''Bled es-Siba'' or ''Bled Siba'' (), is a historical term in pre-colonial Moroccan history that refers to a lawless area that was out of the control of the Moroccan Sultans.

Etymology

''Bled es-Siba'' literally means "region of anarchy", as opposed to ''Bled el-Makhzen'', which refers to the region under the control of the

Makhzen Makhzen (, , ) is the governing institution in Morocco and in pre-1957 Tunisia, centered on the monarch and consisting of royal notables, top-ranking military personnel, landowners, security service bosses, civil servants and other well-connected ...

governing institution. Siba itself is an

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

word that is used to refer “to a camel set aside from the herd, left to fend for itself, as a form of sacrifice.”

Historical background

Morocco has been ruled by the

Alaouite dynasty The Alawi dynasty () – also rendered in English as Alaouite, Alawid, or Alawite – is the current Moroccan royal family and reigning dynasty. They are an Arab Sharifian dynasty and claim descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his ...

since the 17th century. Many Berber tribes were however, not submissive to the Sultan, which led to two different regions: Bled es-Siba and Bled el-Makhzen.

Makhzen and Siba

The relation between the central power of Makhzen and the region of Bled es-Siba was more complex than a simple territorial separation. Even though the tribes in Bled es-Siba were not submissive to the central power, the spiritual authority of the Sultan was always accepted.

References

External links

Amazigh: The Berbers of Morocco

20th century in Morocco Historical geography of Morocco {{Morocco-stub