Person

Ma al-Aynayn

c. 1831–1910 · 19th century

Ma al-Aynayn was a Sufi scholar and political leader of the western Sahara, born in southern Mauritania. From Smara, the town he founded in 1898 with Moroccan support, he called for resistance to French expansion in Mauritania and the Sahara, and his followers opposed the French advance into the Adrar in 1909. He died at Tiznit in 1910 after a failed march on Fez.

Ma al-Aynayn — Image: Bertramz · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Emirate of Adrar

See also

Cite this entry

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Ma al-Aynayn. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ma-al-aynayn
MLA: “Ma al-Aynayn.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ma-al-aynayn. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Ma al-Aynayn.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ma-al-aynayn.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Ma al-Aynayn’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ma-al-aynayn (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