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{{Short description|Geographic and cultural region of Morocco}}
{{About|a region of Morocco|the 11th-century Talmudist known as The Rif|Isaac Alfasi|other uses|RIF (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Rif
| native_name = {{native name|ar|الريف}}
| photo = Chauen.jpg
| photo_caption = A view of the Rif mountains around [[Chefchaouen]]
| country = [[Morocco]]
| region_type =
| region =
| region1 =
| border =
| border1 =
| highest = [[Jbel Tidirhine]]
| elevation_m = 2455
| range_coordinates = {{coord|35|-4|display=inline,title|region:MA_type:mountain}}
| geology =
| period =
| orogeny =
| map_image = Rif mountains.png
| map_caption = Map of the Rif in northern Morocco
}}

The '''Rif''' ({{Langx|ar|الريف}}), also called '''Rif Mountains''', is a geographic region in northern [[Morocco]]. It is bordered on the north by the [[Mediterranean Sea]] and [[Spain]] and on the west by the [[Atlantic Ocean]], and is the homeland of the [[Riffians]] and the [[Jebala people]]. This mountainous and fertile area is bordered by [[Cape Spartel]] and [[Tangier]] to the west, by [[Berkane]] city and the [[Moulouya River]] to the east, by the [[Mediterranean]] to the north, and by the [[Ouergha River]] to the south. The Rif mountains are separated into the eastern Rif mountains ([[Nador]], [[Driouch]], [[Al Hoceima]]) and western Rif mountains ([[Tangier]], [[Tetouan]], [[Chefchaouen]], [[Taounate]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rif {{!}} mountains, Morocco {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Rif-mountains-Morocco |access-date=2022-05-31 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Geography==
Geologically, the Rif Mountains belong to the [[Gibraltar Arc]] or [[Alborán Sea]] geological region. They are an extension of the [[Baetic System]], which includes the mountains of the southern [[Iberian Peninsula]] across the strait.<ref>{{Cite thesis|last=Davis|first=Dan|title=Dissertation (Univ. of Texas at Austin): Commercial Navigation in the Greek and Roman World|url=https://www.academia.edu/2955208|language=en}}</ref> Thus, the Rif Mountains are not part of the [[Atlas Mountain System]].

Major cities in the greater Rif region include [[Nador]], [[Al Hoceima]] (also called Villa), [[Imzouren]], [[Driouch]], [[Ben Taieb]], [[Midar]] and [[Al Aaroui]] and a few (small) towns: [[Segangan]], [[Selouane|Selwan]], [[Ajdir]] and [[Targuist]] (Targist).

== History ==
The Rif has been inhabited by [[Berbers]] since prehistoric times.<ref>Mário Curtis Giordani, ''História da África. Anterior aos descobrimentos.'' Editora Vozes, Petrópolis (Brasil) 1985, pp. 42f., 77f. Giordani references Bousquet, ''Les Berbères'' (Paris 1961).</ref> As early as the [[11th century BC]], the [[Phoenicians]] began to establish trading posts and then cities such as [[Tétouan|Tetouan]], [[Rusadir]] (now [[Melilla]]) and (in the [[5th century BC]]) [[Tingi]] (now [[Tangier]]).

After the [[Third Punic War]], the coast of North Africa came under the control of [[Roman Empire|Rome]], and the Rif became part of the Kingdom of [[Mauretania]]. When Mauretania was divided during the rule of Emperor [[Claudius]], Tangier became the capital of [[Mauretania Tingitana]].{{sfn|Le Bohec|2015|p=443}} In the [[5th century AD]], Roman rule came to an end, and the region was later conquered and partly controlled by the [[Byzantine Empire]].<ref name="Ev">{{Harvnb|Evans|2005|p=xxv}}.</ref>

In 710, [[Salih I ibn Mansur]] founded the [[Emirate of Nekor]] in the Rif, and the [[Berbers]] started converting to [[Islam]]. By the 15th century, many [[expulsion of the Moriscos|Muslims who had converted to Christianity were expelled]] from Spain, and most of them settled in the western Rif and brought their culture with them, such as [[Music of Andalusia|Andalusian music]], and established the city of [[Chefchaouen]]. Afterwards the Rif was the site of numerous battles with Spain and Portugal. In 1415, [[Portuguese conquest of Ceuta|Portugal invaded Ceuta]], and in 1490 [[Conquest of Melilla|Spain conquered Melilla]].{{Sfn|López de Coca Castañer|1998|p=351}}{{Sfn|Bravo Nieto|1990|pp=15; 24}}

