Historical Dictionary of Morocco

A historical reference work on Morocco must take as its subject al-maghrib al-aqsa (the far west) as the Arabic scholars have generally referred to the approximate region of present-day Morocco, roughly the north-west corner of Africa but at times including much of the Iberian peninsula, because the modern nation-state is a relatively recent creation owing much to events in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. External influences on Morocco tend to come across the narrow straits of Gibraltar to the north, from the east along the Mediterranean litoral, or up from the Sahara. In each case, access is constrained by geography and continued control from outside the region has been difficult to manage over the long term. Although many of the dynasties that came to power in Morocco conquered much broader regions, history and topology have so conspired that there is still more coherence to an historical focus on al-maghrib al-aqsa than is the case for most modern nation-states.

This third edition of Historical Dictionary of Morocco contains a chronology, an introduction, a glossary, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 600 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Morocco.

Aomar Boum is an assistant professor of socio-cultural anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles and faculty fellow at the Université Internationale de Rabat, Morocco. He has a varied research focus that revolves around ethnic and religious minorities, Islam, anthropology of religion, youth, festival, historiography and sociology of Morocco, North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East.

Thomas K. Park is a professorat the School of Anthropology at the University of Arizona, he is the author of a number of articles and book chapters. He spent 1999 to 2003 studying urbanization in Morocco, Senegal, Mali, Niger, Tanzania, and Botswana on a grant funded by the National Science Foundation.