Morocco's Gunpowder Revolution: The Saadian Artillery

Long before the Saadian sultans built their lavish tombs in Marrakech, they transformed Moroccan warfare with gunpowder. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how the Saadian dynasty harnessed cannons, arquebuses, and European mercenaries to crush the Portuguese at the Battle of Wadi al-Makhazin, subdue rival tribes, and forge a centralized state. From the Ottoman-trained Janissary-style corps to the captured Portuguese artillery repurposed at the al-Mansuriyya arsenal, we trace the military revolution that underpinned Saadian power. We also meet key figures like the renegade artillery master known as Ahmad al-Inglizi—the 'Englishman'—who cast Morocco's first bronze cannons, and examine the social costs of this new warfare, including the heavy taxes and forced labor that built the ramparts of Marrakech. This is a story of technology, empire, and the human lives caught in between. #SaadianDynasty #GunpowderEmpires #AhmadAlMansur #Morocco #ArtilleryHistory #BattleOfWadiAlMakhazin #AhmadAlInglizi #AlMansuriyya #OttomanEmpire #PortugueseEmpire #Marrakech #MilitaryHistory #EarlyModernWarfare #NorthAfrica #SiegeWarfare #Makhzen #History #FexingoHistory #Almoravid #Almohad Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo