Moulay Ismail the Bloodthirsty (1675-1727) was a Moroccan ruler. The Alaouite sultan is said to have sired 888 children (548 sons and 340 daughters) through a harem of 500 women during his life. Meknes, the capital city he built, is sometimes called the "Versailles of Morocco", because of its extravagance. Jump to: navigation, search Events January 5 - The Battle of Turckeim June 18 - Battle of Fehrbellin August 10 - King Charles II of England places the foundation stone of the Royal Greenwich Observatory in London - construction begins November 11 - Guru Gobind Singh becomes the Tenth Guru of the Sikhs. ... Jump to: navigation, search Events June 11 - George, Prince of Wales becomes King George II of Great Britain. ... The Alaouite Dynasty is the name of the current Moroccan royal family. ... In traditional Arab culture, the harîm حريم (cf. ... Meknes is a city in northern Morocco 130 kilometres from the capital Rabat and 60 kilometres from Fes. ... Jump to: navigation, search Versailles in 1789. ...

During Ismail's reign, Morocco's capital city was moved from Marrakech to Meknes. Inspired by the indulgence of King Louis XIV of France, Ismail began construction of an elaborate imperial palace and other monuments. At its peak, Ismail's empire spread from present day Algeria to Mauritania. Marrakech (مراكش marrākish), known as the Pearl of the South, is a city in southwestern Morocco in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. ... Jump to: navigation, search For the musical group of the same name, see Louis XIV (band). ...

The success of his empire was not without cost. Ismail is noted as one of the greatest figures in Moroccan history, well known for his legendary cruelty. In order to intimidate rival tribes, Ismail ordered that his city walls be adorned with 10,000 heads of slain enemies. Legends of the ease with which Ismail could behead or torture laborers or servants he thought to be lazy are numerous.

Moulay Ismail forced 25,000 Christian slaves to toil under brutal conditions as laborers in the construction of his capital. Over the course of his reign, it is estimated that over a million people were forced into slavery under his command. Over 16,000 slaves from sub-Saharan Africa were captured to serve in his elite Black Guard. By the time of Ismail's death, the guard had grown tenfold, the largest in Moroccan history. Jump to: navigation, search Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus. ... Jump to: navigation, search Satellite image The Sahara is the worlds second largest desert (second to Antarctica), over 9,000,000 km² (3,500,000 mi²), located in northern Africa and is 2. ... // Etymology World map showing Africa (geographically) The name Africa came into Western use through the Romans, who used the name Africa terra — land of the Afri (plural, or Afer singular) — for the northern part of the continent, as the province of Africa with its capital Carthage, corresponding to modern-day...

After Ismail's death, his grandson, Mohammad III moved the capital back to Marrakech, and stripped Meknes of much of its riches to build the new imperial city. Ismail's grand mausoleum is open even to non-Muslims as a testament to the greatness of this effective but barbaric ruler. Sidi Mohammed III Ben Abdellah al-Qatib (1710? 1790) was Sultan from 1757 to 1790 under the Alaouite Dynasty and originating from the Moasmouda tribe. ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ...