besides their slaves and domestics. Priestesses, who are so far learned as to read and write, are employed to teach the younger part of the harem to repeat their prayers, and to instruct the older females in the princi- ples of their religion. The other religious institutions of the empire are so similar to those of most Moham- medan countries as to render a separate account of thcra altogether superfluous. See Mohajijiedanism.
The history of Morocco is, generally speaking, similar to that of the rest of Northern Africa (q. v.) down to the end of the loth century. About that time it was formed into a monarchy, and, notwithstanding internal divisions, enjoyed considerable prosperity, and the con- fines of the empire were extended as far as Timbuctoo, This empire fell to pieces, and was succeeded in 1647 by that of the Sherifs of Tatilelet, who conquered both Morocco Proper and Fez, and united the whole country under one government. This is the present ruling dy- nasty. In the middle of the 17th century the empire of Morocco embraced part of the present province of Algeria, and extended south as far as Guinea, where it came into collision with the Portuguese settlements. Since the commencement of the 19th century the rebel- lions of the wild mountain tribes, the disturbances in Algeria, and difficulties with foreign states, caused by the aggressions of the Rifl' pirates, have greatly retarded the well-conceived measures of the various "rulers for the development of the resources and increase in the civilization of Morocco. In 1817 piracy was prohibited throughout Morocco. In 1844 Morocco took part in the war of Abd-el-Kader against the French, in the course of which Tangier was bombarded and Mogadore occu- pied ; but peace was concluded in the same year. In 1851 and 1856 complications took place with France concerning some French vessels which had been plun- dered by the Kiff pirates, but in each case compensation was given by the sultan. In 1859 the Spanish govern- ment, smarting under a series of similar outrages, de- manded compensation, and also an apology for an insult to the Spanish flag at Ceuta; and on the sidtan's dis- claiming all responsibility for these acts, war was de- clared by Spain Oct. 22, 1859. A short invasion brought the sultan to terms on March 25, 1860, and a treaty was accordingly signed April 27, 1860, by which the sultan ceded great commercial and social advantages to Span- iards. Christianity was by special treaty afforded many advantages also, but of course they are confined to Roman Catholics. As a consequence of these trea- ties a mission-house was opened at Fez, which promises to do something, but has as yet accomplished very little for the conversion of natives to Christianity. See Sjiec- ckio f/eof/7-aJico e stutistico deW imperio di Mivocco (Ge- noa, 1833) ; Calderon, Cuadro fjeografico, studistico, Ms- torico, e politico del imperio de Marrucos (Madrid, 1844) ; Renou, Description geographique de Vewpire de Maroe (Paris, 1846) ; Augustin, Marokko in seinen geograpM- schen, Jiistorischen, religiosen, politischen, etc., Zustan- den (Pesth, 1845); Rohlf, " Reiseberichte" in Peter- mann's Mittheilungen (1863-65).
Morocco, Samuel Israeli of, a Jewish convert to Christianity, and an author of considerable distinc- tion, who lived at the close of the 11th centuiy, is said to have come to Toledo from Fez, in Africa, about the year 1085, where he became a convert to Christianity. Before his conversion was completed he addressed a let- ter to rabbi Isaac, a Jew in the kingdom of Blorocco, in which he says, " I would fain learn of thee, out of the testimonj- of the law and the prophets, and other Script- ures, why the Jews are thus smitten. Is this a captivity wherein we are, which may be properly called the per- petual anger of God, because it has no end; for it is now above a thousand years since we were carried cap- tive by Titus? And yet our fathers, who worshipped idols, killed the prophets, and cast the law behind their back, were punished only with a seventy-years' captiv- itj', and then brought home agaui. But now there is no end of our calamities, nor do the prophets promise
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any." This famous epistle, r.lJX, which was originally written in Arabic, and gives in twenty-seven chapters an ample refutation of Jewish objections to the Chris- tian faith, was translated from the Hebrew into the Latin by the Dominican Alfonso dc Buen Ilombre in 1329, under the title, Tractafulus laiillum iit'dis ad con- vincemlum Judceos de errore suo, quern hdbmt de Mes- sia adhuc ven/uro, et de observantia Icffis Mosaicm, and often since, and has been inserted in the liibliotheca Patriim, xviii, 1519; into Italian by G. A. Brunati (Tri- dent. 1712) ; into (icrmaii by W. Link (Altenburg, 1524), and inserted in Luther's works, v, 507-583 ; and often since; by E. Trautmann (Goslar, 170G) ; by F. G. Stiel- dorff (Trier, 1833) ; into English by Th. Calvert, under the title. Demonstration of ike true Messiah, by K. Sam- uel, a converted Jew (s. 1. e. a.). A Spanish translation of this letter still remains in MS. in the library of the Escurial. Soon after his conversion rabbi Samuel ap- pears to have returned to Jlorocco, whence his surname, and there to have held a conference on religion with a learned Mohammedan, of which his account, still in MS., is also to be found in the library of the Escurial. Comp. FUrst, Bibl. Judaica, ii, 152 sq. ; De liossi, Dizionario storico deffli aiitori Kbrei, p. 208 (Germ, transl. by Ilam- bergcr); Wolf, Mbl. Ilebr. iii, 1100-1106; Da Costa, Israel ami the Gentiles, p. 311; Adams, History of the Jews, ii, 40. (B. I'.)