Ahmad Abu al-Abbas al-Mansur | |
---|---|
Amir al-Muminin | |
Reign | 1578–1603 |
Coronation | 1578 |
Predecessor | Abd al-Malik |
Successor |
Zidan Abu Maali (in Marrakesh) Abou Fares Abdallah (in Fes) |
Born | 1549 Fes, Morocco |
Died | 25 August 1603 Outskirts of Fes, Morocco |
Issue |
Zidan Abu Maali Abou Fares Abdallah |
Religion | Islam |
Ahmad al-Mansur (Arabic: أبو العباس أحمد المنصور, Ahmad Abu al-Abbas al-Mansur, also El-Mansour Eddahbi [the Golden], Arabic: أحمد المنصور الذهبي; and Ahmed el-Mansour; 1549 in Fes – 25 August 1603, outskirts of Fes) was Sultan of the Saadi dynasty from 1578 to his death in 1603, the sixth and most famous of all rulers of the Saadis. Ahmad al-Mansur was an important figure in both Europe and Africa in the sixteenth century, his powerful army and strategic location made him an important power player in the late Renaissance period.
He was the fifth son of Mohammed ash-Sheikh who was the first Saadi sultan of Morocco. His mother was the well-known Lalla Masuda. After the murder of their father Mohammed ash-Sheikh in 1557 and the following struggle for power, the two brothers Ahmad al-Mansur and Abd al-Malik had to flee their elder brother Abdallah al-Ghalib (1557–1574), leave Morocco and stay abroad until 1576. The two brothers spent 17 years among the Ottomans between the Regency of Algiers and Constantinople, and benefited from Ottoman training and contacts with Ottoman culture.
In 1578, Ahmad's brother, Sultan Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik I Saadi, died in battle against the Portuguese army at Ksar-el-Kebir. Ahmad was named his brother's successor and began his reign amid newly won prestige and wealth from the ransom of Portuguese captives.