Zidan Abu Maali () (died September 1627; or Muley Zidan) was the embattled Saadi Sultan of

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

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

Ahmad al-Mansur Ahmad al-Mansur (; 1549 – 25 August 1603), also known by the nickname al-Dhahabī () was the Saadi Sultanate, 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 ...

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 (), historically Sijilmasa, is a region of Morocco, centered on its largest oasis. Etymology There are many speculations regarding the origin of the word "Tafilalt", however it is known that Tafilalt is a Berber word meaning ...

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 Mahdi ...

, marched on

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

claiming to be the

Mahdi The Mahdi () is a figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the Eschatology, End of Times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad, and will appear shortly before Jesu ...

. 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 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, also known as the Bou Regreg Republic and the Republic of the Two Banks, was a city-state maritime Barbary pirates, corsair republic based at Salé in Morocco during the 17th century, located at the mouth of the Bou Regre ...

between

Azemmour Azemmour or Azammur () 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. Etymology The word Azemmour comes from the Berber word ''Azemmur'' ("wild olive tree" ...

and

Salé Salé (, ) 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. Along with some smaller nearby towns, Rabat and Salé form together a single m ...

Civil war

During the reign of Zidan, after the death of Sultan Ahmed al-Mansur in 1603, Morocco fell into a state of

anarchy Anarchy is a form of society without rulers. As a type of stateless society, it is commonly contrasted with states, which are centralized polities that claim a monopoly on violence over a permanent territory. Beyond a lack of government, it can ...

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 is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

with the uprising of warlords such as

in the South and Sidi al-Ayachi 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 () 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. Many civilisations and cultures have ...

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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

in 1610, but they also seized the opportunity to capture al-Ma'mura. 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

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 Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

, 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, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

, with the help of envoys such as Samuel Pallache. 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.

Songhai Empire

Zidan and his forces invaded the

Songhai Empire The Songhai Empire was a state located in the western part of the Sahel during the 15th and 16th centuries. At its peak, it was one of the largest African empires in history. The state is known by its historiographical name, derived from its lar ...

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 unti ...

sent

John Harrison John Harrison ( – 24 March 1776) was an English carpenter and clockmaker who invented the marine chronometer, a long-sought-after device for solving the History of longitude, problem of how to calculate longitude while at sea. Harrison's sol ...

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 vessel which engages in commerce raiding 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 o ...

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

Agadir Agadir (, ; ) is a major List of cities in Morocco, city in Morocco, on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean near the foot of the Atlas Mountains, just north of the point where the Sous River, Souss River flows into the ocean, and south of Casabla ...

, for a sum of 3,000 escudos after suffering a defeat at Marrakesh. After having waited for six days without being paid, Castelane sailed north for

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, 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 (), also Mehdia or Mehedya, is a town in Kénitra Province, Rabat-Salé-Kénitra, in north-western Morocco. Previously called al-Ma'mura, it was known as São João da Mamora under 16th century Portuguese occupation, or as La Mamora under ...

and took it to

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

( 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 Philip III to be taken to the home of council member Juan de Idiáquez in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. Two years later in 1614 the collection was transmitted to

El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial (), or (), is a historical residence of the king of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, up the valley ( road distance) from the town of El Escorial, Madrid, El ...

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 () was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile and lasted until 1834. It began toward the end of ...

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 Arab people Sons of sultans