Consolidation of Alaouite Power in Morocco (1650s)

Timeline

1. 1650–1654Tafilalet and southeastern Morocco · MoroccoMulay Muhammad I (r. 1636–1664) based himself in the holy city of Tafilalet (Sijilmasa), accumulating religious legitimacy as a sharif (descendant of the Prophet), gradually advancing into central and northern Morocco, winning the allegiance of tribal chiefs, and nibbling at the power vacuum left by the collapse of the Saadian dynasty.
2. 1653–1658Middle Atlas Mountains (Dila'iyya heartland) · MoroccoThe Dila'iyya Sufi brotherhood established a powerful theocratic regime in the Middle Atlas Mountains, controlling Fez and much of Morocco. The Alaouite sultans and the Dila'iyya long contended over tribal alliances and control of cities, with gains and losses on both sides, until the Alaouites finally gained the upper hand in the 1660s.
3. 1656–1659Fez and northern Morocco · MoroccoDrawing on sharif status and the Maliki tradition of Islamic law, the Alaouite sultans implemented Islamic judicial and tax systems in the cities under their control, winning broad support from the ulama (religious scholars) and establishing an image of orthodox authority distinct from the Dila'iyya, laying institutional foundations for the later unification achieved by Mulay al-Rashid and Mulay Ismail.