| 'Abd al-Rahman bin Hisham عبد الرحمن بن هشام | |
|---|---|
| Amir al-Mu'minin[1] | |
 The Sultan of Morocco Moulay 'Abd al-Rahman in 1845 | |
| Sultan of Morocco | |
| Reign | 1822–1859 |
| Predecessor | Moulay Sulayman |
| Successor | Moulay Muhammad IV |
| Born | (1789-12-28)December 28, 1789 Fes,Morocco |
| Died | (aged 81) Meknes, Morocco |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | among others:[2] Lalla Mubaraka el-Chawiya Lalla Halima bintSulayman Lalla Fatima Zahra bintSulayman Lalla Safiya al-Alja |
| Issue | 54 children, including: Moulay Muhammad IV Lalla Maryam[2] |
| Dynasty | 'Alawi |
| Father | Moulay Hisham bin Muhammad |
| Religion | MalikiSunni Islam |
MoulayAbd al-Rahman bin Hisham (Arabic:عبد الرحمن بن هشام; 28 December 1789 – 28 August 1859) wasSultan ofMorocco from 30 November 1822 to 28 August 1859, as a ruler of the'Alawi dynasty.[3][4] He was a son ofMoulay Hisham. He was proclaimed sultan inFes after the death ofMoulay Sulayman.
During his long reign he proved himself competent in an age whereAfrica was beingcolonized by stronger European nations, such as neighbouringOttoman Algeria which wasinvaded by France. He was able to preserve Moroccan independence and maintain Moroccan borders without ceding any land, while also supportingEmir Abd al-Qadir's resistance in Algeria against France. He also signed the necessary treaties to enforce his beliefs, and fought numerous conflicts with European nations, especiallyFrance.[3]
Abd al-Rahman bin Hisham was born inFes on 28 December 1789[5] toHisham bin Mohammed and his wife a lady belonging to theJirari family.[6] Following the death of his uncleSulayman, Abd al-Rahman was proclaimed sultan of Morocco inFes on 30 November 1822. His reign began during a tumultuous time, when many noble families and rural tribal confederations in Morocco were trying to extract greater power away from the center, and spent much of the early part of his reign crushing revolts.
Moulay Sulayman entrusted the throne to Abd al-Rahman in a testamentary letter which was immediately sent to Fes:[7]
I do not think that the children ofMawlana, the grandfather Abdallah, nor the children ofMoulay, my father, may God have mercy on him, nor the children of his children, are better than my master Abd al-Rahman ibn Hisham, and I am not better for this matter than him, because - God willing – may God protect him, he does not drink alcohol, does not commit adultery, does not lie, and does not betray. He does not take blood and money unnecessarily. And if the king of the two Easts reigns... and he fasts the obligatory and the supererogatory, and he prays the obligatory and the supererogatory. But I brought him fromEssaouira for people to see and know him. And I took it out ofTafilalet to show it to them, because religion is advice. If the people of truth follow him, their affairs will be made right, as did MoulayMuhammad,his grandfather, andhis father is alive. They never need me, and the people of Morocco will envy him and follow him, God willing. And whoever followed him followed guidance and light. And whoever follows others, he follows sedition and misguidance.
Abd al-Rahman was tall and tanned, he was firm in his stance despite his advanced age, and wore simple clothes. Every day, he rode a horse to his garden in Agdal, situated near the gates ofFes.[9] Abd al-Rahman was an unusual choice for Sulayman over his own sons indicating he believed that Abd al-Rahman had the personal qualities needed to be a Sultan.[10] Abd al-Rahman showed military skill during Sulayman's campaign against Moulay Ibrahim and administrative skills as governor ofEssaouira and then Fes. This allowed him to fit in the paradigm of the "mujāhid-sultan". Being the son of Hisham who was sultan in the south between 1792 and 1799 as well as the protege of Sulayman made him acceptable to both the south and the north and he had adopted a conciliatory approach to the rebel faction and Idrisid shurafa in Fes making his acceptance as Sultan by the army and notables of Fes more likely. Despite this, he had to face a number of pretenders including the brother of Sulayman, Moulay Musa in Marrakesh, and his two sons, Moulay Abd al-Wahid inTafilalt and Moulay Abd al-Rahman inMeknes.[7]
Upon ascension, the sultan's finances were in shambles. With the country in disarray, the central government (theMakhzen) was unable to collect much customary taxation. Abd al-Rahman turned to foreign trade, which had been cut off by the prior sultan, as a way to reap incustoms revenue, and began to negotiate a series of trade treaties with various European powers.
