Zidan Abu Maali

Zidan Abu Maali (Arabic: زيدان أبو معالي‎) (? – September 1627) was the embattled Saadi Sultan of Morocco from 1603 to 1627, ruling only over the southern half of the country after his brother Mohammed esh Sheikh el Mamun took the northern half and a Sanhaji rebel from Tafilalt (Ahmed ibn Abi Mahalli) marched on Marrakesh claiming to be the Mahdi. All of which exacerbated by a context of chaos that ensued a plague pandemic which left a third of the country dead, the end of the Anglo-Spanish war (Treaty of London (1604)) —which broke the Anglo-Dutch axis that Morocco was relying upon as a means of protection from Spain, and so caused the Spanish navy to resume devastating raids on the Moroccan coast— and the rebellion of one of his provincial governors who established his own independent republic between Azemmour and Salé. He was the son and appointed heir of Ahmad al-Mansur, and resided mostly in Safi where he became encircled after being driven out of Marrakesh and failed military campaigns against the rebellious brother in the north.

Zidan Abu Maali
أمير المؤمنين
Reign1603 – 1627
BornUnknown
DiedSeptember 1627
IssueAbu Marwan Abd al-Malik II
DynastySaadi
FatherAhmad al-Mansur

Civil war

During the reign of Zidan, after the death of Sultan Ahmed al-Mansur in 1603, Morocco fell into a state of anarchy, with the Sultan losing much of his authority and leaving [1] Salé a sort of independent Republic.[1] Morocco was in a state of civil war with warlords such as Ahmed ibn Abi Mahalli in the South and Sidi al-Ayachi in the North taking territory from Zidan.[2] The Spanish also seized the opportunity to capture the cities of Larache in 1610 and then al-Ma'mura.[2]

Foreign relations

Dutch Republic

Muley Zidan established friendly relations with the Dutch Republic, with the help of envoys such as Samuel Pallache. From 1609, he established a Treaty of Friendship and Free Commerce which gave "free access and friendly reception for their respective subjects with any need for safeguard or safe-conduct, no matter how they come to the others' territory."[3][4] He sent several more envoys to the Low Countries, such as Muhammad Alguazir, Al-Hajari and Yusuf Biscaino.[5]

Songhai Empire

Zidan and his forces invaded the Songhai Empire in 1593. He abandoned the empire in 1618, but it damaged the organization the state.[6]

England

James I of England sent John Harrison to Muley Zidan in Morocco in 1610 and again in 1613 and 1615 in order to obtain the release of English captives.[7]

Zidani Library

By coincidence, the complete library of this sultan, known as the Zidani Library, has been transmitted to us to the present day. During the revolt of Ahmed ibn Abi Mahalli in 1612, Muley Zidan commissioned a French privateer, Jehan Philippe de Castelane, to shift his household goods from Safi to Santa Cruz do Cabo, Agadir, for a sum of 3000 escudos after suffering a defeat at Marrakesh. After waiting 6 days, without being paid, Castelane sailed north for Marseille, with the cargo still aboard, hoping to sell the goods to recoup his losses. [8]Some 4 ships from the fleet of Spanish Admiral Luis Fajardo intercepted the vessel near Mehdya and took it to Lisbon (then part of Spain) and convicted the crew of piracy. From Lisbon, Zidan’s library was then taken to Cadiz and inventoried. After Cadiz, the collection would continue on its journey, by order of Phillip III and taken to the home of council member Juan de Idiáquez in Madrid. Two years later in 1614 the collection was transmitted to El Escorial for permanent storage.[9][10]This collection contained around four thousand books and manuscripts. The collection remains in the Escorial to this day, and is one of the most significant collections of Arabic manuscripts in Europe.[11]

Interestingly, at the time of this seizure of Zidan’s manuscripts, written Arabic was largely prohibited in Spain, with the Spanish Inquisition behind the destruction of many Arabic works.[12] During this period, officials would search the homes of Spanish Muslims to confiscate and destroy Arabic-language manuscripts.[13] However, the wealthy and influential were somewhat exempt from these prohibitions, and were able to save some Arabic manuscripts by sending them to the Escorial for study. Such was the case for Zidan’s collection. Idiaquez’s nephew, Francisco Gurmendi along with Juan de Peralta requested that the collection be brought to the Escorial for this purpose. Peralta was also interested in the Escorial’s acquisition of the collection since the addition would bolster the library’s prominence. Others, such as Thomas Erpinius, also advocated for the study of the Arabic language to use as a tool in forcing Muslims to convert to Christianity.[14] Even so, the saved manuscripts, including Zidan’s library, were not made available to the public, and kept separate from the rest of the Escorial’s collection.[15]

See also

El Escorial

References
  1. Andrews, Kenneth R. (26 April 1991). Ships, money, and politics by Kenneth R. Andrews p.167. ISBN 9780521401166. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  2. Holt, Peter Malcolm; Lambton, Ann K. S.; Lewis, Bernard (1977). The Cambridge history of Islam by P. M. Holt, Ann K. S. Lambton, Bernard Lewis p.247. ISBN 9780521291378. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  3. Poetry, politics and polemics by Ed de Moor, Otto Zwartjes, G. J. H. van Gelder p.127
  4. Romania Arabica by Gerard Wiegers p.405ff
  5. Kontzi, Reinhold (1996). Romania Arabica by Gerard Wiegers p.410. ISBN 9783823351733. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  6. Davidson, Basil (1959). The Lost Cities of Africa. Little, Brown and Company. p. 119.
  7. Khalid Ben Srhir (2005). Britain and Morocco during the embassy of John Drummond Hay, 1845-1886. p. 14. ISBN 9780714654324. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  8. Hershenzon, Daniel (November 2014). "Traveling Libraries: The Arabic Manuscripts of Muley Zidan and the Escorial Library". Journal of Early Modern History. 18 (6): 541. doi:10.1163/15700658-12342419. Retrieved 2020-10-23.Garcés, María (2002). Cervantes in Algiers: A Captive's Tale. Vanderbilt University Press. p. 96-97. ISBN 9780826514066.
    • 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.
  10. Journal of Early Modern History 18 (2014) 535-544 Traveling Libraries: The Arabic Manuscripts of Muley Zidan and the Escorial Library" by Daniel Hershenzon of University of Connecticut
  11. Garcés, María (2002). Cervantes in Algiers: A Captive's Tale. Vanderbilt University Press. p. 97. ISBN 9780826514066.
  12. Skemer, Don (2002). "An Arabic Book before the Spanish Inquisition". The Princeton University Library Chronicle. 64 (1): 118. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
  13. Surtz, Ronald (July 2001). "Morisco Women, Written Texts, and the Valencia Inquisition". The Sixteenth Century Journal. 32 (2). doi:10.2307/2671740.
  14. Hershenzon, Daniel (November 2014). "Traveling Libraries: The Arabic Manuscripts of Muley Zidan and the Escorial Library". Journal of Early Modern History. 18 (6): 544–548. doi:10.1163/15700658-12342419. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
  15. Hershenzon, Daniel (November 2014). "Traveling Libraries: The Arabic Manuscripts of Muley Zidan and the Escorial Library". Journal of Early Modern History. 18 (6): 549–550. doi:10.1163/15700658-12342419. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
Preceded by
Ahmad al-Mansur		 Sultan of Morocco
1603–1627		 Succeeded by
Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik II
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