Principality_of_Debdou
The Principality of Debdou was an autonomous hereditary viceroyalty that existed in eastern Morocco from 1430 to 1563, with its capital at Debdou. It was governed by the Ouartajin, a dynasty of Berber descent, related to the Marinids and Wattasids.[1][2]
Principality of Debdou | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1430–1563 | |||||||||
Map of Morocco in 1515. The Principality of Debdou is in the east. | |||||||||
| Capital | Debdou | ||||||||
| Religion | Islam, Judaism | ||||||||
| Government | Hereditary monarchy | ||||||||
| Emir | |||||||||
• 1430–1460 (first) | Musa ibn Hammu | ||||||||
• 1460–1485 | Ahmad ibn Musa | ||||||||
• 1485–1515 | Muhammad ibn Ahmad | ||||||||
• 1515–1550 | Muhammad II | ||||||||
• 1550–1563 (last) | Ammar | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | 1430 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 1563 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Morocco | ||||||||
The Principality of Debdou was first established in 1430 as a governorate of Morocco, then ruled by the Marinids. Debdou served as a march of the Marinid Sultanate against the Abd al-Wadid Kingdom of Tlemcen.[3]
By the second half of the 15th century, the Ouartajin gained more autonomy towards Fez, as the Marinids lost their prestige and most of their power to the Wattasid Viziers.[1] The Principality became fully autonomous when Muhammad ibn Ahmed was appointed Viceroy of Debdou by the Wattasid Sultan Muhammad ibn Yahya (r. 1472–1504).[1]
During the last years of the reign of Muhammad II, the Principality of Debdou became a tributary state of the Saadians.[1] Moulay Ammar assisted the Ottomans in the Capture of Fez in 1554[4][5] and later defected to the Saadians in the Battle of Wadi al-Laban in 1558 against the Turks of Hasan Pasha.[6][7] In 1563, the Saadi Sultan Abdallah al-Ghalib overthrew the Ouartajin and made Debdou a fully dependent Pashalik of Morocco, serving to defend against the Ottoman Empire.[1]
| Reign | Emir | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1430–1460 | Musa ibn Hammu | Appointed governor of Debdou. |
| 1460–1485 | Ahmad ibn Musa | |
| 1485–1515 | Muhammad ibn Ahmad | Appointed Viceroy of Debdou after being besieged by Muhammad ibn Yahya. |
| 1515–1550 | Muhammad II | Became tributary of the Saadi Sultanate. |
| 1550–1563 | Ammar | Annexation of the Principality following his death by Abdallah al-Ghalib. |
- Louis Massignon, Le Maroc dans les premières années du XVIe siècle : Tableau géographique d'après Léon L'Africain, in: Mémoires de la Société Historique Algérienne I, Éd. Adolphe Jourdan, 1906, p.266
- Cour, Auguste (1920). La dynastie marocaine des Beni Wattâs (1420-1544) (in French). P. Geuthner. p. 218. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
- Chavrebière, Coissac de (1931). Histoire du Maroc (in French). Payot. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
- Boyer, Pierre (1966). "Contribution à l'étude de la politique religieuse des Turcs dans la Régence d'Alger (XVIe-XIXe siècles)". Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée. 1 (1): 11–49. doi:10.3406/remmm.1966.910.
- Margoliouth, D. S. (1936). "Les Sources inédites de l'Histoire du Maroc. Publiées par Pierre de Cenival et Philippe de Cossé Brissac. Première Série—Dynastie Sa'dienne; Archives et Bibliothèques d'Angleterre: Tome III: Mars 1626–1660. Publication de la Section Historique du Maroc. Paris: Paul Geuthner, 1936. Frs. 150". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland. 70 (2): 328. doi:10.1017/s0035869x00088328. ISSN 0035-869X.