Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud

Abd al-Wahid bin Mas'ud bin Mohammed Anun was the principal secretary to the Moroccan Emperor Mulay Ahmad al-Mansur and ambassador to the court of Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1600, Diplomatic relations and an alliance were established between Elizabeth and the Barbary states. Abd al-Wahid bin Mas'ud was accompanied by al Haji Messa and al Haji Bahanet, as well as an interpreter named Abd el-Dodar, an Andalusian by birth, under cover of a trade mission to Aleppo with a stopover in London. Altogether, the embassy numbered 16 (including some prisoners being returned to England), and sailed on board The Eagle under Robert Kitchen. Abd al-Wahid bin Mas'ud reached Dover on 8 August 1600.

Abd al-Wahid bin Mas'ud spent 6 months at the court of Queen Elizabeth I during 1600 with the aim of negotiating an alliance against Spain. Abd al-Wahid bin Mas'ud spoke some Spanish, but he communicated to the Queen through his interpreter who spoke in Italian.

In popular culture It has been suggested that Abd al-Wahid bin Mas'ud inspired the character of William Shakespeare's Moorish hero Othello, but others have argued that there is no connection. In 2016, David Serero played Othello in a Moroccan adaptation inspired by Abd al-Wahid bin Mas'ud.

The painting of Abd al-Wahid bin Mas'ud is held by the Barber Institute at the University of Birmingham.