Northern Africa · MAR

Morocco

The story · 12 chapters

How it was drawn

Berber land of Roman Mauretania and of the Almoravid and Almohad empires, an independent sultanate for twelve centuries, split by France and Spain in 1912, reunited from 1956 and still contested in the Western Sahara.

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Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Morocco fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Roman Empire40 to 44
After Emperor Caligula has King Ptolemy of Mauretania killed in AD 40, the freedman Aedemon leads a revolt. Roman armies crush it, and the kingdom is annexed as two provinces, with Mauretania Tingitana in the north of Morocco.
Umayyad Caliphate739 to 743
Berbers angered by Umayyad taxes and slave levies revolt in 739 under Maysara, starting at Tangier. They defeat caliphal armies at the Battle of the Nobles in 740 and again in 741, and the far Maghreb escapes the caliphs for good.
Caliphate of Córdoba931 to 985
The Umayyads of Córdoba take Ceuta in 931 and fight the Fatimids for northern Morocco by backing rival Berber tribes. They end the Idrisid dynasty in 985 and rule the north through Berber allies.
Kingdom of Castile1212 to 1340
Moroccan dynasties fight to hold Muslim Spain against the Christian kingdoms. The Almohads lose to a coalition led by Castile at Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, and the Marinids' last great expedition is crushed at the Rio Salado in 1340.
Kingdom of Portugal1415 to 1769
Portugal takes Ceuta in 1415 and builds forts along the Atlantic coast. King Sebastian dies invading Morocco at the Battle of the Three Kings in 1578. Moroccan sultans retake the posts one by one, the last, Mazagan, in 1769.
Ottoman Empire1550 to 1578
From Algiers the Ottomans try to bring Morocco into their empire. They briefly install a client sultan in Fez in 1554, and the Saadian sultan Muhammad al-Shaykh is murdered by an Ottoman agent in 1557. Morocco stays independent.
Songhai Empire1590 to 1591
Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur, eager for West African gold, sends an army with firearms across the Sahara. It defeats Songhai at Tondibi in 1591 and occupies Timbuktu and Gao.
Kingdom of Spain1859 to 1860
A dispute over the borders of Ceuta turns into war. Spanish troops win at Tetouan and Wad Ras, and the peace of 1860 enlarges Ceuta, promises Spain a post at Ifni and imposes a heavy indemnity.
French protectorate1907 to 1956
France occupies Oujda and Casablanca in 1907 and imposes a protectorate in 1912. When it exiles Sultan Mohammed V in 1953, protests and armed resistance spread, and France agrees to his return in 1955 and to independence in 1956.
Kingdom of Spain1921 to 1926
Rif tribes resist Spain's northern zone. Abd el-Krim crushes a Spanish army at Annual in 1921 and proclaims a Rif Republic. A joint French and Spanish offensive, with a landing at Al Hoceima in 1925, forces him to surrender in 1926.
AlgeriaSince 1963Still open
The two neighbours fight the brief Sand War over the Tindouf and Béchar region in 1963. Algeria later backs the Polisario Front in Western Sahara. The border has been closed since 1994, and Algeria cut diplomatic ties in 2021.
Polisario FrontSince 1975Still open
The Polisario Front proclaims the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in 1976 and fights Morocco for Western Sahara. A UN ceasefire holds from 1991 to 2020, when low level fighting resumes. The promised referendum on independence has never been held.

Today

Morocco now

In 788, about a century after the Arab conquest of North Africa, a series of Muslim dynasties began to rule in Morocco. In the 16th century, the Sa'adi monarchy, particularly under Ahmad al-MANSUR (1578-1603), repelled foreign invaders and inaugurated a golden age. The Alaouite Dynasty, to which the current Moroccan royal family belongs, dates from the 17th century.

