Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad

Abu al-Abbas Ahmad
Sultan of Morocco
Reign 1526 – 1545
1547 – 1549
Full name
Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Wattāsi
Dynasty Banū Wattās
Born Unknown
Died 1549

Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad, also Sultan Ahmad, or Ahmed el Outassi, was a Sultan of the Moroccan Wattasid dynasty. He ruled from 1526 to 1545, and again between 1547 and 1549.[1]

In 1532, Ahmad ibn Muhammad sent a letter to Francis I of France through trader Hémon de Molon, encouraging the French king to develop trade relations.[2] In 1533, Francis I of France sent as ambassador to Ahmad ibn Muhammad, in the person of colonel Pierre de Piton.[3] In a letter to Francis I dated August 13, 1533, Ahmad ibn Muhammad welcomed French overtures and granted freedom of shipping and protection of French traders.[4]

In 1545, Sultan Ahmad was taken prisoner by his southern rivals the sharifian Sadiyans.[5] His successor, Ali Abu Hassun, regent for Ahmad's young son Nasir al-Qasiri, decided to pledge allegiance to the Ottomans in order to obtain their support.[5]

France actually started to send ships to Morocco in 1555, under the rule of Henry II, son of Francis I.[4]

He married Sayyida al Hurra.

Notes

  1. C. E. Bosworth, The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual, Edinburgh University Press (2004), pp. 48–49 ISBN 9780748621378
  2. "THE EMBASSY OF PIERRE DE PITON: In the year 1533, the year of Montaigne's birth, a French merchant, from Bresse, Hemon de Molon, returned from Morocco, filled with such enthusiasm that Francis I decided to find out more" in Ecrits de Paris: revue de questions actuelles Centre d'études des questions actuelles, politiques, économiques et sociales (Paris, France) - 1953 (in English)
  3. "Francois I, hoping that Morocco would open up to France as easily as Mexico had to Spain, sent a commission, half commercial and half diplomatic, which he confided to one Pierre de Piton. The story of his mission is not without interest" in The conquest of Morocco by Cecil Vivian Usborne, S. Paul & co. ltd., 1936, p.33
  4. 4.0 4.1 Travels in Morocco, Volume 2 James Richardson p.32
  5. 5.0 5.1 A history of the Maghrib in the Islamic period by Jamil M. Abun-Nasr p.155ff
Preceded by
Abu Abdallah Muhammad I
Wattasid dynasty
15251545
Succeeded by
Nasir ad-Din al-Qasri Muhammad ibn Ahmad
Preceded by
Nasir ad-Din al-Qasri Muhammad ibn Ahmad
Wattasid dynasty
15471549
Succeeded by
Abu al-Hasan Abu Hasun Ali ibn Muhammad