In 1839, the sultan of Morocco gifted the United States president Martin Van Buren a pair of lions

In 1839, sultan Abd al-Rahman ibn Hisham of Morocco sent a pair of lions to the US consulate in Tangier as a present for President Martin Van Buren. The gift was impossible to refuse and was shipped to the US by 1840.

History : Abdelhalim Hafed’s astounding story about the 1971 attempted coup d’état

In Morocco, Egyptian singer Abdelhalim Hafed lived one of the scariest moments of his life. Invited by King Hassan II, he was held in Rabat’s main radio station taken over by rebels during the 1971 attempted coup d’état.

Estebanico Zemmouri, the first Moroccan to reach the American soil

Estebanico the Moore and Mustapha Zemmouri, are both nicknames of the Moroccan slave who ended up in Florida after being captured and enslaved by the Portuguese. The young Azemmour-native is the first African and Moroccan man to ever lay a foot on the American soil.

History : When London offered Gibraltar to Madrid exchanging it with a Moroccan territory

Even though the Moroccan State has toned down the territorial dispute over the possession of Gibraltar, the Kingdom was at the center of almost all the political solutions surrounding the Spanish-British disagreement over the control of the overseas territory. This was confirmed later through a letter that was sent in July 1940. 

Moroccan diplomats #23 : Mohammed Temim, the Kingdom's ambassador to Louis XIV

«Mohammed Temim, Ambassadeur du Maroc, a la Comédie Italienne» is the title given to a painting of Antoine Coypel in 1682. The painting is expected to be exhibited from Sunday 22nd of October to 25th of February 2018 at the Palace of Versailles allowing visitors to know more about the story of Mohammed Temim, the ambassador of Moulay Ismail sent to meet Louis XIV.

Moroccan diplomats #21 : The Republic of Salé' s ambassadors to London

In 1627, the newly founded Republic of Salé sent two ambassadors to London to negotiate a treaty. England was planning to turn the republic into a military base for a joint action against Spain.

Moroccan diplomats #20 : Driss Al Amraoui, the printing press and the «Parisiennes»

Sent by Alaouite Sultan Mohammed IV to the Court of Napoleon III, Driss Al Amraoui, son of a scholar, left a tale of his wonder for printing machines, new technologies and the situation of women in France.

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.