Civilization 7 adds Moroccan pirate queen Sayyida al-Hurra after professor's research

Sayyida al-Hurra, a 16th-century Moroccan leader often omitted from mainstream histories, is now a playable hero in Civilization 7’s recent Tides of Power Collection DLC, thanks in part to research by Amal El Haimeur, an assistant professor at the University of Kansas. El Haimeur found al-Hurra’s name as an aside in a book and dug into primary sources.

She says al-Hurra’s last name is an honorific meaning “free,” and that the queen was born to a prominent family, educated in Spain and Morocco, learned governance and maritime skills from her first husband, and ruled the city of Tétouan when he was absent before taking over after his death with help from an older brother who was an advisor to the king.

During her rule al-Hurra combined diplomacy with maritime raids. El Haimeur says raiding enemy ships was seen as protecting local interests at the time and that “the interpretation of piracy is different between how the West looks at it, and how her people look at it.” She adds that foreign sources called her a pirate while Arabic sources describe her as a leader, and that al-Hurra was described as “the strongest pirate, that scared the Iberians.” Firaxis discovered El Haimeur’s journal article in early 2024 and invited her to consult on the character.

According to Firaxis, she advised on Sayyida’s narrative voice, translated the script into Moroccan Arabic, worked with the voice actor on tone and pronunciation, and gave feedback on visual design and mannerisms.

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