Marthe Franceschini

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Marthe Franceschini (1755 - 1799), renamed Lalla Dawiya was a slave concubine and then the wife of Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah of Morocco (r. 1757–1790).^[1]

She was born in Corsica, but Doctor William Lempriere who met her reports that she was an Italian woman native of Genoa.^[2] When she was seven, she was kidnapped by corsairs and sold at the slave market in Morocco. Described as a beauty, she was acquired by Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah as a slave concubine in his harem. She eventually gained a favorite position in the harem. As such, she converted to Islam and was given the name Lalla Dawiya. In 1786, the sultan made her one of his legal wives.^[3] She maintained diplomatic contacts with Europeans rulers such as Napoleon I.