History of Morocco

Phoenician plate with red slip, 7th century BCE, excavated on Mogador Island, Essaouira. Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah Museum.

The arrival of Phoenicians on the Moroccan coast heralded many centuries of rule by foreign powers in the north of Morocco.[15] Phoenician traders penetrated the western Mediterranean before the 8th century BCE, and soon after set up depots for salt and ore along the coast and up the rivers of the territory of present-day Morocco.[3] Major early settlements of the Phoenicians included those at Chellah, Lixus and Mogador.[16] Mogador is known to have been a Phoenician colony by the early 6th century BCE.[17]

By the 5th century BCE, the state of Carthage had extended its hegemony across much of North Africa. Carthage developed commercial relations with the Berber tribes of the interior, and paid them an annual tribute to ensure their cooperation in the exploitation of raw materials[18]

Roman coins excavated in Essaouira, 3rd century.

Mauretania was an independent tribal Berber kingdom on the Mediterranean coast of north Africa, corresponding to northern modern-day Morocco from about the 3rd century BCE.[19] The earliest known king of Mauretania was Bocchus I, who ruled from 110 BCE to 81 BCE . Some of its earliest recorded history relates to Phoenician and Carthaginian settlements such as Lixus and Chellah.[19] The Berber kings ruled inland territories overshadowing the coastal outposts of Carthage and Rome, often as satellites, allowing Roman rule to exist. It became a client of the Roman empire in 33 BCE, then a full province after Emperor Caligula had the last king, Ptolemy of Mauretania, executed (AD 39 or 40).[20]

Rome controlled the vast, ill-defined territory through alliances with the tribes rather than through military occupation, expanding its authority only to those areas, that were economically useful or that could be defended without additional manpower. Hence, Roman administration never extended outside the restricted area of the northern coastal plain and valleys. This strategic region formed part of the Roman Empire, governed as Mauretania Tingitana, with the city of Volubilis as its capital.

Roman remains of Volubilis

During the time of the Roman emperor Augustus, Mauretania was a vassal state, and its rulers, such as Juba II, controlled all the areas south of Volubilis. But the effective control of Roman legionaries reached as far as the area of Sala Colonia (the castra "Exploratio Ad Mercurios" south of Sala is the southernmost discovered up to now). Some historians believe the Roman frontier reached present-day Casablanca, known then as Anfa, which had been settled by the Romans as a port.

During the reign of Juba II, the Augustus founded three colonies, with Roman citizens, in Mauretania close to the Atlantic coast: Iulia Constantia Zilil, Iulia Valentia Banasa, and Iulia Campestris Babba. Augustus would eventually found twelve colonies in the region.[21] During that period, the area controlled by Rome experienced significant economic development, aided by the construction of Roman roads. The area was initially not completely under the control of Rome, and only in the mid-2nd century was a limes built south of Sala extending to Volubilis. Around 278 AD the Romans moved their regional capital to Tangier and Volubilis started to lose importance.

Christianity was introduced to the region in the 2nd century AD, and gained converts in the towns and among slaves as well as among Berber farmers. By the end of the 4th century, the Romanized areas had been Christianized, and inroads had been made among the Berber tribes, who sometimes converted en masse. Schismatic and heretical movements also developed, usually as forms of political protest. The area had a substantial Jewish population as well.

The Muslim conquest of the Maghreb, that started in the middle of the 7th century AD, was achieved in the early 8th century. It brought both the Arabic language and Islam to the area. Although part of the larger Islamic Empire, Morocco was initially organized as a subsidiary province of Ifriqiya, with the local governors appointed by the Muslim governor in Kairouan.[23]

The indigenous Berber tribes adopted Islam, but retained their customary laws. They also paid taxes and tribute to the new Muslim administration.[24]

In 740 AD, spurred on by puritanical Kharijite agitators, the native Berber population revolted against the ruling Ummayad Caliphate. The rebellion began among the Berber tribes of western Morocco, and spread quickly across the region. Although the insurrection petered out in 742 AD before it reached the gates of Kairouan, neither the Umayyad rulers in Damascus nor their Abbasid successors managed to re-impose their rule on the areas west of Ifriqiya. Morocco passed out of Umayyad and Abbasid control, and fragmented into a collection of small, independent Berber states such as Berghwata, Sijilmassa and Nekor, in addition to Tlemcen and Tahert in what is now western Algeria.[22] The Berbers went on to shape their own version of Islam. Some, like the Banu Ifran, retained their connection with radical puritan Islamic sects, while others, like the Berghwata, constructed a new syncretic faith.[25][26]

The Barghawatas were a confederation of Berber groups inhabiting the Atlantic coast of Morocco, who belonged to the Masmuda Berber tribal division.[22] After allying with the Sufri Kharijite rebellion in Morocco against the Umayyads, they established an independent state (CE 744 – 1058) in the area of Tamesna on the Atlantic coast between Safi and Salé under the leadership of Tarif al-Matghari.

The Midrarid dynasty or Banu Midrar were a Berber dynasty that ruled the Tafilalt region and founded the city of Sijilmasa in 757.[27]

The Berber entrepot Sijilmassa along the trade routes of the Western Sahara, c. 1000–1500. Goldfields are indicated by light brown shading.

Sijilmasa was a medieval Moroccan city and trade entrepôt at the northern edge of the Sahara desert. The ruins of the town lie for 8 kilometres (5 mi) along the River Ziz in the Tafilalt oasis near the town of Rissani. The town's history was marked by several successive invasions by Berber dynasties. Up until the 14th century, as the northern terminus for the western trans-Sahara trade route, it was one of the most important trade centres in the Maghreb during the Middle Ages.[28]

The Kingdom of Nekor was an emirate centered in the Rif area of Morocco. Its capital was initially located at Temsaman, and then moved to Nekor. The polity was founded in 710 AD by Salih I ibn Mansur through a Caliphate grant. Under his guidance, the local Berber tribes adopted Islam, but later deposed him in favor of one az-Zaydi from the Nafza tribe. They subsequently changed their mind and reappointed Ibn Mansur. His dynasty, the Banū Sālih, thereafter ruled the region until 1019.

In 859, the kingdom became subject to a 62 ship-strong group of Vikings, who defeated a Moorish force in Nekor that had attempted to interfere with their plunderings in the area. After staying for eight days in Morocco, the Vikings went back to Spain and continued up the east coast.[29]

The school of Al-Qarawiyyin in Fes, established by Fatima al-Fihri during the Idrisid dynasty in the 9th century.

The Idrisid dynasty was a Muslim polity centered in Morocco,[30] which ruled from 788 to 974. Named after the founder Idriss I, the great grandchild of Hasan ibn Ali, the Idrisids are believed by some historians to be the founders of the first Moroccan state.[31]

This equilibrium was upset in the early 900s, when the Fatimid dynasty arrived in the Maghreb. Not long after seizing power in Ifriqiya, the Fatimids invaded Morocco, conquering both Fez and Sijilmassa. Morocco was fragmented in the aftermath, with Fatimid governors, Idrisid loyalists, new puritan groups and interventionists from Umayyad al-Andalus all fighting over the region. Opportunistic local governors sold and re-sold their support to the highest bidder. In 965, the Fatimid caliph al-Muizz invaded Morocco one last time and succeeded in establishing some order. Soon after, however, the Fatimids shifted their empire eastward to Egypt, with a new capital in Cairo.

The Fatimids had assigned the Zirids, a Zenaga Berber clan centered in Ifriqiya, to watch their western dominions. The Zirids, however, were unable to prevent Morocco from spinning out of their control and crumbling into the hands of a collection of local Zenata Berber chieftains, most of them clients of the Caliph of Cordoba, such as the Maghrawa in the region of Fez and itinerant rivals, the Banu Ifran to the east.

The Almoravid dynasty (c.1060–1147) originated among the Lamtuna nomadic Berber tribe belonging to the Sanhaja. They succeeded in unifying Morocco after it had been divided among several Zenata principalities in the late 10th century, and annexed the Emirate of Sijilmasa and the Barghawata (Tamesna) into their realm.

