The Alaouite dynasty is Morocco's reigning royal house, on the throne without interruption since 1666. Claiming descent from the Prophet Muhammad, the sharifian dynasty has weathered three and a half centuries of European empires, protectorates, and independence struggles — making it one of the oldest continuous reigning dynasties on earth.
The dynasty rose from the Tafilalt oasis in the southeast, where Sharif ibn Ali was proclaimed sultan in 1631 as the Saadian order crumbled. His son Moulay Rashid seized Fez in 1666 and Marrakech two years later, reuniting a fractured country under one throne. The Alaouites rule as sharifs — descendants of the Prophet through his grandson Hasan — a lineage that makes the sultan, in Moroccan eyes, Commander of the Faithful as well as king.
