{{nobold|{{lang|ar|أبو العباس أحمد المنصور}}}}"},"title":{"wt":"al-Dahabbi
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[[Zidan Abu Maali|Zidan al-Nasir]]
(in [[Marrakesh]])
[[Abu Faris Abdallah]]
(in [[Fez, Morocco|Fez]])"},"spouse":{"wt":"Lalla Mahalla bint Omar al-Marin{{Cite book |last=Deverdun |first=Gaston |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tDyxAAAAIAAJ&q=Tombeaux+saadiens+mahalla |title=Inscriptions arabes de Marrakech |date=1956 |publisher=Éditions techniques nord-africaines |pages=88 |language=fr}}
Lalla Aisha bint Abu Bakkar al-Shabani{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g_pLAQAAMAAJ&q=aicha+bent+abou+beker |title=Les sources inédites de l'histoire du Maroc: Dynastie saadienne, 1530-1660. 1e série |date=1933 |publisher=E. Leroux |pages=579 |language=fr |quote=Moulay Ahmed el-Mansour had married ... Aicha bent Abou Baker ..., often called by Arab chroniclers because of her origin Lalla Chebania}}"},"issue":{"wt":"[[Zidan Abu Maali|Zidan al-Nasir]]
[[Abu Faris Abdallah]]
[[Mohammed esh Sheikh el Mamun|Mohammed esh-Sheikh]]
[[Lalla Masouda]]
Abdelmalik{{Cite book |last=Ifrānī |first=Muḥammad al-Ṣaghīr ibn Muḥammad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8tJKAQAAMAAJ&q=Seyyidat |title=Nozhet-Elhâdi: Histoire de la dynastie saadienne au Maroc (1511-1670) |date=1889 |publisher=E. Leroux |pages=305 |language=fr}}
Lalla Safia{{Cite book|url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1041289/f23.image.r=safia|title= Agents et voyageurs français au Maroc, 1530-1660 / Cte Henry de Castries|last= Henry de Castries|date= 1911|publisher=|pages=XVIII|language=fr}}
Seyyidat-Elmolouk{{Cite book |last=Ifrānī |first=Muḥammad al-Ṣaghīr ibn Muḥammad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8tJKAQAAMAAJ&q=Seyyidat |title=Nozhet-Elhâdi: Histoire de la dynastie saadienne au Maroc (1511-1670) |date=1889 |publisher=E. Leroux |pages=305 |language=fr}}"},"house":{"wt":"[[Saadi dynasty|Saadi]]"},"father":{"wt":"[[Mohammed al-Shaykh]]"},"mother":{"wt":"[[Lalla Masuda|Lalla Masuda al-Wizkitiya]]"},"signature":{"wt":"Ahmad al-Mansur Signature.svg"},"birth_date":{"wt":"{{Circa|1549}}"},"birth_place":{"wt":"[[Fez, Morocco|Fez]], [[Morocco]], [[Saadi Sultanate]]"},"death_date":{"wt":"25 August 1603
(aged 53–54)"},"death_place":{"wt":"Fez, Morocco
Saadi Sultanate"},"place of burial":{"wt":"[[Saadian Tombs]], [[Marrakesh]], [[Morocco]]"},"religion":{"wt":"[[Sunni Islam]]"},"native_lang1":{"wt":"[[Arabic]]"},"native_lang1_name1":{"wt":"أحمد المنصور بن محمد الشيخ بن محمد القائم بأمر الله الزيداني الحسني"}},"i":0}}]}" id="mwBA">
Abu al-Abbas Ahmad al-Mansur أبو العباس أحمد المنصور | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
al-Dahabbi Amir al-Muminin | |||||||||
Sultan of Morocco | |||||||||
Reign | 1578 – 1603 | ||||||||
Predecessor | Abd al-Malik I | ||||||||
Successor | Civil War: Zidan al-Nasir (in Marrakesh) Abu Faris Abdallah (in Fez) | ||||||||
Born | c. 1549 Fez, Morocco, Saadi Sultanate | ||||||||
Died | 25 August 1603 (aged 53–54) Fez, Morocco Saadi Sultanate | ||||||||
Burial | |||||||||
Spouse | Lalla Mahalla bint Omar al-Marin [1] Lalla Aisha bint Abu Bakkar al-Shabani [2] | ||||||||
Issue | Zidan al-Nasir Abu Faris Abdallah Mohammed esh-Sheikh Lalla Masouda Abdelmalik [3] Lalla Safia [4] Seyyidat-Elmolouk [5] | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Arabic | أحمد المنصور بن محمد الشيخ بن محمد القائم بأمر الله الزيداني الحسني | ||||||||
House | Saadi | ||||||||