Capital: Rabat
Government: parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Head of government: Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri
Head of state: Mohammed VI of Morocco
Languages: Standard Moroccan Tamazight, Arabic
Area: 446,550 km²

Through time

Then and now

Population37.7 million2023 · 8.9 million in 1950
Life expectancy75.3 years2023 · 38.8 years in 1950
GDP per person$8,4002022 · $2,319 in 1950
Living in cities63%2025 · 26% in 1950
Literacy64%2014 · 13% in 1950
Political regimeClosed autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950
Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
Military spending3.5% of GDP2025
War deathsNone2025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Close partners

United States
France
Saudi Arabia

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 23 October 2026.

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Morocco fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Roman Empire40 to 44

After Emperor Caligula has King Ptolemy of Mauretania killed in AD 40, the freedman Aedemon leads a revolt. Roman armies crush it, and the kingdom is annexed as two provinces, with Mauretania Tingitana in the north of Morocco.

Umayyad Caliphate739 to 743

Berbers angered by Umayyad taxes and slave levies revolt in 739 under Maysara, starting at Tangier. They defeat caliphal armies at the Battle of the Nobles in 740 and again in 741, and the far Maghreb escapes the caliphs for good.

Caliphate of Córdoba931 to 985

The Umayyads of Córdoba take Ceuta in 931 and fight the Fatimids for northern Morocco by backing rival Berber tribes. They end the Idrisid dynasty in 985 and rule the north through Berber allies.

Kingdom of Castile1212 to 1340

Moroccan dynasties fight to hold Muslim Spain against the Christian kingdoms. The Almohads lose to a coalition led by Castile at Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, and the Marinids' last great expedition is crushed at the Rio Salado in 1340.

Kingdom of Portugal1415 to 1769

Portugal takes Ceuta in 1415 and builds forts along the Atlantic coast. King Sebastian dies invading Morocco at the Battle of the Three Kings in 1578. Moroccan sultans retake the posts one by one, the last, Mazagan, in 1769.

Ottoman Empire1550 to 1578

From Algiers the Ottomans try to bring Morocco into their empire. They briefly install a client sultan in Fez in 1554, and the Saadian sultan Muhammad al-Shaykh is murdered by an Ottoman agent in 1557. Morocco stays independent.

Songhai Empire1590 to 1591

Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur, eager for West African gold, sends an army with firearms across the Sahara. It defeats Songhai at Tondibi in 1591 and occupies Timbuktu and Gao.

Kingdom of Spain1859 to 1860

A dispute over the borders of Ceuta turns into war. Spanish troops win at Tetouan and Wad Ras, and the peace of 1860 enlarges Ceuta, promises Spain a post at Ifni and imposes a heavy indemnity.

French protectorate1907 to 1956

France occupies Oujda and Casablanca in 1907 and imposes a protectorate in 1912. When it exiles Sultan Mohammed V in 1953, protests and armed resistance spread, and France agrees to his return in 1955 and to independence in 1956.

Kingdom of Spain1921 to 1926

Rif tribes resist Spain's northern zone. Abd el-Krim crushes a Spanish army at Annual in 1921 and proclaims a Rif Republic. A joint French and Spanish offensive, with a landing at Al Hoceima in 1925, forces him to surrender in 1926.

AlgeriaSince 1963Still open

The two neighbours fight the brief Sand War over the Tindouf and Béchar region in 1963. Algeria later backs the Polisario Front in Western Sahara. The border has been closed since 1994, and Algeria cut diplomatic ties in 2021.

Polisario FrontSince 1975Still open

The Polisario Front proclaims the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in 1976 and fights Morocco for Western Sahara. A UN ceasefire holds from 1991 to 2020, when low level fighting resumes. The promised referendum on independence has never been held.

Morocco now

Capital

Rabat

Government

parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Head of government

Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri

Head of state

Mohammed VI of Morocco

Languages

Standard Moroccan Tamazight, Arabic

Area

446,550 km²

Then and now

Population37.7 million2023 · 8.9 million in 1950

Life expectancy75.3 years2023 · 38.8 years in 1950

GDP per person$8,4002022 · $2,319 in 1950

Living in cities63%2025 · 26% in 1950

Literacy64%2014 · 13% in 1950

Political regimeClosed autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950

Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950

Military spending3.5% of GDP2025

War deathsNone2025