
During Moulay Ismail's reign, Morocco's capital city was moved from
Fez to Meknes. Like his contemporary King
Louis XIV of France, Moulay Ismail began construction of an elaborate imperial palace and other monuments. At its peak, Moulay Ismail's empire has been circumscribed to the present time Morrocan territory by the strong Regence of Algiers at the east.
Moulay Ismail is noted as one of the greatest figures in Moroccan history. He fought the
Ottoman Turks in 1679, 1682 and 1695/96. After these battles the Moroccan independence was respected. Another problem was the European occupation of several seaports: in 1681 he took al-Mamurah from the Spanish and in 1684 Tangier from the English. Moulay Ismail had excellent relations with
Louis XIV of France, the enemy of
Spain. There was cooperation in several fields. French officers trained the Moroccan army and advised the Moroccans in the building of public works.
Moulay Ismail is also known as a fearsome ruler. Moulay Ismail used at least 25,000 slaves for the construction of his capital. His Christian slaves were often used as bargaining counters with the European powers, selling them back their captured subjects for inflated sums or for rich gifts. Most of his slaves were obtained by
Barbary pirates in raids on Western Europe. Over 16,000 men from
sub-Saharan Africa served in his elite
Black Guard. By the time of Ismail's death, the guard had grown tenfold, the largest in Moroccan history.It has been estimated that Morocco had captured and enslaved about one million white european slaves.
After Moulay Ismail's death at the age of eighty (or around ninety by the 1634 birthdate) in 1727, there was another succession battle between his surviving sons. His successors continued with his building program, but in 1755 the huge palace compound at Meknes was severely damaged by an
earthquake. By 1757 his grandson,
Mohammad III moved the capital to Marrakech.
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