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{{Short description|19th century moroccan statesmen}}
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{{Cleanup|date=December 2023|reason=minor style issues, citation formatting, and French quotes that should be translated or preferably summarized in English.}}
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[[File:Lyautey decorates El Glaoui brothers at Marrakesh (1912, Le Petit Journal).jpg|thumb|Illustration in a French newspaper in 1912, depicting Madani El Glaoui (centre) and his brother [[Thami El Glaoui|Thami]] (right) receiving honors from the French general [[Hubert Lyautey]] (left)]]
'''[[Sidi|Si]] El Madani El Glaoui''' (1860–July 1918),<ref name=":3" /> born Madani El Mezouari El Glaoui (Arabic: المدني المزواري الڭلاوي), nicknamed the [[Faqīh|faqih]] (the literate) was a prominent [[Statesman (politician)|statesman]] in [[Morocco]] during the late 19th century and early 20th century. He was largely responsible for establishing the Glaoui family's power in the country.


Descendant of a family in the service of the Moroccan [[Makhzen]] since the reign of [[Ismail Ibn Sharif|Moulay Ismail]], and invested by [[Hassan I of Morocco|Moulay Hassan]], Si El Madani served 4 successive [[sultan]]s with several functions, culminating in his appointment in 1908 as [[Grand vizier|Grand Vizier]] (صدر أعظم in Arabic) under [[Abd al-Hafid of Morocco|Moulay Abdelhafid]] before being dismissed in 1911 at the urging of France, whose increasing influence in Moroccan affairs he had opposed.
'''Madani El Glaoui''' (1860–July 1918) was a prominent political figure in [[Morocco]] during the late 19th century and early 20th century. He was the older brother of [[Thami El Glaoui]].


== Life and career ==
== Life and career ==
The Glaoui family (also transliterated as Glawi)<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last1=Park |first1=Thomas K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8KiCl5-MxMMC&dq=madani+glawi&pg=PA138 |title=Historical Dictionary of Morocco |last2=Boum |first2=Aomar |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-8108-6511-2 |pages=136–138 |language=en}}</ref> was one of the most powerful political clans in Morocco in the later 19th century and in the first half of the 20th century, having risen to prominent positions of power under [[Muhammad IV of Morocco|Muhammad IV]] and subsequent sultans. The same family had also constructed a lavish kasbah and fortified residence in [[Telouet Kasbah|Telouet]], in the High Atlas, starting in 1860.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Cavender |first=Amel |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1958939814 |title=Migrants and Fassi Merchants: Urban Changes in Morocco, 1830-1912 |publisher=Purdue University, Department of History (PhD thesis) |year=2017 |pages=99–100 |id={{ProQuest|1958939814}}}}</ref> The family was originally from a place called Tigemmi n'Imezouaren in the territory of the Fatwaka tribe, near the [[:fr:Tassaout|Tassaout river]].{{Sfn|Lahnite|2011|p=79}} His father was the ''qaid'' of Telouet, Mohammed ben Hammou, known as ''Tibibit'',{{Sfn|Lahnite|2011|p=81-82}} and his mother was Zouhra Oum El Khaïr, a black slave.{{Sfn|Lahnite|2011|p=82}} When Si Mohammed died on 4 August 1886, his eldest son Si Mhamed took over his father's position and then died the same year.{{Sfn|Lahnite|2011|p=81}} After the death of Si M'hammed, his brother Si Madani took power.{{Sfn|Lahnite|2011|p=82}}
The Glaoui family (also transliterated as Glawi)<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last1=Park |first1=Thomas K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8KiCl5-MxMMC&dq=madani+glawi&pg=PA138 |title=Historical Dictionary of Morocco |last2=Boum |first2=Aomar |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-8108-6511-2 |pages=136–138 |language=en}}</ref> was one of the most powerful political clans in Morocco in the later 19th century and in the first half of the 20th century, having risen to prominent positions of power under [[Muhammad IV of Morocco|Muhammad IV]] and subsequent sultans.


