Could the Ottoman Empire conquer Morocco during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, assuming he has fewer enemies to deal with in other fronts (say Vienna is taken and sacked in 1529), and if so, can the empire control it for a long period of time? What would a Morocco Eyalet look like? Could the Barbary Pirates operate in the Atlantic?
Ottoman Morocco?
- Thread starter Vinization
- Start date
Some kind of Algeria or Tunis agreement would need to be made. The ottomans would turn Morroco into a vassal state like Tunis and Algeria instead of directly controlling it. It would not be an Eyalet or Vilayet. If Morocco bends to the Ottomans however there is a good possibility of Ottoman presence in the race for America.
I would say that the island of Malta would need to fall to ottoman control so as to ack as a power projection platform over the ottoman North African vassals
maybe have Spain invade Morocco due to butterflies from that event, have the Spanish kill of the Moroccan Royal family and win so much that Moroccan leaders beg the ottoman sultan for help as caliph of Islam. The noble leaders will offer him the title king or sultan as long as they get to more or less runs the country in his absence.
Most likely the Ottomans would put a puppet ruler, with Morocco having a lot of autonomy. One candidate was Ali Abu Hassun, of the Wattasid Dynasty. He pledge his allegiance to the Ottomans, to get support to fight against the Saadians, but died at the Battle of Tadla.
It would have interesting effects on Songhai- I doubt the ottomans could pull off an invasion into the Sahara, so healthier trade routes could keep that empire fairly healthy for a while longer.
Given that Morocco would become the frontier, it would probably replace Algiers as the most militarized part of Ottoman North Africa, and if we're saying that decentralisation would still occur as otl, it would be the section where the Turkish Janissaries retain the most power in the devolved government.
Do we think Ottoman Morocco would have good relationships with England to mirror OTL? Or would they stick with France?
Also I have a feeling that you would slow the arabisation of the Berbers by removing an essentially fully arabised royal court as a centre of cultural prestige and replacing it with a multilingual provincial court.
None of Morocco's imperial cities are on the coast apart from Rabat but that's on the Atlantic coast, so either they make a whole new capital from scratch on the Mediterranean, or they are strong enough to secure free transit through the straits of Gibraltar to access the potential capitals of Rabat and Tangiers. I don't think it's feasible for them to base their operations anywhere nearly as far inland as Fez.
A capital on Rabat would be very interesting- given that the city was dominated in the period in question by Spanish speaking Morisco immigrants there's a lot of potential for cultural mixing and unique developments. I could see a situation where Arabic and Turkish are languages of the government while Andalusian Spanish is the language of the navy and the Lingua franca amongst the Barbary corsairs.
Given that Morocco would become the frontier, it would probably replace Algiers as the most militarized part of Ottoman North Africa, and if we're saying that decentralisation would still occur as otl, it would be the section where the Turkish Janissaries retain the most power in the devolved government.
Do we think Ottoman Morocco would have good relationships with England to mirror OTL? Or would they stick with France?
Also I have a feeling that you would slow the arabisation of the Berbers by removing an essentially fully arabised royal court as a centre of cultural prestige and replacing it with a multilingual provincial court.
None of Morocco's imperial cities are on the coast apart from Rabat but that's on the Atlantic coast, so either they make a whole new capital from scratch on the Mediterranean, or they are strong enough to secure free transit through the straits of Gibraltar to access the potential capitals of Rabat and Tangiers. I don't think it's feasible for them to base their operations anywhere nearly as far inland as Fez.
A capital on Rabat would be very interesting- given that the city was dominated in the period in question by Spanish speaking Morisco immigrants there's a lot of potential for cultural mixing and unique developments. I could see a situation where Arabic and Turkish are languages of the government while Andalusian Spanish is the language of the navy and the Lingua franca amongst the Barbary corsairs.
Osman Aga
Banned
Conquest is not realistic. An Algeria analogue might be possible, with the Ottoman Forces eventually deposing the Wattasid/Saadi Sultans and become the rulers like Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli.