Moulay Abd al-Rahman was an enthusiastic advocate of foreign trade. As governor ofEssaouira he had encouraged European merchants, and after he became sultan, consul after consul trekked down toMarrakesh; thePortuguese in 1823, theBritish in 1824, theFrench and theSardinian in 1825. Each signed a trade treaty, although Morocco had little to export because in 1825 the country began another cycle of poor rainfall and famine.[11]
To recoup his expenses Moulay Abd al-Rahman decided to revive the institution ofBarbary piracy and reestablish his corsairing fleet. In 1828 it captured some British ships and anAustrian one.[11] This created confrontations with the British as they blockadedTangier, and the Austrians bombardedLarache,Asilah andTetouan[3] in 1829. The finalbombardment of a Moroccan city in retribution for piracy occurred in 1851 atSalé.[3]
He was an adept leader and administrator and was able to build public works and infrastructure. He did however have to deal with internal conflicts and had to quell revolts many times: 1824–1825, 1828, 1831–1832, 1843, 1849, 1852, 1853, and 1857–1858.[12] He was always successful at placating the nobles and malcontents though.[3]
The navy of theAustrian Empire retaliated with force for the capture of their ship, theVeloce, by the Moroccan corsairing fleet.[11] The Austrians resolved to blockading the Moroccan ports, and then opened hostilities and bombardedLarache,Asilah andTétouan.[13] In June 1829 they landed at Larache and burned Moroccan ships.[11] The Austrian landing at Larache frightened the Moroccan people on a general attack on the Muslims of North Africa, following when war started between theFrench and the Ottoman province of Algiers in 1827.[14] However, the landing was a complete failure.[13] In 1830, Austria concluded a treaty in which the principal condition was to offer a splendid gift to the sultan.[15]
The most serious foreign threat to Morocco, however, was France, which had launchedits invasion of neighboring Ottoman Algeria in 1830. The French landing atSidi Feruj nearAlgiers and subsequent French victory in theBattle of Staouéli caused panic in Morocco, while Moroccans expressed solidarity with the Algerians.[16] In the years preceding theFrench landing, in order to replace revenue lost through the demise of piracy, theDeys (theOttoman-appointed heads of theRegency of Algiers) had raised taxes, turning the native population against them. The problem of mixed loyalties became even more acute after the French landing. As French forces pushed deeper into the interior, the tribes and city dwellers of theProvince of Oran turned to Morocco for help.[17] In the summer of 1830, Abd al-Rahman accepted boatloads of Algerian refugees arriving in the ports ofTangier andTétouan, ordering his governors to find them housing and settle them into work.[17]
Shortly afterAlgiers fell in 1830, and fearingFrench invaders, Muhammad Bennouna organised a deputation to ask Moulay Abd al-Rahman to accept abay'a fromTlemcen. The people of Tlemcen offered Abd al-Rahman the oath of allegiance that would legally establish'Alawi rule over theirregion.[18][17] The Sultan consulted the'ulama ofFez, who ruled that the inhabitants of Tlemcen had already sworn allegiance to theOttoman Sultan and they could not change it now.[18] In September 1830 the Tlemcenis sent another letter arguing that the authority of theSublime Porte no longer existed, and that its former representatives had been irreligious tyrants. The notables of the beleaguered city kept pressuring for aMoroccan intervention, reminding Abd al-Rahman that the defense of Islam was the duty of the just ruler.[18][17]
In October 1830 the sultan named his nephew Moulay Ali ben Slimane, who was only fifteen years old, asKhalifa of Tlemcen and sent him to take control of Tlemcen. An uncle of the sultan, Idris al-Jarari, the Governor ofOujda, was sent with him to help in protecting the city.[19][20] The Moroccan troops were warmly welcomed, even in theprovinces of Titteri andConstantine.[21] The Moroccan Sultan's authority was speedily recognised in all parts of the regency. Thekhotba, or public prayer, was pronounced in all the mosques for the Sultan of Morocco. Everything conspired to confirm the belief that Algeria had peaceably passed under the Moorish sceptre.[22]
