Abu Abdallah al-Qaim
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Saadi Sultanate Marrakesh
| Abu Abdallah al-Qaim القائم بأمر الله | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Ruler of Saadi Dynasty Saadi sultan | |||||
| Emir of Sūs (Saadi Sultanate) | |||||
| Reign | 1509 – 1517 | ||||
| Predecessor | (State established) | ||||
| Successor | Ahmad al-Araj | ||||
| Died | c. 1517 (aged 30–31) Saadi Sultanate Marrakesh | ||||
| Issue | Ahmad al-Araj Mohammed al-Shaykh | ||||
| |||||
| Dynasty | Banū Zaydān | ||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||
Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Qaim bi-Amr Allah,[1] (Arabic: القائم بأمر الله السعدي) often shortened to Abu Abdallah al-Qa'im[2] or Muhammad al-Qa'im,[3][4] was the first political leader of the Saadi Dynasty of Morocco. He ruled the Sous and other parts of southern Morocco from 1510 to 1517, setting the stage for his sons to lead the dynasty to power over the rest of Morocco in the decades after his death.[4][1]
The Saadians were a Sharifian family from Tagmadert in the Draa River valley that claimed descendance from Muhammad through Fatimah.[2] They migrated to the Draa valley in the 14th century before moving or spreading to Tidsi in the Sous valley in the following century.[4] Here they lived alongside Sufi teachers and marabouts who promoted the doctrines of al-Jazuli.[5]: 350
According to one traditional account, when Abu Abdallah visited Medina he dreamed of two lions entering a tower with a crowd of people close behind. Taking his vision to a Sufi sheikh, he was told that his two sons would have an important future in his country.[6] Upon returning to Morocco he began to broadcast the vision among his people, who believed him, according to Moroccan historian al-Nasiri, because of his reputation for honesty, and he adopted the Mahdist title "al-Qaim bi Amrillah" (the one called by God).
Al-Qa'im's rise to power took place in the context of weak central rule in Morocco and of Portuguese expansionism along its Atlantic coast. The Wattasid dynasty, which ruled from Fez in the north, had little authority over the south of the country.[3]: 209 Under their reign, Portuguese expansion along the Moroccan coast reached its apogee.[3]: 207 Many local resistance and jihad movements, often associated with various Sufi brotherhoods or establishments, arose to oppose the European presence.[3][7] In 1505 the Portuguese occupied Agadir (on the coast, near the mouth of the Sous river), which they called Santa Cruz do Cabo de Aguer, and from their territory here other European merchants also operated, notably the Genoese.[3] This arrival of European traders and colonisers alarmed the local population and caused the inhabitants of the Sous region to organize themselves politically.[7][3] According to one recorded tradition, this impetus was made clear when the Portuguese took some tribal warriors captive and demanded that the local tribes choose a leader or representative with whom they could negotiate their release.[3]: 210