At the end of the 17th century, one of Madani's ancestors, Ahmed Er-Radi Amezouar, was appointed caïd of the Glaoua during the reign of Moulay Ismail. He was succeeded in 1700 by the caïd Abdessadeq El Glaoui, who received a visit from Moulay Ismaïl in Telouet.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Georges Spillman (Georges Drague)|date=1955|language=fr|location=Rabat|page=98, note 17|publisher=Publications de la Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines de Rabat|title=Esquisse d'histoire religieuse au Maroc. Confréries et Zaouias.}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> This royal visit is mentioned by [[Thomas Pellow]], an English captive who lived in Morocco between 1715 and 1738 and who was in the service of Moulay Ismaïl:<blockquote>« We were most courteously entertained by Alcayde Abdetsadick Elgolowey, a very good man of the sort, and then a Governor of that part of the country, he being in very high esteem with the Emperor, on account of his keeping his people under very strict order and good decorum.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Thomas Pellow|date=1890|language=en|location=Londres|page=111|publisher=T. Fisher Unwyin|title=The Adventures of Thomas Pellow, of Penryn, Mariner. Three and Twenty Years of Captivity Among the Moors}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> »</blockquote>
⚫
During the [[Hafidiya]] civil war (1907–1908), Madani Glaoui turned against [[Abdelaziz of Morocco|Sultan Abdelaziz]] by supporting his brother [[Abd al-Hafid of Morocco|Abd al-Hafid]]. After winning the throne, Abd al-Hafid rewarded Madani with high offices including [[vizier]]. Madani's younger brother, [[Thami El Glaoui|Thami]], was appointed [[Pasha]] of [[Marrakesh]], a title he ultimately kept under [[French Protectorate in Morocco|French Protectorate]] rule until 1956, during which time he acted as the strongman of southern Morocco.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Maxwell |first=Gavin |title=Lords of the Atlas : Morocco and the Rise & Fall of the House of Glaoua 1893–1956 |publisher=Cassell |year=2004 |isbn=0304354198 |location=London |orig-date=1966}}</ref> Madani died in 1918.<ref name=":3" />
[[File:„Nowa” kasba rodziny Glaouich w latach 20-tych XX w. - Telouet - 004427n.jpg|thumb|The Kasbah of Telouet]]
The same family had also constructed a lavish kasbah and fortified residence in [[Telouet Kasbah|Telouet]], in the High Atlas, starting in 1860.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Cavender |first=Amel |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1958939814 |title=Migrants and Fassi Merchants: Urban Changes in Morocco, 1830-1912 |publisher=Purdue University, Department of History (PhD thesis) |year=2017 |pages=99–100 |id={{ProQuest|1958939814}}}}</ref> The family was originally from a place called Tigemmi n'Imezouaren in the territory of the Fatwaka tribe, near the [[:fr:Tassaout|Tassaout river]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Lahnite |first=Abraham |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OVO0iUeBwZEC |title=La politique berbère du protectorat français au Maroc, 1912-1956 |publisher=Harmattan |year=2011 |isbn=978-2-296-54982-1 |volume=L'application du Traité de Fez dans la région de Souss Tome 3 |pages=79–82 |language=fr}}</ref> His father was the ''qaid'' of Telouet, Mohammed Ou Hammou, known as ''[[Striolated bunting|Tibibit]]'',<ref name=":0" /> and his mother was Zouhra Oum El Khaïr, a black slave.<ref name=":0" /> Mohammed Ou Hammou was one of the famous great lords of the south, about whom Eugène Aubin <ref>{{cite book|author1=Eugène Aubin|date=1904|language=fr|location=Paris|publisher=Librairie Armand Colin|title=Le Maroc d'aujourd'hui}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> coined the expression "Lords of the Atlas" which was taken up by Jérôme and Jean Tharaud,<ref>{{cite book|author1=Gavin Maxwell|date=1966|language=en|location=New York|publisher=E. P. Dutton & Co.|title=Lords of the Atlas, Rise and Fall of the House of Glaoua}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> and then by Gavin Maxwell.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Gavin Maxwell|date=1966|language=en|location=New York|publisher=E. P. Dutton & Co.|title=Lords of the Atlas, Rise and Fall of the House of Glaoua}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

When Si Mohammed died on 4 August 1886, his eldest son Si Mhamed took over his father's position and then died the same year.<ref name=":0" /> After the death of Si M'hammed, his brother Si Madani took charge of the family clan.<ref name=":0" />

By 1893 the family rivaled in power the other great ''qa'id'' families of the south, such as the Goundafi and Mtouggi. That year, Sultan Moulay Hassan's twenty-five-day stopover in Telouet in November 1893, on his return from an expedition in Tafilalet and in the middle of a snowstorm, was a major turning point in Si El Madani's career. The sovereign was aided and supplied in the best possible way <ref name="Le Haouz de Marrakech">{{cite book|author1=Paul Pascon|date=1977|language=fr|location=Rabat, Paris|page=312|publisher=CURS et INAV, CNRS|title=Le Haouz de Marrakech}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> by Si El Madani and rewarded him by giving him a nine-inch Krupp gun, shells and a supply of modern rifles, and appointing him ''khalifa'' (deputy) over a large region including [[Todgha Gorge|Todgha]], the Draa valley, [[Tafilalt]], and Fayja.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{cite book|author1=Paul Chatinières|date=1920|language=fr|location=Paris|page=236|publisher=Librairie Plon|title=Dans le Grand Atlas marocain}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Robert Montagne|date=1930|language=fr|location=Paris|page=332|publisher=Librairie Félix Alcan|title=Les Berbères et le Makhzen dans le Sud du Maroc}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref><ref name="Le Haouz de Marrakech" />

