History of Morocco

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The history of Morocco includes the developments in the territory of the Kingdom of Morocco from prehistory to the present. It dates back about 1.3 million years, evidenced by stone tools from the Thomas Quarry site near Casablanca. Homo erectus can be detected for the time 700,000 years ago, the anatomically modern man 145,000 years ago at the latest. While in the Rif land development could be proven for the 6th millennium BC, the productive economy only slowly advanced against the appropriating ones of hunters, gatherers and fishermen. The culture of Capsia (from 8000 BC) may be traced back to the Berbers (Imazighs).

The Phoenicians increasingly shaped the Berber cultures from the early 1st millennium BC, with Carthage becoming established as the leading city in the eastern Maghreb. Cádiz had a trading station on Mogador from the 7th century BC. Carthage expanded from mid-5. Then, westwards to the Atlantic Ocean, where bases were established. During the conflict between Carthage and Rome, the empires of the Massylans, the Masaesylans and the Kingdom of Mauritania arose in the Maghreb, which Rome annexed from 40 AD. The southern border of the Roman province was secured by a chain of fortifications, the Limes Mauretaniae. Apart from a few coastal towns, the province of Mauretania Tingitana was lost by the end of the 3rd century.

Christianization began in the 2nd century. Some Berber groups also adopted many aspects of Roman culture, including religions. In addition to Christianity, the Jewish religion also spread. 429/435 Vandals occupied the provinces of Numidia. As Arians, they fought the previously dominant church, while the Berbers were able to occupy vast areas and developed their own tribal culture. In 533, Ostrom began to reconquer the Vandal Empire, with the Berbers building up independent dominions in changing coalitions. In the province of Tingitana, Ostrom could only gain a foothold in the extreme north.

From 664 the Arab conquest of the Maghreb began. The Berbers fought back vehemently at first, but they finally found a home in an Islamic law school that guaranteed them equality with the Arabs. On the other hand, these Kharijites demanded greater independence and so began around 740 uprisings, which were initially suppressed by the armies of the Umayyads and Abbasids. By 800 there were already three great empires in the Maghreb.

The overarching tribal groups of the Berbers were first the sedentary Masmuda, then the Zanāta, which were later driven to Morocco, as well as the Sanhāja in the Middle Atlas and further south, but also in eastern Algeria. They formed an important support for the rise of the Fatimids. These were Shiites, but they moved their imperial center in 972 to Egypt. Now Ziriden and Hammadids became independent. In the opposite