Saadians
The Saadians ( Arabic سعديون, DMG Saʿdīyūn , Moroccan Tamazight ⵉⵙⵄⴷⵉⵢⵏ Isɛdiyen ) were a Muslim dynasty that ruled over what is now Morocco from 1549 to 1664 .
Ruler
Under the rule of the Wattasids (1465–1549), Morocco found itself in a serious crisis, as the dynasty had little authority and could not protect the country against Portugal . In the resistance of the religious brotherhoods and marabouts , the Saadians took over the leadership under the Sherif Abu Abdallah al-Qaim (1509-1517). They established an independent power base in southern Morocco by uniting the Banu Saad (Banū Saʿd) with the tribe of the Banu Maqil (Banū Maʿqil). The latter had come from Yemen in small numbers in the 13th century . By conquering the Portuguese Agadir , the Saadians gained broad support and were able to overthrow the Wattasids against the resistance of Bu Hassun in 1549.
The sultans Muhammad al-Sheikh (1549–1557) and Abdallah al-Galib (1557–1574) first had to assert themselves against the Ottomans , who also intervened several times in the western Maghreb and temporarily occupied Fez with Bu Hassun in 1554 . In struggles for the succession to the throne, Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik (1576–1578) was able to secure rule in Morocco with Ottoman help. When the Portuguese King Sebastian I wanted to bring the dethroned Abu Abdallah (1574–1576) back to power, the invading army at Qsar al-Kabir was devastated.
After Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik died during the battle, Ahmad al-Mansur (1578-1603) was able to assert himself as the new ruler. Under this, Morocco reached another boom, economically and culturally. Trade agreements led to an increased exchange of goods with England . The Trans-Saharan trade was also strongly promoted. In order to better control this trade, the Songhaire empire on the Niger was smashed by a campaign and the trading centers Gao and Timbuktu were conquered (1590–1591). However, the occupied land could not be held permanently. The Saharan trade with Morocco was rather badly damaged and increasingly shifted to Tripoli and Tunis .
After the death of al-Mansur, power struggles broke out due to the lack of succession regulation, during which two Saadian lines established themselves in Fez and Marrakech. During this time, Morocco took in many of the moriscos that were expelled from Spain. Parts of them settled in Sale, where they founded an independent corsair empire between 1603 and 1668 . In 1626 Fez was lost to the Dila Brotherhood and in 1659 the Alawids conquered Marrakech and ended the rule of the Saadian people.
See also
literature
- Ulrich Haarmann : History of the Arab World. Edited by Heinz Halm . 4th revised and expanded edition. CH Beck, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-406-47486-1 ( Beck's historical library ).
- 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 .