Daria V. Solovieva

The present article is focused on the historical role of the Idrisi Sharifs — the most ancient and numerous clan of the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, who founded the first Moroccan state in the VIIIth century. After the collapse of the Idrisids the descendants of the Idrisi rulers had to live in the backstage for centuries and didn’t play any significant role in socio-political life of the Islamic Far West. However the rule of the Marini dynasty (1269–1465) became a turning-point for the Idrisi Sharifs: the Marini Sharifian policy based at the promotion of Sharifism led to the resurgence of the Sharifian cult. Since that moment the Idrisi Sharifs gained a privileged position in society and became an essential part of urban and rural elites in Morocco. Since the XVIth century Morocco saw the raise of the Sharifian dynasties — the Saadians (1511–1659) and later the Alawis (1631–present time). These dynasties took legitimacy from their noble descent from the Prophet (sharaf). The most ancient and powerful Sharifian lineages obviously had to adapt themselves in this new situation. The aim of this paper is to explore the character of the relations between the Idrisi Sharifs and the first Alawi monarchs. Basing on the Moroccan chronicles and hagiographic works the author analyses the dynamics of interaction between the Idrisi families and the Alawi sultans at the moment when they came to power and during the first century of their rule. The analysis shows that the Alawi monarchs realised the supreme position of the Idrisi Sharifs and didn’t seek to undermine their influence. Instead of this, the rulers developed a well-balanced policy towards the Idrisis which allowed them to turn the most powerful and popular Sharifian groups into the allies of the throne.

The present article is focused on the Interregnum of 1727–1757 in Morocco — a controversial and turbulent period that followed the death of Moulay Ismail (1672–1727). This ruler who was the third sultan of the Alawi dynasty (1631–present time), consolidated the power and laid the foundations of the precolonial Moroccan state. He adopted a policy of strict centralisation towards the Berber-speaking tribes of the Atlas Mountains who always tried to maintain their independence from the state. The incursion of these tribes into the Atlantic plains had traditionally played a disruptive role for social, economic and political life in Morocco, and Ismail was able to stop this process. However, after his death a struggle for power began between his numerous descendants, and the political and economic crisis was followed by a new wave of tribal resistance. The author concludes that the crisis of the Interregnum could be seen as an inversion of the strict tribal policy pursued by Moulay Ismail. Based on the Moroccan annals and city chronicles, the paper analyses different approaches of Alawi sultans to the resolution of the crisis during this period. Special attention is paid to the role of Moulay Abdallah, who was able to find the way out of the crisis. The comparative analysis of the Moroccan chronicles shows that the solution laid not in the fight against Berber tribes, but in the search for compromises between them and the throne. Moulay Abdallah’s strategy in dealing with the tribes established a new policy of Moroccan rulers in the XVIIIth and XIXth centuries, which meant a greater use of arbitration and reliance on different tribal forces.