Khnata bent Bakkar

Who is Khnata bent Bakkar?

Dowager Sultana Khnata bent Bakkar was de facto ruler of Morocco from 1727 to ca. 1754. Also known as Hinata binti Bakar al-Gul, she acted as First Minister and Secretary for her husband Ismail Ibn Sharif, who reigned from 1672 to 1729. After his death followed a period of internal turmoil, where she remained the de facto ruler, during the reign of her husband's ten sons with various wives, who were all deposed, however she managed to lead Morocco out of the disastrous situation.

She was the author of a commentary on the work of Ibn Haggar al-Asqalani: Al-Isaba fi Marifat as-Sabaha and of several letters to the inhabitants of Oujda, advising and consoling them on their plight as neighbors of the Ottoman Turks.

She was buried in the mausoleum at Fez al-Jadid.