Judar Pasha

Judar Pasha
BornCuevas del Almanzora, Crown of Castile
Died1606
Marrakesh
AllegianceMorocco
Battles / warsBattle of Tondibi

Judar Pasha (Arabic: جؤذر باشا) was a Spanish-Moroccan military leader under the Saadian sultan Ahmad al-Mansur in the late 16th century. He led the Saadian army in the conquest of the Songhai Empire.

Born as Diego de Guevara in Cuevas del Almanzora, Castile,[1] Judar[2] had been captured by Muslim slave-raiders as a young boy. His captors castrated him. As a young boy, he joined the service of Moroccan Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur, who had many other eunuch officers. Judar was often described by reference to his blue eyes.[3]

  1. ^ Fernández Manzano, Diadie Haidara & Fernández Manzano 2012, p. 323
  2. ^ While Judar is the common spelling, this is based on an assumed pronunciation by French translators of the Arabic texts Tarikh al-Sudan and Tarikh al-fattash which do not give the vowels. The name is pronounced Jawdar in the Tadhkirat an-Nisian and in the most recent English translation of the Tarikh al-Sudan by J. O. Hunwick (cited below).
  3. ^ Bovill, E. W. (1958). The Golden Trade of the Moors. Oxford University Press. p. 147.