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1 . the origins

 Morocco is rich in Paleolithic remains ( pebble , Acheulean bifaces , Mousterian facies ) , including specific tips Aterian of North Africa ( until about 10 000 years) and the Sahara.The people who settled shortly after in the region are probably native to Europe and Asia, and give birth to the ancestors of the Berbers . We know little about these people, whose language is almost indecipherable called Libyan and has similarities with the Tuareg Tifinagh .The history of Morocco is the first foreign institutions in coastal areas ; Phoenicians founded trading posts on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa in the seventh century BC. AD on sites with names of Berber origin and become major ports such Tingi (Tangier ) , Casablanca or Russadir ( Melilla ) . Although we attribute to the Carthaginians the introduction of iron and culture of the vine, the Phoenician civilization remains marginal , and its influence seems not to have penetrated much inland where Berber kingdoms are based : the Mauretania , appeared in the fourth century BC. BC in northern Morocco , and that of Masaesyles to the east.

 2 . Rome and Byzantium

 The conquest of Carthage by the Roman Empire in the second century BC. BC Romans ensures the domination of the African coastline bathed by the Mediterranean to the Straits of Gibraltar.From this time practically the territorial division of the Maghreb between what later would become Morocco and Algeria . Romans combine with Bocchus , Berber king who reigns over the entire region west of the Moulouya to break the resistance of his son Jugurtha , which dominates Algeria. Jugurtha was finally defeated in 105 BC. BC During the Roman period , the area is development : roads are built , cities such Volubilis are based . Agriculture grows, while the prosperous trade.From 25 to 23 BC. AD, Juba II , a Berber ruler administers Mauretania ( Algeria , Morocco ) . To 42 AD. AD, the Emperor Claudius I. Annex throughout the Mauretania to the Roman Empire ; it is divided into two provinces , separated by the Moulouya : Mauretania Tingitane ( Tangier ) , corresponding to the current Morocco , and led by the son of Juba , Ptolemy of Mauretania and Caesarean section ( in Algeria ) . The Romans, who truly control the northern part of the country ( Volubilis ) due to the hostility of the mountain Berbers, fold in the area of ​​Tangier, which is attached to the reign of Diocletian, in southern Spain ( 285 ) .429 , Morocco was invaded by the Vandals, who are based in local communities. The Byzantine general Belisarius resumes region 533 and it imposes the laws of the Byzantine Empire. However, the reconquest is limited in space , only the North is securely held . 

3 . The Arab conquest 

After the conversion of Emperor Constantine I the Great in the fourth century , Christianity has grown into Romanized regions , that is to say essentially the cities and coastal plains. However, these regions resent the omnipotence of imperial officials and extreme centralization of the system , will welcome the ideas of financial and commercial independence made ​​by Islam.It seems that in their offensive against the Byzantines, the Arab-Muslim troops led by Uqba ibn Nafi reached the Atlantic from 681 . But the mountain Berber tribes ( Confederation Masmouda established in the Western High Atlas , Anti- Atlas , the Rif and the Atlantic plains, Sanhadja , Middle Atlas , and Zenata , Eastern Morocco ), which n have not accepted more Byzantine rule than Rome , forcing them to retreat.The real conquest begins twenty years later, between 705 and 707, under the leadership of Musa ibn Nusayr who skilfully play cleavages between Berber tribes . Promoting equality among all believers , supporters of the new religion lack administrative frameworks ; they often find in mawalis ( freedmen, clients) , Christian scholars and indigenous Jews , Berbers practicing Judaism , many of which eventually converted, thereby avoiding the imposition affecting dhimmis - people of the Book, Christians and Jews, protected by Islam, but subject to taxes to compensate for the ban was imposed on them to bear arms. Arabic implantation is however long and hard.Several Muslim dynasties , referring to religious reasons and prestige to an Arab origin, then rule the country. However , resistance to Islamization and the Arab domination is intense in some Berber regions . In particular, it takes the form of Kharijism , a protest and egalitarian Muslim movement based on a strict reading of the Qur'an and rejecting the mode of succession of the caliphate , which emphasizes belonging to the lineage of the Prophet or one of the first companions ( Ansar ) . In 742, a revolt shakes the Moroccan mountains . Tafilalet ( current region of Erfoud in the Southeast) , a Kharijite kingdom with its capital remains long Sijilmassa trading post at the crossroads of trade between the empires of the black African roads - Ghana and Mali - and the Muslim world.In 788 , Idris I , a descendant of Ali, the Prophet's son , who fled Saudi , founded the dynasty Idrissid . It is in this period that the foundation of the city of Fez , which became an important religious and intellectual center during the reign of Idris II. At his death in 828 , the kingdom Idrisid entering a period of decline. While East undergoes raiding nomads , the Shiites of Egypt and the Umayyads of Cordoba Fatimids , taking advantage of internal divisions that weaken the dynasty, compete to extend their domination over Morocco. The Fatimids bear the 
fatal blow to Idrisid dynasty in 917 ; recovery occurs from the Sahara. 

