History in Morocco
History In Morocco began about 1,000 BCE when a people called the Phoenicians from what is now Lebanon sailed there. The Phoenicians were great traders and they founded trading posts in Morocco. The Phoenicians founded the city of Carthage in what is now Tunisia. Soon Carthage became the dominant power in the region. Meanwhile, by about 400 BC the native Berber tribesmen formed the kingdom of Mauritania.
Almghreb is the Arabic name for Morocco and means far west or where the sun sets. When the first Arabs arrived in Morocco in the 7th century Morocco was believed to be the most western point in the world. At that time the Maghreb region included the countries that are today Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Mauretania. The countries in the Maghreb shared many common historical cultural features, all have Berber people and a strong Islamic base.
History in Morocco has been inhabited since man appeared on the earth. The Phoenicians explored this corner of Africa in around 1000 BC. The Romans made Northern Morocco an imperial province and named it Mauritania. In 788 Moulay Idriss, fleeing from the angry Haroun Al Rachid, Caliph of Baghdad, came to seek refuge in Morocco. He was welcomed and trusted by the Berber tribes as sheriff and as their leader. His Berber wife Kanza gave him a son, Idriss II, who completed his father’s mission but on the death of Idriss II the kingdom was divided between his eight sons and soon broken up.
The French imposed a protectorate on Morocco in 1912. In 1956 Morocco gained independence after the return of the exiled Sultan of Morocco Med V. In 1961 his son Hassan II became king.
During his reign one of the most important historical events to happen was the “Green March” this was a mass demonstration of more than 350,000 Moroccans in a bid to force control of the Spanish Sahara from Spain back to Morocco before they signed a deal with Algeria. This event is still celebrated every year in Morocco in November. The March was successful in its attempt and Morocco still holds control of this region.
Morocco is a constitutional democracy. The Moroccan parliament is composed of two houses. There are 395 members in the House of Representatives that are elected by direct public vote, and they serve a 5-year term. There are 120 members in the house of counsellors that are elected by indirect t vote for 9 years. The country is ruled by the king who has absolute control, but they follow the constitution with the help of a prime minister.
Mohammed VI
Med VI is descended from the Alaouite dynasty. He has a brother and three sisters and is married with two children. He attended Quranic school where he learned the Quran by heart. He also received both religious and traditional education at the school. He completed his primary and secondary education at the royal college and achieved his Baccalaureate. He attended the college of law in Rabat and achieved a certificate in political sciences and diplomacy. He also obtained a doctorate in law. He is commander of the faithful, being a descendant of the prophet Mohammed and is head of state. He is also commander of the Moroccan army. He is responsible for unity and peace and controls the majority of the economy.
Berber Dynasties
In 702, the Berbers submitted to the armies of Islam and adopted Islam. The first Moroccan states formed during these years, but many were still ruled by outsiders, some of whom were part of the Umayyad Caliphate that controlled most of northern Africa c. 700 CE. In 1056, a Berber empire arose, however, under the Almoravid Dynasty, and for the next five hundred years, Morocco was governed by Berber dynasties: the Almoravids, Almohad Marinid and Wattasid dynasties.
It was during the Almoravid and Almohad dynasties that Morocco controlled much of North Africa, Spain, and Portugal, the Almohad lost control of the Muslim portion of Spain and Portugal in 1238, known then as al-Andalus.
Revival of Moroccan Power
In the mid-1500s, a powerful state again arose in Morocco, under the leadership of the Sa’adi dynasty that had taken over southern Morocco in the early 1500s. The Sa’adi defeated the Wattasid in 1554 and then succeeded in holding off incursions by both the Portuguese and Ottoman Empires.
In the 1920s, the Rif Berbers of Morocco, under the leadership of Muhammad Abd el-Krim, rebelled against French and Spanish authorities. The short-lived Rif republic was crushed by a joint French/Spanish task force in 1926.
Independence
In 1953, France deposed the nationalist leader and sultan Mohammed V ibn Yusuf, but both nationalist and religious groups called for his return. France capitulated, and Mohammed V returned in 1955. On the second of March in 1956, French Morocco gained independence. Spanish Morocco, except for the two enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, gained independence in April of 1956.
Mohammed V was succeeded by his son, Hasan II ibn Mohammed, upon his death in 1961. Morocco became a constitutional monarchy in 1977. When Hassan II died in 1999, he was succeeded by his thirty-five-year-old son, Mohammed VI ibn al-Hassan.
Dispute over Sahara
When Spain withdrew from the Spanish Sahara in 1975, Morocco claimed sovereignty in the north. The Spanish portions to the south, known as Moroccan Sahara, were supposed to become independent, but Morocco occupied the region in the Green March this was a mass demonstration of more than 350,000 Moroccans who were trying to take back control of the Moroccan Sahara before they signed a deal with Algeria in 1975 this event is still celebrated every year in Morocco in November. Initially, Morocco divided the territory with Mauritania,
