Morocco, 1677.

The tyrannical King Ismail resides over the palace of Meknes. Through the sweltering heat of the palace streets, Nus Nus is his slave. He is  circumsized, of course, and as eunuh fights his emotions.

Meanwhile, young, fair Alys Swann is captured during her crossing to England, where she is due to be wed. Sold into Ismail’s harem, she is forced to choose: renounce her faith and become subject to the King or die.

Ismail ibn Sharif was the second ruler of the Moroccan Alaouite dynasty. He is also known in his native country as the “Warrior King”.  Ismaïl is also known as a fearsome ruler and used at least 25,000 slaves for the construction of his capital (also mentioned in the book). His Christian slaves were often used as bargaining counters with the European powers, ransoming them back for inflated sums or for rich gifts. Most of his slaves were obtained by Barbary pirates in raids on Western Europe.

martin_des_gobelins_pierre_denis-the_reception_of_franois_pidou_de_sai-OM9da300-10157_19991217_6234_73
Ismail ibn Sharif receiving ambassador François Pidou de Saint Olon from Louis XIV of France, by Pierre-Denis Martin (1693)

He fought the Ottoman Turks  in 17th century and fought with Spaniards and French kings.

6 Comments »

  1. After looking into a handful of the blog posts on your web page, I seriously like your technique of writing a blog. I added it to my bookmark site list and will be checking back soon. Please visit my web site as well and tell me how you feel.

    Like

  2. Υou actually make it seem realⅼy easy
    together with your presentation but I find tһis matter to be actually somеtһing
    that I belieᴠe I would by no means understand. It kind of
    feeⅼs too complex and very broad for mе.
    I am looking ahead on your next post, I will attеmpt to get the hang of it!

    Like

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.