Abd al-Aziz (Morocco)

Abd al-Aziz

Abd al-Aziz ( Arabic عبد العزيز بن الحسن, DMG ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz b. al-Ḥasan , also Mulai Abd al-Aziz ; * around 1880 ; † June 10, 1943 in Tangier , Morocco ) was Sultan of the Alawids in Morocco from 1894 to 1908.

As the son of the Alawid sultan Mulai al-Hassan I (1873-1894), Abd al-Aziz ascended the throne at the age of 14. Because he was a minor, Ba Ahmad , who was his father's chamberlain, was in charge of the regency. This consolidated control over the tribes of the country and put down several revolts. He also resisted pressure from Europeans to expand the infrastructure , which would have made it much easier for the European powers to penetrate the country economically.

After the death of Ba Ahmad († May 13, 1900), Abd al-Aziz personally took over the government. As an admirer of the Europeans, he opened the country to their influence. He tried to implement reforms in the administration and the tax system. By disregarding old traditions, however, he interfered with the old rights of various population groups, which provoked several revolts. By 1907 he had become an advocate of French interests in the eyes of the population. In addition, the financial budget of Morocco, which had hitherto been tolerably orderly, was completely shattered. This forced Abd al-Aziz to take up French loans , such as the Obligation Gouvernement Imperial du Maroc, which significantly strengthened the influence of the French government.

Moroccan independence was also threatened by the fact that France and Great Britain resolved their conflicts of interest in Morocco and Egypt in 1904 and France was now given a free hand in Morocco. The German Emperor Wilhelm II tried to counteract this growing French influence by visiting Tangier . The resulting 1st Moroccan Crisis (1905–1906) initially led to the confirmation of Moroccan independence.

Abd al-Aziz also entered into an alliance with the Sahrawi Bedouin leader Mā al-ʿAinin (1830-1910) around 1902 , to whom he provided money and 600 men. However, under French pressure, he ended the alliance with the local prince of Smara in 1907.

In August 1907 - in the course of increasing unrest and revolts in the country - Mulai Abd al-Hafiz rose in Marrakech and in 1908 forced his half-brother Abd al-Aziz to abdicate. Abd al-Aziz withdrew to Tangier under the protection of European diplomats, where he lived until his death in 1943.

See also: List of rulers of Morocco

literature

• Stephan Ronart, Nandy Ronart: Lexicon of the Arab World. A historical-political reference work. Artemis Verlag, Zurich et al. 1972, ISBN 3-7608-0138-2 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica