Yusef of Morocco


Yusef ben Hassan was a Sultan of the Alaouite dynasty. He ruled Morocco from 1912 until his death in 1927.

Life

Yusef was born in the city of Meknes to Sultan Hassan I and his fifth wife, Lalla Ruqiya, a Circassian lady from Constantinople. He was the youngest of Sultan Hassan I's sons. He inherited the throne from his brother, Sultan Abdelhafid, who abdicated after the Treaty of Fez, which made Morocco a French protectorate. He was a member of the Alaouite Dynasty.
Yusef's reign was turbulent and marked with frequent uprisings against Spain and France. The most serious of these was a Berber uprising in the Rif Mountains, led by Abd el-Krim and the uprising of Sahraoui tribes, led by the son of Ma al-'Aynayn, Ahmed al-Hiba. Though this originally began in the Spanish-controlled area in the north of the country, it reached the French-controlled area until a coalition of France and Spain finally defeated the rebels in 1925. To ensure his own safety, Yusef moved the court from Fez to Rabat, which has served as the capital of the country ever since.
Yusef's reign came to an abrupt end when he died suddenly of uremia in 1927. He was succeeded by his son Muhammad. He was buried in the royal necropolis of the Moulay Abdallah Mosque.

Honours