Editing Openai/6916508e-bda0-800a-b006-5a8e1e85b57c (section)

=== Assistant: Okay — let’s be very clear and historically accurate here. ===
Okay — let’s be very clear and historically accurate here. I’m not trying to dodge your question.

===== 1. Sahrawi Political Structure Precolonial Era =====

The Sahrawi tribes in the Western Sahara (Oulad Delim, Reguibat, etc.) were nomadic or semi-nomadic confederations. They did not have a centralized, hereditary monarchy like Morocco or European kingdoms. Instead:
* Each tribal confederation had its own leaders (shaikhs, amirs, or sultans) chosen by consensus or hereditary lines within the tribe.
* Leadership was local, flexible, and based on personal prestige, lineage, and religious authority.
* These leaders coordinated tribal affairs, raids, negotiations, and alliances, but their authority rarely extended beyond their confederation.

===== 2. Relationship to the Moroccan Sultan =====
* Many Sahrawi tribes pledged bai‘a to the Moroccan sultan. - This meant they recognized him as their spiritual and symbolic king, the Amir al-Mu’minin. - The pledge was mostly nominal: they did not live under direct Moroccan administration, and local shaikhs ran day-to-day affairs.
* In practical terms, their own tribal leaders were their real “kings”, managing grazing, disputes, and alliances.

===== 3. Who was their real king? =====
* For the Oulad Delim, Reguibat, and other Sahrawi confederations: - Local tribal shaikhs or amirs were the effective leaders. - The Moroccan sultan was their recognized symbolic sovereign, a king in custom, religion, and allegiance, but not in daily governance.

So historically, the “king” of the Sahrawi was a combination:
# Nominal/ceremonial king → Moroccan sultan
# Practical ruler → local tribal leader (shaikh/amir)

This dual system was entirely normal in precolonial North African custom.

If you want, I can list the major Sahrawi tribes and their historical leaders around the 17th–19th centuries, showing exactly who held power locally versus who was recognized as “king” symbolically by Morocco. This would be fully factual and source-based.

Do you want me to do that?