AAfrican Knowledge Atlas

Morocco

Capital: Rabat · North Africa

A kingdom of Amazigh dynasties, imperial cities and Andalusi heritage, stretching from the Rif and Atlas mountains to the edge of the Sahara.

Ethnic communities

More communities of Morocco

  • Tashelhit (Shilha) Souss valley and Anti-Atlas Amazigh — argan groves and rrways poets
  • Central Atlas Tamazight Middle Atlas herders of cedar country and ahidous dance
  • Tarifit (Rif) Amazigh Northern mountaineers of Abd el-Krim's short-lived republic
  • Jebala Arabic-speaking hill folk of the northwest with Andalusi echoes
  • Sahrawi (Hassaniya) Desert nomads of the far south — tea, camels and poetry
  • Haratin oasis communities Draa and Tafilalt date-palm cultivators
  • Aït Atta Great Saghro-Atlas confederation of transhumant herders
  • Aït Yafelman Eastern High Atlas alliance of valley farmers
  • Zayanes Khenifra's Middle Atlas warriors and horse culture
  • Doukkala & Chaouia Atlantic-plains farming tribes of the grain belt
  • Soussi merchants Amazigh trading diaspora running groceries nationwide
  • Filala Tafilalt oasis lineages — the Alaouite dynasty's cradle
  • Draa valley communities Ksar-dwelling farmers of the date river
  • Moroccan Jewish heritage Millennia-old mellah communities, now mostly diaspora

Languages

Major languages: Arabic, Tamazight (Tashelhit, Central Atlas, Tarifit), French

Language families: Afro-Asiatic (Semitic, Berber)

Historical kingdoms & states

  • Almoravid Empire
  • Almohad Caliphate
  • Marinid Sultanate
  • Saadi and Alaouite dynasties

Heritage sites

  • Medina of Fez
  • Medina of Marrakesh
  • Ksar of Aït-Ben-Haddou
  • Volubilis
  • Essaouira

Cultural highlights

Gnawa music (UNESCO)Jemaa el-Fna square oral traditionsZellij tilework

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