Lalla Halima al-Sufiyaniyah () was one of the wives of

Moulay Ismail Moulay Ismail Ibn Sharif ( ar, مولاي إسماعيل بن الشريف), born around 1645 in Sijilmassa and died on 22 March 1727 at Meknes, was a Sultan of Morocco from 1672–1727, as the second ruler of the Alaouite dynasty. He was the se ...

and the mother of Prince Moulay Zeydan (not to confuse with Prince Moulay Mohammed Zeydan, the latter's older half-brother). Lalla Halima was very active in the socio-political life of Morocco during the reign of her husband, she oversaw army salaries, gifts protocol to the

Ulamas In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...

, issued donations for schools and left a building heritage to Morocco.

Life

Halima's father was Sheikh Ali bin Hussein al-Sufiyani, upon his death he left his daughter a considerable personal inheritance in

Fez Fez most often refers to: * Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire * Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco Fez or FEZ may also refer to: Media * ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by the moder ...

, great furniture which would have made anyone among the richest. She married Moulay Ismail around 1707 and henceforth became known as Princess Lalla Halima. she lived in the ''Palace of Sherrers'', the royal harem where wives and concubines lived with their children. Around 1715,

Thomas Pellow Thomas Pellow (1704 – 45), son of Thomas Pellow of Penryn and his wife Elizabeth (née Lyttleton), was a Cornish author best known for the extensive captivity narrative entitled ''The History of the Long Captivity and Adventures of Thomas P ...

recorded Lalla Halima as Moulay Ismail's favorite wife and she remained so until her death. He also describes Lalla Halima of being of a particular manner kind.

Kasbah Boulaouane Kasbah Boulaouane () is a kasbah in the town of Boulaouane, Morocco. It is situated on the rock which sits at the curve of Oum Er-Rbia River, overlooking the surrounding area.

was a fortress built by Moulay Ismail, it was also his palace of retreat from the court of Meknes as Inside the kasbah is a residential neighborhood called ''Dar al-Sultan''. He spent his days at this kasbah regularly every year accompanied by his favorite wife Lalla Halima who was a noble lady of the Sufiyani tribe whose territory is where this fortress was built in Dukala. He would leave her there when court obligations required his return. When Lalla Halima died, her husband Moulay Ismail was so overwhelmed with sorrow that he never visited the Kasbah again.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halima Al Sufyaniyah People from Meknes 17th-century Moroccan women 18th-century Moroccan women Spouses of sultans