Moroccan Literature - 1000 - 1500

1500

Moroccan literature saw its first flowering in the period of the Almoravid dynasty (1040–1147). In this period two writers stand out: Ayyad ben Moussa and Ibn Bajja and, in al-Andalus, Al-Tutili, Ibn Baqi, Ibn Khafaja and Ibn Sahl. An impression of a number of great poets of the period is given in anthologies and biographies like Kharidat al Qsar, Al Mutrib and Mujam as-Sifr. From 1086 Morocco and Al-Andalus, with its rich tradition from the Umayyads, formed one state and the Almoravid sultans stimulated culture in their courts and in the country. Ibn Bassam dedicated his anthology Dhakhira fî mahâsin ahl al-Gazira to Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar and Ibn Khaqan his Qala-id al-Iqyan to Yusuf ibn Tashfin.

Under the Almohad dynasty (1147–1269) Morocco experienced another period of prosperity and brilliance of learning. The Almohad built the Marrakech Koutoubia Mosque, which accommodated no fewer than 25,000 people, but was also famed for its books, manuscripts, libraries and book shops, which gave it its name; the first book bazaar in history. The Almohad sultan Abu Yaqub Yusuf had a great love for collecting books. He founded a great private library, which was eventually moved to the kasbah of Marrakech and turned into a public library. Under the Almohads, the sovereigns encouraged the construction of schools and sponsored scholars of every sort. Ibn Rushd (Averroes), Ibn Tufail, Ibn Zuhr, Ibn al-Abbar, Ibn Amira and many more poets, philosophers and scholars found sanctuary and served the Almohad rulers.

During the reign of the Marinid dynasty (1215–1420) it was especially Sultan Abu Inan Faris (r. 1349-1358) who stimulated literature. He built the Bou Inania Madrasa and created the library of the university of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez. At his invitation the icon of Moroccan literature Ibn Batuta returned to settle down in the city of Fez and write his Rihla or travelogue in cooperation with Ibn Juzayy. Abdelaziz al-Malzuzi (-1298) and Malik ibn al-Murahhal (1207–1300) are considered as the two greatest poets of the Marinid era. Historiographers were, among many others, Ismail ibn al-Ahmar and Ibn Idhari. Poets of Al-Andalus, like Ibn Abbad al-Rundi (1333–1390) and Salih ben Sharif al-Rundi (1204–1285) settled in Morocco, often forced by the political situation of the Nasrid kingdom. Both Ibn al-Khatib (1313–1374) and Ibn Zamrak, vizirs and poets whose poems can be read on the walls of the Alhambra, found shelter here. The heritage left by the literature of this time that saw the flowering of Al-Andalus and the rise of three Berber dynasties had its impact on Moroccan literature throughout the following centuries.