Zidan Abu Maali ( ar, زيدان أبو معالي) (? – September 1627; or Muley Zidan) was the embattled Saadi Sultan of

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

from 1603 to 1627. He was the son and heir of

Ahmad al-Mansur Ahmad al-Mansur ( ar, أبو العباس أحمد المنصور, Ahmad Abu al-Abbas al-Mansur, also al-Mansur al-Dahabbi (the Golden), ar, أحمد المنصور الذهبي; and Ahmed al-Mansour; 1549 in Fes – 25 August 1603, Fes) was t ...

by his wife Lalla Aisha bint Abu Bakkar, a lady of the Chebanate tribe. He ruled only over the southern half of the country after his brother Mohammed esh Sheikh el Mamun took the northern half and a rebel from

Tafilalt Tafilalt or Tafilet (; ar, تافيلالت), historically Sijilmasa, is a region and the largest oasis in Morocco. Etymology The word "Tafilalt" is an Amazigh word and it means "Jug", which is specifically a pottery jar used to store water. H ...

Ahmed ibn Abi Mahalli Ahmed ibn Abi Mahalli (; 1560–1613), born in Sijilmasa, was a Moroccan Imam and the Sufi leader of a revolt (1610–13) against the reigning Saadi Sultan Zidan Abu Maali in the south of Morocco in which Ibn Abi Mahalli proclaimed himself ma ...

, marched on Marrakesh claiming to be the

Mahdi The Mahdi ( ar, ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, al-Mahdī, lit=the Guided) is a messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad w ...

. This led Muley Zidan to be encircled in Safi amid other failed military campaigns against the rebellious north. These events were exacerbated by a context of chaos that ensued amid a

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

pandemic which left a third of the country dead. His reign saw the end of the Anglo-Spanish war (with the 1604 Treaty of London)—which broke the Anglo-Dutch axis that Morocco was relying upon as a means of protection from Spain, and so caused the Spanish navy to resume devastating raids on the Moroccan coast—and the rebellion of one of his provincial governors who established his own independent state of the

Republic of Salé The Republic of Salé was a city state at Salé (modern Morocco), during the 17th century. Located at the mouth of the Bou Regreg river, it was founded by Moriscos from the town of Hornachos, in Western Spain. Moriscos were the descendants of ...

between

Azemmour Azemmour or Azammur ( ar, أزمور, azammūr; ber, ⴰⵣⵎⵎⵓⵔ, azemmur, lit=wild olive tree) is a Moroccan city, lying at the Atlantic ocean coast, on the left bank of the Oum Er-Rbia River, 75 km southwest of Casablanca. Etymo ...

and

Salé Salé ( ar, سلا, salā, ; ber, ⵙⵍⴰ, sla) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the right bank of the Bou Regreg river, opposite the national capital Rabat, for which it serves as a commuter town. Founded in about 1030 by the Banu Ifran, ...

Civil war

During the reign of Zidan, after the death of Sultan Ahmed al-Mansur in 1603, Morocco fell into a state of anarchy with the latter's sons fighting for the throne. Zidan lost much of his authority to warring factions and insubordinate local governors. Morocco was in a state of

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

with the uprising of warlords such as

in the South and

Sidi al-Ayachi Sidi M'Hamed al-Ayachi (; ), also el-Ayachi or al-Ayashi ( – 1641), was a Moroccan marabout, warlord, and jihadist. The Sultan of Morocco, Mulay Zidan al-Nasir, had made him governor (''qā′id'') of Azmūr, but in 1627 he decided to secede a ...

in the North taking territories from Zidan. Sidi especially was held in high regard among local warriors, he controlled many thousands of men to fight for him. Moreover, he openly showed his dissatisfaction against Zidan, whom he pretended to serve. These uprisings were triggered by Mohammed esh Sheikh el Mamun conceding

Larache Larache ( ar, العرايش, al-'Araysh) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast, where the Loukkos River meets the Atlantic Ocean. Larache is one of the most important cities of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region. Man ...

to the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

in 1610, but they also seized the opportunity to capture

al-Ma'mura 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 ...

. These events considerably diminished the religious prestige of the Saadians as Defenders of the Faith. The hardest blow during Zidan's reign was undoubtedly Ahmed ibn Abi Mahalli's revolt whom after consecutively conquering

and Draa reached the capital Marrakesh in 1612 and occupied it, while Zidan was forced to flee.

Foreign relations

Ottoman Empire

The civil wars had interrupted the tribute of vassalage that was previously paid to the Ottomans by

until his death, during the reign of Zidan he proposed to submit to paying the tribute in order to protect himself from Algiers, he then resumed paying the tribute to the Ottomans.

