Slimane of Morocco

Once Mawlay al-Yazid died in Marrakesh on 17 February 1792, the struggle for power began between the sons of Mohammed III. There was Mawlay Hisham who ruled in Marrakesh, and Mawlay Maslama who ruled in the north.[4] Mawlay Sulayman emerged successful in 1795, however there was still plenty of resistance which he had to pacify, mainly the Berber tribes of the mountains, and the tariqas.[4] Immediately after this, in 1798, the sultan sent a military expedition to Oujda, which had been controlled by the Ottomans since 1792 during the unrest in Morocco. The sultan encountered no difficulty in recovering Oujda and the eastern provinces from the Turks and set the new border at Wadi Kiss.[5] In 1800, the inhabitants of Tuat agreed to pay taxes to the sultan, extending the authority of the Makhzen southwards and allowing the sultan to increase his revenue.[6] Mawlay Sulayman's reign was difficult and chaotic because of the hostilities between tribes that he was unable to appease, with a strong divide between the Arabs and Berbers, as demonstrated by the two major revolts that marked his reign. In Marrakesh, he rebuilt the Ali bin Yusef Mosque, without leaving the slightest trace of its original Almoravid or Almohad design which dated from the early 12th century, completing its construction by 1819 or 1820.[7][8]

In 1805, the prospects of cooperation between Mawlay al-Arbi, shaykh of the Darqawi tariqa, and Mawlay Sulayman appeared so encouraging that Mawlay al-Arbi thought of using his spiritual influence in Western Algeria to bring about the annexation of Tlemcen to Morocco.[9] The political events which took place in Western Algeria in 1805 drew Mawlay Sulayman's attention to the necessity of consolidating Makhzen authority and rule on the eastern borders of his kingdom.[10] Following the repression of Darqawi adepts by the Bey of Oran, a disciple of Mawlay al-Arbi, Abd al-Qadir b. al-Sharif, decided to lead a rebellion against the ruling Turks in the summer of 1805 and called upon the people of Tlemcen to proclaim the Sultan of Morocco.[9][10] Weakened by a severe famine and an unstable internal situation, the Algerian government proved to be incapable of putting the rebellion down. Ibn al-Sharif succeeded in besieging Oran from all sides, except from the sea through which the town received its supplies. The Algerian Turks were so helpless that the Dey Ahmed bin Ali Khodja decided to call upon Mawlay Sulayman for assistance.[9] To prove his good disposition, Mawlay Sulayman sent Mawlay al-Arbi al-Darqawi on a mission to Tlemcen with the aim of re-establishing peace between Ibn al-Sharif and the Bey of Oran.[11]

To Mawlay Sulayman's great surprise, the Darqawi shaykh returned from Tlemcen with a written bay'ah (oath of allegiance) from Ibn al-Sharif and a delegation of notables to present their allegiance to the Sultan of Morocco. The people of Tlemcen were well received, but were ordered by His Majesty to return to their country and their rulers. Mawlay Sulayman sent his brother Mawlay Musa with a contingent to Oujda so as to prevent his subjects from getting involved in Algerian affairs and dispatched the qa'id of the Oudaya army to Tlemcen in order to come between Ibn al-Sharif's followers and the Turks. Ayyad Ludiyyi was instructed to remain in Algeria until the Bey had taken firm control of the region.[11] One of the resons behind Mawlay Sulayman's refusal to acceed to the wishes of Mawlay al-Arbi was certainly his reluctance to bring under his control a turbulent region from which subversion could easily spread to other parts of his kingdom.[12] Mawlay Sulayman proved his self-restraint when he chose not to aggrandize his eastern provinces at a time when his Turkish neighbours were in no state to oppose any resistance. Indeed, Mawlay Sulayman, who personally believed that Morocco extended eastward as far as the Tafna River, did nothing to alter the eastern borders of his kingdom.[10]