Under Yusuf ibn Tashfin, the Almoravids were invited by the Muslim taifa princes of Al-Andalus to defend their territories from the Christian kingdoms. Their involvement was crucial in preventing the fall of Al-Andalus. After having succeeded in repelling Christian forces in 1086, Yusuf returned to Iberia in 1090 and annexed most of the major taifas.[33]

Almoravid power began to decline in the first half of the 12th century, as the dynasty was weakened after its defeat at the battle of Ourique and because of the agitation of the Almohads. The conquest of the city of Marrakech by the Almohads in 1147 marked the fall of the dynasty. However, fragments of the Almoravids (the Banu Ghaniya) continued to struggle in the Balearic Islands and in Tunisia.

The Hassan Tower, an incomplete minaret in Rabat begun during the Almohad dynasty

The Almohad Caliphate was a Moroccan,[34][35] Berber Muslim movement founded in the 12th century.[36]

The Almohad movement was started by Ibn Tumart among the Masmuda tribes of southern Morocco. The Almohads first established a Berber state in Tinmel in the Atlas Mountains in roughly 1120.[36] They succeeded in overthrowing the ruling Almoravids in governing Morocco by 1147, when Abd al-Mu'min al-Gumi (r. 1130–1163) conquered Marrakech and declared himself Caliph. They then extended their power over all of the Maghreb by 1159. Al-Andalus followed the fate of the Maghreb and all Islamic Iberia was under Almohad rule by 1172.[37]

Chefchaouen was founded in 1471 by the Moriscos, Moorish exiles from Iberia.

The Marinid dynasty was a Sunni Muslim[38] dynasty of Zenata Berber descent that ruled Morocco from the 13th to the 15th century.[39][40]

The Marinids overthrew the Almohad dynasty controlling Morocco in 1244,[41] and briefly controlled all the Maghreb in the mid-14th century. They supported the Kingdom of Granada in Al-Andalus in the 13th and 14th centuries; an attempt to gain a direct foothold on the European side of the Strait of Gibraltar was however defeated at the Battle of Río Salado in 1340 and finished after the Castilian conquest of Algeciras from the Marinids in 1344.[42]

The Wattasid dynasty were a ruling dynasty of Morocco. Like the Marinids, they were of Zenata Berber descent.[43] The two families were related, and the Marinids recruited many viziers from the Wattasids.[43] The Wattasid dynasty was also in power during the Expulsion of Jews from Spain and Expulsion of the Jews from Portugal and saw many of those Jews seek refugee in Morocco.

The Treaty of Fes established French protectorate in Morocco on 30 March 1912.

In 1907, the French took the murder of Émile Mauchamp in Marrakesh as a pretext to invade Oujda in the east, as they took an uprising against their appropriation of customs revenue in Casablanca as an opportunity to bombard and invade that city in the west.[60] The Agadir Crisis increased tensions among the powerful European countries, and resulted in the Treaty of Fez (signed on 30 March 1912), which made Morocco a protectorate of France. A second treaty signed by the French and Spanish heads of state, Spain was granted a Zone of influence in northern and southern Morocco on 27 November 1912. The northern part became the Spanish protectorate in Morocco, while the southern part was ruled from El Aaiun as a buffer zone between the Spanish Colony of Saguia El Hamra and Morocco. The treaty of Fez triggered the 1912 Fez riots. By the Tangier Protocol signed in December 1923, Tangier received special status and became an international zone,[61] although, during World War II, it was occupied from 1940 to 1945 by Francoist Spain.

