| Hassan bin Mohammed الحسن بن محمد | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amir al-Mu'minin | |||||
 Mawlay Hassan I in 1873 | |||||
| Sultan of Morocco | |||||
| Reign | 1873–1894 | ||||
| Coronation | 25 September 1873 | ||||
| Predecessor | Sidi Muhammad IV | ||||
| Successor | Mawlay Abd al-Aziz | ||||
| Born | 1836 Fes,Morocco | ||||
| Died | 9 June 1894 (aged 57–58) Tadla, Morocco[1] | ||||
| Burial | |||||
| Wives | among others:[2][3] Princess Lalla Zaynab bint Abbas[4][5] Lalla Aliya al-Settatiya (before 1876) Lalla Khadija bint al-Arbi Lalla Zohra bint al-Hajj Maathi Lalla Ruqaya | ||||
| Issue | 27 children, including:[6] Mohammed bin Hassan Fatima Zahra bint Hassan Abd al-Hafid bin Hassan Abd al-Aziz bin Hassan Yusef bin Hassan | ||||
| |||||
| House | 'Alawi dynasty | ||||
| Father | Muhammad bin Abd al-Rahman | ||||
| Mother | Lalla Safiya bint Maimun binMohammed al-Alaoui[8] | ||||
| Religion | MalikiSunni Islam | ||||
MawlayHassan bin Mohammed (Arabic:الحسن بن محمد,romanized: al-Ḥasan bin Muḥammad), known asHassan I (Arabic:الحسن الأول,romanized: al-Ḥasan al-Awwal; 1836 or 1857 – 9 June 1894) was the sultan ofMorocco from 16 September 1873 to 9 June 1894, as a ruler of the'Alawi dynasty.[7] He was proclaimed sultan after the death of his fatherMuhammad IV.[9][10] Mawlay Hassan was among the most successful sultans. He increased the power of themakhzen inMorocco and at a time when the rest ofAfrica was falling under foreign control, he brought in military and administrative reforms to strengthen his government within its complete territory, and he carried out an active military and diplomatic program on the periphery. He died on 9 June 1894 and was succeeded by his sonAbd al-Aziz.[10]
Hassan bin Mohammed was born in 1857[10] or 1836 to MawlayMuhammad IV whom he was the favourite son of. At an early age, he was educated in the subtleties of court politics.[11]
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Mawlay Hassan was proclaimed sultan of Morocco on the death of his father in 1873. His first action was to crush an urban revolt in the capitalFes in 1874, which he had to besiege for a few months.[12][13] The tanners rose up in protest "raging like lions and tigers" through the streets of Fes, pillaging the house of Muhammad Bennis, the Minister of Finance, turning Fes into a battleground. Hassan I, who was on campaign sent letters calling for the pacification of the city. Shortly after, the hated tax collectors were withdrawn, and the rebellion halted. The tax collectors soon reappeared, leading to the rebellion commencing again more violently. The local Fes militiamen took up positions in minarets ofFes al-Bali and fired down on the army, but the two sides later negotiated peace and the rebellion was definitely terminated.[14] Of strong Arab culture, he did not know any foreign language, although Hassan I was a conservative ruler, he realised the need for modernization and the reform policy of his father.[12]
He strived to maintain the cohesion of his kingdom through political, military, and religious action, in the face of European threats on its periphery, and internal rebellions, He initiated reforms. He strived to ensure the loyalty of the great chiefs of the south. He did not hesitate to appoint localqaids like SheikhMa al-'Aynayn who gave him theBay'a, the pledge of allegiance inIslamic law. He tried to modernize his army, and lead several expeditions to assert his authority, such as to theSous in1882 and 1886, to theRif in 1887, and toTafilalt in1893.[12][15]
Sultan Hassan I managed to maintain the independence of Morocco while neighbouring states fell under European influence, such asTunis which wasconquered by France in 1881 andEgypt which wasoccupied by Britain in 1882.[16]
BothSpain andFrance hoped for a weakMakhzen government of Morocco, while theBritish hoped for the opposite, a reformed Moroccan state which could stand on its own. Aware of this, Hassan called for an international conference on the issue, and theTreaty of Madrid was signed on 3 July 1880 to limit the practice, an important event of Hassan's reign. Instead of reducing foreign interference, the Makhzen had to grant concessions such as granting foreigners rights to own land in the countryside, something which Great Britain was pushing for all along. This was followed by French incursions into the region ofTouat in the south, which was considered Moroccan territory. This treaty effectively gave international approval and protection for lands which had been captured by foreign powers. This set the stage for theFrench protectorate in Morocco beginning in 1912.[16]