His duties as caïd led him on several military expeditions through Morocco and among others in the Souss, in the R'hamna in 1896, against the rogui (i.e. rebel) Tahar Ben Slimane as well as against the Berabers in 1900.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Marthe et Edmond Gouvion|date=1939|location=Paris|pages=336–347|publisher=Librairie orientaliste Paul Geuthner|title=Kitab Aâyane al-Maghrib 'l-kça}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

As governor of Tafilalet, a position to which Moulay Abdelaziz appointed him by a dahir of 19 Safar 1318 (18 June 1900),<ref>{{cite book|author1=Ministère des affaires etrangères|language=fr|pages=41–42, note 28|title=Affaires du Maroc 1901-1905}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> Si El Madani played an important role in maintaining civil peace in this region after the French annexation of the Touat-Tidikelt-Gourara oasis complex.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Ross E. Dunn|date=1977|language=en|location=London, Madison|page=181|publisher=London: Croom Helm Limited , Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press|title=Resistance in the Desert: Moroccan response to French Imperialism}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

Between April and December 1903, at the head of a mehalla (military expedition) of 50,000 men, he fought a series of battles against the rogui [[Bou Hmara]] and the tribes allied with him between Fez and Oujda and liberated the city of [[Taza]] after being wounded three times. However, he was unable to defeat Bou Hmara, which led to him having to pay a fine of 100,000 [[Moroccan rial|rials]] to Moulay Abdelaziz (and which led to the Minister of War at the time, Si El Mehdi El M'nebhi, being exiled to [[Tangier]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=Gouvion|pages=758–759|title=op.cit.}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Allal El Khedimi|date=2009|language=ar|location=Rabat|page=91|publisher=Editions et Impressions Bouregreg|title=الحركة الحفيظية أو المغرب قبيل فرض الحماية الفرنسية}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

=== The hafidiya and Madani's apex ===
El Madani was a key player in the [[Hafidiya]], a movement led by Moulay Hafid, then viceroy in Marrakech under his brother, Sultan Moulay Abdelaziz, which deposed the latter. The hafidiya was a large-scale movement driven by a popular fervour that [[Abdallah Laroui]] considered to be "the first expression of a modern Moroccan nationalism".<ref>{{cite book|author1=Abdallah Laroui|date=1977|location=Paris|page=372|publisher=François Maspéro|title=Les origines sociales et culturelles du nationalisme marocain (1830-1912)}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> Its main objectives were to liberate the country from the French occupations of Oujda and [[Chaouia expedition|Chaouia]], to abolish the [[Treaty of Algeciras]] the system of protections, to annul the maqs (tax and gate duties) and in general, to defend the Islamic religion.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}

During the conflict, Madani initially aided Abdelaziz. After he accompanied the sultan on a military expedition that ended in failure, he then began to doubt Abdelaziz's political abilities and decided to switch sides, supporting Abd al-Hafid instead.<ref name=":3" />

As soon as he took power in August 1907, Moulay Hafid appointed him to the post of "allaf al kebir" (i.e. Minister of War) and married his daughter, Lalla Rabia, with whom he had three children. In May 1908, once Fez had been conquered by the new regime, Si El Madani was promoted to the post of Grand Vizier, a position in which he demonstrated a desire for reform. He then secured various offices for his four younger brothers, including having Thami be appointed [[Pasha]] of [[Marrakesh]].<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" />
[[File:Le Makhzen Marocain en 1911.jpg|thumb|From right to left, Grand Vizir Si El Madani El Glaoui, Si Tayeb El Mokri, Minister of Finance and Si Abdelmalek El Mtougui, Foreign Minister]]
Si El Madani's awareness of the need to undertake institutional and fiscal reform stemmed from knowledge of the upheavals brought about by technical progress in Algeria, which he had visited, and through his contacts with the French military mission, whose technical and operational superiority he had been able to observe.<blockquote>« Et Sid el-Madani me raconte qu'il a commandé pendant quelques mois les contingents envoyés contre le Rogui. Il est passé par Oran, où il a séjourné assez longtemps pour connaître les Français, pour admirer leurs soldats, leur armement. »<ref>{{cite book|author1=Edouard Marie René Bardon de Segonzac|date=1910|location=Paris|page=202|publisher=Émile Larose|title=Au coeur de l'Atlas: mission au Maroc (1904-1905)}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref></blockquote>His desire for reform was met with frontal opposition from the majority of the [[ulema]] and, according to Edmund Burke III destined to failed given the absence of a modernist social group similar to the [[Young Turks]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=Daniel Rivet. Edmund Burke III|date=1973|language=en|location=Paris|page=138|publisher=Revue de l'Occident musulman et de la Méditerranée, N°13-14|title=Rural Resistance and Popular Protest in Morocco: A study of the Tribal Rebellion of 1911}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> Various contemporary testimonies describe his curiosity about world affairs and modernity:<blockquote>« Already he was interested in the world outside his mountains fastness and was a subscriber to the Arabic press of the Arab East. »<ref>{{cite book|author1=Burke|page=102|title=op. cit.}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