• 
  The assassination of Émile Mauchamp March 1907, which precipitated the French invasion of Oujda and the conquest of Morocco.
• 
  Uprisings in Casablanca in July 1907 over the application terms of the Treaty of Algeciras led to the Bombardment of Casablanca.
• 
  Destruction of Casablanca caused by the 1907 French bombardment.
• 
  French artillery in Rabat in 1911. The dispatch of French forces to protect the sultan from a rebellion instigated the Agadir Crisis.
• 
  Destruction after the Intifada of Fes was quelled by French artillery fire.[62]

The treaties nominally assured Morocco of its legal status as a sovereign state, with the sultan as its figurehead.[51][63] In practice, the sultan had no real power and the country was ruled by the colonial administration. French civil servants allied themselves with the French settlers and with their supporters in France to prevent any moves in the direction of Moroccan autonomy. As "pacification" proceeded, with the Zaian War and the War of the Rif, the French government focused on the exploitation of Morocco's mineral wealth, and particularly its phosphates; the creation of a modern transportation system with trains and buses; and the development of a modern agricultural sector geared to the French market. Tens of thousands of colons, or colonists, entered Morocco and acquired large tracts of the rich agricultural land.[64]

Morocco was home to half a million Europeans,[65] most of whom settled in Casablanca, where they formed almost half the population.[66] Since the kingdom's independence in 1956, and particularly after Hassan II's 1973 Moroccanization policies, the European element has largely departed.[64]

Led by Abd el-Krim, the independent Republic of the Rif existed from 1921 to 1926, based in the central part of the Rif (in the Spanish Protectorate), while also extending, for some months, to some parts of the tribal lands of the Ghomara, the Eastern Rif, Jbala, the Ouergha valley and the north of Taza.[67] After proclaiming independence on 18 September 1921, the polity developed state and governing institutions such as tax collection, law enforcement and the organisation of an army.[68] However, since 1925 the Spanish and French troops managed to quell the resistance and Abd el-Krim surrendered in May 1926.[68]

In December 1934, a small group of nationalists, members of the newly formed Comité d'Action Marocaine, or Moroccan Action Committee (CAM), proposed a Plan of Reforms that called for a return to indirect rule as envisaged by the Treaty of Fez, admission of Moroccans to government positions, and establishment of representative councils. CAM used petitions, newspaper editorials, and personal appeals to French officials to further its cause, but these proved inadequate, and the tensions created in the CAM by the failure of the plan caused it to split. The CAM was reconstituted as a nationalist political party to gain mass support for more radical demands, but the French suppressed the party in 1937.[69]

The Manifesto of Independence presented by the Istiqlal Party on 11 January 1944 established Sultan Muhammad V as a symbol of the nationalist struggle.

Nationalist political parties, which subsequently arose under the French protectorate, based their arguments for Moroccan independence on declarations such as the Atlantic Charter, a joint United States-British statement that set forth, among other things, the right of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they live.[70] The French regime also faced the opposition of the tribes — when the Berber were required to come under the jurisdiction of French courts in 1930, it increased support for the independence movement.[71]

Many Moroccan Goumiers, or indigenous soldiers in the French army, assisted the Allies in both World War I and World War II.[72] During World War II, the badly divided nationalist movement became more cohesive. However, the nationalists belief that an Allied victory would pave the way for independence was disappointed. In January 1944, the Istiqlal (Independence) Party, which subsequently provided most of the leadership for the nationalist movement, released a manifesto demanding full independence, national reunification, and a democratic constitution. The Sultan Muhammad V (1927–1961) had approved the manifesto before its submission to the French resident general, who answered that no basic change in the protectorate status was being considered. The general sympathy of the sultan for the nationalists became evident by the end of the war, although he still hoped to see complete independence achieved gradually. On 10 April 1947, Sultan Muhammad V delivered a momentous speech in Tangier appealing for the independence and territorial unity of Morocco, having traveled from French Morocco and through Spanish Morocco to reach the Tangier International Zone.[73] The résidence, supported by French economic interests and vigorously backed by most of the colons, adamantly refused to consider even reforms short of independence.

