Al-Rashid of Morocco

Moulay Al-Rashid ibn Sharif , known as Moulay Al-Rashid or Moulay Rachid (also spelt Mulay, Mulai or Mawlay; b. 1631 – d. 9 April 1672) , sometimes called Tafiletta by the English, He was the son of the founder of the 'Alawi dynasty, Moulay Sharif, who took power in the Tafilalt region in 1631.

In 1635, Moulay Rashid's half-brother Sidi Mohammed succeeded their still-living father. During his reign, Sidi Mohammed brought Tafilalt, the Draa River valley, Oujda and the Eastern Sahara region under 'Alawi rule. However, due to internal feuding, war broke out between the brothers, and Sidi Mohammed was killed on the battlefield on 2 August 1664.

Moulay Rashid succeeded his brother as Sultan of Tafilalt, and went on to conquer Taza and assert power in Sijilmasa. He subjugated the northern coastal areas of Morocco, ending the rule of the Dilaites. In 1669, he captured Marrakesh, and thereafter occupied the Sous and the Anti-Atlas, solidifying his control as the first 'Alawi sultan of Morocco.

Biography

Youth Moulay Rashid was born in Sijilmasa in 1631, the same year his father Moulay Sharif was crowned Emir of Tafilalt. In 1636, Moulay Sharif lost power, officially abdicating on 23 April 1640 in favor of Sidi Mohammed, his eldest son and Moulay Rashid's brother.

On 28 April 1646, the Dilaite Leader Mohammed al-Hajj defeated Sidi Mohammed in the battle of El Qa'a. Moulay Rashid, aged 15, witnessed the subsequent sack of Sijilmasa by the Dilaite troupes, an event he would later blame on his brother's failures.

Rebellions and imprisonment Upon Moulay Sharif's death in 1659, Sidi Mohammed was once again proclaimed Sultan. Moulay Rashid refused to pledge allegiance to him, instead withdrawing from court, along with his partisans Qa'id Bargua Susi, Qa'id Bequal, Qa'id Tufer, and some soldiers. Sidi Mohammed followed them with a cavalry force, intercepting them en route to the Dra’a province. There he captured the group of rebels, imprisoned Moulay Rashid, and paraded his followers on mules with their hock cut off. Moulay Rashid escaped and resumed assembling troops, but Sidi Mohammed captured him once again, imprisoning him in a smaller cell and allowing only his most loyal servants to enter it.

Time as a fugitive After some time imprisoned in this cell, Moulay Rashid persuaded one of the servants to assist him in an escape. The two men, one working from each side, managed to break through a wall of the tower, and the servant provided Moulay Rashid with weapons and horses. Once Moulay Rashid was free, he killed his accomplice with a scimitar, unwilling to trust a slave who had betrayed his master.

Fleeing the Sultanate of Tafilalt, Moulay Rashid arrived in the Toudga province, where he offered his services as a soldier to the marabout Sidi Mohammed ben Bou Beker. The sons of Bou Beker realized Moulay Rashid's identity when traveling Tafilalt merchants greeted him as the brother of the sultan; suspecting him to be disguised as part of some plot, they ambushed and tried to kill him. Moulay Rashid escaped the ambush and fled first to Demnat, then to the Dila'iya Zawiya. When the Dilaites demanded that Moulay Rashid leave, fearing he would bring about the destruction of their zawiya, Soliman first gave Moulay Rashid charge of his palace; over time, he entrusted him with his finances, making him Chief House Steward and Chief Justice Secretary.

As Moulay Rashid continued to excel in his tasks, both Ali Soliman and the common people came to hold him in great esteem. He gained a reputation for justice and righteousness, defending orphans and widows while deferring the credit for his achievements to the sheikh. Eventually, Ali Soliman made Moulay Rashid his lieutenant, giving him command of a number of troops and tasking him with the suppression of unrest in his territories.

Rise to power

Having secured command of troops from Ali Soliman, Moulay Rashid sought to seize power, and resolved to set out by seizing control of the Citadel Dar Ibn Mich'al. In 1664, under the pretext of an official visit to the governor, Moulay Rashid gained access to this citadel with his men, whereupon he seized control and plundered it for its riches. Moulay Rashid distributed some of the loot to his followers, and used the rest to equip his army.

Having received word of Moulay Rashid's rebellion, Ali Soliman gathered an army of 7000 men and marched against him. Moulay Rashid's army comprised only 1500 infantrymen and 600 horsemen, but their morale was high from the recent windfall. Having made camp with his army on a plain near Ali Soliman's position, Moulay Rashid sent some of his men secretly into the enemy camp to advertise the high pay they received. This stratagem succeeded in convincing a number of Ali Soliman's troops to desert to Moulay Rashid's camp, although not enough to close the gap in numbers.

