page_title: Ahmad al-Mansur
section_title: Rule (1578–1603)
hierarchical_section_title: Ahmad al-Mansur / Rule (1578–1603)
caption_attribution_description: English: El Badi Palace by Adriaen_Matham 1640. Français&#160;: Palatium magni. Regis Maroci in Barbaria. Vue de Marrakech en 1641 / d'après l'estampe d'Adrien Matham conservée au Cabinet des estampes à Amsterdam, Demoulin frères sc.
context_page_description: Ahmad al-Mansur was Sultan of the Saadi dynasty from 1578 to his death in 1603, the sixth and most famous of all rulers of the Saadis. Ahmad al-Mansur was an important figure in both Europe and Africa in the sixteenth century; his powerful army and strategic location made him an important power player in the late Renaissance period. He has been described as "a man of profound Islamic learning, a lover of books, calligraphy and mathematics, as well as a connoisseur of mystical texts and a lover of scholarly discussions."
context_section_description: Al-Mansur began his reign by leveraging his dominant position with the vanquished Portuguese during prisoner ransom talks, the collection of which filled the Moroccan royal coffers. Shortly after, he began construction on the great architectural symbol of this new birth of Moroccan power and relevance; the grand palace in Marrakesh called El Badi, or "the marvelous" (El Badi Palace).
  Eventually the coffers began to run dry due to the great expense of supporting the military, extensive spy services, the palace and other urban building projects, a royal lifestyle and a propaganda campaign aimed at building support for his controversial claim to the Caliphate.
caption: Marrakech and El Badi Palace, by Adriaen Matham, 1640
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)"}