Sayyida al Hurra was born around 1485 to a wealthy Muslim family and fled to Morocco when Ferdinand and Isabella seized Granada in 1492. Being well educated from an early age with the ability to converse in multiple languages and forced into an arraigned marriage at the age of 196 to a much older man. She fulfilled her obligations and quickly gained knowledge of the working of local government and even substituted for her husband when he was out of town on business matters. After the death of her husband in 1515 the community was accepted her as a governor of Tetouan, thus achieving the rank of al-Hurra. She later agreed to a proposal of marriage in 1541 to Ahmed al-Wattasi who was a powerful man as a Sultan and he chose to travel to her for the event.

This was the only way Ahmed could wed Sayyida because she would not relinquish her position and abandon her duties as ruler of Tétouan not even for the wedding so he was forced to accept her terms. As the ruler of this land she was able to appoint her brother Moulay Ibrahim to the position of vizier to her new husband to show solidarity against Spain and Portugal. She never forgot from her life as a child when she was forced to leave her home and decided to form an alliance with Hayrettin Barbarossa in his life of piracy to procure wealth, slaves, and prisoners to hold for ransom. Her rule was unchallenged for three decades until the treachery launched by son-in-law Muhammad al-Hassan al-Mandri and she relocated to Chefchaouen and after 20 years not much can be found of her final days.


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