In 1812, Mawlay Sulayman agreed to grant refuge to Abd al-Qadir b. al-Sharif and promised to receive him hospitably. The following year, the people of Tlemcen and Oran sent again a delegation to Meknes in order to renew their bay'ah a to Mawlay Sulayman. Despite the popular enthusiasm for this event, Mawlay Sulayman seemed as determined as ever not to compromise himself in any such adventure.[13]

Oujda in 1922

Once news of the French invasion of Egypt and Syria in 1798 reached Morocco with reports of French soldiers looting, killing, and abusing the Egyptian people, Mawlay Sulayman responded by reversing the overseas trade policy of his father, Muhammad III. Commercial ties with Europe were reduced and foreign businessmen were encouraged to leave Morocco.[14] After this, the sultan turned to the Moroccan heartland, extracting from tribes the traditional Qur'anic taxes, Zakat and 'Ushr.[14] This policy worked for some time, but after 1817, a series of natural disasters destroyed crops, leading to rebellions.[15] Mawlay Sulayman presented the United States with a two-storey mud and stone building in Tangier in 1821, the country's first acquired property. It would house the American Legation and Consulate for 140 years.[16] During the Tripolitan War between the United States and Tripolitania, Morocco declared war on the United States in June 1802, however peace was restored in September 1803 when Edward Preble met Mawlay Sulayman in Tangier and signed a peace treaty.[17][18]

Mawlay Sulayman's successor, Mawlay Abd al-Rahman bin Hisham.

In the spring of 1819, during an epidemic of plague, the sultan decided to lead a major expedition against the Ait Umalu tribe as advised by Muhammad bin al-Ghazi, leader of the Zemur tribe. The army was assembled in Tadla and was made up of Haouz tribes, a northern army, Arab tribes of Azghar, the Udayda, and the 'Abid al-Bukhari. The number of Makhzen troops assembled in Tadla amounted to 60,000 men, and in May 1819, Mawlay Sulayman headed to the Adekhsan where the Ait Umalu were raided, and the two sides engaged in a battle soon after.[19] The battle was intense, however on the second day of the battle, Muhammad bin al-Ghazi abandoned the sultan and joined the Ait Umalu. The Makhzen troops were overwhelmed between the mountain and lowland rebels, and all tribal contingents deserted the sultan, who was left with the Udayda and 'Abid al-Bukhari.[20] By the end of the battle, the Makhzen armies were routed. Mawlay Ibrahim was wounded, and Mawlay Sulayman himself was imprisoned. However, the sultan was shown every respect as he was a Sharif (direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad), and was released three days later.[21][22]

This was followed by a rebellion in Fes in 1820, and Ibrahim bin Yazid proclaimed himself sultan there. From March 1821 to April 1822, Mawlay Sulayman turned his attention to suppressing the rebellions in Fes and Tetuan, sending an army of 15,000 men to Tetuan. The sieges lasted for about a year, and in the spring of 1821, the rebels suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Makhzen troops, and in July, the troops of the sultan inflicted heavy losses on the Ait Umalu. Subsequently, Mawlay Sulayman headed north to inspect the forces besieging Tetuan and spent most of the winter directing military operations from Tangier.[23] Despite receiving a reinforcement of 3,000 men from Dukkala who were mobilised by his nephew Mawlay Abd al-Rahman, the sultan failed to break the resistance of Tetuan, but succeeded in capturing the fortress of Martil in January 1822. Mawlay Sulayman decided to break the siege and return to besieging Fes.[24] Throughout the next month, Mawlay Sulayman pacified the regions north and east of Fes, and following the long siege of Fes, the people of the city opened the gates to the sultan who entered the city on 20 April 1822, and the people of Tetuan did the same soon after on 3 May 1822.[25][26]

After this, he was himself defeated near Marrakesh in 1822 and had little power left. Mawlay Sulayman entrusted the Ulama of Fes to proclaim his nephew Abd al-Rahman as the new Sultan once he died. Mawlay Sulayman died on 28 November 1822 and was succeeded by Abd al-Rahman bin Hisham.[26]