The Pasha's Betrayal
Thami El Glaoui ruled Marrakech like a medieval king. Then he bet on the wrong side of history.
He threw parties that made European aristocrats blush.
Thami El Glaoui, Pasha of Marrakech from 1912 to 1956, lived like the sultans of legend. His palace had 96 concubines. His banquets featured jugglers, acrobats, and dishes that took days to prepare. Churchill stayed with him. Roosevelt dined with him. Colette wrote about him. He collected Berber art, French wine, and enemies in equal measure.
The Glaoui family had been lords of the High Atlas for generations, controlling the mountain passes that connected Marrakech to the Sahara. When the French arrived in 1912, Thami made a calculation: collaborate, and keep power. Resist, and lose everything.
He collaborated.
The French made him Pasha — governor of Marrakech and its vast hinterland. In exchange, he delivered order. He crushed rebellions. He provided troops for French wars. He grew stupendously wealthy from the salt mines, the olive groves, the protection money that flowed through a territory the size of Belgium.
He also ruled with medieval brutality. Enemies disappeared. Tribes that resisted were broken. His private prison was legendary. The French looked away; he delivered results.
Then he overreached.
In 1953, the Glaoui helped the French depose Sultan Mohammed V, who was pushing for independence. The Sultan was exiled to Madagascar. The Glaoui installed a puppet. He thought he'd won.
He was wrong. Morocco exploded. Riots, bombings, a resistance that wouldn't stop. By 1955, the French gave up and brought Mohammed V home in triumph. The Sultan returned as a hero. The Glaoui returned as a traitor.
What happened next is still debated. The Glaoui went to the Sultan and prostrated himself, begging forgiveness. Some say he crawled. Some say he wept. Mohammed V, with calculated mercy, forgave him publicly — then let him die in disgrace two months later. The Glaoui's properties were seized. His name became a synonym for collaboration.
The palace in Marrakech is now a ruin, closed to visitors. The family scattered. The 96 concubines vanished into history. Forty years of absolute power, ended by one bad bet.
Churchill called him "one of the greatest rulers he had ever met." Morocco remembers him differently.
The Facts
- •Thami El Glaoui was Pasha of Marrakech 1912-1956
- •The Glaoui family controlled the Tizi n'Tichka pass
- •He helped depose Sultan Mohammed V in 1953
- •Mohammed V returned from exile in November 1955
- •The Glaoui died in January 1956
- •His palace in Marrakech remains largely closed
- •Gavin Maxwell's 'Lords of the Atlas' is the definitive account
- •Colin Falconer's novel 'The Lord of the Atlas' is loosely based on the Glaoui story
Sources
- Maxwell, Gavin. 'Lords of the Atlas.' Longmans
- Lacouture, Jean. 'Le Maroc à l'Épreuve.' Seuil
- Waterbury, John. 'The Commander of the Faithful.' Columbia University Press
