Africa · Sultanates, sharifs and the Atlantic trade
Morocco
Sultanate, later kingdom · 1670–1911, 1956–2024
Morocco in this period is the story of the Alawi (Alaouite) dynasty — a sharifian house claiming descent from the Prophet Muhammad — which has ruled the country from the seventeenth century to the present day, making it one of the longest-reigning dynasties in the Islamic world. The Alawis rose to power in the Tafilalet oasis in 1631 amid the collapse of the Saadi Sultanate, and Moulay al-Rashid reunified the fractured country, taking Fez in 1666 and Marrakesh in 1668.
- Type
- Sultanate, later kingdom
- Existed
- 1670–1911, 1956–2024
- Shown on the map
- 1670–1911, 1956–2024 (2 periods)
- Peak area
- 407k km²
- Region
- Africa
Overview
Morocco in this period is the story of the Alawi (Alaouite) dynasty — a sharifian house claiming descent from the Prophet Muhammad — which has ruled the country from the seventeenth century to the present day, making it one of the longest-reigning dynasties in the Islamic world. The Alawis rose to power in the Tafilalet oasis in 1631 amid the collapse of the Saadi Sultanate, and Moulay al-Rashid reunified the fractured country, taking Fez in 1666 and Marrakesh in 1668.
History
His successor, Moulay Ismail Ibn Sharif (r. 1672–1727), forged a centralized state with a standing army of Black African soldiers (the Abid al-Bukhari), built the imperial capital at Meknes, and expelled European enclaves — retaking Tangier from the English in 1684 and Larache from Spain in 1689; Portugal abandoned Mazagão (El Jadida) in 1769, its last Moroccan foothold. Morocco was also the first nation to recognize the independence of the United States (1777), and the 1786 Moroccan–American Treaty of Friendship remains the longest-unbroken treaty in US diplomatic history. Under Moulay Slimane and his successors, however, the state weakened as European pressure mounted: the Hispano-Moroccan War of 1859–60 ended in the Treaty of Wad Ras, whose indemnities bankrupted the treasury, and Spain established a coastal protectorate from 1884. The Algeciras Conference (1906) and the Agadir Crisis (1911) preceded the Treaty of Fez (1912), which imposed a French protectorate — though uniquely, the Sultan retained nominal sovereignty under Resident-General Lyautey rather than being deposed. Resistance was fierce: the Rif War (1921–26) under Abd el-Krim required a massive Franco-Spanish campaign after the Spanish disaster at Annual. Slavery was abolished in 1925. The nationalist Istiqlal Party was founded in 1943; Sultan Mohammed V's exile in 1953 backfired, and he returned in triumph in 1955.
Later history and present status
Independence came in March 1956. Under Hassan II (from 1961) Morocco fought the Sand War with Algeria (1963), regained Ifni (1969), and annexed most of Western Sahara via the Green March of 1975 (ceasefire 1991, status still unresolved). Mohammed VI has reigned since 1999, with a revised constitution in 2011. Morocco is notable as the only North African state to escape Ottoman dominion, and its sharifian monarchy remains the oldest ruling dynasty in the Muslim world still in power.
Common questions
- What was Morocco?
- Morocco in this period is the story of the Alawi (Alaouite) dynasty — a sharifian house claiming descent from the Prophet Muhammad — which has ruled the country from the seventeenth century to the present day, making it one of the longest-reigning dynasties in the Islamic world. The Alawis rose to power in the Tafilalet oasis in 1631 amid the collapse of the Saadi Sultanate, and Moulay al-Rashid reunified the fractured country, taking Fez in 1666 and Marrakesh in 1668.
- When did Morocco exist?
- Morocco existed 1670–1911, 1956–2024. On this map it is drawn 1670–1911, 1956–2024.
- How large was Morocco?
- At its greatest extent drawn on this map, Morocco covered about 407,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.
- Who ruled Morocco?
- His successor, Moulay Ismail Ibn Sharif (r. 1672–1727), forged a centralized state with a standing army of Black African soldiers (the Abid al-Bukhari), built the imperial capital at Meknes, and expelled European enclaves — retaking Tangier from the English in 1684 and Larache from Spain in 1689; Portugal abandoned Mazagão (El Jadida) in 1769, its last Moroccan foothold.
- What is the present status of Morocco?
- Independence came in March 1956. Under Hassan II (from 1961) Morocco fought the Sand War with Algeria (1963), regained Ifni (1969), and annexed most of Western Sahara via the Green March of 1975 (ceasefire 1991, status still unresolved).
Sources
Every source below was consulted while writing this entry.
- History of Morocco — Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Morocco
This entry was written from the sources above and last updated .
This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made
Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.
Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).
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