Father | Mohammed al-Shaykh | ||||||||
Mother | Lalla Masuda al-Wizkitiya | ||||||||
Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||||||
Signature |
Ahmad al-Mansur (Arabic : أبو العباس أحمد المنصور, Ahmad Abu al-Abbas al-Mansur, also Ahmad al-Mansur al-Dahabbi (Arabic : أحمد المنصور الذهبي, lit. 'Ahmad al-Mansur the Golden'), and Ahmed al-Mansour (1549 [6] – 25 August 1603 [7] [8] ) was the Saadi Sultan of Morocco from 1578 to his death in 1603, the sixth and most famous of all rulers of the Saadis. Ahmad al-Mansur was an important figure in both Europe and Africa in the sixteenth century. His powerful army and strategic location made him an important power player in the late Renaissance period. He has been described as "a man of profound Islamic learning, a lover of books, calligraphy and mathematics, as well as a connoisseur of mystical texts and a lover of scholarly discussions." [9]
Ahmad was the fifth son of Mohammed ash-Sheikh, who was the first Saadi sultan of Morocco. His mother was Lalla Masuda. After the murder of Mohammed in 1557 and the following struggle for power, two of his sons, Ahmad al-Mansur and Abd al-Malik, had to flee their elder brother Abdallah al-Ghalib (1557–1574), leave Morocco and stay abroad until 1576. The two brothers spent 17 years among the Ottomans between the Regency of Algiers and Constantinople, and benefited from Ottoman training and contacts with Ottoman culture. [10] More generally, Ahmad al-Mansur "received an extensive education in Islamic religious and secular sciences, including theology, law, poetry, grammar, lexicography, exegesis, geometry, arithmetics and algebra, and astronomy." [11]
In 1578, Ahmad's brother, Sultan Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik I, died in battle against the Portuguese army at Ksar-el-Kebir. Ahmad was named his brother's successor and began his reign amid newly won prestige and wealth from the ransom of Portuguese captives.
Al-Mansur began his reign by leveraging his dominant position with the vanquished Portuguese during prisoner ransom talks, thus collecting enough to fill the Moroccan royal coffers. Shortly after, he commissioned the great architectural symbol of this new birth of Moroccan power, the El Badi Palace in Marrakesh, a huge and lavish riad-style palace which he used to receive ambassadors and to host celebrations. [12] [13] Construction began in December 1578 and was only finished in 1593 or 1594. [12] [14]
Eventually the coffers began to run dry due to the great expense of supporting the military, extensive spy services, the palace and other urban building projects, a royal lifestyle and a propaganda campaign aimed at building support for his controversial claim to the Caliphate. [15]
Morocco's standing with the Christian states was still in flux. The Spaniards and the Portuguese were seen as the infidel, but al-Mansur knew that the only way his sultanate would thrive was to continue to benefit from alliances with other Christian economies. To do that, Morocco had to control sizeable gold resources of its own. Accordingly, al-Mansur was drawn irresistibly to the trans-Saharan gold trade of the Songhai in hopes of solving Morocco's economic deficit with Europe.
Al-Mansur developed friendly relations with England in view of an Anglo-Moroccan alliance. In 1600 he sent his Secretary Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud as ambassador to the Court of Queen Elizabeth I of England to negotiate an alliance against Spain.
