From 16th century
Southern Morocco and the Maghrib
The Sa'dian Sharifian dynasty was a Moroccan Sharifian power that rose in the Sus during the early sixteenth century through religious legitimacy, marabout alliances, and jihad against Portuguese coastal strongholds. Its leaders expanded from the Dar'a and Sus regions into Marrakesh and sought control of sugar production, Sudanese gold, and access to European firearms. The excerpt presents its emergence as a direct challenge to Wattasid authority.
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The Story
The first Sharifian dynasty described here later became known as the Sa'dids, although the name was applied only in the seventeenth century by supporters of the succeeding 'Alawid Sharifs. Their ancestor had come from the Hejaz to the Dar'a valley at the beginning of the fourteenth century, where local people invited him to bless date crops after several years of failed harvests. By the sixteenth century, Sharifian descent provided a powerful basis for political legitimacy.
The dynasty’s rise accelerated when the people of the Sus sought protection from Portuguese expansion and marabouts invited Abu 'Abdallah Muhammad to lead jihad. He came to Tidsi in 1510/11, where Masmuda and other tribes swore allegiance, and by 1514 Tarudant had accepted his authority. His sons Ahmad and Muhammad gained religious and military prominence in Fez before returning to the Sus, where they helped build the movement’s armed base.
The Sharifs combined religious prestige with economic and military policy. Muhammad al-Mahdi promoted sugar cane in the Sus, sought greater control of the Sudanese gold trade, and blockaded Agadir to weaken the Portuguese commercial monopoly. Ahmad al-A'raj entered Marrakesh in 1524 after being invited by its people and ruler, while the defeat of the Wattasid sultan in 1537 marked a decisive stage in the dynasty’s expansion.
From 16th century
Southern Morocco and the Maghrib
The Sa'dian Sharifian dynasty was a Moroccan Sharifian power that rose in the Sus during the early sixteenth century through religious legitimacy, marabout alliances, and jihad against Portuguese coastal strongholds. Its leaders expanded from the Dar'a and Sus regions into Marrakesh and sought control of sugar production, Sudanese gold, and access to European firearms. The excerpt presents its emergence as a direct challenge to Wattasid authority.
Continue exploring
The Story
The first Sharifian dynasty described here later became known as the Sa'dids, although the name was applied only in the seventeenth century by supporters of the succeeding 'Alawid Sharifs. Their ancestor had come from the Hejaz to the Dar'a valley at the beginning of the fourteenth century, where local people invited him to bless date crops after several years of failed harvests. By the sixteenth century, Sharifian descent provided a powerful basis for political legitimacy.
The dynasty’s rise accelerated when the people of the Sus sought protection from Portuguese expansion and marabouts invited Abu 'Abdallah Muhammad to lead jihad. He came to Tidsi in 1510/11, where Masmuda and other tribes swore allegiance, and by 1514 Tarudant had accepted his authority. His sons Ahmad and Muhammad gained religious and military prominence in Fez before returning to the Sus, where they helped build the movement’s armed base.
The Sharifs combined religious prestige with economic and military policy. Muhammad al-Mahdi promoted sugar cane in the Sus, sought greater control of the Sudanese gold trade, and blockaded Agadir to weaken the Portuguese commercial monopoly. Ahmad al-A'raj entered Marrakesh in 1524 after being invited by its people and ruler, while the defeat of the Wattasid sultan in 1537 marked a decisive stage in the dynasty’s expansion.
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