Home Region:  Maghreb (Africa)

Alaouite Dynasty I

1631 CE 1727 CE
EQ 2020  mo_alawi_dyn_1
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Succeeding Entity:
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  General Description  

“In 1666 Mawlay al-Rashid was proclaimed sultan in Fez as the first ruler of the new ’Alawi dynasty. In 1669 he conquered Marrakesh and two years later, in 1671, his envoy came to Timbuktu and ’the army pledged allegiance to Mawlay al-Rashid’.2 In other words, as soon as a new Sharifian dynasty assumed authority in Morocco, the arma in Timbuktu renewed nominal and symbolic allegiance.” [1]
“As the two Sa’did makhzans based on Marrakech and Fez crumbled in the middle years of the seventeenth century (see above, no. 20), Morocco was rent by internal factions, usually with strong religious, maraboutic bases. It was the ‘Alawids or Filālī Shorfā, of the same Hasanī descent as the declining Sa’dids, who finally succeeded in imposing order from an original centre in Tafilalt, the valley of the Wādī Zīz in south-eastern Morocco (whence the name Filālī). Mawlāy al-Rashīd was the first of the family to assume the title of sultan. He began the work of pacification and attempted a a restoration of central authority throughout Morocco, but this proved an extremely lengthy process, so deep-rooted had become provincialism and anarchy. A strong figure like Mawlāy Ismā’īl tried in vain to solve these problems by recruiting, in addition to the gīsh ( [2]
Isma’il ruled between 1672-1727 and was one of the longest reigning Moroccan sultans. Upon his death his sons fought over the succession and the country went to war until 1757. Isma’il had fathered hundreds of sons, most of whom were eligible for the throne. While the sons were fighting for control of the throne, the country was rebelling against the taxes that Isma’il had imposed. The ’Abid had also grown incredibly powerful during Isma’il’s reign and were able to install, influence and depose of sultans. Three of Isma’il’s sons ruled on and off between 1727-1733 during which time installations and depositions of sultans were controlled by the ’Abid and in the meantime, north Morocco became almost completely independant of central governement, being ruled by the son of a local governor. . Abu’l Abbas Ahmad was deposed in 1728, only to be reinstated shortly after, but then deposed again on the day of his death on 5 March 1729 - he was smothered to death by his wives in a palace conspiracy. (El Hamel 2014: 213) His half-brother Moulay Abdelmalik was proclaimed sultan before Ahmad was deposed but was murdered three days before his brother died. (El Hamel 2014: 213) His brother and successor, Moulay Abdallah, was made Sultan and deposed six times between 1729 and 1757 (1729–1734, 1736, 1740–1741, 1741–1742, 1743–1747 and 1748–1757). Upon Abdallah’s death his sole surviving heir, Mohammed ben Abdallah, became sultan in 1757 and full order was restored across the country. [3]

[1]: (Fage and Oliver 1975: 150) Fage, J. D. and Oliver, Roland Anthony. 1975. eds., The Cambridge History of Africa: Volume 4, from c. 1600 to c. 1790. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/Z6BCU87M

[2]: (Boswroth 1996: 115) Bosworth, Clifford Edmund. 1996. "The ’Alawid or Filali Sharifs". The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual. Edinburgh. Edinburgh University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/B6JRSLIB

[3]: (El Hamel 2014: 213) El Hamel, Chouki. 2014. Black Morocco: A History of Slavery, Race, and Islam. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/T9JFH8AS

Economy Variables (Luxury Goods) Coding in Progress.
Religion Variables Coding in Progress.

General Variables
Identity and Location Alaouite Dynasty I (mo_alawi_dyn_1)
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Utm Zone 29 N 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Original Name Alaouite Dynasty I 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Capital 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Capital 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Alternative Name Alawid 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Alternative Name Alawis 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Temporal Bounds Alaouite Dynasty I (mo_alawi_dyn_1)
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Peak Years
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Duration [1631 CE ➜ 1727 CE]
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Political and Cultural Relations Alaouite Dynasty I (mo_alawi_dyn_1)
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Language Alaouite Dynasty I (mo_alawi_dyn_1)
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Religion Alaouite Dynasty I (mo_alawi_dyn_1)
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Religious Tradition Islam 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Religious Tradition Judaism 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale Alaouite Dynasty I (mo_alawi_dyn_1)
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Hierarchical Complexity Alaouite Dynasty I (mo_alawi_dyn_1)
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Religious Level 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Military Level 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Administrative Level 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Professions Alaouite Dynasty I (mo_alawi_dyn_1)
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Professional Soldier 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Professional Priesthood 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Source Of Support 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Bureaucracy Characteristics Alaouite Dynasty I (mo_alawi_dyn_1)
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Specialized Government Building 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Full Time Bureaucrat 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Law Alaouite Dynasty I (mo_alawi_dyn_1)
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Judge 1631 CE  1727 CE
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1631 CE  1727 CE
Specialized Buildings: polity owned Alaouite Dynasty I (mo_alawi_dyn_1)
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Market 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Irrigation System 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Food Storage Site 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Drinking Water Supply System 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Communal Building 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Utilitarian Public Building 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Symbolic Building 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Knowledge Or Information Building 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Other Utilitarian Public Building 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Transport Infrastructure Alaouite Dynasty I (mo_alawi_dyn_1)
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Port 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Bridge 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Special-purpose Sites Alaouite Dynasty I (mo_alawi_dyn_1)
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Enclosure 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Ceremonial Site 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Burial Site 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Information / Writing System Alaouite Dynasty I (mo_alawi_dyn_1)
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Written Record 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Script Present 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Phonetic Alphabetic Writing 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Information / Kinds of Written Documents Alaouite Dynasty I (mo_alawi_dyn_1)
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Religious Literature 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Lists Tables and Classification 1631 CE  1727 CE
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History 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Information / Money Alaouite Dynasty I (mo_alawi_dyn_1)
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Precious Metal 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Indigenous Coin 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Debt And Credit Structure 1631 CE  1727 CE
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Information / Postal System Alaouite Dynasty I (mo_alawi_dyn_1)
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Information / Measurement System Alaouite Dynasty I (mo_alawi_dyn_1)
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Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications Alaouite Dynasty I (mo_alawi_dyn_1)
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Military use of Metals Alaouite Dynasty I (mo_alawi_dyn_1)
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Projectiles Alaouite Dynasty I (mo_alawi_dyn_1)
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Handheld weapons Alaouite Dynasty I (mo_alawi_dyn_1)
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Animals used in warfare Alaouite Dynasty I (mo_alawi_dyn_1)
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Armor Alaouite Dynasty I (mo_alawi_dyn_1)
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Naval technology Alaouite Dynasty I (mo_alawi_dyn_1)
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Economy Variables (Luxury Goods)
Religion Variables
Moralizing Supernatural Punishment and Reward Alaouite Dynasty I (mo_alawi_dyn_1)
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Human Sacrifice Alaouite Dynasty I (mo_alawi_dyn_1)
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Instability Data
Power Transitions