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 Order Number 9216800

Sharifs and Padishahs: Moroccan-Ottoman relations from the

16th through the 18th centuries. Contribution to the study of a
diplomatic culture

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El Moudden, Abderrahmane, Ph.D.
Princeton University, 1992
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Copyright ©1992 by El Moudden, Abderrahmane. All rights reserved.

UMI
300N.ZeebRA
Ann Arbor, MI 48106

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 SHARIFS AND PADISHAHS:

MOROCCAN-OTTOMAN RELATIONS
FROM THE 16TH THROUGH THE 18TH CENTURIES

Contribution to the Study of a Diplomatic Culture

Abderrahmane El Moudden

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BIHad AWUhamMln ts ru t

A dissertation presented to the

Faculty of Princeton University
in candidacy for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy

Recommended for acceptance by the

Near Eastern Studies Department

Princeton, January 1992

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© Copyright by Abderrahmane El Moudden 1992

All Rights Reserved
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 to Fatraa and Mama

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 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This dissertation compelled me to a long journey spacewise as well as timewise.

Over the last five years, I accumulated so many debts from Morocco to the United States
and Turkey that I am unable to do justice to all the people from whom I sought
assistance and advice at one point or another of this journey. May each of them find here
a warm though anonymous acknowledgment for their encouraging help.
Some professors and colleagues spared no effort to encourage the idea of this study
evolve into a completed work. A t the outset, Professor Avram Udovitch's stimulating
enthusiasm made any obstacle, linguistic or social, appear easier to overcome. His
support and advise never failed after. Professor L. Carl Brown accepted to supervise this
work and indeed, only his warm openness and encouraging patience equate his scientific
strictness. His help was invaluable. The perspective of this work gained much from the
sharpness of Professor Michael Cook's reading and comments. Indeed, the completion of

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this work sans douleur owes much to his scholarly high-mindedness. To Professor Cemal ,
Kafadar, I do not only owe the discovery of the richness of the Turkish language and
culture and the excitment of deciphering Ottoman data, I am also indebted to the finesse
of his approach to the past and the present. Professor Norman Itzkawitz's advice and
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moral support were essential at a critical stage of my work. I would like to express to all
of them my deep gratefulness.
Professor Halil Inalcik helped read some 16th-century Ottoman documents and
made helpful comments on Chapter I. Professor Lucette Valensi made insightful
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suggestions on Chapter I as well. Dr. Abdeslam Maghraoui read and made useful
comments on Chapters I and U I and Professors A ndri Raymond, Mercedes Garcia
Arenal and Brahim Boutaleb read and commented on Chapters I, I I and IV, respectively.
I owe thanks to all of them for their enriching input. It goes without saying that
remaining imperfections are my sole responsibility. Ahmed Kuyas's friendship as my
Turkish teacher was valuable. A ll my fellow students were helpful and understanding,
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especially those of Professor Udovitch's Seminar 558 over the two academic years
1989-1991. I am grateful to Heather Behn, jonhatan Katz, and Fred Anscombe for
readily helping me with the English of my early written chapters. A ll the staff of the
NES, particularly Mary-Alice, Mary and Judy deserve special mention for their help and
personal care. The staffs of Jones Hall and Firestone Libraries were always helpful as
well.
It is also my pleasure to express here my thanks to Professors Clifford Geertz and
Lawrence Rosen who, in one way or another, made my project go ahead. Former
Ambassador Ismail Soysal made my stay in Istanbul, in the Summer and Fall 1988, more
affordable, hence productive. Working at the Basbakanlik was enjoyable with both
Abdelhafid Tbaili and Abderrahim Ben Hadda. I extend my thanks to the staffs of the
Basbakanlik and the Topkapi Museum Archives. In Algeria, the Centre National des
Archives and the BiblioMque Nationale were very help during my stay in Algiers in
June 1989.
M y Moroccan depts can only be acknowledged on the spot. Some of them are to

