Lalla Ruqaya Al Amrani

Lalla Ruqaya Al Amrani
Princess consort of Morocco
Born	Lalla Ruqaya al-Amrani
Died	1902
Spouse	Hassan I of Morocco
Issue	Lalla Oum Kelthoum Lalla Nezha Sultan Moulay Abdelaziz Lalla Sharifa Moulay Abdulkabir
Dynasty	Alawi dynasty (by marriage)
Religion	Sunni Islam

Lalla Ruqaya Al Amrani (in Arabic: للا رقية العمراني), who died in 1902,[1] was one of the wives of Sultan Hassan I and the mother of Sultan Moulay Abdelaziz.

Biography

Sharifa Lalla Ruqaya al-Amrani[2][3] was the favorite wife of Sultan Moulay Hassan I during the last years of his reign.[4]

Lalla Ruqaya is described as a faqīha and a scholar. She was a woman who had acquired very advanced knowledge in Quranic studies.

Coming from an renown Moroccan family, she was the sister of Sharif Moulay Abdelslem Al Amrani[5] who had command of certain military expeditions during the reign of her son Moulay Abdelaziz.[5]

Her son Moulay Abdelaziz was educated in the house of Sidi Mohammed al-Amrani,[2] one of the main sharifs of the Alaouite court.[2] With the latter her son Moulay Abdelaziz had received his education in accordance with the tradition of the dynasty.[2] After the disgrace of his elder brother Sidi Mohammed, Sultan Moulay Hassan I hastened to name him official heir to the crown.[2]

Upon the ascension to the throne of her minor son, she was not granted the position of regent, Alawite traditions exclude women from this position. The regency was attributed to the vizier Ahmed ben Moussa. Her position was limited to remaining one of her son's main advisors, a position she maintained until after he reached 21 years-old, according to contemporary sources. There was real intimacy between mother and son, as they dined together even as adults.[6] Lalla Ruqaya was a woman with open political ideas for her time, she advised her son to bring the kingdom's mode of governance closer to that of the West.

Ahmed ben Moussa died in 1901, Moulay Abdelaziz was still subject to the influence of his mother for a time; she made him take as grand visir el-hadj el Mokhtar ben Ahmed, first secretary of the deceased grand vizier; he also chose as minister of war a former mokhzani of Si Ahmed, Si Mehdi el Menebih.[7] Thus the policy of the old Makhzen still continued; but the hands which wielded it no longer had the same vigor: the sultan grew and showed himself impatient with any tutelage, threatening to ruin the rotten edifice of the Moroccan government. Soon Moulay Abdelaziz only listened to his impulses; he rejected his mother's advice and in April 1901, tired of the observations of el Hadj el Mokhtar, he dismissed his grand vizier.[7]

Lalla Ruqaya died in 1902.

Descendance

Lalla Ruqaya and Moulay Hassan I's children were:

1. Lalla Oum Kelthoum;[8]
2. Lalla Nezha;[8]
3. Sultan Moulay Abdelaziz (February 24, 1881 – June 10, 1943);
4. Lalla Sharifa;[8]
5. Moulay Abdulkabir,[5] he had a military career in the imperial armed forces in the service of his full-brother.[5]

References

1. Marfaing, Laurence; Germany), Zentrum Moderner Orient (Berlin (2004). Les relations transsahariennes à l'époque contemporaine: un espace en constante mutation (in French). KARTHALA Editions. p. 343. ISBN 978-2-84586-475-7. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
2. Ganān, Jamāl (1975). Les relations franco-allemandes et les affaires marocaines de 1901 à 1911 (in French). SNED. p. 14. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
3. Lahnite, Abraham (2011). La politique berbère du protectorat français au Maroc, 1912-1956: Les conditions d'établissement du Traité de Fez (in French). Harmattan. p. 44. ISBN 978-2-296-54980-7. Retrieved 2023-01-05. … to successive expeditions of Moulay Abdel Aziz, under various commands of his own brother, Moulay Abdelkébir, of his maternal uncle, Sharif Moulay Abdelslem Al Amrani or under his own minister of war.
4. Burke, E. (2009). Prelude to Protectorate in Morocco: Pre-Colonial Protest and Resistance, 1860-1912. Ukraina: University of Chicago Press. p47
5. Lahnite, Abraham (2011). La politique berbère du protectorat français au Maroc, 1912-1956: Les conditions d'établissement du Traité de Fez (in French). Harmattan. p. 44. ISBN 978-2-296-54980-7. Retrieved 2023-01-05. … à des expéditions successives de Moulay Abdel Aziz, sous divers commandements de son propre frère, Moulay Abdelkébir, de son oncle maternel, le chérif Moulay Abdelslem Al Amrani ou sous son propre ministre de la guerre.
6. Aubin, Eugène (1908). Le Maroc d'aujourd'hui: avec trois cartes en couleur hors texte (in French). A. Colin. p. 150. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
7. Aubin, Eugène (2004). Le Maroc dans la tourmente: 1902-1903 (in French). Eddif. p. 164. ISBN 978-9981-896-48-2. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
8. Morocco), Hassan II (King of (1979). Discours et interviews de SM Hassan II (in French). Ministère d'État chargé de l'information, Royaume du Maroc. p. 176. Retrieved 2023-07-26.