In December 1952, a riot broke out in Casablanca over the assassination of the Tunisian labor leader Farhat Hached; this event marked a watershed in relations between Moroccan political parties and French authorities. In the aftermath of the rioting, the residency outlawed the new Moroccan Communist Party and the Istiqlal Party.[74]

France's exile of the highly respected Sultan Mohammed V to Madagascar on Eid al-Adha of 1953, and his replacement by the unpopular Mohammed Ben Aarafa, sparked active opposition to the French protectorate both from nationalists and those who saw the sultan as a religious leader. In retribution, Muhammad Zarqtuni bombed Casablanca's Marché Central in the European ville nouvelle on Christmas of that year.[75] Two years later, faced with a united Moroccan demand for the sultan's return and rising violence in Morocco, as well as a deteriorating situation in Algeria, the French government brought Mohammed V back to Morocco, and the following year began the negotiations that led to Moroccan independence.

King Hassan II, on his way to Friday prayers in Marrakesh, 1967.

Mohammed V's son Hassan II became King of Morocco on 3 March 1961. His rule saw significant political unrest, and the ruthless government response earned the period the name "the years of lead". Hassan took personal control of the government as prime minister, and named a new cabinet. Aided by an advisory council, he drew up a new constitution, which was approved overwhelmingly in a December 1962 referendum. Under its provisions, the king remained the central figure in the executive branch of the government, but legislative power was vested in a bicameral parliament, and an independent judiciary was guaranteed.

In May 1963, legislative elections took place for the first time, and the royalist coalition secured a small plurality of seats. However, following a period of political upheaval in June 1965, Hassan II assumed full legislative and executive powers under a "state of exception," which remained in effect until 1970. Subsequently, a reform constitution was approved, restoring limited parliamentary government, and new elections were held. However, dissent remained, revolving around complaints of widespread corruption and malfeasance in government. In July 1971 and again in August 1972, the regime was challenged by two attempted military coups.[78]

After neighbouring Algeria's 1962 independence from France, border skirmishes in the Tindouf area of south-western Algeria escalated in 1963 into what is known as the Sand War. The conflict ended after Organisation of African Unity mediation, with no territorial changes.[79]

On 3 March 1973, Hassan II announced the policy of Moroccanization, in which state-held assets, agricultural lands, and businesses that were more than 50 percent foreign-owned—and especially French-owned—were transferred to political loyalists and high-ranking military officers.[80][81] The Moroccanization of the economy affected thousands of businesses and the proportion of industrial businesses in Morocco that were Moroccan-owned immediately increased from 18% to 55%.[80] 2/3 of the wealth of the Moroccanized economy was concentrated in 36 Moroccan families.[80]

The patriotism engendered by Morocco's participation in the Middle East conflict and by the events in Western Sahara contributed to Hassan's popularity. The king had dispatched Moroccan troops to the Sinai front after the outbreak of the Arab-Israeli War in October 1973.[82] Although they arrived too late to engage in hostilities, the action won Morocco goodwill among other Arab states. Soon after, the attention of the government turned to the acquisition of Western Sahara from Spain, an issue on which all major domestic parties agreed.[74]

The Spanish enclave of Ifni in the south became part of the new state of Morocco in 1969, but other Spanish possessions in the north, including Ceuta, Melilla and Plaza de soberanía, remained under Spanish control, with Morocco viewing them as occupied territory.

In August 1974, Spain formally acknowledged the 1966 United Nations (UN) resolution calling for a referendum on the future status of the Western Sahara, and requested that a plebiscite be conducted under UN supervision. A UN visiting mission reported in October 1975 that an overwhelming majority of the Saharan people desired independence. Morocco protested the proposed referendum and took its case to the International Court of Justice at The Hague, which ruled that despite historical "ties of allegiance" between Morocco and the tribes of Western Sahara, there was no legal justification for departing from the UN position on self-determination. Spain, meanwhile, had declared that even in the absence of a referendum, it intended to surrender political control of Western Sahara, and Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania convened a tripartite conference to resolve the territory's future. Spain also announced that it was opening independence talks with the Algerian-backed Saharan independence movement known as the Polisario Front.[74]

In early 1976, Spain ceded the administration of the Western Sahara to Morocco and Mauritania. Morocco assumed control over the northern two-thirds of the territory, and conceded the remaining portion in the south to Mauritania. An assembly of Saharan tribal leaders duly acknowledged Moroccan sovereignty. However, buoyed by the increasing defection of tribal chiefs to its cause, the Polisario drew up a constitution, and announced the formation of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), and itself formed government-in-exile.[74]

