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The Kingdom of
Morocco (Arabic: المملكة المغربية) is a country in North Africa. It
has a long coastline on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the
Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Algeria to
the east, the Mediterranean Sea and a relatively thin water border
Spain to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to its west.
Berber Morocco
The area of modern Morocco has been inhabited since Neolithic times,
at least 8000 BCE, as attested by signs of the Capsian culture, in a
time when the Maghreb was less arid than it is today. Many theorists
believe the Berber language probably arrived at roughly the same time
as agriculture (see Berber), and was adopted by the existing
population as well as the immigrants that brought it. Modern genetic
analyses have confirmed that various populations have contributed to
the present-day population, including (in addition to the main Berber
and Arab groups) Phoenicians, Sephardic Jews, and sub-Saharan
Africans. The Berbers, often referred to in modern ethnic activist
circles as "Amazigh," are more commonly known as "Berber" or by their
regional ethnic identity, such as Chleuh. In the classical period,
Morocco was known as Mauretania, although this should not be confused
with the modern country of Mauritania.
Roman and sub-Roman Morocco
North Africa and Morocco were slowly drawn into the wider emerging
Mediterranean world by Phoenician trading colonies and settlements in
the late Classical period. The arrival of Phoenicians heralded a long
engagement with the wider Mediterranean, as this strategic region
formed part of the Roman Empire, as Mauretania Tingitana. In the fifth
century, as the Roman Empire declined, the region fell to the Vandals,
Visigoths, and then Byzantine Greeks in rapid succession. During this
time, however, the high mountains of most of modern Morocco remained
unsubdued, and stayed in the hands of their Berber inhabitants.
Early Islamic Morocco
By the seventh century, Arab expansion was at its greatest. In 670 AD,
that the first Arab invasions of the North African coastal plain took
place under Uqba ibn Nafi, a general serving under the Umayyads of
Damascus. His army swept into what is now Morocco, which he called
"Maghreb al Aqsa" or "The Far West", in the year 683. The Arab
invasion of Morocco faced strong resistance from local Berbers. After
about a century of fierce battles with Berbers, the Arabs occupied
Morocco.
The Arab-Muslim Calipahtes (i.e. Umayyads of Damascus and the Abbasids
of Baghdad) lost political influence over Morocco when the first Arab
dynasty in the country, the Idrisid, cut ties with the Abbasid
Caliphate in Baghdad and the Umayyad rule in Al-Andalus. After the
reign of the Idrisids, Arabs lost political control within Morocco.
After adopting Islam, several Berber dynasties formed their own
Islamic dynasties and reigned over the country. This situation lasted
until the Arab Saadi dynasty took over in the 16th century.
What became modern Morocco in the seventh century, was the area
invaded by the Arabs, who brought their customs, culture, and Islam,
to which most of the Berbers converted, forming states such as the
Kingdom of Nekor. The country soon broke away from the control of the
distant Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad under Idris ibn Abdallah who
founded the Idrisid Dynasty. The Idrisids established Fez as their
capital and Morocco became a centre of learning and a major regional
power.
Morocco would reach its height under a series of Berber origin
dynasties that would replace the Arab Idrisids. First the Almoravids,
then the Almohads would see Morocco rule most of Northwest Africa, as
well as large sections of Islamic Iberia, or Al-Andalus. Under Islamic
rule, Spanish cities such as Sevilla and Granada were places where the
citizenry prospered under a tolerant rule which also focused on
scholarly advances in science, mathematics, astronomy, geography as
well as medicine.
However, Islamic rule in the Iberian Peninsula ended with the fall of
Granada to the forces of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Under the
Catholic Inquisition, troops pillaged Granada amongst other Islamic
cities and persecuted its citizens, Muslims and Jewish. Rather than
face persecution and possible execution, many Muslims and Jews fled to
Morocco. The Inquisitors, eager to abolish any trace of Islamic
culture, destroyed the libraries in Muslim Spain, where thousands of
priceless texts were kept.
Smaller states of the region, such as the Berghouata and Banu Isam,
were conquered. The empire collapsed, however, with a long running
series of civil wars.
Read more about Morocco
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morocco
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