Th e Berbers of Morocco i ii Th e Berbers of Morocco A History of Resistance Michael Peyron iii I.B. TAURIS Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP, UK 1385 Broadway, New York, NY 10018, USA BLOOMSBURY, I.B. TAURIS and the I.B. Tauris logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published in Great Britain 2021 Copyright © Michael Peyron, 2021 Michael Peyron has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identifi ed as Author of this work. Cover design: Adriana Brioso Cover image © Michael Peyron All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc does not have any control over, or responsibility for, any third-party websites referred to or in this book. All internet addresses given in this book were correct at the time of going to press. The author and publisher regret any inconvenience caused if addresses have changed or sites have ceased to exist, but can accept no responsibility for any such changes. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN: HB: 978-1-8386-0046-4 ePDF: 978-1-8386-0373-1 eBook: 978-1-8386-0375-5 Typeset by Refi neCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk To fi nd out more about our authors and books visit w ww.bloomsbury.com and sign up for our newsletters. iv Michael Peyron defended a Doctoral thesis at the Grenoble Institute of Alpine Geography on the Tounfi t region as a result of extensive fi eld work in the Eastern High Atlas of Morocco (1970–90). He subsequently lectured on Amazigh History and Culture at Al-Akhawayn University, Ifrane (AUI) and at the Faculty of Letters, Rabat, Morocco (1999–2011). His better known Berber-related publications include Th e Amazigh Studies Reader (2008), Berber Odes (2010) and Mountains worth living for (2019). v vi To Josiane, Caroline, Margaret, Maya and Yan Also to Ayad Kerouach, Houssa Yakobi, Youssef A ï t Lemkaddem, Assou and Khadija Lhatoute, Rkia Montassir, Khadija Aziz, Fatima Boukhris, Labha El Asri and many other Amazigh friends and acquaintances In memory of David M. Hart, Berber fi eldworker extraordinary, and alsoMohammed El-Manaouar from Asif Dadds, late member of IRCAM vii Semi-nomads on the move, Tounfi t, Ayt Yahya (Eastern High Atlas). viii Contents List of Illustrations and Maps xi Preface xiv Introduction 1 1 Berber Origins 5 2 From Carthage to Islam 9 3 Dynasts versus Heretics 15 4 Triumph of the Atlas Berbers 21 5 Makers of Mayhem: Beni Hilal and Ma’qil 27 6 Atlas Saints and Mountain Kings 35 7 Senhaja Revival 43 8 Scourge of the Berbers 51 9 Transition and Recovery 57 10 Berber Backlash 65 11 Dawn of the Great Q ayd Era 79 12 Th e Foreign Th reat 91 13 Th e Start of Morocco’s “Th irty Years’ War” 101 14 Th e Defense of Jbel Fazaz 109 15 Stemming the Tide in Southeast Morocco 115 16 Great Q ayd versus Marabout 123 17 Between Oum Rbia’ and Moulouya: Failure of the Marabouts 131 18 Bitter Battles Around Jbel Tishshoukt 139 19 Th e Rif War (1921–7) 149 20 Phoney War on the Atlas Front (1926–9) 161 21 Reckless Raiders Rule the Roost (1927–34) 179 22 Th e Opening Rounds of the Atlas Endgame: Ayt Ya’qoub to Tazizaout (1929–32) 197 23 Heroic Defense of Tazizaout 213 24 Atlas Endgame: Th e Closing Stages (1933–4) 225 25 Pacifi cation Aft ermath 235 26 Transition to Modernity: Protectorate and Independence 241 ix