Sidi Muhammad bin Abdallah ( Arabic. محمد الثالث بن عبد الله الخطيب ; 1710 - 1790 ) - Sultan of Morocco from 1757-1790 from the Alawite dynasty.
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Biography
Sidi Muhammad was still alive during the life of his father, Moulay Abdallah , at the request of the inhabitants of Marrakesh , declared heir to the throne and governor of Marrakesh. At the beginning of his reign, he managed to stop the internal unrest that lasted from 1727 and strengthen the Sultan rule of the Alavite dynasty. Among the most important tasks of the state, he saw the improvement of the tax system, the reorganization of the army and the strengthening of his authority as the country's religious leader, who was disputed by various Muslim brotherhoods and marabuts . In order to increase revenues to the state treasury, the Sultan again introduced the previously canceled tax on the markets, for the collection of which he sometimes had to use armed force.
Muhammad bin Abdallah carried out a series of reforms in the army, placing under his direct leadership warriors recruited from the Banu-Hassan clan who had previously competed with the Alawites, as well as to create a combat-ready navy ready to repel attacks by European powers.
In 1765, the Sultan ordered the rebuilding of the city of Essaouira , located on the coast in Central Morocco, which he intended to turn into the largest port in the country. Muhammad bin Abdallah entrusted the management of this project to the French military engineer, Theodor Korn .
In his foreign policy, Muhammad bin Abdallah managed to conclude friendship and trade agreements with a number of European states: with Denmark (1751), England (1760), France (1767), Portugal and Sweden (in 1773). In 1767 he concludes a peace treaty with Spain. In 1777, Morocco recognized the independence of the United States, and in 1787 signed a peace and friendship treaty with that country.
After the death of Muhammad bin Abdallah, a civil war broke out in Morocco between his sons, the heir to the throne, Yazid (reigned in 1790-1792) and Hisham (reigned in 1792-1798).
Literature
- Stephan Ronart, Nandy Ronart. Lexikon der Arabischen Welt. Ein historisch-politisches Nachschlagewerk. - Artemis Verlag, Zürich ua 1972. - ISBN 3-7608-0138-2 .