Dutch Republic

Zidan established friendly relations with the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

, with the help of envoys such as

Samuel Pallache Samuel Pallache (Arabic: صامويل آل بالاتش, ''Shmuel Baylash'', Hebrew: 'שמואל פאלאץ, ''Shmuel Palach'', c. 1550 – February 4, 1616) was a Jewish Moroccan-born merchant, diplomat, and pirate of the Pallache family, who, ...

. From 1609, he established a Treaty of Friendship and Free Commerce which gave "free access and friendly reception for their respective subjects with any need for safeguard or safe-conduct, no matter how they come to the others' territory."''Poetry, politics and polemics'' by Ed de Moor, Otto Zwartjes, G. J. H. van Gelder p.127
/ref>''Romania Arabica'' by Gerard Wiegers p.405''ff''
/ref> He sent several more envoys to the Low Countries, such as Muhammad Alguazir, Al-Hajari and

Yusuf Biscaino Yusuf Biscaino, also Ahmad b. Abd Allah al-Hayti al-Maruni (), was a Morisco in the service of the Moroccan Sultan Mulay Zidan. He was sent as an ambassador to the Low Countries in 1610-11. He met with Prince Maurice of Nassau who inquired to him ...

Songhai Empire

Zidan and his forces invaded the

Songhai Empire The Songhai Empire (also transliterated as Songhay) was a state that dominated the western Sahel/Sudan in the 15th and 16th century. At its peak, it was one of the largest states in African history. The state is known by its historiographical ...

in 1593. He abandoned the empire in 1618, but the Moroccan occupation damaged the Songhai state.

England

James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

sent

John Harrison John Harrison ( – 24 March 1776) was a self-educated English carpenter and clockmaker who invented the marine chronometer, a long-sought-after device for solving the problem of calculating longitude while at sea. Harrison's solution revol ...

to Muley Zidan in Morocco in 1610 and again in 1613 and 1615 in order to obtain the release of English captives.

Zidani Library

By historical coincidence, a part of the library of this sultan, known as the Zidani Library, has been kept in Spain to the present day. During the revolt of

in 1612, Muley Zidan commissioned a French

privateer 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 ...

, Jehan Philippe de Castelane, to move his household goods from Safi to Santa Cruz do Cabo,

Agadir Agadir ( ar, أݣادير, ʾagādīr; shi, ⴰⴳⴰⴷⵉⵔ) is a major city in Morocco, on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean near the foot of the Atlas Mountains, just north of the point where the Souss River flows into the ocean, and south ...

, for a sum of 3,000

escudos The escudo ( Portuguese: 'shield') is a unit of currency historically used in Portugal and its colonies in South America, Asia, and Africa. It was originally worth 16 silver . The Cape Verdean escudo and the former Portuguese escudo (PTE), eac ...

after suffering a defeat at Marrakesh. After having waited for six days without being paid, Castelane sailed north for

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

, with the cargo still aboard, hoping to sell the goods to recoup his losses. Some 4 ships from the fleet of Spanish Admiral Luis Fajardo intercepted the vessel near

Mehdya 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 ...

and took it to Lisbon ( then part of Spain) and convicted the crew of piracy. From Lisbon, Zidan’s library was then taken to Cadiz and inventoried. After Cadiz, the collection would continue on its journey, by order of Phillip III to be taken to the home of council member Juan de Idiáquez in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

. Two years later in 1614 the collection was transmitted to

El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, u ...

for permanent storage. This collection contained around 4,000 books and manuscripts. The collection remains in the Escorial to this day, and is one of the most significant collections of Arabic manuscripts in Europe. Interestingly, at the time of this seizure of Zidan’s manuscripts, written Arabic was largely prohibited in Spain, with the

Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition ( es, Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition ( es, Inquisición española), was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand ...

behind the destruction of many Arabic works. During this period, officials would search the homes of Spanish Muslims to confiscate and destroy Arabic-language manuscripts. However, the wealthy and influential were somewhat exempt from these prohibitions, and were able to save some Arabic manuscripts by sending them to the Escorial for study. Such was the case for Zidan’s collection. Idiaquez’s nephew, Francisco Gurmendi along with Juan de Peralta requested that the collection be brought to the Escorial for this purpose. Peralta was also interested in the Escorial’s acquisition of the collection since the addition would bolster the library’s prominence. Others, such as Thomas Erpinius, also advocated for the study of the Arabic language to use as a tool in forcing Muslims to convert to Christianity. Even so, the saved manuscripts, including Zidan’s library, were not made available to the public, and kept separate from the rest of the Escorial’s collection.

References

External links

Example of a golden Saadian Dinar. This coin was struck at the time of the reign Moulay Zidan. (Numismatic Museum of the al-Maghrib Bank, Rabat, Morocco)Qur'an of Mawlay Zidan, written in the El Badi Palace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zidan Abu Maali 1627 deaths Sultans of Morocco Saadi dynasty People from Marrakesh 17th-century Moroccan people 17th-century monarchs in Africa Year of birth unknown 17th-century Arabs