Ahmad Al-Mansur

Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur (1549-1603) was one of the most important rulers in the history of Morocco, who propelled the country to the forefront of international politics. He introduced Morocco to a process of modernization, which to this day bears the mark of his twenty-five-year rule in the sixteenth century. Although famed for his cunning diplomacy in the power struggle over the Mediterranean, and his allegiance with Britain against Spain in the conquest for the newly discovered Americas, he was more than a political and military tactician. A descendent of the Prophet Muhammad himself, al-Mansur was a charismatic religious authority with ambitions to become Caliph and ruler of all Muslims.