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 be singded out, however. A ll my colleagues from the Dfrmrtement d'Histoire of the
Faculty des Lettres of Mohammed al-Khamis University of Rabat showed so generous a
patience with my leave of absence requests, renewed and granted three times, that I w ill
never thank them enough. Professors Brdhim Boutaleb, Ahmed Toufiq, Mohammed Hajji
and Mohammed El Mansour always supported my study program; Afa Aomar accepted
to take up my courses. To all of them, I express my deep thanks. Deans Hassan
Mekouar and Abdelouahad Bendaoud and Secretary General Mohammed Maniar always
made bearable the heavy bureaucratic process. Professors Abdellah Hammoudi,
Mohammed Dahbi and Abderrafie Benhallam were encouraging throughout the different
stages of this work, both when in Morocco and when in the US. I extend my special
thanks to M r. Edward Thomas who showed a lasting interest in my study program, and
to Judy Ziboukh whose understanding and assistance never failed. Special thanks also
are due to the staffs of the Khizana Hassania. the BibliotMque G£n6rale and the
BibliotMque de la Faculty des Lettres of Rabat.
This work could not have been carried out without the generous financial support
of the Department of NES and the Program in NES of Princeton University, and that
of the Moroccan-American Commission of Rabat through the agency ofAMIDEAST in

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Washington DC. To all these institutions I extend my deep thinks.
The small Moroccan community of Princeton gave me a warm moral support
throughout the course of this work. Thanks go to Abdeslam Maghraoui, comrade-in-arms
for several years, and to Ouliya and Taoufik Agoumy. This work could not have been
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completed without the love and support of those relatives in Morocco and France, who
never faded to bear the burden that a long leave of absence normally generates. I am
pleased to thank Mama and Tayeb El Haloui, Khadija and Abdelghaffar Felk, and Saida
and Habib El Gaouzi for their support. Finally, this work owes its completion to my
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family, Sanae and Ouassim, and my friend and wife, Mina whose faith and support were
for me an inexhaustible source of inspiration and perseverance. M y loving thanks to all
of them.
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 ABSTRACT

SHARIFS AND PADISHAHS: MOROCCAN OTTOMAN RELATIONS

FROM THE 16TH THROUGH THE 18TH CENTURIES
Contribution to the Study of a Diplomatic Culture

Abderrahmane El Moudden
NES Princeton University

Asa topic, Moroccan-Ottoman relations from the 16th through the 18th centuries

belong to both Moroccan and Ottoman historiographies. Yet, so far this topic has

received only superficial attention in both.

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The general assumption was that since

Morocco was not an Ottoman province, relations between Morocco and the Ottoman

Empire were either minimal or continuously conflictive and in either case unworthy of
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investigation. By focusing on this topic, this dissertation stands apart from this main
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stream. Investigating this theme in the Turkish archives proved very rewarding and

uncovered a wealth of accurate and numerous data that allowed a thorough treatment of

Moroccan-Ottoman relations over three centuries.

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General textbooks deemed it all done when they had dealt with the 16th-century

struggle between the Sharif and the Padishah. Thus, an answer was given to the question

"Ylhy did the Ottoman Empire never conquer Morocco?" and, by the same token, it was

inferred that from then on Morocco and the Ottoman Empire merely ignored each other.

Obviously, the historical process was more complex than that. The 16th-century Maghrib

witnessed the rise of two new powers in response to the Iberian expansion in North Africa

following the Reconquista. Upholding iihdd against the Spaniards in the central

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 Maghrib (Algeria) at first, then in the eastern Maghrib (Libya and Tunisia), the

Ottomans firm ly established their rule in these parts of North Africa. In Morocco,

resistance to the Portuguese and the Spaniards fell to the sharifs, the Sa'dis then the

'Alawis, who thus established their firm legitimacy in this part of the Maghrib.

