By 1757, Morocco had experienced thirty years of fitna, a period of unrest that had been created by divisions within the country’s military (most notably among the slave soldiers known as Abīd) as well as conflicts between the Abīd and other people of influence. As different factions within the Abīd grasped for power, they backed one or another of the many sons of the former sultan, Mawlay Ismā`īl, with each faction seeking to establish a government that would bend to its own wishes. Thus, the country must have breathed a collective sigh of relief when Mawlay Ismā`īl’s grandson, Muḥammad ibn `Abd Allāh (Muḥammad III, r. 1757-1790), was able to create a functional administration that was not beholden to the Abīd and could finally bring peace to Morocco. Muḥammad III reigned for thirty three years and, although he had to put down several rebellions, for the most part his government brought much needed stability. In the process he implemented a number of changes that would equip the beleaguered `Alawī dynasty to last another 233 years in power, to the present day. These changes included tax reductions, streamlining the Moroccan administration, reducing the size of the military, and improving trade relations with Western powers. The sultan also reinforced the spiritual significance of the `Alawī dynasty as a necessary intermediary to hold together the conflicting elements of Moroccan society in a coherent and peaceful state. But at what cost? In this paper I will analyze the changes implemented by the government of this important sultan and argue that the compromises he made in resolving the fitna created a weakened Moroccan government that would prove unable to keep the forces of colonialism at bay. In the coming century, Britain, France, Germany and Spain would all meddle and compete with one another to extend their influence in Morocco. Although Muḥammad III was able to stabilize the country in the short term, his longer term influence is more significant, as he laid the groundwork for the creation of the political system in modern Morocco. My analysis will draw from the writings of Moroccan historians such as al-Zayānī, al-Du`ayyif, and al-Nāṣirī, as well as contemporary European observers such as Louis Chénier and Georg Høst. I will also evaluate and critique the interpretations of Muḥammad III’s reign by modern historians such as Ramón Lourido-Díaz and Jacques Caillé.