Al-Mansur also wrote about reconquering al-Andalus for Islam back from the Christian Spanish. [16] In a letter of 1 May 1601 he wrote that he also had ambitions to colonize the New World. [16] He envisioned that Islam would prevail in the Americas and the Mahdi would be proclaimed from the two sides of the oceans. [16]
Al-Mansur had French physicians at his court. Arnoult de Lisle was physician to the sultan from 1588 to 1598. He was then succeeded by Étienne Hubert d'Orléans from 1598 to 1600. Both in turn returned to France to become professors of Arabic at the Collège de France, and continued with their diplomatic endeavours. [17]
Al-Mansur had ambivalent relations with the Ottoman Empire. At the very start of his reign he formally recognized the suzerainty of the Ottoman sultan, as Abd al-Malik had done, while still remaining independent in practice. [18] : 190 However he quickly alienated the Ottoman sultan when he favorably received the Spanish embassy in 1579, who brought him lavish gifts, and then reportedly trampled the symbol of Ottoman suzerainty before a Spanish embassy in 1581. He also suspected that the Ottomans were involved in the first rebellions against him in his early reign. As a result, he minted coins in his own name and had Friday prayers and the khutba delivered in his name instead of in the name of Murad III, the Ottoman sultan. [18] : 189 [19] : 63
In response to the removal of his name from Friday prayers, Murad III began preparations for an attack on Morocco. After getting word of this, al-Mansur rushed to send an ambassador to Istanbul with sizeable gifts and the attack was cancelled. He paid a tribute of over 100,000 gold coins, agreed to show respect to the Ottoman sultan and in return he was left alone. [15] [19] : 64 The embassy nearly failed to reach Istanbul due to the opposition of Uluç (later known as Kılıç Ali Paşa), the Ottoman Grand Admiral in Algiers who hoped to have Morocco invaded and incorporated into Ottoman Algeria's sphere of influence. [20] [19] : 64
In 1582, al-Mansur was also forced to agree to a special Ottoman “protection” over Morocco and to pay a certain tribute in order to stop the attacks from Algerian corsairs on the Moroccan coast and on Moroccan ships. [21] In 1583, the Saadian and Ottoman sultans even tentatively discussed a joint military operation against the Spanish in Oran. [20] Al-Mansur enjoyed peaceful relations with the Ottoman Empire afterwards and respected its sovereignty, but also played the Ottomans and European powers against each other [22] and issued propaganda that undermined the Ottoman sultan's claim as leader of all Muslims. [19] : 65 He continued to send a payment to Istanbul every year, which the Saadians interpreted as a "gift" to the Ottomans while the Ottomans considered it a "tribute". [23] [24] : 102 [19] : 65
In 1587 Uluç died and a change in the Ottoman administration in Algiers limited the power of its governors. After this, tensions between the two states further decreased, while the Saadian government further stabilized and its independence became more entrenched. [25] Al-Mansur even felt confident enough after 1587 to drop his regular payments to Murad III. [26] : 196 Despite the limits of his power, he officially proclaimed himself caliph in the later part of his reign, seeing himself as rival, rather than subordinate, of the Ottomans, and even as the rightful leader of the Muslim world. [25] [18] : 189 [19] : 63
In 1583 after the dispatch of al-Mansur led by the commander Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Baraka and Abu Al-Abbas Ahmed Ibn Al-Haddad Al-Omari. The march of the army began from Marrakesh, and they arrived after 70 days, where they initially called for obedience and warning, after the tribal elders refused to comply, the war began. [27] [28] [29] [30] The annexed territories contained Tuat, Jouda, Tamantit, Tabelbala, Ourgla, Tsabit, Tekorareen, and others. [31]
The Saadians repeatedly tried to control Chinguetti, and the most prominent attempts were made during the reign of Sultan Muhammad al-Shaykh, but control of it did not come until the reign of Ahmed al-Mansur, who stripped a campaign in 1584 led by Muhammad bin Salem [32] in which he managed to seize control of Chinguetti, modern day Mauritania. [32]
The Songhai Empire was a West African state centered in eastern Mali. From the early 15th to the late 16th century, it was one of the largest African empires in history. On October 16, 1590, Ahmad took advantage of the recent civil strife in the empire and dispatched an army of 4,000 men across the Sahara desert under the command of converted Spaniard Judar Pasha. [33] Though the Songhai met them at the Battle of Tondibi with a force of 40,000, they lacked the Moroccan's gunpowder weapons and quickly fled. Ahmad advanced, sacking the Songhai cities of Timbuktu and Djenné, as well as the capital Gao. Despite these initial successes, the logistics of controlling a territory across the Sahara soon grew too difficult, and the Saadians lost control of the cities not long after 1620. [33]
Ahmad al-Mansur died in 1603 and was succeeded by his son Zidan al-Nasir, [34] who was based in Marrakech, and by Abou Fares Abdallah, who was based in Fez who had only local power. He was buried in the mausoleum of the Saadian Tombs in Marrakech. Well-known writers at his court were Ahmed Mohammed al-Maqqari, Abd al-Aziz al-Fishtali, Ahmad Ibn al-Qadi and Al-Masfiwi.