Competition over the caliphate or supremacy in the North of Africa resulted in a

military conflict between the Sa'dis and the Ottomans in the 16th century. Yet, this did

not hamper rich cultural interchanges. By the end of the 16th century, both powers had

come to a mutual recognition. I f military clashes resumed between the Ottomans and

the 'Alawis, in the 17th century, the evolution toward a deeper mutual recognition proved

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steadfast in the 18th century. As the European [Russian then French] colonial pressure

increased in the 18th century, the mutual recognition evolved into a mutual assistance,
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which I labeled as "an early pan-Islam", since the frame of reference for this political

action was expressed in an Islamic discourse. Throughout these centuries, local politics
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in the Maghrib, that is, relations between Moroccan sultans and the pashas and deys of

Algiers, proved at the same time more complex and worldly than those with the Ottoman

sultans.
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The notion of "diplomatic culture" appeared to meflexible enough to accommodate

both the richness and the intricacies of Moroccan-Ottoman relations. If confirmed by

further studies, this notion may prove very useful in the field of diplomatic history.

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 Table of Contents

Acknowledgements.....................................................................................iv-v

Abstract....................................................................................................vi-vii

Note on Transliteration.................................................................................. xii

Abbreviations.............................................................................................. x iii

INTRODUCTION....................................................................................... 1-14

I - Basic Questions and Scope...................................................1

II - Approach and Tools............................................................4
HI - Three Centuries of M ultiple Relations..................................8

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CHAPTER I. MOROCCAN-OTTOMAN RELATIONS IN
PERSPECTIVE..................................................................... 15-34
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I - Perceptions and Historiographies....................................... 16
1- Arab-Ottoman Relations: a Once Heated,
Now Subsiding Debate.............................................. 17
2- The Ambivalence of Maghribi Historiography.............19
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3- In Moroccan Historiography: the Novelty of

the Moroccan-Ottoman Relations Theme.................... 22

II - The W ider Picture: from the Caliphate

to an Early Pan-Islam?.......................................................25
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1- Ottomans, Moroccans and the Caliphate..................... 26

2- An Early Pan-Islam?.................................................. 32

CHAPTER H. MILITARY AND DIPLOMATIC CONFRONTATION............ 36-81

I - North Africa and the Iberian Encirclement (15th-Early

16th Century)................................................................... .41

n - The Emergence of Two New Powers in the Maghrib.......... 47

1- In Morocco: the Sa'dis............................................... .48
2- In the central and eastern Maghrib: the Ottomans.......54

in - The Sa'di-Ottoman Confrontation.......................................58

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 CHAPTER ffl. FROM AN OTTOMAN MOROCCO (?) TO A REGIONAL
IMPERIAL COMPETITOR................................................ 82-155

I - Ottoman Morocco, an Interlude?....................................... 86

1- A Feverish A ctivity in Exile....................................... 87
2- The Expedition...........................................................92
3- 'Abd al-M&lik, hakim ve vaiL Sultan-Govemor........... 97

n - Recognition and Regional Imperial Competition .......... 105

1- A Series of Dangerous Crises: 1578-1583................. ...105
2- Coming to Terms, a Mutual WatchfulRecognition 123
3- Competition: Morocco, a Regional Imperial
Competitor to the Ottomans in the North West
of Africa.................................................................. 131

HI - Cultural Bridges and Interchanges................................... 139

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CHAPTER IV. POLEMICS, CONFRONTATION AND POLITICS............. 156-232

I - Discursive Confrontation: New Polemics

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about Legitimacy............................................................. 159
1- Letter from the Ottoman Governor of Algiers,
'Osman Pasha to Mawlay Mahammad b. al-Sharif,
muntasaf Rajab 1065/May 1655................................ 160
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2- Response of Mahammad b. al-Sharif

awSkhir Sha'bin 1065/July 1655............................... 163
3- Letter from Sultan Mustafa n to M aw lly IsmS'il,
awasit lum lda II 1108/January 1697.........................166

H - M ilitary Confrontation:
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the Tide of Interference (1655-1701)...................................176

