Ismail of Morocco

Moulay Ismail ibn Sharif
Portrait of Ismail ibn Sharif
King of Morocco
Reign	1672–1727
Coronation	14 April 1672
Predecessor	Al-Rashid
Successor	Abu'l Abbas Ahmad
Born	1634 Rissani, Emirate of Tafilalt
Died	22 March 1727 Meknes, Morocco
Spouse	1) Khnata bent Bakkar 2) Lalla Aisha Mubarka 3) Lalla Umm al-Iz at-Taba [Umelez Ettaba] (d. after 1721) 4) Lalla Bilqis 6) Lalla Halima as-Sufianiya [Hazezas] 7) a lady from the al-Taligiyya clan 8) Lalla Alwa 9) Mrs. Shaw, an Irishwoman

Moulay Ismail ibn Sharif (1634– 22 March 1727), reigned 1672–1727. (Arabic: مولاي إسماعيل بن الشريف ابن النصر‎‎) was the second ruler of the Moroccan Alaouite dynasty. He is also known in his native country as the "Warrior King".

He ruled from 1672 to 1727, succeeding his half-brother Moulay Al-Rashid who died after a fall from his horse. At the age of twenty-six, Moulay Ismaïl inherited a country weakened by internal tribal wars and royal successions. After al-Rashid's death on April 9th 1672, the city of Marrakesh refused to swear allegiance to Ismail, who at the time served as vice-roy in Fez. Instead, the people of Marrakesh opted for his nephew Ahmad ibn Muhriz. This prompted Ismail to march south where he defeated Ahmad and entered Marrakesh in June 1672. But Ibn Muhriz escaped and fled to the Sous region in southern Morocco, whence he would return in 1674 and retake Marrakesh. Once in control he set about fortifying the city.

Ismail was forced to return and lay a two-year siege on the city. Marrakesh finally fell to assault in June 1677, and this time Ismail sacked the city. Ibn Muhriz, however, again escaped to the Sous. In the following years he would make several more attempts to retake Marrakesh, before he was finally tracked down and killed in 1687.

Moulay Ismaïl is also known as a fearsome ruler and used at least 25,000 slaves for the construction of his capital. His Christian slaves were often used as bargaining counters with the European powers, ransoming them back for inflated sums or for rich gifts. Most of his slaves were obtained by Barbary pirates in raids on Western Europe.

He has been given the epithet "The bloodthirsty" for his legendary cruelty. In order to intimidate rivals, Ismail once ordered that his city walls be adorned with 10,000 heads of slain enemies. Legends of the ease in which Ismail could behead or torture laborers or servants he thought to be lazy are numerous. During the half century of Ismail's rule, it is estimated to have killed 30,000.

During Moulay Ismaïl's reign, Morocco's capital city was moved from Fez to Meknes where he carried out an extensive building program that resulted in the construction of numerous gates, mosques, gardens and madrases. Some of the stones were taken from the ancient Roman ruins at Volubilis.