The Sultan SIDI MOHAMMED coming out from
his palace.
The sultan Sidi Mohammed
Ben Abdellah al-Qatib
(Mohammed III , c. 1710-1790) was the founder of
the new town Essaouira.
The Sultan employed the French architect Théodore Cornut to build the model city of Essaouira.
The local Berber (Haha) and Arab (Chiadma) tribes provided labor for construction
of the city but Then military contingents, including 'abîd
al-Bukhârî (the Sultan's Black
slave soldiers), and soldiers from Agadir, were permanently
stationed there.These contingents account for the origin of
three of the city's residential neighborhoods: Ahl Agadir, Bani Antar and Bouakhir.
Mohammed III was a sultan Alaouite.
Sultan, is an islamic title
used by certain muslim rulers. Lands ruled by a sultan are
called a sultanate. Mohammed V changed the style
to Malik (king) on 14 August 1957, maintaining
the subsidiary style Amir al-Mu´minin (Commander of the Faithful)
Mohammed III
revived the city of Essaouira and invited Jews
and English to trade there. Merchants from Europe
arrived and the city began to enjoy its golden age.
The sultan decided to make it the most
important port of the kingdom. He permitted different tribes
to inhabit the city and consulates to be established: Denmark
first, then France, Brasil and Portugal.
This intelligent and tolerant sultan even welcomed an important
Jewish community, which contributed greatly
to the development of the city
.
In 1787 the United
States and Morocco signed a Peace and Friendship Treaty, the
oldest in U.S. history
Mogador became the first Moroccan port to trade with the non-islamic
world. In 1767, he signed a peace treaty
with Spain and a trade agreement with France. Under Mohammed
III, Morocco became the first country to recognize
the United States as an independent nation, in 1777. President
George Washington wrote letters to the sultan in
1789 asking him for aid in allowing American ships to navigate
nearby waters and thanking him for help with realease American
sailors captured in Tripoli.
It also became the destination for caravans bringing African
riches from Timbuctu.
Museum
Sidi Mohammad Ben Abdellah
The museum is situated in the street
Laâlouj in the Kasbah of the Medina.
" The old Sultan Sidi Muhamed Ben-Abdalla was met at his old age from many accidents. He had lost two sons, Mu-lei Ali and Mulei Memum, who died in Fez, the former in 1783 and the later in 1786, as a result of lascivious liver. Year 1786 had a son, Mulei Hussein murdered in Tafdet during an uprising.
In the same year, the Sultan lost three of his frigates, one of which was about 20 guns and one in 14 beached on the Portuguese coast, and the third dref ashore at Gibraltar. He now wished to live in peace
with the whole world,....."
http://runeberg.org/barbaresk/0122.html
The Sultan Mohammed
III
The typical 18th century
tower (minaret) of the Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdallah
Mosque, also known by the name The KasbahMosque.
The sultan visiting Essaouira
Painting by Roman Lazarev
The Sultan Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdallah going to the mosque
Mohammed ben Abdallah 1710 - 1790
was the Sultan of Morocco from 1757 to 1790 as a member of the 'Alawi (Alaouite )dynasty
The anti-Semitic era in the history of Morocco
Moulay El Yazid
Moulay El Yazid was proclaimed sultan after the death of his father Mohammed ben Abdallah.
Moulay Yazid had an intense hatred for the Jews and incited pogroms throughout the country between 1790 and 1792. He encouraged attacks on the mellahs of Tetouan and other cities. The worst treatment was reserved for Meknes and Fez. The Jews of Fez were forced to leave the mellah for two years.
The potential of the basin
Oued Abiraqraq water is estimated at 680
Mm ³ and has the largest dam "Sidi
Mohamed Ben Abdellah" put into operation
in 1974.The raising of the dam Sidi Mohamed Ben
Abdellah was the best solution for meeting the
constant increase of water needs. With this raising it was
possible to increase the dam height from 97.5 to 105 m and
the storage capacity of 480-1025 Million m3. This operation
required the establishment of 650 000 m3 of fill and 50,000
m3 of concrete. Souce: http://www.water.gov.ma/index.cfm?gen=true&ID=80&ID_PAGE=224
