sultanate · Egypt, North Africa and Sudan
Alaouite Sultanate
Origins
The Alaouites were a sharifian family settled in the Tafilalt oasis. Amid the collapse of the Saadi Sultanate, Moulay Ali al-Sharif was proclaimed leader there around 1631. His son Moulay al-Rashid took Fez in 1666, crushed the Dila'iyya in 1668 and took Marrakesh in 1669, reuniting Morocco.
Rule and society
Moulay Ismail, ruling from 1672 to 1727, made Meknes a vast imperial city and built the Abid al-Bukhari, an army of enslaved black soldiers. He recovered Tangier, La Mamora and Larache from Europeans. Sidi Mohammed ibn Abdallah founded Essaouira as a trading port and in 1777 was among the first rulers to recognise the United States. The sultan ruled through the makhzen, with tribes alternately obedient or dissident.
Decline and legacy
Defeats by France at Isly in 1844 and by Spain in 1860 opened Morocco to European pressure, and the Treaty of Fez of 1912 created the French protectorate in Morocco; a Franco-Spanish treaty later that year set up the Spanish protectorate in Morocco in the north. The dynasty survived, and after independence in 1956 Mohammed V took the title of king, forming the Kingdom of Morocco.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (5)
- Dila'iyya was conquered by Alaouite Sultanate1668 CE
- Republic of Salé was conquered by Alaouite Sultanate1668 CE
- Sharifate of Tazeroualt was conquered by Alaouite Sultanate1670 CE
- Alaouite Sultanate was a protectorate of French Empire1912 CE – 1956 CE
- Spanish protectorate in Morocco split from Alaouite Sultanate1912 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Alaouite Sultanate. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/alaouite-sultanate
- MLA
- “Alaouite Sultanate.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/alaouite-sultanate. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Alaouite Sultanate.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/alaouite-sultanate.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Alaouite Sultanate’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/alaouite-sultanate (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