In 1879 and again in 1880, the British Legation in Morocco was informed by Moroccan authorities that the domains of the Hassan reached as far as theSenegal River and included the town ofTimbuktu and neighboring portions ofSudan, a claim based on the fact that the predecessors of Hassan had always considered themselves as sovereigns of these regions.[17] Since 1879, the British occupiedTarfaya and built a fortification there in 1882 known asPort Victoria. It was not until 1886 that the sultan sent a military expedition there, damaging the fort and forcingDonald MacKenzie to leave. The sultan's expedition toSus in 1886 was followed a year later by the Spanish occupation ofDakhla on the Saharan coast. Hassan responded by appointing akhalifa (governor) over the Sahara,Ma al-'Aynayn.[18] In 1888 Timbuktu requested that Hassan send a governor to help the town against theFrench forces advancing into theNiger basin.[19]
Hassan I continued to expand the military reforms started by his fatherMuhammad IV. The new and reformed'Askar al-Nizami introduced by sultanAbd al-Rahman in 1845 after theBattle of Isly was expanded by Hassan I to the size of 25,000 men and 1,000 artillery. The sultan also enhanced the Moroccan coastal defences with batteries of large caliber cannon, and in 1888 built an arms factory in Fes known asDar al-Makina, however production in it was little and costly.[20] To train the reformed Moroccan army, Hassan I sent students toLondon, but in 1876, the sultan hired Harry MacLean, a British officer based inGibraltar, who designed a military uniform in Arab-style, and learned to speak excellentArabic.[21]
Every year from spring to fall, Hassan I was on campaign, and lead expeditions to all parts of the kingdom. One of Hassan's campaigns was dealing with theDarqawa uprising nearFiguig in the fall of 1887, which was quickly suppressed.[20] Particularly well known is the journey Hassan I undertook in 1893. He went fromFes (leaving on 29 June) toMarrakech, passing through theTafilalt place where his dynasty came from, the sand dunes ofErg Chebbi, the valley of theDades with the majestic gorges of the Todra,Warzazat, theKasbah ofAït Benhaddou, the high passage alongTelouet, the Tichka pass (2260 m) in the high Atlas,Guelmim port of theWestern Sahara. The voyage took six months and succeeded in its objective of reuniting and pacifying the tribes of several regions.[22] TheKrupp cannon he gave on this occasion to theqaid ofTelouet (member of the now famous Glaoua family) is still on display in the center ofWarzazat. In 1881 he foundedTiznit.[23]
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Hassan I appointedMouha Zayani asqaid of theZayanes inKhenifra in 1877. Mouha Zayani was to be an important figure in the 20th century colonial war againstFrance. In 1887 he appointed sheikhMa al-'Aynayn as hisqaid inWestern Sahara. Ma al-'Aynayn too played an important role in the struggle for independence ofMorocco.[23]
Hassan decided to reinstate the old Moroccan administration in theGourara-Touat-Tidikelt. The first Moroccan envoys reached the Saharan oases in 1889 and in 1890. In 1891 Hassan called on the oases peoples to begin paying taxes, thus formalizing the recognition of his suzerainty. That same year the Touat and the oases which lay along theOued Saoura were placed under the authority of the son of the Moroccankhalifa who resided in the Tafilalt. Then, in 1892, a complete administrative organization was established in all of the Gourara-Touat-Tidikelt. The Moroccan Government even went so far as to extend to theqaids of theTouareg of the Ahenet and theHoggar a formal recognition that they were dependent subjects of the Sultan. In 1892 and 1893, the Moroccans further solidified their control in theGuir-Zouzfana basin and along the oued Saoura by investing with official authority theqaids from all of the nomadic and sedentary tribes of the region (this included theDoui Menia andOulad Djerir tribes, the most important nomads of the Guir-Zousfana basin; the oasis ofIgli; and the sedentary Beni Goumi people who lived along the banks of the Oued Zouzfana).[24]
On 9 June 1894, Hassan I died from illness near Wadi al-Ubayd in the region ofTadla. Since the army was still in enemy territory, his chamberlain and Grand WazirAhmad bin Musa kept the death a secret, ordering the ministers to not reveal the news.[25] The sultan's body was taken toRabat and buried there,[26][27] in aqubba next toDar al-Makhzen[28] which also contains the tomb of his ancestorSidi Mohammed III.[28] Hassan was succeeded by his sonAbd al-Aziz, thirteen years old at the time, and ruled under the regency of his father's former Grand Wazir,Ahmad bin Musa, until his death from heart failure in 1900.[26]
