Hassan I of Morocco

Mawlay Hassan bin Mohammed, known as Hassan I (1836 or 1857 – 1894), was sultan of Morocco from 16 September 1873 to 1894, a ruler of the Alawi dynasty.¹ He increased the power of the makhzen, brought in military and administrative reforms, and at a time when the rest of Africa was falling under foreign control maintained Morocco's independence and carried out an active military and diplomatic programme on its periphery.¹ He has been described as the last great sultan of Morocco before colonialism.¹

Hassan bin Mohammed was born in Fez, in 1836 according to the Arabic, French and Urdu articles and Wikidata, or 1857 according to the figure the English article takes from Britannica; he was a son of Sultan Muhammad IV, and his favourite son.^{1 2} At an early age he was educated in the subtleties of court politics.¹

He was proclaimed sultan after the death of his father in 1873, and his first action was to crush an urban revolt in the capital Fez in 1874, which he had to besiege for a few months.¹ He strove to maintain the cohesion of his kingdom through political, military and religious action in the face of European threats on its periphery and internal rebellions, and he initiated reforms.¹ The Arabic article adds that he sought to centralise rule and extend the state's authority over all the tribes, and that his austerity policy was meant to keep Morocco out of the debt that had opened Tunisia and Egypt to European financial control.²

He led expeditions to assert his authority, to the Sous in 1882 and 1886, to the Rif in 1887 and to Tafilalt in 1893, and he ensured the loyalty of the great chiefs of the south, appointing local qaids such as Sheikh Ma al-Aynayn, who gave him the bay'a, in the Western Sahara.¹ Particularly well known is the six-month journey of 1893 from Fez to Marrakesh through Tafilalt, the Dades valley and the High Atlas, which succeeded in reuniting and pacifying the tribes of several regions.¹

Hassan managed to maintain the independence of Morocco while neighbouring states fell under European influence, Tunisia being conquered by France in 1881 and Egypt occupied by Britain in 1882.¹ Aware of the rivalry between Britain, France and Spain over Morocco, he called for an international conference, and the Treaty of Madrid was signed on 3 July 1880; instead of reducing foreign interference it granted foreigners concessions such as the right to own land in the countryside.¹ The Arabic article notes that the conference recognised Morocco's non-dependence on any foreign power, while thirteen foreign states obtained excessive privileges, and that France and Britain still failed to impose a protectorate because of the opposition of the other European powers.²

He also asserted Moroccan claims in the Sahara: in 1886 he sent a military expedition against the British post at Tarfaya, and in 1891–1893 the administration of the Gourara, Touat and Tidikelt oases was organised under his authority.¹

He continued and expanded the military reforms begun by his father, enlarging the reformed army to 25,000 men and 1,000 artillery pieces, strengthening the coastal defences, and in 1888 building an arms factory in Fez, the Dar al-Makina, though its production was small and costly.¹ To train the army he sent students to London, and in 1876 he hired Harry MacLean, a British officer based in Gibraltar, who designed a military uniform in Arab style.¹ Every year from spring to fall he was on campaign, leading expeditions to all parts of the kingdom.¹

He died of illness in the Tadla region in June 1894 — the English article gives 9 June, the French article and Wikidata 7 June, and the Arabic article, citing al-Nasiri's al-Istiqsa, dates his death to the night of 3 Dhu al-Hijja 1311 AH, equated to 6 June, near Wadi al-Ubayd.^{1 3 2} Because the army was still in enemy territory, his chamberlain and grand vizier Ahmad bin Musa kept the death secret until the body was brought to Rabat and buried there, in a qubba next to the Dar al-Makhzen.¹ He was succeeded by his son Abd al-Aziz, thirteen years old at the time, under the regency of Ahmad bin Musa; among his other sons were the future sultans Abd al-Hafid and Yusef.¹

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