1- Skirmishes and Early Agreements about Lim its.........178
2- The First Half of Mawlay Ism a'il's Reign and the
New Moroccan-Ottoman Clashes..............................185
A- A Tentative Chronology of Early
'A law i and Ottoman Confrontation................ 185
B- Old and New Factors for Interference.............187
C- A Sample of Conflicts.................................... 191
D- A Case of "Diplomatic Culture" at Play.......... 204

in - Toward a New Recognition: the Origins

of an Early Pan-Islam (1702-1757)..................................... 214
1- The Second H alf of Mawlay Ismd'fl's Reign: (1702-

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 1727) a Nascent Cooperation.................................... 214
2- The Moroccan Interregnum (1727-1757):
a Full Recognition.................................................... 223

CHAPTER V. MUTUAL ASSISTANCE: AN EARLY PAN-ISLAM?........... 233-331

I - Moroccan and Ottoman Ambassadors:

a Cultural Encounter.............................................. 235
1- An Unprecedented Frequency of Embassies,
both Moroccan and Ottoman.................................... 237
2- Same and Different, Encounters inside
a Common Culture: Moroccans in Istanbul............... 245
3- Cultural Encounters: Ottomans in Morocco............... 256
4- Diplomatic Incidents, a Sample................................. 262

II - Mutual Assistance on the Mediterranean Scene................ 273

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1- The International Setting: The Ottoman-Russian
Wars and the Moroccan-Iberian Confrontation in the
Second H alf of the 18th Century.............................. 274
2- Mutual Support in Hard Times................................. 281
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A- Ottoman Assistance to Morocco..................... 281
B- Moroccan Shift: from Requesting Assistance
to Providing Support...................................... 286
C- Moroccan Support to the Ottomans................ 290
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3- Humanitarian, Cultural and Religious

Cooperation......................................... 300
A- The Release of Captives................................. 300
B- Cultural and Religious Interchanges............... 304
4- Questions Related to Dubrovnik,
a Case of Ambiguous Relations................................ 309
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HI - Moroccan-Ottoman Tension in the Maghrib...................... 314

1- Moroccan Grievances against Algiers.........................315
A- Backgrounds..................................................316
B- Grievances..................................................... 318
2- The Algerian Assets in Istanbul................................. 322
3- The Ottoman Response..............................................325

CONCLUSION...................................................................................... 332-347

BIBLIOGRAPHY.................................................................................... 348-365

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 Illustrations and Maps

ILLUSTRATIONS on the internal title page were borrowed from the following
sources: (From Left to Right)

1- Signature of the Sa'di Ahmad al-Mansflr (1578-1603), from H. De Castries "Les

signes de validation des ch£rifs Saadiens", Hesp£ris. Paris, 1921, 3e trimestre, pi.
m.

2- Seal of the 'A law i Mawl&y Ism a'il (1672-1727), from SIHM. n, France, pi. II.

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3- Tugra of the Ottoman Abdiilham id I (1774-1789), from R. E. Ko?u, Istanbul
Ansiklopedisi. Istanbul, 19581: 90.
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MAPS

1- "Moroccans and Ottomans: the tide of interference in

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the north west of Africa in the 16th-17th centuries"....................................... xiv

2- "Morocco and the Ottoman Empire, ca 1700"................................................. xv

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 Note on Transliteration

Using material from Arabic and Turkish sources in Latin

script necessarily confronts the student with the uneasy task
of transliteration. As a general rule, I have tried to respect
the pronunciation of words in the original languages. For
Arabic, I follow a slightly modified El system. For Turkish,
I use the modern Turkish alphabet, with the exception of the
"t" at the end of proper names. The same name may have two

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different spellings, depending on whether it was used in an
Arabic or a Turkish context. Some recurrent examples are
IsmS'll vs Ismail, Ahmad vs Ahmed or AbO AyyQb al-Ans&rl vs
Eyyup. Using only a popular software, it was easier to solve
the problem of the different vowels than that of the different
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shades of the consonants. For instance, all the variants of
S., including the Turkish sh, are rendered by s..