Ali Soliman engaged his men in battle quickly, hoping to defeat Moulay Rashid before more could desert, but they continued to defect during the battle itself. When Ali Soliman tried to escape the battlefield, a group of deserters from his army took him captive and brought him to the victorious Moulay Rashid, Moulay Rashid kept Ali Soliman's gold for himself, but gave all his silver to his officers to be distributed to the soldiers, saying, ".. A Prince who buries them (riches) in the ground do not deserve to reign; come, my friends, let us share what your pains and affection for myself made you deserve."

Having seized control from Ali Soliman, Moulay Rashid proclaimed himself sultan and established himself in Oujda. His followers, mostly Maqil Arabs and Beni Snassen, swore him oaths of fidelity.

Battle of Angad Hearing of his brother's rise to power, and fearing an attack on Sijilmasa, Sidi Mohammed set out north with 5000 cavalrymen and 9000 infantrymen. Hoping to gain a tactical advantage to counterbalance his smaller army, Moulay Rashid marched with his army to meet his brother, and made camp in the mountains, where the terrain would prevent a mass cavalry charge. In Fez, Caid Al Doraidi led a revolt and proclaimed himself Sultan. Meanwhile, Abdallah Al Doraidi was the officially recognized Master of the Fez Confederation, but controlled only the walled city of Fes Jdid ("New Fez"), without the allegiance of the ulama of Fes el Bali ("Old Fez"). No faction had a clear upper hand for the throne of Morocco.

In all this conflict, Moulay Rashid saw an opportunity to succeed where Sidi Mohamed had fallen short and conquer Morocco. After failing to raise new followers from the Western Rif, Moulay Rashid marched on Taza with his existing army, and seized it after a fierce battle. His next target was Fez, and the Fassi there, remembering Sidi Mohamed's 1663 massacre of the neighboring Hayaina, formed an alliance against him with the Hayaina, Bahlil, and Sefrou tribes. Every household in Fez was ordered to buy a rifle, horses and weapons.

Before Moulay Rashid could march on Fez, however, he had to return to Sijilmasa, where Sidi Mohammed Saghir was claiming his father's sultanate. Moulay Rashid laid siege to the city for nine months, until Sidi Mohammed Saghir fled the devastated city, and in 1665 Moulay Rashid was able to enter without bloodshed. Moulay Rashid named his half-brother Moulay Aran as his viceroy, and left the city and the surviving sons of Sidi Mohammed in his custody.

This being accomplished, Moulay Rashid set out once again towards Fez in the spring of 1665, establishing a military base at Taza. The Fassi and Hayaina marched on Taza in response, arriving in April 1665, but were promptly routed and surrendered. In August, Moulay Rashid laid siege to Fez, continuing for eleven months with mixed successes and setbacks. This siege proving more difficult than he had anticipated, Moulay Rashid withdrew his army to concentrate on the central Rif, where Abou Mohammed Abdallah A'aras was trading with the French in violation of Moulay Rashid's ban on trade with European powers. The insurgent leader fled with his family to the protection of the Spanish King in Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, leaving his son Abdelaziz to lead the fight against Moulay Rashid. After a number of skirmishes, Moulay Rashid defeated the A'aras in March 1666, Caid Abdallah Al Doraidi resisted the assault vigorously, and it became clear to Moulay Rashid that he would not be able to capture Fez through a frontal assault. with the Dilaites ordering the destruction of their synagogues, and pillaging their traffic.

On June 6, 1666, the date he had agreed upon with the Jews,

Moulay Rashid now wished to make allies of the conquered A'aras tribe, in order to secure his hold on central Rif and the northern coast of Morocco. For this purpose, in the autumn of 1666, he had the imprisoned Abdelaziz invite his father Abdallah A'aras to return from his exile in Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, promising him an esteemed welcome in court. In return, Moulay Rashid not only freed Abdelaziz, he made him a Major and gave him 200 horsemen as a personal guard.

Overjoyed to learn that his son was alive and well, Abdallah A'aras sent his daughter to marry Moulay Rashid, accompanied by a caravan of camels laden with gifts. Moulay Rashid accepted the proposal and sent Abdelaziz out with his guard to receive his sister fittingly. When Abdallah A'aras arrived in person, Moulay Rashid welcomed him by giving him a palace in Fes el Bali and restoring his dominions in the Central Rif region. He also ordered that Abdallah A'aras's tribe be returned from exile. Moulay Rashid's second wedding took place in Fez with great fanfare, and, in honour of the occasion, he pardoned prisoners in all the cities of his kingdom. Ghaïlan exhorted his troops to defend their homeland, but Moulay Rashid's work to sway the people of Rif by an alliance with the A'aras had not been fruitless. As Moulay Rashid maintained his offensive, Ghaïlan's troops began to defect, and the tide of the battle turned in Moulay Rashid's favor. Defeated, Ghaïlan fled to Asilah, pursued by Moulay Rashid's men; from there, he set sail for Algiers to join his family, whom he had sent ahead to safety.

