Word: thami
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1953-1953
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...most powerful influence among the Berbers is that of Si el Hadj Thami el Mezouari el Glaoui, the aged, cunning and ruthless Pasha of Marrakech. Once a bandit in the southern Moroccan desert, El Glaoui began helping the French in 1912, the first year of the protectorate; he sheltered some French citizens from possible slaughter by rebels. The late great Marshal Lyautey was so pleased that he put the onetime bandit in charge of his Moroccan troops. Eventually El Glaoui became the local ruler of a large territory, and acquired a considerable fortune from mine dividends, taxes and miscellaneous "gifts...