[Footnote A: The Moroccans being very poor seamen,
these corsair-vessels were usually commanded and manned
by Christian renegadoes and Turks.]
[Footnote B: Cochelet was wrecked on the coast
near Agadir early in the nineteenth century and was
taken with his fellow-travellers overland to El-Ksar
and Tangier, enduring terrible hardships by the way.]
With the advent of the Cherifian dynasties, which
coincided with this religious reform, and was in fact
brought about by it, Morocco became a closed country,
as fiercely guarded as Japan against European penetration.
Cut off from civilizing influences, the Moslems isolated
themselves in a lonely fanaticism, far more racial
than religious, and the history of the country from
the fall of the Merinids till the French annexation
is mainly a dull tale of tribal warfare.
The religious movement of the sixteenth century was
led and fed by zealots from the Sahara. One of
them took possession of Rabat and Azemmour, and preached
the Holy War; other “feudal fiefs” (as
M. Augustin Bernard has well called them) were founded
at Tameslout, Ilegh, Tamgrout: the tombs of the
marabouts who led these revolts are scattered
all along the west coast, and are still objects of
popular veneration. The unorthodox saint worship
which marks Moroccan Moslemism, and is commemorated
by the countless white koubbas throughout the
country, grew up chiefly at the time of the religious
revival under the Saadian dynasty, and almost all
the “Moulays” and “Sidis” venerated
between Tangier and the Atlas were warrior monks who
issued forth from their fortified Zaouias to
drive the Christians out of Africa.
The Saadians were probably rather embarrassed by these
fanatics, whom they found useful to oppose to the
Merinids, but troublesome where their own plans were
concerned. They were ambitious and luxury-loving
princes, who invaded the wealthy kingdom of the Soudan,
conquered the Sultan of Timbuctoo, and came back laden
with slaves and gold to embellish Marrakech and spend
their treasure in the usual demoralizing orgies.
Their exquisite tombs at Marrakech commemorate in courtly
language the superhuman virtues of a series of rulers
whose debaucheries and vices were usually cut short
by assassination. Finally another austere and
fanatical mountain tribe surged down on them, wiped
them out, and ruled in their stead.
THE HASSANIANS
The new rulers came from the Tafilelt, which has always
been a troublesome corner of Morocco. The first
two Hassanian Sultans were the usual tribal chiefs
bent on taking advantage of Saadian misrule to loot
and conquer. But the third was the great Moulay-Ismael,
the tale of whose long and triumphant rule (1672 to
1727) has already been told in the chapter on Meknez.
This savage and enlightened old man once more drew
order out of anarchy, and left, when he died, an organized
and administered empire, as well as a progeny of seven
hundred sons and unnumbered daughters.[A]
