Lalla Fatima bint Suleiman
Lalla Fatima bint Suleiman (Arabic: للا فاطمة بنت سليمان), was one of the wives of Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah (r. 1757–1790), and the mother of Sultan Moulay Hisham (r. 1792 – 1797).
Lalla Fatima bint Suleiman للا فاطمة بنت سليمان | |
---|---|
Born | Lalla Fatima bint Suleiman al-Alaoui |
Spouse | Sidi Mohammed III (m. circa 1740 - died 1790) |
Issue | Moulay Mohammed Ali Moulay Abdelmalik Moulay El Mamoun Sultan Moulay Hisham Lalla Sofia Lalla Lubabah Lalla Sitt'al'Mulk Moulay Abdeselam |
House | Alaouite |
Father | Prince Moulay Suleiman al-Alaoui |
Religion | Islam |
Life
Princess Lalla Fatima was born to Moulay Suleiman, who is either a son of Moulay Ismail[1][2] or a son of Moulay Rachid.[3] Her mother's identity is not recorded. In the 1740s she married her cousin the then prince Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah, she was his first wife.[4] During his reign she was known as Mulat'ud'Dar (The Lady of the House).[1] By her high birth and personal merit she enjoyed a very high ascendancy over the mind of Sidi Mohammed III[4] and was one of his favorite wives. This ensured her also the attachment and veneration of the people,[4] she having with the outmost prudence attended to the government of Morocco, when the monarch was absent.[4]
She intervened before Infanta Luisa of Spain for the release of two Moroccan women galley prisoners[5] in Spain in exchange for Christian female captives imprisoned in Morocco.[5] The two royal women were friends and had already conversed in the past.[5] William Lempriere who met Lalla Fatima in 1789 for a medical consultation upon her request, described her as a perfect Moorish beauty.[6] With round and prominent cheeks blushed in deep red,[6] small black eyes and a face completely guiltless of expression.[6] During her consultation she requested him to be seated close by her side and to feel her pulse as she complained of a slight cold.[6]
The regret of the empire, at her death, was equal to her merit and her virtues,[4] she was widowed of her husband and died after him.
References
- trans. from Arabic by Eugène Fumet, Ahmed ben Khâled Ennâsiri. Kitâb Elistiqsâ li-Akhbâri doual Elmâgrib Elaqsâ [« Le livre de la recherche approfondie des événements des dynasties de l'extrême Magrib »], vol. IX : Chronique de la dynastie alaouie au Maroc (PDF) (in French). Ernest Leroux. p. 362.
- ibn zaydan. durafakhira (in Arabic). p. 30.
- Chénier, Louis de (1788). The present state of the empire of Morocco: Its animals, products,...The history of the dynasties since Edris... Johnson Reprint Corporation. pp. 312–313.
- Chénier, Louis de (1788). The present state of the empire of Morocco: Its animals, products,...The history of the dynasties since Edris... Johnson Reprint Corporation. pp. 312–313.
- Moha (dir.), SADIQI Fatima, NOWAIRA Amira, EL KHOLY Azza et ENNAJI (5 February 2013). Des femmes écrivent l'Afrique. L'Afrique du Nord (in French). KARTHALA Editions. p. 169. ISBN 978-2-8111-0732-1.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - 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. 373–374.