Nuria de Castilla – A Moroccan International Library in Early Modern Period

The library of the Saadian sultans, in Spain (San Lorenzo de El Escorial) from the beginning of the 17th century, is an invaluable source for the history of intellectual and cultural life in Morocco during the Saadian period. It also paves the way for a study of Morocco’s relations with its close neighbours: the Ottomans with their influence on the art of bookbinding and, more generally, on the art of the book; Timbuktu with its gold; Holland, with their manufacture of colours exported to Morocco; and Spain, with the Morisco communities serving as go-between.