Marthe Franceschini

Marthe Franceschini (1755 - 1799), renamed Lalla Dawiya was a slave concubine and then the wife of Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah of Morocco (r. 1757–1790).[1]

She was born in Corsica, but Doctor William Lempriere who met her reports that she was an Italian woman native of Genoa.[2] When she was seven, she was kidnapped by Corsairs and sold at the slave market in Morocco. Described as a beauty, she was acquired by Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah as a slave concubine in his harem. She eventually gained a favorite position in the harem. As such, she converted to Islam and was given the name Lalla Dawiya. In 1786, the sultan made her one of his legal wives.[3] She maintained diplomatic contacts with Europeans rulers such as Napoleon I.

See also

References
  1. Jacques Caillé, Une Corse sultane du Maroc : Davia Franceschini et sa famille, Paris, Pédone, 1968
  2. Lempriere, William (1793). A Tour from Gibraltar to Tangier: Sallee, Mogodore, Santa Cruz, Tarudant; and Thence, Over Mount Atlas, to Morocco: Including a Particular Account of the Royal Harem, &c. By William Lempriere, Surgeon. J. Walter; and sold. p. 375.
  3. Lempriere, William (1793). A Tour from Gibraltar to Tangier: Sallee, Mogodore, Santa Cruz, Tarudant; and Thence, Over Mount Atlas, to Morocco: Including a Particular Account of the Royal Harem, &c. By William Lempriere, Surgeon. J. Walter; and sold. pp. 375–377.
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