Moroccan diplomats #19 : Mohamed Al Ghassani and the lost manuscripts

Sent by Sultan Moulay Ismail to the court of King Carlos II of Spain, Mohamed Al Ghassani was tasked with the mission of releasing Muslim captives and retrieve Morocan manuscripts lost in the Iberian country.

Moroccan diplomats #18 : Ben Othman Al Meknassi, a historian, writer and ambassador

Sent by Alaouite Sultan Mohammed III to the court of King Carlos III of Spain, Mohamed Ben Othman Al Meknassi had to discuss the release of another ambassador who was held hostage in Malta.

Moroccan diplomats #17 : Moses Ben Attar, Sultan Ismail’s unfortunate plenipotentiary

Entrusted by Sultan Moulay Ismail with the assignment of conducting a peace treaty with Britain, Moses Ben Attar was a Jewish merchant from Salé. Although he was named Naguid in 1724, he was constantly fined by the King.

Moroccan diplomats #16 : Abdelkrim Ragoun, from Tetouan to Constantinople

Sent by sultan Mohammed ben Abdellah to the Ottoman Empire, Abdelkrim Ragoun did not return from Constantinople empty-handed. The diplomat brought a valuable gift to the sultan.

Moroccan diplomats #15 : Joseph Diaz, Morocco's ambassador who enjoyed reading print media

Don Joseph Diaz was Morocco’s ambassador extraordinary to Great Britain in 1707. Sent by Sultan Moulay Ismail, the diplomat enjoyed his social life in London, including reading the print media.

Moroccan diplomats #14 : Meir Macnin, a cunning merchant and an untrusted diplomat

Meir Macnin was a cunning merchant, who was operating in Essaouira. He left Morocco for England in 1799 for commerce but returned years later to become the sultan’s diplomat.

Moroccan diplomats #13 : Abdelkader Ach’ach, an ambassador who fell into disfavor

Sent by Alaouite Sultan Moulay Abderrahmane to the court of King Louis-Philippe I of France, Abdelkader Ach’ach’s diplomatic mission to Paris affected Tetouan’s most powerful family.

Moroccan diplomats #12 : Jacob Benider, a Jewish-British ambassador with divided loyalties

Jacob Benider is a Jew of British nationality who was appointed in 1772 by Sultan Mohamed III as Morocco’s ambassador to Britain. Once in London, the diplomat suffered several indignities.

Moroccan diplomats #11 : Mohamed ben Askar, the Saadi dynasty's unlucky emissary

In the 1630s Morocco and England argued over piracy activities. By the end of 1638, Saadi sultan Mohamed Cheikh Es-Sghir sent diplomat Mohamed ben Askar to Charles I’s court to demand action against English corsairs. The mission was a complete failure. 

Moroccan diplomats #10 : Ahmed Ben Adel aka Shakespeare’s «Prince of Morocco»

Sent by Saadi sultan Ahmed Al Mansour to Queen Elizabeth I a couple of years before diplomat Abdeouahed Anoun, Caid Ahmed Ben Adel discussed the first terms of the Anglo-Moroccan Alliance. In London, the diplomat had even inspired William Shakespeare for his playwright «The Merchant of Venice».