Mehdya ( ar-at, المهدية, al-Mahdiyā), also Mehdia or Mehedya, is a town in Kénitra Province, Rabat-Salé-Kénitra, Morocco. Previously called al-Ma'mura, it was known as São João da Mamora under 16th century Portuguese occupation, or as La Mamora under 17th century Spanish occupation. According to the 2004 census, the town has a population of 16,262. It is located on Sebou River (Oued Sebu).

History

Mehdya was previously called Al-Ma'mura ("the well-populated") or La Mamora in Europe, and was a harbour on the coast of Morocco. Per an ancient account, a colony was founded at the site in the 5th century BCE by the Carthaginians, who called it

Thymiaterium Thymiaterium or Thymiaterion ( grc, Θυμιατήριον) was an ancient Carthaginian colony in present-day Morocco. The ''Periplus'' (Περίπλους) of Hanno the Navigator Hanno the Navigator (sometimes "Hannon"; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤀 ...

Portuguese occupation (1515–41)

It was captured by the Portuguese in 1515, and renamed ''São João da Mamora''. Altogether, the Portuguese are documented to have seized 6 Moroccan towns, and built 6 stand-alone fortresses on the Moroccan Atlantic coast, between the river Loukos in the north and the river of

Sous The Sous region (also spelt Sus, Suss, Souss or Sousse) ( ar, سوس, sūs, shi, ⵙⵓⵙ, sus) is an area in mid-southern Morocco. Geologically, it is the alluvial basin of the Sous River (''Asif n Sus''), separated from the Sahara desert ...

in the south. Four of the stand-alone fortresses only had a short duration: Graciosa (1489), ''Forte de São João de Mamora'' ( pt) (1515), Castelo Real of Mogador (1506–10) and Aguz (1520–25). Two of them were to become permanent urban settlements: Santa Cruz do Cabo de Gué ( Agadir, founded in 1505-06), and Mazagan founded in 1514-17. The Portuguese had to abandon most of their settlements between 1541 and 1550, although they were able to keep Ceuta, Tangier and Mazagan.''City walls: the urban enceinte in global perspective'' James D. Tracy p.352
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Pirate haven

During the first Anglo-Spanish War, pirates (including English former

privateers A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

) had sold captured prizes in Ireland and at the Barbary Coast, where governments struggled to prevent this trade. When peace came in 1604, pirates soon established a pirate haven at Mehdya, a location with the advantage of being near Spain and major trade routes. The Moroccan sultanate tolerated these pirates due to the wealth they brought to the country. However, during summers, Mehdya became less safe as the calmer waters favored the

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...

s used to suppress piracy; therefore, the coast of

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

was used as a complementary base for piracy. The only port on the Moroccan coast in the hands of neither the Spanish nor the Moors, Mehdya became the main retreat of Atlantic pirates, important not only as a place to sell their plunder, but also for ship maintenance (including careening). Around 1610, Mehdya was the site of a three-day battle between Dutch and English pirates. The Spanish blockaded Mehdya in 1611, sinking ships and blocking the harbor entrance. In the summer of 1614, the harbor housed at least 30 ships weighing at or above 100 tons, though the bar prevented the passage of ships of above ~300

tons burden Tons can refer to: * Tons River, a major river in India * Tamsa River, locally called Tons in its lower parts (Allahabad district, Uttar pradesh, India). * the plural of ton, a unit of mass, force, volume, energy or power :* short ton, 2,000 pound ...

Spanish occupation (1614–81)

The Christ of Medinaceli being pulled through the streets of Meknes Juan de VALDES LEAL 1681

Mehdya, known as La Mamora, was under Spanish rule between 1614 and 1681. After capturing Larache in 1610, a Spanish fleet under Admiral Luis Fajardo captured Al-Ma'mura during the reign of

Mulay Zidan Zidan Abu Maali ( ar, زيدان أبو معالي) (? – September 1627; or Muley Zidan) was the embattled Saadi dynasty, 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 Bak ...

in August 1614, due to the period of anarchy that followed the death of Mulay al-Mansur in 1603.''The Cambridge history of Islam'' by P. M. Holt, Ann K. S. Lambton, Bernard Lewis p.247
/ref> After negotiations with Mulay Zidan, they left a strong garrison of 1,500 men, and called the harbour ''San Miguel de Ultramar''. The warlord Sidi al-Ayachi led a counter-offensive against Spain, privateering against its shipping, and obtaining the help of the Moriscos and the English.''Britain and Morocco during the embassy of John Drummond Hay, 1845-1886'' by Khalid Ben Srhir, p.1

/ref> About 1627, he managed to temporarily capture Al-Ma'mura, and add it to his Republic of Salé. The Spanish retained the city for 67 years, when it was conquered by the Alaouite ruler

Moulay Ismaïl 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 sev ...

. According to tradition, the

Bishop of Cadiz A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

had commissioned a statue of Jesus Christ for the church at La Mamora, which was in his diocese. When the Moroccans reoccupied the town in 1681 they took the statue as loot, and later received a ransom from the Spanish for the return of the statue, which was taken to Madrid where it is nowadays venerated under the name of ''Cristo de Medinaceli''.

Moroccan (since 1681)

The new Sultan

Mulay 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 ...

took the city by storm in 1681, and renamed the city al-Mahdiya. (

conquest of Mehdya Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms. Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, ...

). The iconic Kasbah Mahdiyya was restored and expanded during this period.قصبة المهدية
''Museum with no Frontiers''. Retrieved January 27, 2018. In 1795, Mulay Slimane closed the harbour of Mehdya to avoid foreign incursions. The French occupied Mehdya in 1911. About 9,000 Allied troops, carried by 19 warships, were landed in Mehdya during

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...

in 1942.

References