Moulay Ali let local rivalries continue unchecked, while his troops pillaged the countryside instead of taking the citadel of Tlemcen, still manned by Ottoman troops. In March 1831 the sultan recalled both of them and nominated the Governor of Tétouan Ibn al-Hami in their place.[19][20] The Moroccan intervention in Algeria made it clear that the 'Alawi leadership could not orchestrate the popular feelings against the French to their own advantage. In January 1832 France sent an ambassador to Sultan Abd al-Rahman, demanding that he withdraw Morocco’s presence from Tlemcen. The Sultan initially refused to evacuate the city, but when a French warship appeared atTangier the Makhzen negotiated and the sultan agreed to withdraw his troops. The Moroccan troops evacuated Tlemcen in May. But before Ibn al-Hami left, he appointed a new governor in the sultan's name. This was the local head of theQadiriyyatariqa, Muhyi al-Din, who began to organise resistance to the French. In November he handed the leadership to his son,Abd al-Kader.[6][20] Another embassy was sent by the Marabouts and chiefs to Fez to implore the Moroccan Sultan to provide aid and assistance. Abd al-Rahman complied with their request, by sending a confidential agent toMascara. This proceeding, however, produced no effect.[21]
As a result of the sultan's withdrawal from Tlemcen in March 1831, theWadaya rebelled in the countryside of Morocco and recognised a relative of the sultan, Mohammed bin al-Tayyib, as sultan. The revolt began in the north and spread throughout Morocco, including the capitalFes, the sultan decided to leave Fes forMeknes which was safer and was protected by the'Abid al-Bukhari infantry, but on the way to Meknes he was stopped by rebel troops who sent him back to Fes. After the sultan learned about the unpopularity of the chief minister, he dismissed him, took away his wealth, and gave it to the Wadaya as a generous bribe, but this did not stop the rebellion. A few months later, the sultan managed to escape Fes and settle in Meknes, where he slowly built the army there by recruiting more troops. With this army, he marched on Fes and besieged it for 40 days before the Wadaya surrendered in 1834. The sultan ordered the execution of the two most important leaders of the Wadaya revolt, and dispersed them from Fes toMarrakesh,Larache, andRabat, ending their rebellion.[23]
Abd al-Rahman supported the continuedguerrillaresistance in Algeria led byAbd al-Qadir al-Jaza'iri who was in theory, a vassal of the Moroccan sultan,[24] albeit only tentatively, not wishing to incur French retaliation. But the border tribes of Morocco continued supporting Abd al-Qadir more actively, prompting the French launch their own strikes over the border and establishing forward outposts in Moroccan territory, which only inflamed the reaction in Morocco and increased the irregular border war. The Moroccan army attacked a French military group which France considered a declaration of war.[25] After learning that the Sultan had sent huge forces to the eastern front, Peugeot gave Morocco a deadline of eight days to withdraw its armies from the east, but the Sultan was not convinced.[3][25]
_Battle_of_Isly.jpg)
The French then demanded that Morocco cease its support of Abd al-Qadir and cede its eastern frontier lands to French control and, in 1844, launched theFirst Franco-Moroccan War.[3][26] The war did not go well for the sultan. The French navybombarded Mogador (Essaouira) andTangier, while the Moroccan army, under Abd al-Rahman's son MoulayMuhammad, was defeated by the French at theBattle of Isly in August 1844. Abd al-Rahman consented to theTreaty of Tangier in October 1844, withdrawing support for al-Qadir, and reducing border garrisons.[3]
The treaties aggravated the internal situation in Morocco. Abd al-Rahman in fact rejected theTreaty of Lalla Maghnia at first, blaming it on his negotiators, but was eventually forced to ratify it. Army units and rural tribes across the north and east, already basically ungovernable, started raising rebellions which were only crushed with difficulty. The aftermath saw the break between Abd al-Rahman and Abd al-Qadir.
