什麼是摩洛哥

正式名稱摩洛哥王國（Kingdom of Morocco）

阿拉伯語作Al-Mamlakah al-Maghribiyah

非洲西北部國家。面積458,730平方公里。人口約29,237,000（2001，包括西撒哈拉）。首都︰拉巴特。阿拉伯化的柏柏爾人是該國最大的語言文化羣體，法國人、西班牙人和貝都因人佔少數。語言︰阿拉伯語（官方語）、柏柏爾語。宗教︰伊斯蘭教（國教），大多數為遜尼派。貨幣︰迪拉姆（DH）。摩洛哥境多山，平均海拔800公尺。北部沿岸為裏夫山脈，中部為阿特拉斯山脈；圖卜卡勒山（Mt. Toubkal）海拔4,165公尺，為摩洛哥最高峯。摩洛哥位於強地震活動帶，是地震多發區。肥沃的低地有助於農業發展，主要作物有大麥、小麥和甜菜。摩洛哥為世界最大的磷酸鹽巖供應國。卡薩布蘭加為該國工業中心，亦是最大的城市。政府形式為君主立憲，兩院制。國家元首暨政府首腦為國王，由總理輔佐。

柏柏爾人大約在西元前2千紀末期進入摩洛哥。西元前12世紀期間，腓尼基人在地中海沿岸建立貿易站。西元前5世紀迦太基在其大西洋沿岸設有殖民地，迦太基衰亡後，摩洛哥成為羅馬帝國的忠實盟友。西元46年被羅馬吞併，成為茅利塔尼亞省的一部分。7世紀時穆斯林侵入摩洛哥。11世紀中葉，阿爾摩拉維德人（參閲Almoravid dynasty）征服了摩洛哥，並統治西班牙各穆斯林地區。12世紀阿爾摩哈德人（參閲Almohad dynasty）推翻阿爾摩拉維德人。13世紀馬里尼德人（參閲Marinid dynasty）征服該地區，15世紀中葉馬里尼德人衰亡後，直到1550年，薩迪人（sa'di）統治該地區達一個世紀之久。與巴貝里海岸沿岸諸國的聯合，迫使歐洲人進入該地區：法國越過阿爾及利亞邊境攻打摩洛哥，英國在1856年獲得貿易權，西班牙於1859年佔領部分摩洛哥領地。1912年起成為法國的保護國，直到1956年獨立。1970年代後期，摩洛哥重申對西屬撒哈拉的領土主權（參閲Western Sahara）；1976年西班牙軍隊撤離該地區，留下阿爾及利亞支持的撒哈拉游擊隊玻裏沙利歐陣線（Polisario Front）。阿爾及利亞和茅利塔尼亞的關係惡化，使該地區的戰事一直持續到1990年代末，聯合國試圖解決其爭端。

Morocco

ArabicAl-Mamlakah al-MaghribiyahCountry, North Africa. Area: 177,117 sq mi (458,730 sq km). Population (1997 est.): 27,220,000. Capital: Rabat. Arabized Berbers are the country's largest ethnolinguistic group; there are French, Spanish, and Bedouin minorities. Languages: Arabic (official), Berber. Religion: Islam (official), mostly Sunni. Currency: dirham. Morocco is a mountainous country with an average elevation of 2,600 ft (800 m) above sea level. The Er Rif runs along the northern coast; the Atlas Mtns. rise in the nation's center, and include Mount Toubkal (13,665 ft, or 4,165 m), the country's highest peak. The area is a zone of severe seismic activity, and earthquakes are frequent. Its fertile lowlands support agriculture; major crops include barley, wheat, and sugar beets. Morocco is the world's largest supplier of phosphate. The nation's industrial center is Casablanca, its largest city. It is a constitutional monarchy with one legislative house; its chief of state and head of government is the king, assisted by the prime minister. The Berbers entered Morocco near the end of the 2nd millennium BC. Phoenicians established trading posts along the Mediterranean during the 12th century BC, and Carthage had settlements along the Atlantic in the 5th century BC. After the fall of Carthage, Morocco became a loyal ally of Rome, and in 46 AD it was annexed by Rome as part of the province of Mauretania. It was invaded by Muslims in the 7th century. The Almoravids conquered it and the Muslim areas of Spain in the mid-11th century; in the 12th century the Almohads overthrew the Almoravids. They in turn were conquered by the Marinids in the 13th century. After the fall of the Marinids in the mid-15th century, the Sa'dis ruled for a century after 1550. Association with the Barbary Coast states compelled Europeans to enter the area: the French fought Morocco over the Algerian boundary, Britain obtained trading rights in 1856, and the Spanish seized part of Moroccan territory in 1859. It was a French protectorate from 1912 until its independence in 1956. In the late 1970s it reasserted claim to the Spanish Sahara (see Western Sahara), and in 1976 Spanish troops withdrew from the region, leaving behind the Algerian-supported Saharan guerrillas of the Polisario Front. Relations with Mauritania and Algeria deteriorated, and fighting over the region continued into the 1990s. As the decade wore on, the U.N. tried to solve the dispute.