Zidan Abu Maali
Mawlay Zidan el Nasir (? – September 1627) was the Sultan of Morocco from 1603 to 1627. He was son of Ahmad al-Mansur, and resided in Marrakech.
Civil war
During the reign of Zidan, after the death of Mulay al-Mansur in 1603, Morocco progressively fell into a state of anarchy, with the Sultan losing authority.[1] Salé became a sort of independent Republic.[1] Morocco was in a state of civil war with warlords taking territory from Zidan, such as Ahmed ibn Abi Mahalli in the South and Sidi al-Ayachi in the North.[2] The Spanish also seized the opportunity to capture the cities of Larache in 1610 and then al-Ma'mura.[2]
Foreign relations
Mulay Zidan established friendly relations with the Low Countries, with the help of envoys such as Samuel Pallache, and from 1609, he established a Treaty of Friendship. He sent several more envoys to the Low Countries, such as Muhammad Alguazir, Al-Hajari and Yusuf Biscaino.[3]
James I of England sent John Harisson to Muley Zaydan in Morocco in 1610 and again in 1613 and 1615 in order to obtain the release of English captives.[4]
By a coincidence the complete library of this sultan has been transmitted to us to the present day. Due to strange circumstances in a civil war the sultan Zidan Abu Maali had his complete collection transferred to a ship. The commander of the ship 'stole' the ship and brought it to Spain where the collection was transmitted to El Escorial.[5]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Ships, money, and politics by Kenneth R. Andrews p.167". Books.google.com. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
- ^ a b "The Cambridge history of Islam by P. M. Holt, Ann K. S. Lambton, Bernard Lewis p.247". Books.google.com. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
- ^ "Romania Arabica by Gerard Wiegers p.410". Books.google.com. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
- ^ Khalid Ben Srhir. Britain and Morocco during the embassy of John Drummond Hay, 1845-1886. p. 14. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
- ^ *For details of the incident see: Chantal de la Véronne, Histoire sommaire des Sa'diens au Maroc, 1997, p. 78.
- Catalogue: Dérenbourg, Hartwig, Les manuscrits arabes de l'Escurial / décrits par Hartwig Dérenbourg. - Paris : Leroux [etc.], 1884-1941. - 3 volumes.