As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Affiliate disclosure.

Home / People / Ismail Ibn Sharif

Historical person

Ismail Ibn Sharif

1645–1727

Ismail Ibn Sharif was sultan of Morocco from 1672 to 1727 and a major builder of the Alaouite state. He created a powerful standing army, established Meknes as an imperial capital, fought rivals and European enclaves, and pursued diplomacy with France, England and other powers.

Ismail Ibn Sharif also held the offices or ranks of mulay. Ismail Ibn Sharif belonged to the 'Alawi dynasty. Ismail Ibn Sharif was born in Tafilalt and died in Meknes.

Giles Milton’s White Gold places Sultan Moulay Ismail at the centre of Thomas Pellow’s long captivity in Morocco. Pellow is forced to convert to Islam and eventually serves in the sultan’s forces, allowing the book to examine Ismail’s court, military power and reliance on enslaved Europeans alongside the corsair system that supplied captives from ships and coastal raids.

Non Fiction

Non Fiction featuring Ismail Ibn Sharif (1 book)

Biographies, histories and other non-fiction are listed separately from the historical novels above.