Rif

Coordinates: 35°N 4°W / 35°N 4°W / 35; -4
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about a region of Morocco. For the 11th-century Talmudist known as The Rif, see Isaac Alfasi. For other uses, see RIF (disambiguation).
Rif
Arabic)
Geography
CountryMorocco
Range coordinates35°N 4°W / 35°N 4°W / 35; -4

The Rif or Riff (

Tetouan, Chefchaouen, Taounate).[1]

Geography

Geologically, the Rif Mountains belong to the

Atlas Mountain System
.

Major cities in the greater Rif region include Nador, Al Hoceima (also called Villa), Imzouren, Driouch, Ben Taieb, Midar and Al Aaroui and a few (small) towns: Segangan, Selwan, Ajdir and Targuist (Targist).

History

The Rif has been inhabited by

Phoenicians began to establish trading posts with the approval of or partnership with the local Berbers; had started interbreeding and creating a Punic language on the Mediterranean and the Atlantic coasts; and had founded cities such as Tetouan, Rusadir (now Melilla) and (in the 5th century BC) Tingi (now Tangier
).

After the

5th century AD, the Roman rule came to an end, and the region was later reconquered and partly controlled by the Byzantine Empire.[5]

In 710, Salih I ibn Mansur founded the Emirate of Nekor in the Rif, and Berbers started converting to Islam. By the 15th century, many Moors were exiled from Spain, and most of them settled in Western Rif and brought their culture, such as Andalusian music, and even established the city of Chefchaouen. Since then, the Rif has suffered numerous battles with Spain and Portugal. In 1415, Portugal invaded Ceuta, and in 1490 Spain conquered Melilla.[6][7]

The Hispano-Moroccan War broke out in 1859 in Tetouan, and Morocco was defeated.[8] The Spanish-Moroccan conflicts continued in the 20th century, under the leadership of Abd el-Krim, the Berber guerrilla leader who proclaimed the Republic of the Rif in 1921.[9] The Riffian Berbers won several victories over the Spanish in the Rif War in the 1920s before they were eventually defeated.[10] The Spanish region was decolonised and restored to Morocco by Spain in April 1956, a month after the French region gained its independence from France.[11] Shortly afterward, a revolt broke out in the north against the Moroccan king by Riffian insurgents in 1958, but it was easily suppressed.[12]

Economy

Main article: Cannabis in Morocco

Farmers in the Rif produce most of Morocco's supply of cannabis. The region is economically underdeveloped.[13]

Environment

Rif mountains in the province of Ashawen
Moroccan Mediterranean coast – aerial view west from Bades over El Jebha to Tétouan with Rif mountains, Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima (2014)

According to C. Michael Hogan, there are between five and eight separate subpopulations of the

endangered primate Barbary macaque, Macaca sylvanus.[14] The Rif mountains are also home to the honey bee
subspecies Apis mellifera major.

The Rif region receives more rainfall than any other region in Morocco, with some portions receiving upwards of 2,000 mm (78.74 in) of precipitation a year.[

maritime pine, as well as tetraclinis.[citation needed
]

Massive deforestation due to

soil degradation due to the washing away of topsoil, which has aggravated the process.[15]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ "Rif | mountains, Morocco | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
  2. ^ Davis, Dan. Dissertation (Univ. of Texas at Austin): Commercial Navigation in the Greek and Roman World (Thesis).
  3. ^ Mário Curtis Giordani, História da África. Anterior aos descobrimentos. Editora Vozes, Petrópolis (Brasil) 1985, pp. 42f., 77f. Giordani references Bousquet, Les Berbères (Paris 1961).
  4. ^ Le Bohec 2015, p. 443.
  5. ^ Evans 2005, p. xxv.
  6. ^ López de Coca Castañer 1998, p. 351.
  7. ^ Bravo Nieto 1990, pp. 15, 24.
  8. ^ Fernández-Rivero 2011, pp. 470–471.
  9. ^ David S. Woolman, Rebels in the Rif: Abd El Krim and the Rif Rebellion (Stanford University Press, 1968), p. 96
  10. S2CID 151998348
    .
  11. ^ Burns, Jennifer. "Revolution of the King and the People in Morocco, 1950–1959: Records of the U.S. State Department Classified Files". Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  12. ISBN 978-2-7246-0509-9
    .
  13. ISSN 0013-0613
    .
  14. ^ C. Michael Hogan, 2008
  15. doi:10.1016/j.tfp.2023.100388
    .

References

External links

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