Morocco

Introduction
Morocco has been inhabited since prehistoric times.  Then there was a jihad and after that, the Berbers took over.  The Arabs took over after the Berbers.  It was the first country to recognize the statehood of the U.S. The French conquered Morocco and Spain owned bits and pieces of it. Morocco became independent in 1957.  Morocco is ruled by a king and it has its own military. It has a strong economy and 2 major languages.  Morocco has a sweet culture and cuisine.

Prehistory
Aterian: It's the first culture in Morocco and the Middle East.  They are earliest known people to have jewelry. They were the first known people to use a bow and arrow.  They disappeared because of the ice age.  This culture was over 100,000 years old.

Iberomaurusian: This was the next culture in Morocco.  The people of this culture were hunters-gathers. The hunted gazelles, horses, and sheep.  They had big skeletons.

Capsian: This culture came from the Iberomaurusian.  It lasted for 4,000 years!  They ate a lot of animals and not that many vegetables.  They may have domesticated an animal similar to a goat.

Ancient History
Ancient Morocco became a part of Carthaginian Empire.  After that, it became a part of the Roman Empire. It was also a part of Numidia.  Numidia lasted for over a century.  Rome defeated Numidia and incorporated into its empire.

History
In 670 CE the Muslims conquered Morocco.  The Berber became Muslims after Salih I Ibn Mansur encouraged them to convert.  He founded the kingdom Nekor.  His dynasty ruled Nekor for 300 years. In 859 CE the Viking attacked Nekor, but they didn't conquer it.  Nekor was conquered 1019 by a Yemenite.

Almoravids, Almohads, and then Marinid were Berber dynasties that ruled Morocco from 1000-1548. Morocco ruled Iberia for several centuries during this time.  After the Moors fell in 1492, many Muslims and Jews in Spain moved to Morocco at that time.

In 1549 Arabs took over Morocco (M).   The Saadi dynasty was the first Arab dynasty to rule Morocco.  It ruled for a century and a decade.  They kept the Turks and Portuguese from taking over M.  M conquered Songhai Empire in 1591.  M became very wealthy because of this.  After Al-Mansur died his sons fought each other over rulership.  M fell apart because of this.

The Alaouite dynasty came to power in the 17th century.  They put M back together again.  This dynasty is in charge today.  This dynasty has been in M since the 13th century!

Morocco made a treaty with the U.S. called Treaty of Peace and Friendship.  It was signed on 1786. The treaty as lasted for over 200 years!  This is the longest treaty the U.S. ever had.

In 1884 Spain took control of the coastal areas of Morocco.  The French conquered parts of Morocco. Other European nations took control of parts of Morocco.  Mohammed V was exiled to Madagascar by France from 1953-55.  They put another king in power, but the people didn't like him.  Mohammed came back and became the king of the rest of Morocco in the following year.

There has been a lot of human right abuses since independence.

Politics                          
The government is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy.  People vote in the parties that become the legislative branch.

Sultan (king): He appoints the prime minister from the winning political party.  He has the power to dismiss a prime minister if he chooses.  He controls foreign policy and religious matters.  He is the commander and chief of the military.

Executive Branch: The prime minister is the leader of this branch.  He has the power yo dissolve the parliament.

Legislative Branch: There are 2 chambers of legislators.  The Assembly of Representatives of Morocco and Assembly of Councilors.

Judicial Branch: The king appoints the judges to the Supreme Court.  He also appoints the governors for 12 administrative districts.  

Military
Army: This branch of the military been around for over 1,000 years.  It has fought in several conflicts.

Navy: It has been around for over 1,000 years as well.  The modern version of it started in 1960.  It keeps Morocco coast safe.  It may have stop Crusaders from invading Egypt.

Air Force: It was created in 1956.  They fought in the Sand War and Yom Kippur.  They dropped bombs on ISIS.  It has been modernized.

Gendarmerie: Military police.

Royal Guard: They protect the royal family.

Economy
It is the 5th largest economy in Africa.  Most of Morocco's $ come from farming, tourism, and phosphates. M are great at mining and sells a lot of weed.  M make a bunch of textiles and sells it to the EU.  M has many lucrative industries.  Construction and real estate are booming and so is foreign investment.

Languages
Berber: There are 3 dialects of this language spoken in M.  It is a member of the Afro-Asian language family.

Hassaniya Arabic: This dialect of Arabic is spoken by Moors.

Judeo-Moroccan Arabic: This form of Arabic is spoken by Jews.

Standard Arabic: This form of Arabic is spoken all over North Africa and the Middle East.

Spanish: It is spoken by 20,000 people.

French: Most Moroccans can speak this language.

Culture
Morocco culture is a mixture of Amazigh, Arab, Jewish, French, and Spanish cultures. Many poems and essays are written in M.  There are great authors and painters in M.  Most Moroccans follow Sunni Islam. There are many Christians in Morocco.  Most Jews that lived in Morocco moved to Israel.  It's about 300 people that fellow Baha'i religion.  There are over 300,000 people that are atheists.  Christians aren't allowed to have a bible nor spread the word.  Morocco has many different types of music.

Cusine
Spices are used often in the food.  Whenever they have a meal, bread is eaten.  That reminds me of my tribe. Moroccans like to drink sweet mint tea.  They eat hot and cold salads.  They eat fruit for dessert.  A lot of seafood is consumed. They drink a lot of OJ.  Oranges are plentiful so OJ is cheap.

Conclusion
Morocco is a sweet country!  It has a rich history and culture.  A tasty and healthy cuisine.  An economy that is always improving.  It has neat languages and military.  I give it a B+.    

References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morocco
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aterian
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Aterian-industry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iberomaurusian
http://dienekes.blogspot.com/2013/07/origin-of-iberomaurusian.html
http://www.aggsbach.de/2011/04/iberomaurusian/
https://infogalactic.com/info/Capsian_culture
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numidia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salih_I_ibn_Mansur
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Nekor
http://www.morocco.com/blog/the-ancient-kingdom-of-nekor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morocco%E2%80%93United_States_relations
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed_VI_of_Morocco
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Morocco
http://www.morocco.com/culture/language/
https://www.britannica.com/place/Morocco/Education#ref846442
http://www.postcolonialweb.org/morocco/moroccov.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Morocco
http://www.morocco.com/music/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moroccan_cuisine
Morocco Power
History of Morocco
Facts about Morocco
Moroccan Spirit