726 



MOROCCO. 



Morocco. Mediterranean, and who are the most athletic, feroci- 

 v> "V~ 1/ ous, and faithless of them all ; the Berebbers of the in- 

 terior, who occupy the high lands from the southern 

 confines of Errif, to the vicinity of Fez and Mequinez, 

 and who are similar to the former in person, but less 

 savage in their disposition ; the Berebbers of Middle 

 A tlas, who resemble the last mentioned in most respects ; 

 and the Berebbers of south Barbary, who extend from 

 Mogadore southwards, and from the eastern limits of 

 Atlas to the sea coast who are also called Shilluks. 

 These last, who are sometimes described as a distinct 

 race, are more diminutive in person than those of the 

 north, and have in general also an effeminate tone of 

 voice. They have more of the social qualities ; and are 

 more faithful in observing the promises of protection 

 granted by their chiefs. 



The Arabs, who are the direct descendants of the 

 invaders of the country, compose the most numerous 

 class of the population, and are scattered over the 

 whole level districts of Northern Africa, even to the 

 confines of the Great Desert. They are generally tall 

 and robust, with fine features, and countenances full of 

 intelligence, their eyes large, black and piercing, their 

 noses gently arched, their teeth white and regular, 

 their beards full and bushy, their hair strong, straight, 

 and universally black, their skin, in the northern parts, 

 of a bright, clear, brown colour, gradually darkening to 

 black, as they approach towards the south. They are 

 all cultivators of the earth, and breeders of cattle, de- 

 pending entirely on agricultural pursuits for subsist- 

 ence. They dislike the restraints of cities, and dwell 

 invariably in tents, in families that vary in number 

 from ten to a hundred. Each of their tribes has its 

 own chief or sheik, who explains the Koran, and ad- 

 ministers justice ; and in the centre of each encamp- 

 ment is a tent, appropriated for religious worship and 

 the reception of travellers. They move from place to 

 place as the pasturage fails, or the land becomes ex- 

 hausted; and separate into different parties, as their 

 number and flocks may require. On their march, the 

 women are placed on the backs of the camels, the chil- 

 dren and lambs in the panniers on each side ; and the 

 fowls instinctively perch upon the baggage. Part of 

 the men on horseback are armed with muskets, and act 

 as a guard to the party, while the rest drive along the 

 herds. They are more violent, but less treacherous 

 than the other classes ; faithful to the laws of hospitali- 

 ty within the .limits of their encampment, but ready to 

 murder the last night's guest when they meet him 

 again beyond these boundaries. They are perpetually 

 engaged in war with one another, with the Berebbers, 

 or with the troops of the sovereign, who are sent out to 

 collect the taxes, and they carry on their hostilities 

 with the most savage brutality ; sometimes ripping up 

 the dead bodies of their victims, to discover the riches 

 which they suspect them to have swallowed for the 

 purpose of concealment. 



The Moors, a name used only by Europeans, are the 

 inhabitants of the towns, whom the Arabs call Medai- 

 nien, or towns people, and who call themselves Moos- 

 lim or believers. They are a mixture of all the nations 

 who have at any time settled in Northern Africa, and 

 are subdivided into four classes: 1. Those descended 

 from Arab families, who form the larger part of the 

 population in the southern towns, and of those which 

 border on Arab districts ; 2. Those who are sprung 

 from the Berebbers, who are more or less numerous in 

 the towns, according to the proximity of the Berebber 

 districts ; 3. The Bukharie or black tribe, who are the 



descendants of the negroes who have been brought as Morotco. 

 soldiers into the country, and who are most numerous 

 inMequinez; and, 4. the Andalusie, the reputed de- 

 scendants of the Arab conquerors of Spain, who form a 

 large class in the towns of the north of Barbary, and 

 are seldom seen to the south of the river Aza Moor. 

 The two former classes distinguish themselves by the 

 name of the tribes from which they have sprung, and 

 keep up a close alliance with their kindred families in 

 the country ; but the two latter denominations are en- 

 tire in themselves, as two distinct communities. The 

 Moors are an indolent and taciturn race, jealous, deceit- 

 ful, and cruel, losing even the natural affections in their 

 extreme selfishness, and altogether degraded by the in- 

 fluence of their absurd religion, their gross ignorance, 

 and their wretched government. The reader is refer- 

 red to the Article BARBARY for an account of the man- 

 ners and customs of the inhabitants. See Chenier's 

 Present State of Morocco. Lempriere's Tour to Moroc- 

 co ; Jackson* Account, of the Empire of Morocco ; Nar- 

 rative of Adams, a Sailor, with appendix by Mr. 

 Dupuis ; Ali Bey's Travels ; Keatinge's Travels in 

 Europe and Africa, (q.) 



MOROCCO, a city of West Barbary, and the metro- 

 polis of the empire of Morocco, is situated in the 

 midst of a beautiful valley, formed by a chain of 

 mountains on the north, and those of the Atlas on 

 the south and east. The country which immediate- 

 ly surrounds it is a fertile plain, diversified by clumps 

 of shrubs and palm trees, and watered by nume- 

 rous streams which descend from the Atlas moun- 

 tains. About five miles from the city towards the 

 south, are seen the emperor's gardens and large in- 

 closed olive plantations, which greatly increase the 

 beauty of the surrounding scenery. The city was 

 founded in A.D. 1052, by an Arab chief named Jusuf 

 Teshfin, and is said to have encreased so rapidly, that, 

 in the time of his grandson, it contained a million of in- 

 habitants. Leo Africanus speaks of it as one of the 

 largest cities in the world ; but the extent of ground 

 which it covered, (which is ascertained by the ancient 

 walls which still exist, and which are only 7 or 8 miles 

 in circuit,) contradicts the probability of its having ever 

 contained so great a population. At present its inha- 

 bitants do not exceed 30,000 ; and many of its most 

 magnificent buildings are in a state of ruin and decay. 

 The walls are extremely thick, and are built of a ce- 

 ment of lime and sandy earth, called by the Moors tab- 

 bia, which is put into cases, and beaten together with 

 square rammers. These walls are flanked by square 

 towers, and surrounded by a wide and deep ditch. 

 There are numerous entrances, consisting of large 

 double portions, built of tabbia in the gothic style, the 

 gates of which are regularly shut every night at certain 

 hours. The streets are very narrow, dirty, and irregu- 

 lar ; and the best houses are built in the midst of the 

 gardens behind high.walls of the rudest construction, as 

 every proprietor is anxious toconceal his wealth from the 

 eye of the public. Most of them, also, are constructed 

 like forts for defence, and approached by a narrow lane, 

 capable of admitting only a single horseman at a time. 

 There are many temples or mosques in the city, but 

 few of them remarkable for magnificence. One of 

 them, which has a cistern under it for collecting water 

 in the rainy season, has its central space supported by 

 pillars of marble, and has a lofty square tower, with a 

 winding terrace reaching to the top, from which Cape 

 Cantin, distant about 120 miles, is distinctly visible. 

 Another tower is remarkable from the circumstance of 