Vienna sack in 1529 doesn't mean much. The city wasn't too important in 1529 as in 1683. The Habsburg rulers would depart for Linz until the Ottomans depart the city. If Louis II of Hungary lives or Ferdinand and his wife and offspring (if he has any) die due to some illness, there isn't much for Charles V to do to save Hungary in the name of the Habsburgs. Louis II living means no Habsburg intervention at all. Ferdinand and his family dying means less will from the Habsburg side to start wars over the Hungarian throne and more success for Zapolya.
What it would result? The Barbary Pirates were usually moving beyond the Mediterranean. Otherwise the whole "Turkish abductions" in Iceland would be fiction. Ottoman Morocco would just be Northern Morocco at first, around the Rif region and Fez, Meknes, Rabat, mostly targeting the Portuguese and Spanish Settlements on the Coasts (Melilla, Ceut, Tanger, Mazagao). The South, around Marrakech would be ruled by locals, probably at war every now and then with the Ottoman Vassal in the North.
Ottoman Morocco depends on the situation. If the Ottoman ruler over Morocco subjugates all of it over time he will only nominally consider himself as a vassla of the Ottoman Empire, and no longer at all if that is a better option.
What it means for the rest? No Iberian Union as the Portuguese King will not move to Morocco to support the pro-Portuguese pretender. The Songhai live a bit longer. Spain will be forced to fight the Ottomans beyond the Battle of Tunis (1573) to avoid the Ottomans consolidating all of North Africa and maybe use it as a springboard for the invasion of Iberia (not gonna happen but Spain won't be sure of that). The English might be more persuaded to support the Ottoman Moroccan Vassal to invade Iberia, if only it is just to raid Cadiz and/or the Silver Fleet.
I think you're underestimating the influence of forces within the Algerian and Tunisian courts OTL that depended on being ottoman vassals to maintain legitimacy, and the value of ottoman recognition as a vassal to quash local rivals in the delicate balance between bey's and dey's and governors and Janissaries etc. As long as the governor is allowed relative autonomy, being a part of the empire brings more benefits than independence.
Could we see a few barbary pirates operating in the Atlantic or maybe even the Caribbean? They did attack Iceland once, as stated by @Osman Aga.
Osman Aga
Banned
Theoretically speaking yes, the earlier they settle on the smaller islands of the Caribbean, the better. If the Ottomans turn the Moroccans into a vassla in the early to mid 16th century (1520s-1550s) then this Morocco could try for more dangerous missions, raiding Spanish settlements on the Spanish Main. But considering how far away it is from Morocco and no save post between Mainland Americas/Cuba to Morocco, eventual settlement on smaller islands would be necessary (Barbados, Tobago, Virgin Islands etc...).
Well the bey's and dey's power remained relatively weak, even if they were acknowledged as independent enough to make treaties with by European powers. The ottoman court kept a watchful eye on them, and could ruin a particular figures political career by promoting another official, and the bey's/ deys were never strong enough to maintain their position independent of ottoman support. The fact that there really is no single official post that we can point to as the obvious figure that would take charge signals how power kept rotating between bey's and dey's and pashas, preventing any one post from being strong enough to declare independence.
After all, you get to act as a king in all but name, so why would you ruin it and get yourself replaced by going for the name as well?
Well if the ottomans control morocco the sane way they control the rest of the maghreb I think it opens the door for ottoman influence in the muslim states of west africa. Dunno how strong it would be compared to ottoman influence in western Indonesia but its a possibility. Also maybe moroccan raids get more daring going as far as raiding spanish colonies in america.
Resurrecting this thread to ask: Assuming Morocco is ruled by an Ottoman vassal (like the Wattasid dynasty was during its last years, before their ousting at Tadla) and Malta is conquered in either 1551 or 1565, could the Ottomans send weapons and reinforcements in a high enough amount to help the Muslims of Granada in their great rebellion?
Last edited:
Only through minor butterflies like some random prince surviving, perhaps, because I can see king Sebastião being even more eager to go crusading with the Ottomans on his doorstep. To be fair to him they'll probably try to take Ceuta, so he'll have a good reason to at least send an army to North Africa, and heck, the Spanish might be willing to help.
I believe it'd be unlikely, still too distant, and the Ottomans start being a menace to all Christians so Spain gets help in order to quash said rebellion.
Continuing the discussion on the Granada rebellion, could the Ottomans take over Málaga or Almería? This might clear a path through which they could constantly send weapons and reinforcements to the rebels.