The Moroccan government eventually sent a large portion of its combat forces into Western Sahara to confront the Polisario's forces, which were relatively small but well-equipped, highly mobile, and resourceful. The Polisario used Algerian bases for quick strikes against targets deep inside Morocco and Mauritania, as well as for operations in Western Sahara. In August 1979, after suffering military losses, Mauritania renounced its claim to Western Sahara and signed a peace treaty with the Polisario. Morocco then annexed the entire territory and, in 1985 built a 2,500-kilometer sand berm around three-quarters of Western Sahara.[74]

In 1988, Morocco and the Polisario Front agreed on a United Nations (UN) peace plan, and a cease-fire and settlement plan went into effect in 1991. Even though the UN Security Council created a peacekeeping force to implement a referendum on self-determination for Western Sahara, it has yet to be held, periodic negotiations have failed, and the status of the territory remains unresolved.[74]

The war against the Polisario guerrillas put severe strains on the economy, and Morocco found itself increasingly isolated diplomatically. Gradual political reforms in the 1990s culminated in the constitutional reform of 1996, which created a new bicameral legislature with expanded, although still limited, powers. Elections for the Chamber of Representatives were held in 1997, reportedly marred by irregularities.[74]

With the death of King Hassan II of Morocco in 1999, the more liberal Crown Prince Sidi Mohammed took the throne, assuming the title Mohammed VI. He enacted successive reforms to modernize Morocco, and human-rights record of the country improved markedly.[83] One of the new king's first acts was to free approximately 8,000 political prisoners and reduce the sentences of another 30,000. He also established a commission to compensate families of missing political activists and others subjected to arbitrary detention.[74]

In September 2002, new legislative elections were held, and the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP) won a plurality. International observers regarded the elections as free and fair, noting the absence of the irregularities that had plagued the 1997 elections. In May 2003, in honor of the birth of a son, the king ordered the release of 9,000 prisoners and the reduction of 38,000 sentences. Also in 2003, Berber-language instruction was introduced in primary schools, prior to introducing it at all educational levels.[74]

In March 2000, women's groups organized demonstrations in Rabat proposing reforms to the legal status of women in the country. 200,000 to 300,000 women attended, calling for a ban on polygamy, and the introduction of civil divorce law.[84] Although a counter-demonstration attracted 200,000 to 400,000 participants, the movement was influential on King Mohammed, and he enacted a new Mudawana, or family law, in early 2004, meeting some of the demands of women's rights activists.[85]

In July 2002, a crisis broke out with Spain over a small, uninhabited island lying just less than 200 meters from the Moroccan coast, named Toura or Leila by Moroccans and Perejil by Spain. After mediation by the United States, both Morocco and Spain agreed to return to the status quo, under which the island remains deserted.[86][87]

Internationally, Morocco has maintained strong ties to the West. It was one of the first Arab and Islamic states to denounce the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States.[88]

Al-Boraq, the first high speed rail service on the African continent.[89]

In May 2003, Islamist suicide bombers simultaneously struck a series of sites in Casablanca, killing 45 and injuring more than 100 others. The Moroccan government responded with a crackdown against Islamist extremists, ultimately arresting several thousand, prosecuting 1,200, and sentencing about 900. Additional arrests followed in June 2004. That same month, the United States designated Morocco a major non-North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally, stating that it was in recognition of its efforts to thwart international terrorism. On 1 January 2006, a comprehensive bilateral free trade agreement between the United States and Morocco took effect.[74] The agreement had been signed in 2004 along with a similar agreement with the European Union, Morocco's main trade partner.

• David Bensoussan, Il était une fois le Maroc : témoignages du passé judéo-marocain, Éd. du Lys, 2010. ISBN 2-922505-14-6.
• Bernard Lugan, Histoire du Maroc, Éd. Perrin, 2000. ISBN 2-262-01644-5
• Michel Abitbol, Histoire du Maroc, Éd. Perrin, 2009. ISBN 9782262023881