« Au moment des combats sous Verdun il me demandait des détails précis sur la topographie de la région meusienne pour pouvoir mieux suivre les détails de la bataille. »<ref>{{cite book|author1=Chatinière|pages=26–27|title=op. cit.}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

« Si el Madani caïd de Glaoui, est un homme jeune d'une trentaine d'années, actif autant que peut l'être un Marocain haut placé, très au courant de ce qui se passe dans le monde (derniers incidents de la frontière franco-marocaine; phases successives de la guerre russo-japonaise etc). C'est un homme à idées larges. »<ref>{{cite book|author1=Paul Lemoine|date=1905|location=Paris|page=77|publisher=Publication du Comité du Maroc|title=Mission dans le Maroc Occidental, Automne 1904. Rapport au Comité du Maroc}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref></blockquote>

=== Opposing France and El Glaoui's fall from grace ===
He opposed the growing ascendancy of the French, who were extending their influence through their military mission. Aware of the danger of depending solely on French military assistance, the Sultan and Si El Madani tried to contain the latter by resorting to Turkish expertise to reorganize the regular army. Thus, in November 1909, a Turkish captain and 10 non-commissioned officers arrived in Morocco, to the great displeasure of the French, who demanded their immediate dismissal.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Arnaud|pages=288–289|title=op. cit.}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> Several authors have reported on Si El Madani's opposition to the French and their hostility towards him. For example, Dr. Weisgerber states the following:<blockquote>« Le seul membre du makhzen avec lequel nous entretenions des rapports confiants et même cordiaux était Si Aïssa Ben Omar, vizir des relations extérieures. Devenu suspect de ce fait, détesté du grand-vizir El Glaoui, il fut révoqué et interdiction lui fit faite de quitter la capitale. »<ref>{{cite book|author1=Frédéric Weisgerber|date=1947|language=fr|location=Rabat|page=235|publisher=Les éditions de la porte|title=Au seuil du Maroc moderne}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref></blockquote>His conflict with France as well as the revolt of the tribes of Fez (during which he was almost killed in battle on 26 April 1911 <ref>{{cite book|author1=Allal El Khedimi|language=ar|page=471|title=op. cit.}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>) precipitated his dismissal by Moulay Hafid on 26 mai 1911 at the urging of General Moinier, head of the French military mission in Morocco and Gaillard, consul of France in Morocco. A dispatch from Gaillard to De Billy, chargé d'affaires of the French Reoublic in Tangier, dated 26 May 1911, describes his dismissal as follows:<blockquote>« Le Sultan a décidé la révocation du Grand Vizir. Aujourd'hui, il lui a fait dire de ne plus se rendre au Makhzen jusqu'à nouvel ordre. […] J’ai aussitôt avisé le Général Moinier. Il a été très satisfait de cette mesure qui facilitera grandement l'œuvre de pacification. »<ref>{{cite book|author1=Ministère des affaires étrangères|location=Paris|page=315, Note N° 328|title=Affaires du Maroc - 1910-1912}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref></blockquote>Ladret de Lacharrière adds:<blockquote>« Le résultat le plus marquant pour les Marocains de l'arrivée des français à Fez à été la disgrace du grand vizir Si Madani el Glaoui. »<ref>{{cite book|author1=Ladret de Lacharrière|date=1 May 1922|location=Paris|page=99|publisher=La vie coloniale|series=116|title=Merrakech en 1911}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref></blockquote>Burke also describes the dismissal as being directed by the French:<blockquote>«One of the first steps taken by the French after their arrival was the summary firing of Madani al-Glawi and all members of his clan hlding makhzan office.»<ref>{{cite book|author1=Burke|page=176|title=op. cit.}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref></blockquote>As the French began to [[French conquest of Morocco|intervene directly in Morocco]] in the following years, they soon changed their minds upon realizing that El Glaoui could be instrumental in controlling the region. The family thus developed friendly relations with the French.<ref name=":3" /> Madani died in 1918.<ref name=":3" />

