Morocco

**Morocco** (, *al-Maġrib*, ; Moroccan Arabic: المغرب, *el-Maġrib*; , ; ), offeecially the **Kinrick o Morocco** (, *al-Mamlakah al-Maġribiyya*, ), is a kintra locatit in North Africae. It haes a population o nearly 32 million an an aurie o 710,850&nbsp;km², includin the disputit Wastren Sahara which is mainly unner Moroccan admeenistration. Morocco haes a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait o Gibraltar intae the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered bi Spain tae the north (a watter mairch throu the Strait an land borders wi three smaw Spaingie-controlled exclaves, Ceuta, Melilla, an Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera), Algerie tae the east, ane Mauritanie tae the sooth.

Morocco is a de jure constitutional monarchy wi an electit parliament. The Keeng o Morocco holds vast executive pouers, includin dissolvin parliament at will. Executive pouer is exercised bi the govrenment an bi the king as well. Legislative pouer is vestit in baith the govrenment an the twa chambers o parliament, the Assembly o Representatives an the Assembly o Councillors. The king can an aa issue decrees cawed dahirs which hae the force o law. Parliamentary elections wur held in Morocco on 7 September 2007, an wur considered bi some neutral observers tae be maistly free an fair; awtho voter turnout wis estimatit tae be 37%, the lawest in decades. The politeecal caipital is Rabat, an the lairgest ceety is Casablanca; ither lairge ceeties include Zagora, Marrakech, Fes, Salé, Agadir, Tangier, Meknes, Oujda an Tetouan.

Morocco haes a rich cultur an civilization, which remained mainly indigenous throughoot times an the Moroccan cuisine haes lang been considered as ane o the maist diversified cuisines in the warld. The population is almaist entirely Arab-Berber. Awtho Arabic is the majority leid, modern studies show that the Arabization process in Morocco wis maistly linguistic. The Moroccans or Moroccan Arabs, ar a lairgely homogenous group speakin Moroccan Arabic, awtho regional variation daes occur. The Berber fowk in Morocco can be dividit in three main groups wi different dialects: the Riffians, the Chleuh an the Central Atlas indwallers.

## History

The earliest well-kent Moroccan unthirlt state wis the Berber kinrick o Mauretanie unner keeng Bocchus I. This Berber Kinrick o Mauretanie (current northren Morocco) dates at least tae 110 BC.

Umayyad Arabs conquered the region in the 7t century, bringin thair leid, thair seestem o govrenment, an Islam, tae which mony o the Berbers slowly convertit, maistly efter the Arab rule recedit.  In the Islamic era the first Moroccan Muslim state, independent frae the Arab Empire, wis The Kinrick o Nekor, an emirate in the Rif aurie. It wis foondit bi an immigrant frae Yemen, Salih I ibn Mansur in 710 AD, as a client state tae Caliphal grant. Idris I fled tae Morocco frae the Abbasids' massacre against his tribe in Iraq an managed tae convince the Awraba Berber tribes tae break allegiance tae the distant Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad. He foondit the Idrisid Dynasty in 780 AD. Morocco became later a centre o learnin an a major pouer.

Frae the 20t century onwards, a series o pouerful Bakker dynasties arose. Unner the Almoravid dynasty an the Almohad dynasty, Morocco dominatit the Maghreb, Muslim Spain, an the wastren Mediterranean region. In the 13t century the Merinids gained pouer ower Morocco an strove tae replicate the successes o the Almohads. In the 15t century the Reconquista endit Islamic rule in Iberie an mony Muslims an Jews fled tae Morocco. Unner the Saadi Dynasty, the first Moroccan dynasty initiatit bi ethnic Arabs synee the Idrisids, the kintra wad consolidate pouer an fecht aff Portuguese an Ottoman invaders, as in the battle o Ksar el Kebir. The reign o Ahmad al-Mansur brocht new wealth an prestige tae the Sultanate, an a massive Moroccan invasion o the Songhay Empire wis initiatit.

Housomeivver, managin the territories athort the Sahara proved too difficult. Efter the daith o al-Mansur the kintra wis dividit amang his sons. In 1666 the sultanate wis reunitit bi the Alaouite dynasty, who hae syne been the rulin hoose in Morocco. The organisation o the state developed wi Ismail Ibn Sharif. Wi his Black Guard he drove the Breetish frae Tangier (1684) an the Spaingie frae Larache (1689). In 1912, efter the First Moroccan Crisis an the Agadir Crisis, the Treaty o Fez wis signed, effectively dividin Morocco intae a French an Spaingie protectorate. In 1956, efter 44 year o occupation, Morocco regained unthirldom frae Fraunce an Spain as the "Kinrick o Morocco".

### Population o Morocco
The aurie o present day Morocco haes been inhabitit syne Neolithic times (at least syne 2000 BC, as attestit bi signs o the Capsian cultur), a period when the Maghreb wis less arid than it is the day. In Mesolithic ages the geography o Morocco resembled a savanna mair nor the present day arid landscape. In the classical period, Morocco wis kent as Mauretanie, awtho this shoud nae be ramfeeselt wi the modren-day kintra o Mauritanie. Modren DNA analysis (see link) haes confirmed that various populations hae contributit tae the present-day gene pool o Morocco in addition tae the main modern group which is the Amazighs/Berbers. Those ither various populations are Arabs, Iberians, Phoenicians, Sephardic Jews an sub-Saharan Africans.

A smaw Jewish community lived in Morocco afore the creation o Israel, numberin approximately 265,000 in 1948, awtho atween 7,000 an 12,000 live thare nou (maistly in few major ceeties). A caw made bi late king Hassan II for Jews tae return tae Morocco wis no answered.

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