Moulay Ismail is noted as one of the greatest figures in Moroccan history. He fought the Ottoman Turks in 1679, 1682 and 1695/96. After these battles the Moroccan independence was respected. Another problem was the European occupation of several seaports: in 1681 he took al-Mamurah from the Spanish and in 1684 Tangier from the English. Moulay Ismail had excellent relations with Louis XIV of France, the enemy of Spain. There was cooperation in several fields. French officers trained the Moroccan army and advised the Moroccans in the building of public works.
Moulay Ismail is also known as a fearsome ruler. Moulay Ismail used at least 25,000 slaves for the construction of his capital. His Christian slaves were often used as bargaining counters with the European powers, selling them back their captured subjects for inflated sums or for rich gifts. Most of his slaves were obtained by Barbary pirates in raids on Western Europe. Over 16,000 men from sub-Saharan Africa served in his elite Black Guard. By the time of Ismail's death, the guard had grown tenfold, the largest in Moroccan history.
Moulay Ismail is alleged to have fathered 888 children. It is thought that Ismail would have had to copulate with an average of 1.2 women per day over 60 years to achieve that number of children.