⚫
At the time of his death in 1918, Si El Madani had under his authority a region extending from Marrakesh, on both sides of the Atlas Mountains, and encompassing the regions of Mesfioua, Demnate, Ouarzazate, Skoura, Dades and Todgha towards Tafilalet, Wadi Draa, Zenaga, Souktana and Aït Ouaouzgit.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Paul Pascon |title=Le Haouz de Marrakech |date=1977 |publisher=CURS et INAV, CNRS |location=Rabat, Paris |page=318 |language=fr}}</ref> His brother Thami ultimately kept his position as Pasha of Marrakesh under [[French protectorate in Morocco|French Protectorate]] rule until 1956, during which time he acted as the strongman of southern Morocco.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Maxwell |first=Gavin |title=Lords of the Atlas: Morocco and the Rise & Fall of the House of Glaoua 1893–1956 |publisher=Cassell |year=2004 |isbn=0-304-35419-8 |location=London |orig-date=1966}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
Madani El Glaoui played a significant role in the history of Morocco at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century in a context of colonial penetration. As Paul Pascon asserts, he was "the founder of the power of the Glaouis" ».<ref>{{cite book |author1=Paul Pascon |title=Le Haouz de Marrakech |date=1977 |publisher=CURS et INAV, CNRS |location=Rabat, Paris |page=310 |language=fr}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> Other authors, such as Montagne,<ref>{{cite book |author1=Robert Montagne |title=Les Berbères et le Makhzen dans le Sud du Maroc |date=1930 |publisher=Librairie Félix Alcan |location=Paris |page=note No.&nbsp;2 |language=fr}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> Harris,<ref>{{cite book |author1=Walter B. Harris |title=Morocco that Was |date=1921 |publisher=William Blackwood & Sons |location=Edinburgh and London. |page=304 |language=en}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> [[Henri Terrasse|Terrasse]]<ref>{{cite book |author1=Henri Terrasse |title=Kasbas berbères |date=1938 |publisher=Éditions des horizons de France |location=Paris |language=fr}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> or [[Gavin Maxwell|Maxwell]]<ref>{{cite book |author1=Gavin Maxwell |title=Lords of the Atlas, Rise and Fall of the House of Glaoua |date=1966 |publisher=E. P. Dutton & Co. |location=New York |page=153 |language=en}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> have recognized this pre-eminence of Si El Madani over all the other members of the family and in particular over his younger brother the pasha [[Thami El Glaoui]]. Abdessadeq El Glaoui, Thami's son, also attests to this primacy.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Abdessadeq El Glaoui |title=El Glaoui. Le ralliement, le Glaoui, mon père - Récit et témoignage |date=2007 |publisher=Éditions Marsam |location=Rabat |page=11 |language=fr}}</ref>


== References ==
== References ==
{{Reflist}}{{Morocco-bio-stub}}
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glaoui, Madani}}
[[Category:19th-century Moroccan people]]
[[Category:19th-century Moroccan people]]
[[Category:20th-century Moroccan people]]
[[Category:20th-century Moroccan people]]
[[Category:Deaths from stomach cancer]]
[[Category:El Glaoui family|Madani]]
[[Category:El Glaoui family|Madani]]
[[Category:1860 births]]
[[Category:1918 deaths]]

Latest revision as of 20:01, 5 July 2024

Illustration in a French newspaper in 1912, depicting Madani El Glaoui (centre) and his brother Thami (right) receiving honors from the French general Hubert Lyautey (left)

Si El Madani El Glaoui (1860–July 1918),[1] born Madani El Mezouari El Glaoui (Arabic: المدني المزواري الڭلاوي), nicknamed the faqih (the literate) was a prominent statesman in Morocco during the late 19th century and early 20th century. He was largely responsible for establishing the Glaoui family's power in the country.

Descendant of a family in the service of the Moroccan Makhzen since the reign of Moulay Ismail, and invested by Moulay Hassan, Si El Madani served 4 successive sultans with several functions, culminating in his appointment in 1908 as Grand Vizier (صدر أعظم in Arabic) under Moulay Abdelhafid before being dismissed in 1911 at the urging of France, whose increasing influence in Moroccan affairs he had opposed.

Life and career

[edit]

The Glaoui family (also transliterated as Glawi)[1] was one of the most powerful political clans in Morocco in the later 19th century and in the first half of the 20th century, having risen to prominent positions of power under Muhammad IV and subsequent sultans.

