Ismāʿīl

Ismāʿīl (born 1645/46—died March 1727, Meknès, Mor.) was the second ruler of the ʿAlawī dynasty of Morocco; his long reign (1672–1727) saw the consolidation of ʿAlawī power, the development of an effective army trained in European military techniques, and the introduction of French influence in Morocco.

Virtually nothing is known about Ismāʿīl’s youth. In 1672, with the sudden death of his half brother, Mawlāy al-Rashīd (founder of the dynasty), Ismāʿīl, then acting viceroy in Fès, immediately seized the treasury and had himself proclaimed ruler. His claim was challenged by three rivals—a brother, a nephew, and al-Khiḍr Ghīlān, a tribal leader of northern Morocco. These rivals were supported by the Ottoman Empire, acting through Algiers, who hoped to weaken the ʿAlawīs by supporting internal subversion so that they could extend their rule over Morocco. As a result, relations with the Ottoman regent of Algiers were strained throughout Ismāʿīl’s reign. The succession war lasted five years. Al-Khiḍr Ghīlān was defeated and killed in September 1673, but Ismāʿīl had greater difficulties with the brother and nephew. He finally included them in the Moroccan power structure by recognizing them as semi-independent governors of important provinces. He completed the internal pacification of Morocco in 1686 with the final defeat and death of his nephew Aḥmad ibn Mahraz.

In 1673 Ismāʿīl created the ʿAbīd al-Bukhārī (known colloquially as the buākhar), an army made up of freeborn blacks and sub-Saharan slaves purchased from their masters and impressed into service. The sons of these troops likewise were brought into the military and were entered into special schools and given specialized military training. Toward the end of his reign he had an army of more than 150,000 men, of whom about 70,000 were kept as a strategic reserve in and around Meknès. His army was equipped with European arms, and his officers learned to combine artillery with infantry effectively. He used these forces against the Ottomans in Algiers in 1679, 1682, and 1695/96 in expeditions designed to pacify his frontiers and to punish the regent of Algiers. In the end the Ottomans agreed to respect Moroccan independence.

Ismāʿīl’s relations with the European powers were much more complex. He hated the Europeans as infidels yet needed them as suppliers of arms and other finished products. Throughout his reign there was intermittent warfare with the European settlers of the Moroccan seaports; in 1681 he captured Al-Maʿmūrah from the Spanish, and in 1684 he expelled the English from Tangier. In order to challenge Spain for possession of its settlements within Morocco, he became increasingly friendly with Spain’s enemy, Louis XIV of France. France was to reap great commercial benefits from this friendship. French influence became paramount in Morocco; French officers trained Moroccan artillerymen and helped in the building of public works. The palace of Meknès, styled on that of Versailles, was a massive monument to Ismāʿīl’s will and determination.

Ismāʿīl was frugal in financial matters. He raised the necessary revenues for his army and his public works by holding a monopoly on foreign trade, and he was not above encouraging piracy. He maintained his authority and religious legitimacy by supporting the notion that he was a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad and thus had special spiritual gifts, which entitled him to rule. He demanded not only temporal but also spiritual allegiance and recognition from his people.

Ismāʿīl has been criticized for cruelty and capriciousness, but iron rule was necessary for the ʿAlawī dynasty to survive. He was credited with having 700 sons and countless daughters. Upon his death, supreme power became vested in his ʿAbīd troops, who became the arbitrators of the dynastic fortunes. He was succeeded by his son Mawlāy Aḥmad.