The Alaouite Dynasty: Morocco’s Royal Family from 1631 to Today

The Alaouite dynasty has ruled Morocco continuously since Moulay Rashid consolidated power around 1664–1668, making it roughly 360 years of uninterrupted rule by the same family. If you count from the founding patriarch Moulay Sharif in 1631, the figure stretches to nearly 400 years. No other royal family in the world has held power over the same nation-state for as long in an unbroken line — a claim Moroccan historians make with considerable pride.

The Alaouites claim descent from Ali ibn Abi Talib and Fatimah, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, through the Hasanid line. This lineage — called sharif or alaoui in Arabic — is considered sacred in Islam and grants the dynasty religious legitimacy that underpins the king's title Commander of the Faithful (Amir al-Mu'minin). The claim is widely accepted within Morocco and across the Islamic world, and it gives the monarchy a legitimacy that goes beyond mere political power.

Moulay Ismail (reigned 1672–1727) was the second great sultan of the Alaouite era and arguably the most formidable ruler in Moroccan history. He made Meknes his imperial capital, constructing enormous palaces, a 40km circuit of walls, underground grain storehouses, and stables for 12,000 horses. He maintained a standing Black Guard army recruited from sub-Saharan Africa, centralised tax collection, and held Morocco together for 55 years against European and Ottoman pressure. Walking through Meknes today, his ambition is visible in every gate and rampart.

Meknes is essentially the dynasty's most extravagant monument. Moulay Ismail chose it over Fes and Marrakech as his capital specifically because it had no powerful existing merchant class to challenge him, giving him a blank canvas. He poured decades of construction into granaries at Heri es-Souani, an immense palace complex (now largely ruined), the triumphal Bab Mansour gate, and the prison of Kara. His mausoleum remains active and can be visited — non-Muslims enter the courtyard, and the green-tiled interior is genuinely stunning.

The Alaouite dynasty is Sunni Muslim, following the Maliki school of jurisprudence which is the dominant tradition across North and West Africa. Despite their name and their claimed descent from Ali ibn Abi Talib — a figure central to Shia Islam — the Alaouites have always ruled according to Sunni practice. The sharif lineage in Morocco is distinct from Shia Islam; it confers religious prestige and baraka (divine blessing) without implying the theological beliefs associated with Twelver Shia traditions in Iran or Iraq.

The exact number depends on whether you count all sultans (including those during the Protectorate period) or only post-independence kings. There have been roughly 20 sultans from Moulay Sharif to the present day, with considerable variation in reign lengths — from Moulay Ismail's 55 years to several rulers who held power for less than a year during periods of succession disputes. In the modern era (post-1956), Morocco has had three kings: Mohammed V (who died in 1961), Hassan II (1961–1999), and the current King Mohammed VI.

Meknes is the unmissable starting point — the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail, Bab Mansour gate, and Heri es-Souani granary are all within walking distance of each other and represent the dynasty's imperial peak. In Rabat, the Mausoleum of Mohammed V is free to enter and worth the short walk from Hassan Tower. Fes was the Alaouites' first great conquest; the Royal Palace façade and the medieval medina they helped preserve are both compelling. A private guided tour of the imperial cities circuit — Fes, Meknes, Rabat, and Marrakech — is the most efficient way to join the historical dots.