Through astute diplomacy al-Mansur resisted the demands of the Ottoman sultan, to preserve Moroccan independence. By playing the Europeans and Ottomans against one another, al-Mansur excelled in the art of the balancing of power through diplomacy. Eventually he spent far more than he collected in revenue. He attempted to expand his holdings through conquest, and although initially successful in their military campaign against the Songhai Empire, the Moroccans found it increasingly difficult to maintain control over the conquered locals as time went on. Meanwhile, as the Moroccans continued to struggle in Songhai, their power and prestige on the world stage declined significantly. [15]
Al-Mansur was one of the first authorities to take action on smoking in 1602 towards the end of his reign. The ruler of the Saadi dynasty used the religious tool of fatwas (Islamic legal pronouncements) to discourage the use of tobacco. [35] [36]
The Battle of Alcácer Quibir was fought in northern Morocco, near the town of Ksar-el-Kebir and Larache, on 4 August 1578.
Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik I, often simply Abd al-Malik or Mulay Abdelmalek, was the Saadian Sultan of Morocco from 1576 until his death right after the Battle of al-Kasr al-Kabir against Portugal in 1578.
Mohammed esh Sheikh el Mamun also spelled Muhammad al-Shaykh al-Ma'mun, among other transliterations; also known as Abu Abdallah Mohammed III, Arabic: أبو العبدالله محمد سعدي الثالث) was a member of the Saadian dynasty who ruled parts of Morocco during the succession conflicts within the dynasty between 1603 and 1627. He was the son of Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur by one of his harem slave concubines named Elkheizourân. He was the full-brother of Abu Faris Abdallah and the half-brother of Zidan Abu Maali.
The Saadi Sultanate, also known as the Sharifian Sultanate, was a state which ruled present-day Morocco and parts of Northwest Africa in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was led by the Saadi dynasty, an Arab Sharifian dynasty.
The Battle of Tondibi was the decisive confrontation in the 16th-century invasion of the Songhai Empire by the army of the Saadi dynasty in Morocco. The Moroccan forces under Judar Pasha defeated the Songhai under Askia Ishaq II, guaranteeing the empire's downfall.
El Badi Palace or Badi' Palace is a ruined palace located in Marrakesh, Morocco. It was commissioned by the sultan Ahmad al-Mansur of the Saadian dynasty a few months after his accession in 1578, with construction and embellishment continuing throughout most of his reign. The palace, decorated with materials imported from numerous countries ranging from Italy to Mali, was used for receptions and designed to showcase the Sultan's wealth and power. It was one part of a larger Saadian palace complex occupying the Kasbah district of Marrakesh.
The Saadian Tombs are a historic royal necropolis in Marrakesh, Morocco, located on the south side of the Kasbah Mosque, inside the royal kasbah (citadel) district of the city. They date to the time of the Saadian dynasty and in particular to the reign of Ahmad al-Mansur (1578–1603), though members of Morocco's monarchy continued to be buried here for a time afterwards. The complex is regarded by many art historians as the high point of Moroccan architecture in the Saadian period due to its luxurious decoration and careful interior design. Today the site is a major tourist attraction in Marrakesh.