At the end of the 17th century, one of Madani's ancestors, Ahmed Er-Radi Amezouar, was appointed caïd of the Glaoua during the reign of Moulay Ismail. He was succeeded in 1700 by the caïd Abdessadeq El Glaoui, who received a visit from Moulay Ismaïl in Telouet.[2] This royal visit is mentioned by Thomas Pellow, an English captive who lived in Morocco between 1715 and 1738 and who was in the service of Moulay Ismaïl:

« We were most courteously entertained by Alcayde Abdetsadick Elgolowey, a very good man of the sort, and then a Governor of that part of the country, he being in very high esteem with the Emperor, on account of his keeping his people under very strict order and good decorum.[3] »

The Kasbah of Telouet

The same family had also constructed a lavish kasbah and fortified residence in Telouet, in the High Atlas, starting in 1860.[4] The family was originally from a place called Tigemmi n'Imezouaren in the territory of the Fatwaka tribe, near the Tassaout river.[5] His father was the qaid of Telouet, Mohammed Ou Hammou, known as Tibibit,[5] and his mother was Zouhra Oum El Khaïr, a black slave.[5] Mohammed Ou Hammou was one of the famous great lords of the south, about whom Eugène Aubin [6] coined the expression "Lords of the Atlas" which was taken up by Jérôme and Jean Tharaud,[7] and then by Gavin Maxwell.[8]

When Si Mohammed died on 4 August 1886, his eldest son Si Mhamed took over his father's position and then died the same year.[5] After the death of Si M'hammed, his brother Si Madani took charge of the family clan.[5]

By 1893 the family rivaled in power the other great qa'id families of the south, such as the Goundafi and Mtouggi. That year, Sultan Moulay Hassan's twenty-five-day stopover in Telouet in November 1893, on his return from an expedition in Tafilalet and in the middle of a snowstorm, was a major turning point in Si El Madani's career. The sovereign was aided and supplied in the best possible way [9] by Si El Madani and rewarded him by giving him a nine-inch Krupp gun, shells and a supply of modern rifles, and appointing him khalifa (deputy) over a large region including Todgha, the Draa valley, Tafilalt, and Fayja.[1][10][11][9]

His duties as caïd led him on several military expeditions through Morocco and among others in the Souss, in the R'hamna in 1896, against the rogui (i.e. rebel) Tahar Ben Slimane as well as against the Berabers in 1900.[12]

As governor of Tafilalet, a position to which Moulay Abdelaziz appointed him by a dahir of 19 Safar 1318 (18 June 1900),[13] Si El Madani played an important role in maintaining civil peace in this region after the French annexation of the Touat-Tidikelt-Gourara oasis complex.[14]

Between April and December 1903, at the head of a mehalla (military expedition) of 50,000 men, he fought a series of battles against the rogui Bou Hmara and the tribes allied with him between Fez and Oujda and liberated the city of Taza after being wounded three times. However, he was unable to defeat Bou Hmara, which led to him having to pay a fine of 100,000 rials to Moulay Abdelaziz (and which led to the Minister of War at the time, Si El Mehdi El M'nebhi, being exiled to Tangier.[15][16]

The hafidiya and Madani's apex

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El Madani was a key player in the Hafidiya, a movement led by Moulay Hafid, then viceroy in Marrakech under his brother, Sultan Moulay Abdelaziz, which deposed the latter. The hafidiya was a large-scale movement driven by a popular fervour that Abdallah Laroui considered to be "the first expression of a modern Moroccan nationalism".[17] Its main objectives were to liberate the country from the French occupations of Oujda and Chaouia, to abolish the Treaty of Algeciras the system of protections, to annul the maqs (tax and gate duties) and in general, to defend the Islamic religion.[citation needed]

During the conflict, Madani initially aided Abdelaziz. After he accompanied the sultan on a military expedition that ended in failure, he then began to doubt Abdelaziz's political abilities and decided to switch sides, supporting Abd al-Hafid instead.[1]

As soon as he took power in August 1907, Moulay Hafid appointed him to the post of "allaf al kebir" (i.e. Minister of War) and married his daughter, Lalla Rabia, with whom he had three children. In May 1908, once Fez had been conquered by the new regime, Si El Madani was promoted to the post of Grand Vizier, a position in which he demonstrated a desire for reform. He then secured various offices for his four younger brothers, including having Thami be appointed Pasha of Marrakesh.[1][18]

From right to left, Grand Vizir Si El Madani El Glaoui, Si Tayeb El Mokri, Minister of Finance and Si Abdelmalek El Mtougui, Foreign Minister

Si El Madani's awareness of the need to undertake institutional and fiscal reform stemmed from knowledge of the upheavals brought about by technical progress in Algeria, which he had visited, and through his contacts with the French military mission, whose technical and operational superiority he had been able to observe.

