Bled es-Siba
Bled es-Siba or Bled Siba (Arabic: بلاد السيبة), 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.[1]
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 governing institution.
Siba itself is an Arabic word that is used to refer “to a camel set aside from the herd, left to fend for itself, as a form of sacrifice.”[2]
Historical background
Morocco has been ruled by the Alaouite dynasty 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.[3]
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.[3]
References
- ^ Hoffman, Bernard G. (1967). The Structure of Traditional Moroccan Rural Society. The Hague and Paris: The Hague and Paris: Mouton.
- ^ Scheele, Judith (2022-12-01). "Northwest African perspectives on the concept of the state". HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory. 12 (3): 732–746. doi:10.1086/722386. ISSN 2575-1433.
- ^ a b Landmark cases in international law. Kluwer Law Intern. 1998. ISBN 9789041197092. OCLC 40551880.
External links