Le Maroc Saharien Des Origines A 1670 French Edition Top May 2026

Le Maroc saharien des origines à 1670

, published in 1982 by Librairie Klincksieck , is a seminal two-volume work by French anthropologist and historian Denise Jacques-Meunié . Spanning nearly 1,000 pages, it remains one of the most comprehensive academic studies of the Saharan regions of Morocco. Core Themes & Structure

  1. Unrivaled Chronological Depth: As the title promises, the book covers an enormous span—from prehistoric rock art and early Berber migrations to the dawn of the Alaouite dynasty just before the major trans-Saharan trade shifts. Few works attempt this long durée for the Moroccan Sahara.
  2. Detailed Tribal & Route Mapping: The author provides granular detail on Sanhaja, Lamtuna, and Masmuda tribal confederations, their movements, and their control of desert corridors. The sections on the Almoravid origins (before they conquered Marrakech) are particularly strong, grounding their rise in the western Sahara, not just the north.
  3. Economic Focus: Excellent treatment of the pre-1670 gold-salt-slave trade. The book carefully explains how Sijilmassa, Awdaghust, and later Ouadane functioned as nodes. It clarifies that Morocco’s “Saharan” claim was initially economic (control of caravans) and religious (spread of Malikism), not territorial in the modern sense.
  4. French Scholarly Tradition: Written in the classic French colonial/post-colonial academic style, it is footnoted heavily with Arabic chronicles (Ibn Khaldun, Al-Bakri, Al-Idrisi) and early European travel accounts. For a researcher, the bibliography is a goldmine.

En 1666, la dynastie alaouite a pris le pouvoir au Maroc, avec Moulay Ali Sharif comme premier souverain. Les Alaouites ont poursuivi la politique de unification de la région et ont renforcé les institutions étatiques. le maroc saharien des origines a 1670 french edition top

It uncovered a "hidden history" of a region that was largely invisible in written records until this publication. Multidisciplinary Approach: Le Maroc saharien des origines à 1670 ,

Conclusion

Le Maroc saharien des origines à 1670 , written by Denise Jacques-Meunié and published in 1982, serves as a monumental reference for the history of Saharan Morocco. Spanning two volumes, this scholarly work—originally the author's doctoral thesis from the Sorbonne—meticulously traces the region's evolution from prehistoric times to the rise of the Alaouite dynasty in the mid-17th century. Thematic Overview Unrivaled Chronological Depth: As the title promises, the