History stores the glories of many women, and its pages are full of their glories and contributions in various fields, including sultans, scholars and jihadists, preserving the history of some of them by name and drawing, and wasting many of the details of some of their lives and the path of their struggle with men and society.
Among the Moroccan women who were distinguished by leadership and made their mark in history, the Lady Al-Hurra, the ruler of Tetouan, was the only princess of the sea jihad, and was distinguished for her leadership in this type of resistance, and was known for her intelligence and strength of character and showed great skill in governance and economic management.
In addition to her interest in politics, she owned and operated a naval fleet, and shared the sovereignty of the Mediterranean at the beginning of the 16th century with the Ottoman captain Khair al-Din Barbaros, nicknamed the King of the Sea.
Sultana forgotten
She is the Free Lady or "the Free Six" according to historians. She was born in Chefchaouen around the year 1493 (899 AH). She was raised and raised in the lap of her father, Prince Ali bin Musa bin Rashid, founder of the city of Chefchaouen and the fifth grandson of Sheikh Abdul Salam bin Mishish.
It was stated in the book “Sultanat Mansiyat” by the Moroccan writer Fatima Mernissi, that the free woman among the harem meant the legal wife, who was often descended from the upper class .. Fatima says, “I often used the word al-Hurra as a synonym for a queen or a sultana, as historians in Spain and Africa used it. North and Yemen. "
Fatima Mernissi adds that one of the most famous women is Aisha al-Hurra, known to the Spaniards as Sultana Madre Bouabdil, which is a distortion of the name of her son, Muhammad bin Abdullah. She goes back to saying, "Muslim historians maintain their silence towards this second Hurra, just as they kept it contemptuously towards the first ... In practice we do not find information in Arab sources about this queen who actually exercised power for about 30 years (1510-1542)."
Al-Hurra was considered one of the women who had been neglected by history, and the majority of the few writings about her depend on foreign sources. Commenting on this matter, Jamal El-Din Raissouni, a researcher in the history and heritage of Chefchaouen, says to Al-Jazeera Net- "The prejudice did not affect her as a woman, but rather the history of the Chefchaouen region and the entire Rashidi period", explaining that the occupation destroyed the sources, and that archives were lost, some of which were burned and some of them He fled to Spain.
Jamal al-Din said that what is known about al-Hurra was not preserved except through some Portuguese sources, such as the Annals of Asil by "Bernardo Rodrix" (1508-1535), a military officer who witnessed the Portuguese occupation of the cities of northern Morocco, in which he talks about the resistance.
Document: Free Personal Name
Given the scarcity of historical sources about her, historians disagree about her name. Some say that her name is Aisha, others mention that she was called al-Hurra in order to distinguish her from slaves, while another group says that her real name is “Al-Hurra” and not a title or an attribute for her, but rather her personal name .
The researcher in history, Jamal al-Din al-Raissouni, confirms to Al-Jazeera Net that Al-Hurra is her constant and verified name, and it is a personal name and not a title, and the witness for Raissouni is her marriage contract with the Wattassi Sultan.
He added that Ali bin Rashid used to visit the court of Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin al-Ahmar, the last king of Andalusia, to practice jihad and matters of politics. He married Katrina Fernandez in Andalusia, who converted to Islam and was called "al-Zahra" and gave birth to a free woman, and he pointed out that the mother of Sultan Abu Abdullah Mohammed bin Al-Ahmar was better known as Al-Hurra according to historical writings, and Ibn Rashid named his daughter after her.
In his book “From the History of Chefchaouen”, Taha bin Farouk Raissouni devotes a chapter entitled “The Free Lady is an authentic name and other whims of interpretation,” in which he says: “The decisive scientific argument to calm this historical debate and frighten those who are frightened, is to refer to a drawing (document) of marriage for a daughter. The founder of Chefchaouen Dafina Al-Zawia Al-Raysounia, Sidi Belhassan, in Sultan Ahmed Al-Wattassi, and according to the document, he sermoned his pure, pure daughter, called Al-Harrah.
Intelligence and distinction
Mrs. Al-Hurra was educated by the most famous scholars and clergy in Chefchaouen. The author of the book "The Bani Rashid family in northern Morocco" says, according to an article in Da`wat al-Haq magazine, which tells us the news - whether Portuguese or Spanish - that this noble lady had rare intelligence, and sublime morals that prepared her to take power in her hand, because of the education she received from The most famous scholars and clerics of her time ...
In a historical period that had a special character in its relationship with women and what was known as the Harem and its authority from within the palaces, Al-Hurra was distinguished outside the palaces, prevailed, ruled and administered the economy and politics, and led the emirate of the seas.
Jamal El-Din Raissouni explains that Al-Hurra was characterized by the combination of two cultures, an ancient Andalusian culture, and the characteristics of the mountainous region between Chefchaouen and Tetouan, which is characterized by the toughness and solidity of the mountains, which earned it the power of jihad.
