Sultan Moulay Abdelmalik () (1675 – 2 March 1729) was

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it c ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

from March 1728 to March 1729 and member of the

Alaouite dynasty The Alawi dynasty ( ar, سلالة العلويين الفيلاليين, translit=sulālat al-ʿalawiyyīn al-fīlāliyyīn) – also rendered in English as Alaouite, Alawid, or Alawite – is the current Moroccan royal family and reigning ...

Reign

A son of Sultan Moulay Ismail, Moulay Abdalmalik was earmarked as his father's successor until he fell from favour and was replaced as heir by his two years younger half-brother Moulay Ahmad al-Dhahbi in 1727. Moulay Ahmad al-Dhahbi proved quite ineffective as a ruler, and when it became public that he was a drunkard, he was overthrown in a coup instigated by his own wives. Moulay Abdelmalik was proclaimed Sultan in March 1729, but failed to prevent his brother's escape and made the mistake of criticising the fiercely loyal ''bukhari'' (the imperial black bodyguards). The ''bukhari'' then threw their support behind the ousted Ahmad ed Dhahbi, thus throwing Morocco into yet another civil war. A compromise was reached between the brothers after bloody fighting, splitting Morocco into two kingdoms. Ahmed ed Dehebi was to have

Meknes Meknes ( ar, مكناس, maknās, ; ber, ⴰⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ, amknas; french: Meknès) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th c ...

for his capital while Abdelmalik was to rule from Fez. Not content with this however, Abdelmalik arranged a face-to-face meeting with his brother with the intention of assassinating him. The attempt failed and Abdelmalik was sent off under guard in

imprisoned in the house of bacha Msâhel, where he was later strangled during the night March 2, 1729, three days before Moulay Ahmad al-Dhahbi died.

References

1696 births 1729 deaths People from Meknes 18th-century Moroccan people 18th-century monarchs in Africa 'Alawi dynasty monarchs Assassinated Moroccan monarchs 18th-century murdered monarchs 18th-century Arabs 1729 murders in Africa {{Morocco-bio-stub