Rif
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Rif".

This article is about a region in Morocco. For other uses, see RIF (disambiguation).
For the Eleventh Century Talmudist, see Isaac Alfasi
Rif mountains in the province of Ashawen
Rif mountains in the province of Ashawen

The Rif (Berber:Image:Arif tifinagh.svg) is a mainly mountainous region of north Morocco, from Cape Spartel and Tangier in the west to Ras Kebdana and the Moulouya River in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the river of Ouargha in the south. It is part of the Cordillera Bética that also includes the mountains of Southern Spain. The Rif mountains are not part of the Atlas Mountains but belong to the Gibraltar Arc or Alborán Sea geological region. The region's name comes from the Berber word arif.

The people of the Rif are Berbers.

A view of the Rif mountains around Ashawen
A view of the Rif mountains around Ashawen
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Berbers portal

Major Rif cities include Tangier, Tetouan, Chefchaouen, Ceuta, Melilla, Nador, Al Hoceima (Also called Biya), Azghenghan, Selwan, Ajdir, Tawrirt, Taza, and El Jebha. The region is also known for its geographic diversity: mountains, sea, rivers, hills, and the like.

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History

For many centuries before Christ, the Berbers inhabited the Rif. The region was later invaded by Phoenicians since the 3rd century BC, founding cities such as Tetouan, Melilla, and later Tangier in the 5th century BC, which later became the capital city of the kingdom of Mauretania. The cities were later invaded by Romans and then Byzantines.

Map showing the location of the Rif Mountains across North Morroco.
Map showing the location of the Rif Mountains across North Morroco.

In 710, Salih I ibn Mansur founded the Kingdom of Nekor in the Rif and converted most Berbers to Islam. Arabs then established more cities. By the 15th century, many Spanish Moors were exiled from Spain and most of them lived in the Rif, bringing their culture, Andalusian music, and even establishing Chefchaouen. Since then, the Rif had suffered a lot of battles between Morocco, Spain and Portugal. In 1415, Portugal invaded Ceuta, and in 1490 Spain invaded Melilla. There was period of peace after, but war between Spain and Morocco arose again in 1859 in Tetouan where Morocco was defeated. The Spanish-Moroccan conflicts didn't end. In the 20th century, under the leadership of Abd el-Krim El-Khattabi, the Moroccan guerrilla leader, The Riffian Berbers struggled against Spanish rule and aimed to free Morocco from French and Spanish colonization. Abd el-Krim later established the Republic of the Rif in 1921. The region was returned to Morocco after its independence in 1956.

Tribes

Traditionally, the principal Rif tribes of the region are:

Environment

The Rif mountains are not part of the Atlas mountain range. The Rif mountains are home to the honeybee Apis mellifera major.

See also

External links

Berber Ethnic groups

Chaouis | Chenouas | Chleuhs | Kabyles | Mozabites | Rifains | Siwis | Tuareg

Coordinates: 35°00′N, 4°00′W
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