Marriage and judgment
Mrs. Al-Hurra married the theoretic leader of Tetouan during the life of her father Ali bin Rashid, around the year 1510 (916 AH), and the marriage was an alliance between the Emirate of Chefchaouen and the leadership of Tetouan, in order to strengthen the defense front against Portugal. Because of her maturity and sophistication, her husband used to delegate and consult her in matters of politics and governance, and she was able to take over some rulings during his absence from Medina, and gained political experience and experience, and ruled Tetouan after her husband's death in 925 AH.
Some accounts say that her brother, Prince Ibrahim bin Ali bin Rashid, the governor of Chefchaouen, was a minister of Sultan Ahmed Al-Wattassi and commander of his staff, and he was the one who installed his sister as ruler of Tetouan. While other accounts say that by her marriage to Sultan Ahmed Al-Wattassi, the governorate of Tetouan was included in his rule and was under his sovereignty, which angered the theoreticians who later turned against her.
Jamal El-Din Raissouni says to Al-Jazeera Net that Sultan Al-Wattassi married Al-Hurra and her eye is the guardian of Tetouan, which she ruled for 18 years, and her brother Ibrahim married the sister of Sultan Moulay Ahmed Al-Wattassi, and he was the greatest and signed in the name of Morocco, due to the presence of documents for international agreements signed by Prince Ibrahim with the authorization of the Sultan .
Fatima Mernissi says: “While al-Hura was - according to Spanish and Portuguese sources - a partner in the diplomatic game, she was (also) the ruler of Tetouan and the head of piracy unchallenged. She married King Ahmed El Wattassi and did not give up her political role. She asked him to move from the capital, Fez to Tetouan. To hold the wedding ceremony, and this was the only time in the history of Morocco that a king married outside his capital.
Naval fleet and female uniqueness
Jamal al-Din al-Raissouni explains that Mrs. Al-Hurra tasted the Crusader colonizer of misfortune and various kinds of torment, and there remained a knot for them who drew a myth about which they were intimidating their children. And the researcher in history adds that Al-Hurra paid great attention to the military aspect of its relationship with the land and sea jihad, and it had a fleet that was always prepared to carry out raids against the Iberians (relative to the Iberian Peninsula, which is located in the southwestern part of the continent of Europe, and consists of Spain, Portugal, Andorra, and the region of Gibraltar).
Raissouni considered that the maritime jihad of Lady Al-Hurra is one of the unique models in the Islamic community of Moroccan and Muslim women, in a distinct category of resistance.
Under her leadership, Sayyida Al-Hurra's army was able to completely secure the western part of the Mediterranean coast, and she sowed terror in the hearts of the Portuguese and Spaniards to the point that they were pretending to see her hanging one day on the corner of one of their ships, according to Raissouni.
Historians quoted the writer Sebastian Berkaz as saying, "She was very excited: On one occasion she quarreled with the governor of Ceuta (Alfonso de Nornha) and resorted to violence and war, because she was very impulsive and inclined to wars ... and she was interested in the slave trade of Christians at a high level. Its ships always roam the seas, and the Algerian boats were welcomed by Marsa Tetouan ... ", according to the specialized magazine Da`wah al-Haq.
Jamal al-Din Raissouni explains that Al-Hurra has benefited from several pillars to strengthen its fleet, namely: her marriage to the Sultan, her lineage to Ibn Rashid, being the sister of the Grand Vizier, and then the experience of her uncle, "Fernaldo Martin" in the ports, as he established the port of Martin.
Allied with Barbaros
The Ottoman Empire was at its height during the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, and it took control of North Africa to the borders of Algeria, while Morocco enjoyed sovereignty over its lands. Historians say that the unity of purpose prompted Mrs. Alhurra to agree with the Turkish captain Khair al-Din Barbaros - nicknamed the King of the Sea for his victories in the Mediterranean - to share jihad areas, as she supervised the western Mediterranean from the side of Morocco, and he led operations in the eastern Mediterranean from Algeria side.
Raissouni confirms that the order of the alliance is proven, and it is certain that Mrs. Al-Hurra was a third party running the naval jihad in the Mediterranean with Khair al-Din Barbaros and his brother Aruj, and the historian adds that Turkish writings talk about the era of cooperation between the Free Princess, Khair al-Din and Orouj.
Al-Hurra was mentioned in foreign books as the countess, and it is likely that it is the origin of the popular myth "Aisha Qandisha". Many legends were woven around her and the story of her power was mixed with imagination, and she was called the fairy of the seas .. Some sayings are still being circulated today without knowing their origin, such as "100 pounds and not one." Shawniyeh "is a metaphor for her superiority and skills in a field that was and remains the preserve of men.