It is said that (Season 2, IV): How did Morocco escape Ottoman rule? It is said that (Season 2, IV): How did Morocco escape Ottoman rule?

>From division to unity

Morocco was, at the beginning of the 16th century, a country divided and prey to Iberian appetites. It was in this context of crisis that the Ottoman Empire emerged as a new regional power.

After getting his hands on the north of present-day Algeria, Khayr al-Din pasha naturally turned to Morocco for religious, political and economic reasons. The penetration strategy is mainly based on establishing strong links with several local leaders.

Everything suggests that Morocco was going to fall partially or completely under the Ottoman yoke in the medium term. An unexpected event, however, will reverse the situation: the unification of the country by Sultan Mohammed al-Shaykh in 1549.

>First Round

Like the Almoravids, Almohads and Merinids, this monarch sought to create a great empire. It is for this reason in particular that his armies invade the west of present-day Algeria before the end of the year 1549.

The Ottoman reaction is not long in coming. The soldiers of Sublime la Porte take back all the territories lost in less than two years. But things don't end there. The masters of Algiers decide to intervene in the affairs of Morocco. They prepare a campaign which manages to expel the Zaydanids from the north of the country and the return to the throne of a Wattasid prince in 1553. Once there, the invaders try to get rid of the latter and annex his territories. A popular revolt in Fez, however, pushes them to withdraw.

>The fight continues…

Abou Hassoun al-Wattassi did not have time to take advantage of power. He was overthrown and put to death by Mohammed al-Shaykh in 1554.

When Suleiman the Magnificent caught wind of these developments, he decided to adopt a more diplomatic tone towards Morocco's new strongman. The Ottoman sultan proposes to his Cherifian counterpart, through an embassy, ​​to normalize relations between the two entities against the recognition of his nominal suzerainty.

The objective of the Ottomans is clear: to cause the collapse of Moroccan power to appear as the last refuge against this crusade.

But the battle of the Three Kings is far from favorable to the plans hatched in Topkapi. Against all odds, the Moroccan army won a resounding victory. And it is on the battlefield that a sovereign is proclaimed. Its motto is simple: Independence and Greatness!

>Independence, and nothing but independence!

Between 1578 and 1582, Murad III tried to subjugate Ahmad al-Mansour in various ways.

The Moroccan monarch remains very vigilant. It consolidates its internal situation by deploying a number of tools now called the Makhzen. He then inaugurated an active diplomacy to circumvent the European powers within the framework of what we have called the policy of the three circles.

In addition, the sultan manages to make a real breakthrough by convincing Ottoman dignitaries to become tireless defenders of the Sharifian cause in Topkapi. The combination of all these measures allows al-Mansour to neutralize Istanbul, already mired in numerous internal and external conflicts.

Despite some border tensions, particularly around the oasis of Figuig, the Ottoman Empire was no longer able to intervene in Moroccan affairs from 1583.

Al-Mansour is not satisfied with this. To definitively consolidate its independence, it adopts a proactive strategy based on two pillars. On the one hand, intense propaganda among the Ottoman elites in order to establish his image as Caliph of the Muslim West. On the other hand, the implementation of an expansionist policy which allows him to carve out a colossal African empire in less than a decade.

This is how the Atlantic ambitions of the Ottomans were shattered against the Moroccan rock. Several factors, such as the unstable international context or the difficulty linked to the country's rugged geography, have contributed to this. But the most decisive of them undoubtedly remains the existence of a multidimensional political project, carried by an experienced and effective elite...