Ennaib Haj Mohamed Amar Ouchen
Caíd of the Beni Said, Governor of Quebdana, and Architect of the Modern Dynasty
Caíd Mohamed Amar Ouchen, c. 1938
Title and Authority
Ennaib Haj Mohamed Amar Ouchen held the title of Caíd and Ennaib (Deputy Governor) of the Beni Said territory in the Oriental Rif. His name, Ouchen, meaning "wolf" in the Tamazight language, would become permanently inscribed in Spanish colonial history through the infamous Barranco del Lobo.
As the hereditary lord of the Beni Said, he controlled the strategic mountain passes between the Mediterranean coast and the Moroccan interior. The Spanish military press of 1909 designated him as one of the principal figures during the disaster of the Barranco del Lobo, the catastrophic defeat of the Spanish Regimiento de Madrid on 27 July 1909.
The Battle of Barranco del Lobo (27 July 1909)
In the summer of 1909, Spanish forces under General Pedro del Real advanced into the Rif interior near Melilla. An octogenarian elder warned them: "If I have never tread upon Christian land, do not you do the same with ours." The warning fell on deaf ears. On 27 July, the forces of the Rifian resistance, led by the santón Mohamed Mizzian, Chaldy, and Haj Amar, annihilated the brigade of General Guillermo Pintos at the mouth of the barranco that bore the Ouchen name.
The disaster triggered the Semana Trágica in Barcelona and fundamentally altered Spanish colonial policy in North Africa.
Governor of Quebdana
Following the "pacification" of the Rif after the catastrophic Spanish defeat at Annual in 1921, Mohamed Amar Ouchen was appointed as Governor of Quebdana. He established his residence at what became known as the Palacio del Caíd Ouchen in Dar Kebdani, an elegant palace that still stands today as a monument to the family's authority.
Palacio del Caíd Ouchen, Dar Kebdani
Caíd Ouchen meeting General Francisco Franco
Relationship with General Franco
The Caíd maintained a close personal relationship with General Francisco Franco. After certain circumstances compelled him to leave Quebdana, Franco provided personal protection, and Ouchen was established in a new residence near the Melilla airport. He became one of Franco's principal suppliers of infantry troops for the Fuerzas de Regulares during the Spanish Civil War, commanded by General Mizzian.
Photographic Record