« Et Sid el-Madani me raconte qu'il a commandé pendant quelques mois les contingents envoyés contre le Rogui. Il est passé par Oran, où il a séjourné assez longtemps pour connaître les Français, pour admirer leurs soldats, leur armement. »[19]

His desire for reform was met with frontal opposition from the majority of the ulema and, according to Edmund Burke III destined to failed given the absence of a modernist social group similar to the Young Turks.[20] Various contemporary testimonies describe his curiosity about world affairs and modernity:

« Already he was interested in the world outside his mountains fastness and was a subscriber to the Arabic press of the Arab East. »[21]

« Au moment des combats sous Verdun il me demandait des détails précis sur la topographie de la région meusienne pour pouvoir mieux suivre les détails de la bataille. »[22]

« Si el Madani caïd de Glaoui, est un homme jeune d'une trentaine d'années, actif autant que peut l'être un Marocain haut placé, très au courant de ce qui se passe dans le monde (derniers incidents de la frontière franco-marocaine; phases successives de la guerre russo-japonaise etc). C'est un homme à idées larges. »[23]

Opposing France and El Glaoui's fall from grace

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He opposed the growing ascendancy of the French, who were extending their influence through their military mission. Aware of the danger of depending solely on French military assistance, the Sultan and Si El Madani tried to contain the latter by resorting to Turkish expertise to reorganize the regular army. Thus, in November 1909, a Turkish captain and 10 non-commissioned officers arrived in Morocco, to the great displeasure of the French, who demanded their immediate dismissal.[24] Several authors have reported on Si El Madani's opposition to the French and their hostility towards him. For example, Dr. Weisgerber states the following:

« Le seul membre du makhzen avec lequel nous entretenions des rapports confiants et même cordiaux était Si Aïssa Ben Omar, vizir des relations extérieures. Devenu suspect de ce fait, détesté du grand-vizir El Glaoui, il fut révoqué et interdiction lui fit faite de quitter la capitale. »[25]

His conflict with France as well as the revolt of the tribes of Fez (during which he was almost killed in battle on 26 April 1911 [26]) precipitated his dismissal by Moulay Hafid on 26 mai 1911 at the urging of General Moinier, head of the French military mission in Morocco and Gaillard, consul of France in Morocco. A dispatch from Gaillard to De Billy, chargé d'affaires of the French Reoublic in Tangier, dated 26 May 1911, describes his dismissal as follows:

« Le Sultan a décidé la révocation du Grand Vizir. Aujourd'hui, il lui a fait dire de ne plus se rendre au Makhzen jusqu'à nouvel ordre. […] J’ai aussitôt avisé le Général Moinier. Il a été très satisfait de cette mesure qui facilitera grandement l'œuvre de pacification. »[27]

Ladret de Lacharrière adds:

« Le résultat le plus marquant pour les Marocains de l'arrivée des français à Fez à été la disgrace du grand vizir Si Madani el Glaoui. »[28]

Burke also describes the dismissal as being directed by the French:

«One of the first steps taken by the French after their arrival was the summary firing of Madani al-Glawi and all members of his clan hlding makhzan office.»[29]

As the French began to intervene directly in Morocco in the following years, they soon changed their minds upon realizing that El Glaoui could be instrumental in controlling the region. The family thus developed friendly relations with the French.[1] Madani died in 1918.[1]

At the time of his death in 1918, Si El Madani had under his authority a region extending from Marrakesh, on both sides of the Atlas Mountains, and encompassing the regions of Mesfioua, Demnate, Ouarzazate, Skoura, Dades and Todgha towards Tafilalet, Wadi Draa, Zenaga, Souktana and Aït Ouaouzgit.[30] His brother Thami ultimately kept his position as Pasha of Marrakesh under French Protectorate rule until 1956, during which time he acted as the strongman of southern Morocco.[1][18]

Legacy

[edit]