The cities of Tétouan, Ksar el-Kebir and Salé swore allegiance to Moulay Rashid.

Sometime between late 1666 and early 1667, Moulay Rashid began hostilities with a raid on the Ait Ouallal, a group of Dilaite supporters, in the outskirts of Meknes. Abdallah ibn Mohammed al-Hajj responded by mobilizing his armies, bringing them to camp at Bou Zmora near the Fes River, near Fez. Moulay Rashid met him on the battlefield, and, after three days of fighting, Abdallah ibn Mohammed al-Hajj retreated in defeat.

Between January and August 1667, Moulay Rashid carried out military inspections of Taza, Meknes, and Tétouan. He removed El'aguîd as governor of Meknes, and in Tétouan he arrested Aboùl'abbâs Ahmed Enneqsîs, the head of the city, and a number of members of his party, imprisoning them in Fez. He also appointed Mohammed ben Ahmed El Fassi, faqīh of the Zawiya al-Fassiya, as mufti and governor of Fez.

The resistance was brief, as Abu Bakr's men were not loyal to their ruler, and many of them sided with Moulay Rashid. Moulay Rashid took the city of Marrakesh, and Abu Bakr fled to the mountains with a small group of partisans, where he was captured by Moulay Rashid's men. Moulay Rashid had him executed by being dragged behind a mule, alongside a number of his family, as well as exhuming and burning the body of his father Abdul Karim.

Finding the widow and orphans of Ahmad al-Abbas imprisoned in a tower, Moulay Rashid had the eldest daughter, Lalla Mariem, married to his nephew Moulay Ahmed ben Mehrez, and sent the rest to live in Fez. Moulay Rashim named Moulay Ahmed ben Mehrez as Khalifa of Marrakesh, leaving him most of the troops to secure the newly conquered territories, as well as his brother-in-law Abdelaziz A'aras as chief advisor.

Returning to Fez in 1668, Moulay withdrew the duties of mufti of Fez from Mohammed ben Ahmed El Fassi, appointing his half-brother Moulay Ismail as Khalifa. He replaced Elmezouâr with the faqīh Aboû 'Abdallah Mobammed ben Elhasan Elmeggâsi, and appointed the faqīh Aboû 'Abdallah Mobammed Elboû'inâni as preacher of the al-Qarawiyyin Mosque.

Conquest of the Sous

The Sous had been ruled by Aboulhasen Ali ben Mohammed Essoussi Essemlali from 1614 until his death in 1660, whereupon he was succeeded by his son Abou Abdallah Mohammed ben Bou Hassoun. |author=Germain Mouette|source=

Nevertheless, with control of Marrakesh and 6000 Chabanate horsemen added to his army, Moulay Rashid resolved to conquer the Sous. He marched on Haha province, where the sheikhs immediately surrendered, meeting him with gifts and oaths of allegiance. Moulay Rashid accepted, increasing his army to a total of 25000 horsemen and 48000 infantrymen, armed with bows and arrows, scimitars, slings, and maces. He was succeeded by his half-brother Moulay Ismail, who had served as his first lieutenant, his regent during his 1669 southern campaign, and Khalifa of Meknes since 1666.

Public works Cherratine Madrasa, the first Koranic school founded by the 'Alawis in the city of Fez. During his reign, Moulay Rashid oversaw the construction of various public infrastructure. This included the eight-arched in 1670 and Fez's Errecîf bridge in 1671. The wells he built in Echcott in the Sahara are called Abar Essultan (the sultan's wells) in his memory, and supply water to caravans making the Hajj.

Family Sultan Moulay Rashid married two wives, both in 1666: a daughter of Sheikh Al-Lawati of the Beni Snassen, and a daughter of Abdallah A'aras. Another of his slave concubines was Lalla Aisha Mubarka.

Upon Moulay Rashid's death in April 1672, he was succeeded by his brother Moulay Ismail, as his sons were infants and therefore ineligible to inherit according to 'Alawi custom. The new sultan married Moulay Rashid's widowed first wife, and became the guardian of his young sons until 1680, when he sent them along with his own eldest son to live in Tafilalt.

Personality Young Moulay Rashid was described as a proud and ambitious man. Moroccan historians portray him as wise and politically astute.

Moulay Rashid was known for his respect for scholars, honoring them, seeking their company, and supporting them generously. As a result, science flourished under his reign. According to one story, he once sent for a scholar, who refused, quoting the saying of Imam Mālik: "One comes to science, she does not come to you." From then on, Moulay Rashid went to the scholar's house to study.

According to al-Qadiri's Nachr Elmatsani (The Chronicles), Moulay Rashid assisted at the lessons of Sheikh al-Yusi at the University of al-Qarawiyyin.