Abdallah al-Ghalib Billah was the second Saadian sultan of Morocco. He succeeded his father Mohammed al-Shaykh as Sultan of Morocco.
Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Qaim bi-Amr Allah, often shortened to Abu Abdallah al-Qa'im or Muhammad al-Qa'im, was the first political leader of the Saadi Dynasty of Morocco. He ruled the Sous and other parts of southern Morocco from 1510 to 1517, setting the stage for his sons to lead the dynasty to power over the rest of Morocco in the decades after his death.
MawlayMohammed al-Shaykh al-Sharif al-Hassani, known as Mohammed al-Shaykh, was the first sultan of the Saadian dynasty of Morocco (1544–1557). He was particularly successful in expelling the Portuguese from most of their bases in Morocco. He also eliminated the Wattasids and resisted the Ottomans, thereby establishing a complete rule over Morocco.
Zidan Abu Maali was the embattled Saadi Sultan of Morocco from 1603 to 1627. He was the son and heir of Ahmad al-Mansur by his wife Lalla Aisha bint Abu Bakkar, a lady of the Chebanate tribe.
The Capture of Fez occurred in 1576 at the Moroccan city of Fez, when an Ottoman force from Algiers supported the prince Abd al-Malik in gaining the throne of the Saadi Sultanate against his nephew and rival claimant Mulay Muhammed al-Mutawakkil in exchange for making the Sultanate an Ottoman vassal.
Turkey–Morocco relations are the foreign relations between Morocco and Turkey, and spanned a period of several centuries, from the early 16th century when the Ottoman Empire neighbored Morocco and had an expedition there until modern times.
The Pashalik of Timbuktu, also known as the Pashalik of Sudan, was a West African political entity that existed between the 16th and the 19th century. It was formed after the Battle of Tondibi, when a military expedition sent by Saadian sultan Ahmad al-Mansur of Morocco defeated the Songhai Empire and established control over a territory centered on Timbuktu. Following the decline of the Saadi Sultanate in the early 17th century, Morocco retained only nominal control of the Pashalik.
The Zawiya of Sidi Abd el-Aziz is an Islamic religious complex (zawiya) in Marrakesh, Morocco. It is centered around the tomb of the Muslim scholar and Sufi saint Sidi Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz Abd al-Haq at-Tabba', who died in Marrakesh in 1508. Sidi Abd el-Aziz is considered one of the Seven Saints of Marrakesh, and his tomb was a prominent stop for pilgrims to Marrakesh. The zawiya is located on Rue Mouassine at its intersection with Rue Amesfah.
The Zawiya of Sidi Muhammad Ben Sliman al-Jazuli is an Islamic religious complex (zawiya) in Marrakesh, Morocco. It is centered around the tomb of the 15th-century Muslim scholar and Sufi saint Muhammad al-Jazuli, who is one of the Seven Saints of Marrakesh.
In the 16th century the Ottomans undertook several expeditions to Saadi Sultanate
The Moroccan invasion of the Songhai Empire began with an expedition sent in 1590 by Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur of the Saadian dynasty, which ruled over Morocco at the time. The Saadian army, led by Judar Pasha, arrived in the Niger valley region in 1591 and won its first and most decisive victory against the forces of Askia Ishaq II at the Battle of Tondibi and occupied the capital of Gao shortly after.
Sahaba el-Rehmania was the wife of the Moroccan sultan of the Saadian dynasty Mohammed al-Shaykh and the mother of Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik. Gifted in diplomacy, she held a leading political role throughout her life. She was ambassador to the Ottoman Empire at the court of Sultan Murad III.
'Alam al-mansûr or liwa' al-mansûr is a form of flag that was used as the emblem of the Almohad, Marinid, and Saadi dynasties of Morocco consisting of a white banner with an Islamic symbol written on it which were followed in parades by several banners of different colors, most of them red.
Moulay Ahmed el-Mansour had married ... Aicha bent Abou Baker ..., often called by Arab chroniclers because of her origin Lalla Chebania