Ismail Ibn Sharif

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Moulay Ismail Ibn Sharif

Moulay Ismail Ibn Sharif (1645-1727) (Arabic: مولاي إسماعيل) was a Moroccan ruler. He ruled from 1672 to 1727 succeeding his brother Moulay Al-Rashid after the former died after a fall from his horse. The then twenty-five year old Moulay Ismail inherited a country weakened by internal tribal wars and royal successions, and throughout his reign was driven by a need to make Morocco equal to the strong nations of Europe. The Alaouite sultan is said to have sired 888 children (548 sons and 340 daughters) through a harem of 500 women during his life. This harem was a course of great fascination for Western observers who estimated at one point there were almost 2,000 women and girls scattered throughout the palace compound. 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 Marrakech 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 spread from present day Algeria to 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. Other adversaries were the European settlers of the seaports: in 1681 he took 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. There are many examples of the ease with which Ismail would behead or torture prisoners of war. 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 back to Marrakech.

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