Madani El Glaoui played a significant role in the history of Morocco at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century in a context of colonial penetration. As Paul Pascon asserts, he was "the founder of the power of the Glaouis" ».[31] Other authors, such as Montagne,[32] Harris,[33] Terrasse[34] or Maxwell[35] have recognized this pre-eminence of Si El Madani over all the other members of the family and in particular over his younger brother the pasha Thami El Glaoui. Abdessadeq El Glaoui, Thami's son, also attests to this primacy.[36]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Park, Thomas K.; Boum, Aomar (2006). Historical Dictionary of Morocco. Scarecrow Press. pp. 136–138. ISBN 978-0-8108-6511-2.
  2. ^ Georges Spillman (Georges Drague) (1955). Esquisse d'histoire religieuse au Maroc. Confréries et Zaouias (in French). Rabat: Publications de la Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines de Rabat. p. 98, note 17.
  3. ^ Thomas Pellow (1890). The Adventures of Thomas Pellow, of Penryn, Mariner. Three and Twenty Years of Captivity Among the Moors. Londres: T. Fisher Unwyin. p. 111.
  4. ^ Cavender, Amel (2017). Migrants and Fassi Merchants: Urban Changes in Morocco, 1830-1912. Purdue University, Department of History (PhD thesis). pp. 99–100. ProQuest 1958939814.
  5. ^ a b c d e Lahnite, Abraham (2011). La politique berbère du protectorat français au Maroc, 1912-1956 (in French). Vol. L'application du Traité de Fez dans la région de Souss Tome 3. Harmattan. pp. 79–82. ISBN 978-2-296-54982-1.
  6. ^ Eugène Aubin (1904). Le Maroc d'aujourd'hui (in French). Paris: Librairie Armand Colin.
  7. ^ Gavin Maxwell (1966). Lords of the Atlas, Rise and Fall of the House of Glaoua. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co.
  8. ^ Gavin Maxwell (1966). Lords of the Atlas, Rise and Fall of the House of Glaoua. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co.
  9. ^ a b Paul Pascon (1977). Le Haouz de Marrakech (in French). Rabat, Paris: CURS et INAV, CNRS. p. 312.
  10. ^ Paul Chatinières (1920). Dans le Grand Atlas marocain (in French). Paris: Librairie Plon. p. 236.
  11. ^ Robert Montagne (1930). Les Berbères et le Makhzen dans le Sud du Maroc (in French). Paris: Librairie Félix Alcan. p. 332.
  12. ^ Marthe et Edmond Gouvion (1939). Kitab Aâyane al-Maghrib 'l-kça. Paris: Librairie orientaliste Paul Geuthner. pp. 336–347.
  13. ^ Ministère des affaires etrangères. Affaires du Maroc 1901-1905 (in French). pp. 41–42, note 28.
  14. ^ Ross E. Dunn (1977). Resistance in the Desert: Moroccan response to French Imperialism. London, Madison: London: Croom Helm Limited , Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press. p. 181.
  15. ^ Gouvion. op.cit. pp. 758–759.
  16. ^ Allal El Khedimi (2009). الحركة الحفيظية أو المغرب قبيل فرض الحماية الفرنسية (in Arabic). Rabat: Editions et Impressions Bouregreg. p. 91.
  17. ^ Abdallah Laroui (1977). Les origines sociales et culturelles du nationalisme marocain (1830-1912). Paris: François Maspéro. p. 372.
  18. ^ a b Maxwell, Gavin (2004) [1966]. Lords of the Atlas: Morocco and the Rise & Fall of the House of Glaoua 1893–1956. London: Cassell. ISBN 0-304-35419-8.
  19. ^ Edouard Marie René Bardon de Segonzac (1910). Au coeur de l'Atlas: mission au Maroc (1904-1905). Paris: Émile Larose. p. 202.
  20. ^ Daniel Rivet. Edmund Burke III (1973). Rural Resistance and Popular Protest in Morocco: A study of the Tribal Rebellion of 1911. Paris: Revue de l'Occident musulman et de la Méditerranée, N°13-14. p. 138.
  21. ^ Burke. op. cit. p. 102.
  22. ^ Chatinière. op. cit. pp. 26–27.
  23. ^ Paul Lemoine (1905). Mission dans le Maroc Occidental, Automne 1904. Rapport au Comité du Maroc. Paris: Publication du Comité du Maroc. p. 77.
  24. ^ Arnaud. op. cit. pp. 288–289.
  25. ^ Frédéric Weisgerber (1947). Au seuil du Maroc moderne (in French). Rabat: Les éditions de la porte. p. 235.
  26. ^ Allal El Khedimi. op. cit (in Arabic). p. 471.
  27. ^ Ministère des affaires étrangères. Affaires du Maroc - 1910-1912. Paris. p. 315, Note N° 328.
  28. ^ Ladret de Lacharrière (1 May 1922). Merrakech en 1911. 116. Paris: La vie coloniale. p. 99.
  29. ^ Burke. op. cit. p. 176.
  30. ^ Paul Pascon (1977). Le Haouz de Marrakech (in French). Rabat, Paris: CURS et INAV, CNRS. p. 318.
  31. ^ Paul Pascon (1977). Le Haouz de Marrakech (in French). Rabat, Paris: CURS et INAV, CNRS. p. 310.
  32. ^ Robert Montagne (1930). Les Berbères et le Makhzen dans le Sud du Maroc (in French). Paris: Librairie Félix Alcan. p. note No. 2.
  33. ^ Walter B. Harris (1921). Morocco that Was. Edinburgh and London.: William Blackwood & Sons. p. 304.
  34. ^ Henri Terrasse (1938). Kasbas berbères (in French). Paris: Éditions des horizons de France.
  35. ^ Gavin Maxwell (1966). Lords of the Atlas, Rise and Fall of the House of Glaoua. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co. p. 153.
  36. ^ Abdessadeq El Glaoui (2007). El Glaoui. Le ralliement, le Glaoui, mon père - Récit et témoignage (in French). Rabat: Éditions Marsam. p. 11.
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