French colonisers during the protectorate of Morocco like Hubert Lyautey, who believed in preserving the institutions of thepre-colonial Makhzen and the prestige of the'Alawi dynasty, saw Hassan as the idealised blueprint of the traditional Makhzen.[29] He has also been described as the "last great sultan" of Morocco before colonialism.[29][30]
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Italian travellerEdmondo De Amicis gave a description of Hassan I:[11]
This Sultan ... was the handsomest, most attractive young man who ever won an odalisque’s heart. He was tall, active, with large, soft eyes, a fine aquiline nose, dark, oval face, and a short, black beard. His expression was at once noble and melancholy. A whitehaïk [cloak] enveloped him from head to foot . . . the large and entirely white horse he rode had green housings, and the stirrups were of gold. All this whiteness and the long, full cloak lent him something of a sacerdotal air. ... His graceful bearing, his expression, half-melancholy, half-smiling; his subdued, even voice, sounding like the murmur of a brook; in short his entire appearance and manner had a something [ sic ] ingenuous and feminine, and yet, at the same time, a solemnity that aroused instinctive admiration as well as profound respect.
— Morocco, Its People and Places
Hassan I married eight times and had a harem of concubines. His descendants, beginning with his wives, were as follows:[26][31]
Princess Lalla Zaynab bint Abbas[32][33] whom he married in 1875.[34] She is the daughter of Prince Moulay Abbas benAbd al-Rahman, her mother was named Maimouna.[32] Together they had:
Lalla Aliya al-Settatiya,[37] Together they had:
Lalla Khadija bint al-Arbi,[26] together they had:[38]
Lalla Zohra bint al-Hajj Maathi,[26] together they had:[39]
Lalla Ruqaya.[36][40] Originally, a Circassian slave concubine purchased from Hajj Lʿarbi al-Humaydi Bricha alongside another Circassian concubine, Amina.[41][42] She became Hassan's favorite wife towards the end of his life and held political influence after his death.[43] Their children are:[44]
Lalla Kinza al-Daouia:[45] she divorced from the sultan and remarried to Abdallah al-Daouia then to Mohammed el-Talba. From her marriage to the sultan, she had:[45]
Lalla Oum al-Khair,[47] her last name is not retained; together, they had:[47]
Lalla Oum Zayda,[48] her last name is not retained; together, they had:[48]
Sultan Moulay Hassan I is also the father of:
Moulay Hassan I had a harem of slave concubines (jawari), but the precise number of his slave concubines is largely unknown, leaving room for speculation.[51]
Aisha (Ayesha): she was a slave concubine ofGeorgian origin. Purchased inIstanbul in 1876 by thevizier Sidi Gharnat, she was the favorite of Sultan Moulay Hassan I during the sixteen years she remained in his harem.[51]
Amina was a Circassian concubine bought alongside Lalla Ruqayya from Hajj Lʿarbi al-Humaydi Bricha. She was the mother ofYusef of Morocco[41][42]
Suchet adds a "batch" of four other Circassian women of great beauty and accomplished talents purchased for 100,000 francs in 1878 inCairo and another three other Circassian slave concubines, without further details.[51]
H.H. Lalla Zainab bint Abbas, daughter of H.H. Mulay Abbas bin'Abdu'l-Rahman
the eldest son of the sultan, Moulay Mohammed, is proclaimed at the instigation of his mother the Cherifa.
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)Some of the most powerful families in the city were those with strong ties to the makhzan and who worked as customs administrators or merchants, as in the case of Erzini in Gibraltar, or La'arbi Bricha, who provided two Circassian slaves to Sultan Mawlay Hasan I, mothers of the future sultans Mawlay 'Abd al-'Aziz and Mawlay Yusuf.
When 'Abd al-'Aziz came into his majority in 1900 upon the death of the regent, he was only nineteen years old and had spent most of his young life within the confines of the royal harem. His mother was Lalla Raqīya, a beautiful and intelligent Circassian slave woman who had been the favorite wife of Mawlay al-Hasan during the last years of his life. She had originally joined forces with Ba Aḥmad to insure the proclamation of her son and continued to have considerable influence over his decisions until her own death in 1902.
| Preceded by | Sultan of Morocco 1873–1894 | Succeeded by |