4 . The first Berber dynasties

 The Almoravids (from the Arabic al- Murabitun ; murabit is the one who practices the defense of Islam by arms and leads a pious life , the Ribat are fortified convents installed on the front line between Islam and non- Muslims) , legalistic warriors of Islam , the movement was born in the south of present-day Mauritania among nomadic Sanhadja , will dominate the region from 1062 , when they founded Marrakech at the crossroads of trade routes between the Arab world and the Sahara. Their expansion is both head of Muslim Spain , where they were called by a Muslim factions in power, and black Africa. In 1086 , they beat at Zellaca , King Alfonso IV . South , they win, in 1077 , a decisive victory over the Empire of Ghana , and taking control of the gold trade .In the early twelfth century , the Almoravid empire includes Muslim Spain, central and western Maghreb and the Sahara. But a new reform movement initiated by Ibn Tumart in the first half of the twelfth century , stands against them. This last fight against any deviation and preaches the oneness of God . The coming to power of his disciples, the Almohads ( Arabic al- Muwahhidun , Unitarians ) in 1147 marked the triumph of sedentary Berbers Anti- Atlas under the aegis Abd al -Mumin (1130 - 1163 ) . At the height of their power, the Almohads exercise authority over the current Algeria , Tunisia , Libya, as well as a part of Portugal and Spain . The Islamic Maghreb takes the opportunity to also release the guardianship of the East.In 1212 , the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, on Spanish soil , in which the Christian armies defeated the Muslim troops , marks the beginning of the decline of the Almohads and Muslim Spain . Beni Merin , Arabized Berbers who were pushed to the south of Morocco by the Arab invasions, took the opportunity to raise. In 1269 , the Marinids manage to impose on the throne ; they fix their capital at Fez, they are overtaken by a new city , Fez el- Djedid (Fez -la- Neuve) . Mérinides can still maintain the Maghreb Almohad empire . They lose control of the Saharan routes and engage in costly military operations in the Iberian Peninsula , struggling against the advancing Christian princes or taking sides in conflicts between Muslim princes. The Reconquista ( "reconquest" ) soon wins Moroccan territory itself. Spanish and Portuguese coasts share spheres of influence : the Mediterranean shores back to Spain and the Atlantic coast in Portugal falls . In 1415 , the port of Ceuta is taken Andalusian Muslims by the Portuguese ; Melilla fell to the Spaniards in 1497.

 5 . The sharif dynasties 

Progression of Europeans causes burst of Beni Saad (or Saadi ) . Claiming the lineage of the Prophet, the sheriffs , or chorfas ( title given by the Muslim descendants of Muhammad Ali and Fatima) , settled in the south, in the valley of the Sub around Taroudant. They lead a holy war ( Jihad see ) against the Portuguese, they hunt Agadir in 1541 , then Safi. They then attack successors Merinids Wattassides . In 1549 , they seized Fez . Wattassides seek help Turks present in Algeria , but the Saadian make themselves masters of the country in 1554.Cautious , the Saadian sultans adopt an equilibrium between the Ottoman Turks and Westerners policy. In 1591 , the Saadian seeking the salt mines of the Sahara and gold from Sudan, launched an expedition through the desert against the Songhai Empire , established in the Niger valley . Sultan Ahmad al- Mansur did not withdraw money hoped, but thereafter , Moroccan nationalists will build on this victory to claim the entire region between Morocco and the northern shores of the Niger (North- Mali ) and Senegal ( Mauritania). The country benefits from immigration of nearly a million Moors (see Moors ) and Jews expelled from Spain after 1492. Morocco is the Saadian unified and relatively prosperous ; architecture and Moroccan arts experiencing significant growth at this time .Shortly after the arrival of the first Saadian Saudi , immigrants claiming descent from Hassan, one of the son of Ali , settled in the Tafilalet, close to the desert . Using the prestige accorded to them the Alawite descent, they are based on the desire for independence locals to pose as pretenders to the throne . In 1664 , Moulay Rachid founded the Alawite dynasty that still reigns today in Morocco.The dynasty reached its peak under Moulay Ismail (1672-1727) , the builder of Meknes. It engages in the reconquest of the country on Christians ( Spaniards and Portuguese ports occupant ) and leading the fight against the Ottomans. His reign was followed by a long period of family rivalries , punctuated with brief interludes of peace and relative prosperity .At the end of the eighteenth century , only the northern third of Morocco remains under the administration of the Sultan : the Bled el- Maghzen , countries subject to tax , so the chérifienne authority , while the rest of the country is in quasi- disobedience ( Bled al- Siba , "country of dissent ").

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