Long vowels: &, i, G,

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Turkish : u, o,
Consonants: c
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xii

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 List of Abbreviations

A ................ : Asefi collection, Basbakanlik. Istanbul

(BI)

Annales. ESC.... : Annales, Economie Soci6t6 Civilisation

Paris

Bulletin of SOAS.: Bulletin of the School of Oriental and

African Studies, London

CA .... • Cevdet Tasnifi, Askerive (BI)

CH..... ...... : Cevdet Haricive. Haricive, (BI)

EI2.... ....... : Encvclooeadia of Islam, 2nd ed.

.
IJMES...

M D .....
Studies
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International Journal of Middle Eastern

• Muhimme Defterleri (BI)

M M ..... ....... : Muhimme Mektume (BI)

,

NHD.... ....... : Name-i Humavun Defterleri (BI)

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RHM.... ....... : Revue d'Histoire Maahr6bine, Tunis
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ROMM___ . Revue de 1'Occident Musulman et de la

Mediterran6e. Aix-en-Provence, France

SIHM___ Les Sources In6dites de 1'Histoire du

Maroc. Paris
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STAR • Studies on Turkish-Arab Relations. Istanbul

TSA.... ....... : Topkapi Saravi Arsivi, Istanbul

ZM..... ....... : Zevl-i Muhimme (BI)

xiii

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 Ottoman incursions
into Morocoo, 16th o.
Moroccan expansion SPAIN
against the Songhay
Sa'di Morocco, 1600
Algiers
‘Alairi incursions ^ Tangier
against A lg ie rs ,/ Ceuta
Turns
17th c
•Marrakesh
Agadir •Sijilmassa
TAFILALT OTTOMAN EMPIRE
Massa
•Tidal
MOROCCO
TOUAT

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Teghaza
Taodeni
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SONGHAY
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Timbuctu

B0 RNU
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Moroccans and Ottomans:

the tide of interference in the
north west of Africa in the 16th-17th centuries

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 £
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XV-

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 INTRODUCTION

This dissertation studies Moroccan-Ottoman relations and

their evolution in response to European colonial expansion

this topic raises a series

overlapping geographical, political,

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from the 16th through the 18th centuries.

of questions
From the outset,

relating to the

cultural and religious

realms that such a topic involves. Other questions relate to

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the methodological level and raise the issue of tools and
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approach most appropriate to tackle this topic.

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I. Basic Questions and Scope

There are at least four interpenetrating levels in this

topic, each one of them raising specific questions. On the

Moroccan plane, the first question that comes to mind is

whether there were any relations at all between Morocco and

the Ottoman Empire since, as it is commonly known, Morocco

never was one of the Ottoman provinces. Certainly, the

neighborhood of Ottoman Algeria must have resulted in some

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 kind of relations. Nevertheless, could these relations be

anything else but an endless and tedious confrontation? From

the mid-16th century onward, dynasties with real or supposed

sharifian origins and holding more or less clear a claim to

the caliphate prevailed in Morocco. At times, Moroccan

sultans had competitive regional expansionist ambitions

against the hegemonic Ottoman presence in the Maghrib. These

features accredited the notion of exclusively confrontational,

if not the total absence of, relations between Moroccans and

Ottomans.

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On the Maghribi level, this topic raises the problem of

the nature of the Ottoman rule in the Maghrib. How did the
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Ottomans take power in Algeria, Libya and Tunisia but fail to

adjoin Morocco to the rest of their Maghribi provinces? What

was the major characteristic of their power in the area? Did

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they bring these provinces into the frame of a decentralized

Islamic, or imperial multi-ethnic, lingual and religious state

or, on the contrary, under the yoke of a despotic minority of

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bureaucrats and Janissaries wholeheartedly oriented toward the

center at Istanbul and with little real local ties? In other

words, was the Ottoman presence in the Maghrib from the 16th

through the 19th centuries a mere colonial rule, somewhat

forerunning the French one to follow soon? Hence, is Moroccan

resistance to the Ottomans to be equated with an anticolonial

resistance?

