Ismail Ibn Sharif

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Moulay Ismail Ibn Sharif

Moulay Ismail Ibn Sharif (1645?-1727, reigned 1672-1727) (Arabic: مولاي إسماعيل بن الشريف ابن النصر) was the third ruler of the Moroccan Alaouite dynasty. Like others of the dynasty, Ismail was a descendant of Muhammad through his grandson Hassan ibn Ali. He is also known in his native country as the "Warrior King."

He ruled from 1672 to 1727 succeeding his brother Moulay Al-Rashid who died after a fall from his horse. The then twenty-six year old Moulay Ismail inherited a country weakened by internal tribal wars and royal successions. The Alaouite sultan is said to be the father of more than 800 children through a harem of 500 women. This harem was a cause of great fascination for Western observers. Meknes, the capital city he built, is sometimes called the "Versailles of Morocco", because of its extravagance.

During Moulay Ismail's reign, Morocco's capital city was moved from Fez to Meknes. Like his contemporary King Louis XIV of France, Moulay Ismail began construction of an elaborate imperial palace and other monuments. At its peak, Moulay Ismail's empire included present day Algeria and Mauritania.

Moulay Ismail is noted as one of the greatest figures in Moroccan history. He fought the Ottoman Turks in 1679, 1682 and 1695/96. After these battles the Moroccan independence was respected. An other problem was the European occupation of several seaports: in 1681 he retook al-Mamurah from the Spanish and in 1684 Tangier from the English. Moulay had excellent relations with Louis XIV of France, the enemy of Spain. There was cooperation in several fields. French officers trained the Moroccon army and advised the Moroccons in the building of public works.

Moulay Ismail is also known as a fearsome ruler. Moulay Ismail used at least 25,000 slaves for the construction of his capital. His Christian slaves were often used as bargaining counters with the European powers, selling them back their captured subjects for inflated sums or for rich gifts. Most of his slaves were obtained by Barbary pirates in raids on Western Europe. Over 16,000 men from sub-Saharan Africa served in his elite Black Guard. By the time of Ismail's death, the guard had grown tenfold, the largest in Moroccan history.

After Moulay Ismail's death at the age of eighty in 1727, there was another succession battle between his surviving sons. His successors continued with his great building program, but in 1755 the huge palace compound at Meknes was severely damaged by an earthquake. By 1757 his grandson, Mohammad III moved the capital to Marrakech.