Marriage contract from 18th-century Morocco

[Morocco - Marriage contract]. Marriage Instrument 1156/1743

€ 6.500,00

The marriage contract of a descendant of the Idrisid dynasty, whose genealogy is recorded in great detail, reaching back to the Idrisid rulers and ultimately to the Prophet Muhammad. This Moroccan marriage contract is particularly concerned with the dowry payments: it specifies the dowry amount, sets out when this amount will be paid, and confirms a payment.

The marriage in question took place in 1743 CE (1156 H), but a second date appears just before the signatures of the involved parties. This second date, 1748 CE (1161 H), serves to confirm not that the marriage has taken place, but that a dowry payment has been made, five years after the marriage itself. Per the contract, part of the dowry was paid out immediately, with the rest paid in instalments over the next twenty years.

The groom with the princely lineage is Alsharif Muhammad ibn al-Sharif Sidi al-Hasan ibn Sidi Muhammad ibn Sidi al-Hassan ibn Sidi Idris, whom the contract links to the last king of the Idris, Prince Sidi al-Hassan. The new wife is Zainab, the eldest daughter of Moulay Ahmed bin Moulay Muhammad al-Iraqi al-Husayni.