Morocco: Political History and Notable People

788 - 974 - Idrisid Emirate / Dynasty (All Facts)

• Ruled most of modern-day Morocco and Western Algeria

• They were an Alid dynasty that descended from the Great Prophet Mohammed through his grandson Hasan

  • They were one of many Alid dynasties that vied for power after Al-Saffah had negated the Alids from the Abbasid Caliphate

• Founded as a means of refuge from Abbasid persecutions in the east of non-Abbasids like the Alids

• Dynasty which played an important role in the early Islamization of Morocco

• Dynasty which was founded by its namesake ruler

788 - 791 - Idris (All Facts)

• First Emir and Founder of the Idrisid Dynasty

  • Located in modern-day Morocco and Western Algeria

  • He founded the kingdom as a means of refuge from Abbasid persecutions in the east of non-Abbasids like the Alids, of which he hailed

• He was

  • Originally from Medina in Arabia

  • A descendent of the Great Prophet Mohammed through Mohammed’s grandson Hasan

• He fought in the Battle of Fakhkh

  • When the Alids were defeated by the Abbasid Caliphate, he fled in disguise to Egypt and then to Morocco

  • When he arrived, the Awraba Berbers there hailed him as their Imam (leader)

• He established himself in Volubilis, an old Roman town

• He died after being poisoned by a toothpick sent by Caliph Harun al-Rashid of the Abbasid Caliphate back in Baghdad

• He left no son but one of his concubines was heavily pregnant upon his death

803 - 828 - Idris II (All Facts)

• 2nd King of the Idrisid Dynasty (in Morocco)

• He established the dynasty’s capital at Fez

  • This is considered his most notable acheivement

• When he died, the Idrisid Dynasty was divided between his sons

1000s - 1059 - Abdullah ibn Yasim (All Facts)

• Founder of the Almoravid Dynasty

• He founded the Almoravid Movement, which preached holy war and spiritual renewal

• He united the tribes of the western Sahara and advanced into Morocco with 30K zealots

1050 - 1147 - Almoravid Dynasty (All Facts)

• Founded by Abdullah ibn Yasim

• They were originally a movement of Muslims comprised of nomadic Berber tribesmen

• They were based in Morocco, the first region which they invaded

  • Their empire stretched from the Niger to the Ebro River in Spain

  • They extended their empire into modern-day Algeria, which they ruled from

• They grew via a series of conquests in which they

  • Seized Awdaghost (Mauretania) in 1055

  • Conquered Zanata in Morocco in 1061

  • Seized the Ghana Kingdom in 1077

    • Thousands of the namesake Saharan nomads swept through Ghana, destroying what was the richest empire in West Africa at the time

    • Occupied its gold-rich mines and becoming richer than the degenerate sultans they voted to overthrow

  • Crossed the Straits of Gibraltar into Spain, where they annexed Islamic Spain by 1086

  • Carved an empire covering western North Africa and Islamic Spain

• Their reign in Spain was weakened over time by

  • Material luxury

  • Self-interest

  • Financial problems

  • The launching of raids by Christian rulers

  • Revolts in the final years of its reign in Islamic Spain

1061 - 1106 - Yusuf ibn Tashfin (All Facts)

• 4th Amir of the Almoravids

  • He assumed the throne upon the Almoravid conquest of Zanata in Morocco

• He completed the conquest of the Maghreb (in North Africa), ruling an empire four times bigger than Spain at the time

• He and his Almoravid forces defeated Alfonso VI and his forces in the Battle of Sagrajas, coming to the aid of the Arab princes of Spain

  • After the battle, carts loaded with Christian heads were sent to the chief cities of Spain and the Maghreb to show them that the Christians were longer to be feared by the Almoravids

• He was not strong enough to occupy parts of Islamic Spain resettled by Christians, such as Toledo, before he died

1121 - 1269 - Almohad Dynasty (All Facts)

• Founded by Abd Al-Mumin

1133 - 1163 - Abd Al-Mumin (All Facts)

• First Caliph and Founder of the Almohad Caliphate

  • He was mentored by Ibn Tumart, and was eventually made a member of the executive body of his “Al-Muwahhidun” Islamic reformist movement

  • Upon Ibn Tumart’s death, he was recognized as his successor and won the support of the relevant Zanata Berbers

  • He was already recognized as caliph by some Muslim rulers in Islamic Spain

• He conquered much of Morocco in pursuit of the Almohad Caliphate’s “Holy War” against the Almoravids in which, during this time, he and his forces

  • captured Marrakesh (the Almoravid capital) from the Almoravids, by way of Meknes and Sale

  • defeated Tashfin ibn Ali and the Almoravids in the Battle of Tlemcen

  • took Morocco after a nine-month siege

  • captured the coastal ports of Roger II of Sicily that eventually came into the hands of the “infidel” Normans

  • recaptured much of North Africa, including Algiers and Tunis

  • conquered Christian strongholds throughout what he and his followers regarded as rightfully their territory in North Africa

1244 - 1465 - Marinid Sultanate (All Facts)

• Founded by Abu Yahya

1244 - 1258 - Abu Yahya (All Facts)

• First and Founding Sultan of the Marinid Sultanate of modern-day Morocco

• He led his Berber tribesmen in a successful revolt against the Ziyanids and then against the Almohad caliphs at Marrakesh

1258 - 1286 - Abu Yusuf (All Facts)

• 2nd Sultan of the Marinid Sultanate of modern-day Morocco

• He extended Marinid influence, having

  • taken Marrakesh

  • defeated the Ziyanids

  • besieged Tlemcen

  • occupied the port of Ceuta

  • invaded Iberia and defeated the Castilians

1348 - 1358 - Abu Inan (All Facts)

• Sultan of the Marinid Sultanate of modern-day Morocco

• During his reign,

  • authority had been reasserted over the Ziyanids at Tlemcen where Arab tribes still blocked the path to Tunis

1472 - 1554 - Wattasid Dynasty (All Facts)

1510 - 1659 - Saadi Sultanate / Sharifian Sultanate / Sadian Sultanate / Saadi Dynasty (All Facts)

• They claimed descent from the Great Prophet’s son-in-law Ali

• They established their capital at Marrakesh

• They drove the Portuguese out of Agadir by 1541

• They drove the Portuguese out of Arzila by 1549 (this was the last Portuguese stronghold there)

1509 - 1517 - Abu Abdallah al-Qa'im (All Facts)

• First Ruler and Founder of the Saadi Sultanate and Dynasty of Morrocco

1500 - 1539 - Esteban de Dorantes / Estevanico the Moor (All Facts)

• He was a (Negro) slave

• He, Cabeza de Vaca, and two other survivors of the 1527 Panfilo de Narvaez expedition escaped after six years of native captivity in southwestern North America

• He was murdered by Zuni natives in New Mexico