The crushing defeat at Isly and the bombardment of the Moroccan ports by the squadron commanded by the Prince de Joinville had grave consequences both for the sultan's internal authority and for his relations with Europe. The defeat of Isly sparked off tribal rebellions in many parts of Morocco. TheDukkala tribesmen in the region betweenSafi andEl Jadida massacred government officials and looted El Jadida. Essaouira was pillaged by the tribes when its inhabitants deserted it. Rebellious tribes threatenedMarrakesh, and in September 1845Rabat rebelled and its leaders chose a local notable to replace the governor appointed by the sultan. The sultan's international standing was also weakened as a result of this defeat. TheScandinavian countries immediately ceased to make him the customary annual gift to retain commercial relations with Morocco. And the sultan, aware that much harm to the country could be avoided through speedy communications with the European consuls, appointed in 1845 ana'ib (deputy) to conduct relations with them on behalf of the sultan. Though thena'ib resided in, and often held the post of governor of, Tangier, he became in fact if not in title a minister of foreign affairs.[27]
After the defeat of Isly, Moroccan tolerance for Abd el-Qadir's use of Morocco to launch raids upon French controlled Algeria waned. Faced with this worsening his relations with the French and the popularity of Abd al-Qadir among his subjects the Sultan would force Abd el-Qadir out.[28]
This prompted the eventual surrender of Abd el-Qadir to the French on the 20th of December 1847.[29]
On 25 November 1851, French ships anchored offRabat andSalé. Moroccan soldiers in those cities prepared to repel the French attack and armed themselves with artillery. At 10:00 a.m, the French fleet opened fire on the forts of Salé, while the Moroccans retaliated instantly with forty batteries of artillery weapons.[30] An hour later, the batteries in Salé were destroyed, while the artillery in Rabat were damaged to the point where they became almost useless, however Moroccan reinforcements arrived.[31] The damaged batteries were removed from the cities by Moroccan forces who continued to resist.[32] By the end of the bombardment, the Moroccans had 18 to 22 men killed and 47 of them wounded, with many fortifications damaged. On the other hand, the French had losses of 4 killed and 18 wounded, as well as two of their battleships damaged. Both sides claimed victory, as the bombardment ended in a French military victory but also in a Moroccan political victory.[33]
In 1856,Britain persuaded the sultan to sign a treaty inTangier on 9 December 1856, after long negotiations betweenJohn Hay Drummond Hay, a representative ofQueen Victoria, andMuhammad al-Khatib, a representative of the sultan Abd al-Rahman. Moroccan trade was freed from almost all its monopolies, custom duties were reduced to ten percent of value, Morocco's door was opened to a larger volume of overseas trade, and British subjects could own property in Morocco.[34][35]
_(14781891592).jpg)
In 1856, Moulay Abd al-Rahman established thesouk of Zraqten on the north side of theHigh Atlas, adding to territory in southern Morocco controlled by theGlaouis, who wereCaids ruling various southern areas from the 18th century until Moroccanindependence in 1956, after originally settling inTelouet to establish a souk. They would tax caravans travelling from theSahara andTafilalt regions as well as taxing goods sold locally.
TheAgdal Gardens ofMarrakesh, anirrigatedgarden, originally established by theAlmoravids in the 12th century and enlarged in the days of theSaadians was revamped, reforested and encircled byramparts during the reign of Moulay Abd al-Rahman.
When Moulay Abd al-Rahman bin Hicham ascended the throne on 30 November 1822, Morocco was an undefeated power with a modern army made up of four main armed forces:[36]
Abd al-Rahman died inMeknes on August 28, 1859, and was buried in theMausoleum of Moulay Ismail.[3] He was succeeded by his sonMuhammad, who took the title of sultanMuhammad IV.[37] Immediately upon Sidi Muhammad's ascension to throne in August 1859, Spain declared war on Morocco, culminating into theHispano-Moroccan War in which Spain sent troops toCeuta in order to captureTetuan.[38]
| Preceded by | Sultan of Morocco 1822–1859 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