These questions bring us to yet a wider level which is

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 the broad an heated issue of the Arab-Turkish relations and

the way to assess the Ottoman period in Arab history. Was it

a period of "backwardness" (inhitat1, as it was often

described, earlier this century, in the wake of exacerbated

Turkish and Arab nationalist tensions? Besides, did the

Ottoman presence display similar features all over the Ottoman

Arab provinces or was there any difference of local situations

between the Mashriq and the Maghrib?

Finally, on the broadest level of the Umma (Islamic

community), Moroccan-Ottoman relations raise the problem of

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Muslim-Muslim relations. In what degree were they similar to,

or different from, other "international relations"? Can one

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use traditional diplomatic history tools and approaches to

account for these relations or does one have to seek, to the

extent possible, new instruments, more appropriate to

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accommodate the flexibility and complexity of such relations?

What was the general frame, ideological, religious, political

and cultural, in which such relations operated in the 16th

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century? The caliphate What about the 18th century? An early

pan-Islam? Overall, how did these relations, intersect and/or

interact with third side relations, mainly with the growing

expansionist European powers?

Morocco, the Maghrib, Ottoman Arab provinces and the Umma

in its international environment were the different realms

intimately interwoven in Moroccan-Ottoman relations.

Investigating Moroccan-Ottoman relations may well shed light

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 on some aspects of Muslim-Muslim relations while adding the

specifics of a case study to the debate onthe history of

Arab-Turkish relations. It will certainly tackle to some

extent the issue of Ottoman presence in the Maghrib. My main

concern, however, is to present an "internal" understanding of

Moroccan-Ottoman relations and their evolution from the 16th

through the 18th century.

II. Approach and Tools

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Two reasons made it necessary to adopt a chronological

descriptive approach in most parts of this dissertation.

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First, the wide span of time of more than three centuries that

it covers (1510-1830) needed a clear and coherent

chronological treatment.Second, the novelty of the topic in

Moroccan historiography put basic quest'Ssons on the agenda. It

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is still sorely needed in this topic bo recognize the major

stages and establish the main developments on firmly

documented grounds. Reconstructing the broad picture,

however, did not prevent from introducing as much new data as

possible, basically from Ottoman origin.

These simple goals were not simplistic, however. If the

descriptive narrative often proved mandatory with respect to

the state of the field, the text stepped away from factual

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 history as soon as enough data gathered up about some

phenomenon or aspect.

Evidently, the topic of Moroccan-Ottoman relations

belongs in diplomatic history.1 Yet, what kind of diplomatic

history can accommodate these relations? Is it history of

international relations like, say, relations between France

and England in the same period or even between France and

Morocco? Is it something else?

One easy way to answer these questions is to assert that

Moroccan-Ottoman relations are Muslim-Muslim relations and

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that the kind of diplomacy involved must be Muslim diplomacy.

According to such a view, international relations are governed

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by the ethic of Islam and this "moral diplomacy" is founded on

truth, modesty, moderation and loyalty and it aims basically

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at introducing gentleness in human relations. The simplistic

character of such views need no further discussion, although

concepts like Muslim diplomacy or moral diplomacy should not

be ruled out without further examination.2

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Another no less reductionist way to tackle the nature of

relations between Muslim countries is to deny it any

specificity. Muslim-Muslim relations are, according to this

view, mere territorial relations like between any other

1 J. Chay "Diplomatic History and International relations" in Culture

and International relations, ed. by J. Chay, New York, 1990: 34-46.

2 A. Iqbal, Diplomacy in Islam. An Essay on the Art of Negotiations

as conceived and developed bv the Prophet of Islam. Lahore, 1962; 0. K.
Tewfik, al-Diblumasivva al-Isiamivva wa'l-'alAoat al-isiamivva ma 'a al-
Sallbivlln. (491-690H/1097-1291), Alexandria, 1986.

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