Maroc Saharien Des Origines A 1670 French Edition Top — Le
Contrary to the Arab-centric view of the Sahara, the book dedicates 40% of its volume to the Berber (Amazigh) substratum. It details the Zanata confederation, which controlled the salt mines of Taghaza, and the Sanhaja, who founded Marrakech. The argument is clear: When the Almoravid dynasty (1050s) moved from the Senegal River to conquer Morocco and Al-Andalus, they were not "foreign invaders"; they were Saharans reclaiming the north.
The work highlights the economic vitality of the region. It details the trade routes that linked sub-Saharan Africa (Ghana, Mali, Songhai empires) with the Maghreb and Europe.
Le Maroc Saharien des origines à 1670 est une œuvre majeure de l'historien et ethnographe Dj. Jacques-Meunié. Ce livre constitue une étude exhaustive et érudite consacrée à l'histoire du sud marocain et des régions sahariennes.
L'auteur retrace avec précision l'évolution historique de cette zone charnière entre le Maghreb et l'Afrique subsaharienne, depuis les périodes préislamiques jusqu'à l'avènement de la dynastie Alaouite en 1670. L'ouvrage explore en profondeur les mutations politiques, sociales et économiques qui ont façonné le "Maroc Saharien". le maroc saharien des origines a 1670 french edition top
Les thèmes clés traités incluent :
Paul Pascon was a student of the Annales School of history and a contemporary of Jacques Berque. His methodology is distinctive because:
Dj. Jacques-Meunié (1909-1994) était un éminent historien et ethnologue français. Conservateur du Musée de l'Homme et spécialiste du Maroc, il a consacré une grande partie de sa carrière à l'étude du Maghreb médiéval et des sociétés sahariennes. Sa méthodologie rigoureuse et sa connaissance approfondie du terrain font de ses travaux des classiques de l'historiographie nord-africaine. Contrary to the Arab-centric view of the Sahara,
In the 21st century, "Le Maroc Saharien des Origines à 1670" has transcended history to become a geopolitical document.
Since the Green March (1975) and the ongoing autonomy plan for Western Sahara, Moroccan diplomats frequently cite the historical framework laid out in this 1950s French text. It serves as a primary source for the argument that Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara predates the United Nations Charter, the OAU, and even the Ottoman presence in Algiers.
Reading the French edition allows one to bypass partisan rhetoric and see the raw data: census of tribes, irrigation rights (khettara), and the religious zawiyas that linked the desert to Fes. It is the silent witness on every expert’s shelf. Paul Pascon was a student of the Annales
Most original copies were printed in small runs (often fewer than 1,000 copies) by university presses in Bordeaux, Aix-en-Provence, or Institut des Hautes Études Marocaines (Rabat). These were library-bound (full leather or buckram) with fold-out maps. A "Top" copy is one that retains the original wrappers and all five fold-out plates.
Introduction: The Desert as a Crucible of History
For centuries, the Sahara Desert was mischaracterized by European cartographers as Terra Nullius—a vast, empty wasteland separating "civilized" Africa from the Mediterranean. However, a transformative body of scholarship, culminating in the essential reference known as "Le Maroc Saharien des Origines à 1670" (French Edition) , has systematically dismantled this myth. For historians, geopolitical analysts, and collectors, this text represents the top tier of foundational literature on pre-colonial Saharan Morocco.
This article explores the historical depth, structural arguments, and enduring importance of this French-language edition, which traces the political, cultural, and economic roots of the Moroccan Sahara from prehistoric rock art to the dawn of the Alaouite dynasty.
