Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/860

 842 MOROCCO The chief interior cities, in the order of impor- tance, are as follows : Fez, Morocco, Mequinez, Azimtir, Tarudant, Theza, Ujda, Alcazar el-Ke- bir, Wezzan, Sofron, Dunnet, and Tafilet or Tafilelt. Tlie capitals are Fez and Morocco, in each of which the sultan resides for two or three years at a time. Mequinez is inhabited chiefly by the families of the body guard. Wezzan is the grand centre of the brotherhood of the Mulai Thaieb, and is peopled only by the descendants of the founder of this order in Algeria and Morocco. Tarudant is the capi- tal of Sus. The army proper consists of about 30,000 cavalry, composed of the body guard and the military tribes of Fez, the Sherarda, Sherarga, Ondaya, and a part of the Gherwan, who follow from father to son the military profession (mekhazni). The greater part of these troops always accompany the sultan ; the rest are detached in companies according to need. Permanent garrisons, varying from 1,000 to 300 in number, are stationed only at Fez, Marve, Rabat, Ujda, and in the Rif. In the other towns there are generally from 20 to 50 soldiers at the disposition of the authorities. The military enjoy great privileges and live at their ease. They are armed with sabres and long flint-lock guns, and wear no other dis- tinctive uniform than the Fez cap, which is worn by all state officials. The late sultan Sidi Mohammed tried to form an infantry corps, but the discipline was not compatible with the character and habits of the people, and the 3,500 or 4,000 men whom he raised were mostly renegades and foreigners. The gov- ernment has mints at Fez, Morocco, and Ra- bat, but they do little more than convert French crowns into the money of the coun- try. The Mauritania of the ancients comprised Morocco and a part of Algiers. (See MAURI- TANIA.) When the Arabs completed their con- quest of northern Africa (698-709) the Moors adopted their religion and customs. No gen- eral government was organized till about 787, when Edris ibn Abdallah, a descendant of Mo- hammed, founded the kingdom of Fez. His son and successor, Edris ibn Edris, founded the city of Fez about 807. In the llth cen- tury the warlike sect of the Al-Murabathin or Almoravides arose among the indepen- dent tribes in the deserts of the south, and about 1058 their chief Abubekr ibn Omar was proclaimed emir of all Morocco. In 1070 he crossed the mountains, and in 1072 founded the city of Morocco. The dynasty of the Al- moravides was succeeded by those of the Al- mohades, the Beni Merinas, and the El-Wa- tasi. In 1561 the descendants of Sherif Ho- sein founded a new dynasty, which in the be- ginning of the 17th century had extended its sway over all Morocco and as far S. as Timbuc- too. In 1578 King Sebastian of Portugal in- vaded the country, but was defeated at Alcazar and probably killed. On the death of Hamed Sherif al-Mansour, his empire was divided among his five sons, which led to the estab- lishment in 1648 of a new dynasty by Muley Sherif el-Fileli, king of Tafilet, which still continues on the throne. In 1787 the sultan made a treaty of peace and friendship with the United States, and in 1836 a second treaty of peace and commerce, to remain in force for 50 years. In 1814 the slavery of Christians was abolished, and in 1817 the sultan disarmed his marine and prohibited piracy. In 1844, du- ring the reign of Abderrahman (1823-'59), the Moors took up arms to aid Abd-el-Kader against the French, and the prince de Joinville bombarded Tangier and took possession of Mo- gadore, which was given up on the conclusion of peace. The French also bombarded Sale in 1851, in retaliation for the plunder of a ship on the coast. In 1859 the French made an in- cursion from Algeria into Morocco in revenge for depredations on their frontiers, and in the same year Spain declared war in retaliation for attacks on her commerce by the Rif pirates. On Feb. 6, 1860, Tetuan surrendered after a well contested battle (Feb. 4), and in April a treaty of peace was signed, which guaranteed to Spain 400,000,000 reals for the expenses of the war. In the same year a Moroccan ambassador was sent to London, the first since the time of Charles II., and in 1861 the British government gave a guarantee for a loan of 426,000 to the sultan to meet his en-. gagements with Spain. In March, April, and May, 1870, a French detachment from Algeria under Gen. Wimpffen made a tour of explora- tion through S. E. Morocco, and reported fa- vorably on the climate, water, &c. In Septem- ber, 1871, an insurrection of Berbers broke out in Morocco, and the Spanish fortifications at Melilla were attacked ; but the guns of the besiegers were dismounted by the fire from the citadel. The sultan Sidi Mohammed, who succeeded his father Abderrahman in 1859, died Sept. 20, 1873, and his son Muley Hassan was proclaimed Sept. 25. MOROCCO (Arab. MaraJcesK), a city and one of the capitals of the sultanate of Morocco, on the N". side of a plain 1,500 ft. above the sea, 4 m. S. of the river Tensift, and about 250 m. S. W. of Fez; lat. 31 38' N., Ion. 7 36' W. ; pop. about 50,000. The walls, which are 7 m. in circuit, are built of tappia (earth, pebbles, and lime pounded together), and are about 23 ft. high. One part is flanked with towers at reg- ular intervals, but most of them are in ruins, and the walls are so dilapidated that pedestrians easily find a passage in after the gates are closed. There are seven gates, besides two leading into the Tcasbah or citadel. A large part of the enclosed space is covered with gar- dens. The streets are wide at the gates, but in the centre of the city they form a network of filthy lanes, almost impassable for pedestrians in rainy weather. The houses are generally of one story, built of tappia whitewashed, with flat roofs and terraces, and opening on an inner court. They have no windows or doors to the street, the entrance usually opening on a lane