Саадилер әулеті: Марокко және Батыс Африка мемлекеті (1510-1659)

1510–1659 state in Morocco and West Africa

The Saadi Sultanate (السعديون), also known as the Sharifian Sultanate (السلطنة الشريفة), was a state which ruled present day Morocco and parts of West Africa in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was led by the Saadi dynasty, also known as the Zaydanids, an Arab Sharifian dynasty from southern Morocco. The dynasty's rise to power started in 1510, when Muhammad al Qa'im was declared leader of the tribes of the Sous valley in their resistance against the Portuguese who occupied Agadir and other coastal cities. Al Qai'm's son, Ahmad al Araj, secured control of Marrakesh by 1525 and, after a period of rivalry, his brother Muhammad al Shaykh captured Agadir from the Portuguese and eventually captured Fez from the Wattasids, securing control over nearly all of Morocco. After Muhammad al Shaykh's assassination by the Ottomans in 1557 his son Abdallah al Ghalib enjoyed a relatively peaceful reign. His successors, however, fought with each other, culminating in the 1578 Battle of Ksar el Kebir (or "Battle of the Three Kings"), where a Portuguese military intervention on behalf of Muhammad II al Mutawakkil was thoroughly defeated by Saadian forces. In the wake of this victory, Ahmad al Mansur became sultan and presided over the apogee of Saadian power. In the later half of his reign he launched a successful invasion of the Songhai Empire, resulting in the establishment of a Pashalik centered on Timbuktu. After Al Mansur's death in 1603, however, his sons fought a long internecine conflict for succession which divided the country and undermined the dynasty's power and prestige. While the Saadian realm was reunified at the end of the conflict in 1627, new factions in the region rose to challenge Saadian authority. The last Saadian sultan, Ahmad al Abbas, was assassinated in 1659, bringing the dynasty to an end. Moulay al Rashid later conquered Marrakesh in 1668 and led the Alaouite dynasty to power over Morocco.

The Saadians were a Sharifian family which had first established themselves in the Draa valley in the 14th century before moving or spreading to Tidsi in the Sous valley in the following century. Conflict broke out again in 1530 but resulted in similar truce. Meanwhile, Ahmad al Araj and his son Zaydan had made themselves lords of the Tafilalt, and allied themselves with Abu Hassun. However, Muhammad al Shaykh intercepted Abu Hassun's message to his potential allies in the Tafilalt that would have informed them of his victory in Fes. As a result, Al Araj and his son, believing that their side had lost, surrendered to Al Shaykh. This made him the first Saadian ruler to accept vassal status with a foreign power. Nonetheless, Abd al Malik remained wary of Ottoman motives towards his kingdom and maintained relations with Spain as well as continuing to pursue relations with France (King Henri III) and England (Queen Elizabeth). Meanwhile, his deposed nephew, Al Mutawakkil, sought help from Portugal, whose king, Sebastian I, felt he had the most to lose from the increased Ottoman influence in the region. In response to the removal of his name from Friday prayers, Murad III began preparations for an attack on Morocco. After getting word of this, Al Mansur rushed to send an ambassador to Istanbul with sizeable gifts and the attack was cancelled. He paid a tribute of over 100,000 gold coins, agreed to show respect to the Ottoman sultan and in return he was left alone. In 1583, the Saadian and Ottoman sultans even tentatively discussed a joint military operation against the Spanish in Oran. and issued propaganda that undermined the Ottoman sultan's claim as leader of all Muslims. Al Mansur even felt confident enough after 1587 to drop his regular payments to Murad III. Early relations focused on trade as English merchants, despite the objections of the Portuguese, had been trading in Morocco since the early 16th century. This trade initially consisted of English cloth for Moroccan sugar, but after 1572 the English learned that they could find saltpeter and mainly sought to obtain this material. Saadian interest in the sugar trade may have also been a motivation, as control of the trans Saharan trade routes also allowed him to increase Morocco's access to slaves – on which the sugar processing industry relied and which were necessary to compete with the prices of sugar coming from Brazil and the Caribbean (controlled by Europeans and also reliant on slaves). Finally, the invasion may have been a way for Al Mansur to elevate his claim to being a universal Muslim ruler. The Saadian army suffered while crossing the desert, but Askia Ishaq II was surprised when they arrived and had to assemble his forces quickly. While the Songhai army was reportedly larger, it lacked firearms, unlike the Moroccans. At the Battle of Tondibi the Saadian army thus won a decisive victory. The Songhai evacuated their capital, Gao, and retreated south, while Judar Pasha's army occupied Gao along with Timbuktu (both in present day Mali). After this victory, however, the Moroccans struggled to have their authority accepted in the region and continued to wage a protracted war with the remnants of the defeated Songhai Empire. In the end, Moroccan control was tenuously established over a large region stretching between Kukiya (also spelled Koukya or Koukiya) and Djenné, around the northern curve of the Niger River.]] Abu Faris initially held Marrakesh until 1606 while Moulay Zaydan held Fes for a year before being defeated and expelled by Al Ma'mun in 1604, who then ruled from Fes. Thereafter the local Saadian regime became the Pashalik of Timbuktu, ruled by the Arma people, the mixed descendants of Moroccan soldiers and local inhabitants, who were nominally subject to Morocco until the early 19th century. The arrival of large numbers of Sephardic Jews from the Iberian Peninsula also had a profound impact on the Jewish community in Morocco and North Africa. It increased the Jewish population and revitalized Jewish cultural activity, while also splitting the community along ethnic lines for many generations. In Fez, for example, the Megorashim of Spanish origin retained their heritage and their Spanish language while the indigenous Moroccan Toshavim, who spoke Arabic and were of Arab and Berber heritage, followed their own traditions. Members of the two communities worshiped in separate synagogues and were even buried separately. It was only in the 18th century that the two communities eventually blended together, with Arabic eventually becoming the main language of the entire community while the Spanish (Sephardic) minhag became dominant in religious practice; a situation which was repeated elsewhere in Morocco, with the notable exception of the Marrakesh community. In addition to the Andalusians and Moriscos, other foreigners arrived due to varying geopolitical and military factors. There is a documented presence of relatively large numbers of Christian European captives resulting from Saadian victories against the Portuguese. By the end of the 16th century, during the reign of Ahmad al Mansur, there were about 2000 of them in Marrakesh, the capital. Many of them worked on the sultan's construction projects or in the production of armaments, where European expertise was valued.]] At the height of Saadian power, especially under Ahmad al Mansur, the authority of the central government in Morocco became more absolute. The presence of the central government made itself felt in the lives of everyday Moroccans in a way that that had not been true under previous dynasties and rulers.