The [[Hispano-Moroccan War (1859–1860)|Hispano-Moroccan War]] broke out in 1859 in [[Tétouan|Tetouan]], and Morocco was defeated.{{Sfn|Fernández-Rivero|2011|pp=470–471}} The Spanish-Moroccan conflicts continued in the 20th century, under the leadership of [[Abd el-Krim]], the Berber [[Guerrilla warfare|guerrilla]] leader who proclaimed the [[Republic of the Rif]] in 1921.<ref>David S. Woolman, ''Rebels in the Rif: Abd El Krim and the Rif Rebellion'' (Stanford University Press, 1968), p. 96</ref> The Riffian Berbers won several victories over the Spanish in the [[Rif War]] in the 1920s before they were eventually defeated; the war saw [[Spanish use of chemical weapons in the Rif War|extensive use of chemical weapons by Spanish forces]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Entelis |first1=John P. |date=9 March 2017 |title=La Guerre du Rif: Maroc (1925–1926) |journal=The Journal of North African Studies |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=500–503 |doi=10.1080/13629387.2017.1300383 |s2cid=151998348}}</ref> The [[Spanish protectorate in Morocco|Spanish region]] was decolonised and restored to Morocco by Spain in April 1956, a month after the [[French protectorate in Morocco|French region]] gained its independence from France.<ref>{{cite web |last=Burns |first=Jennifer |title=Revolution of the King and the People in Morocco, 1950–1959: Records of the U.S. State Department Classified Files |url=http://gdc.gale.com/archivesunbound/archives-unbound-the-king-and-the-people-in-morocco-1950-1959-u.s.-state-department-records-on-the-internal-affairs-of-morocco/ |access-date=28 October 2016}}</ref> Shortly afterward, a revolt broke out in the north against the Moroccan king by Riffian insurgents in 1958, but it was easily suppressed.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Leveau |first=Rémy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UW9yAAAAMAAJ |title=Le fellah marocain, défenseur du trône |date=1985 |publisher=Presses de la Fondation nationale des sciences politiques |isbn=978-2-7246-0509-9 |pages=111 |language=fr}}</ref>

==Economy==
{{main|Cannabis in Morocco}}
Farmers in the Rif produce most of Morocco's supply of [[cannabis]]. The region is economically underdeveloped.<ref>{{Cite news| issn = 0013-0613| title = Morocco moves to legalise some cannabis cultivation| newspaper = The Economist| date = 2021-07-10|url=https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2021/07/10/morocco-moves-to-legalise-some-cannabis-cultivation}}</ref>

== Environment ==
[[File:RifMountainsInTheChefchaouenProvince.jpg|thumb|Rif mountains in the province of Ashawen]]
[[File:20141218 - Marocco Mediterrane Coast (West Side) - Air Photo by sebaso.jpg|thumb| Moroccan Mediterranean coast – aerial view west from Bades over [[El Jebha]] to [[Tétouan]] with Rif mountains, [[Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima]] (2014)]]

According to C. Michael Hogan, there are between five and eight separate subpopulations of the [[endangered]] [[primate]] [[Barbary macaque]], ''Macaca sylvanus''.<ref>C. Michael Hogan, 2008</ref> The Rif mountains are also home to the [[honey bee]] subspecies ''Apis mellifera major''.

The Rif region receives more rainfall than any other region in Morocco, with some portions receiving upwards of {{convert|2000|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=off}} of precipitation a year.{{Citation needed|date=February 2009}} The western and central portions are more rainy and are covered in forests of [[Atlas cedar]], [[cork oak]] and [[Quercus rotundifolia|holm oak]], as well as the only remaining forests of [[Moroccan fir]], a subspecies of the [[Spanish fir]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2009}} The eastern slopes receive less rainfall, and there forests consist mainly of pines, particularly the [[Aleppo pine]] and the [[maritime pine]], as well as [[tetraclinis]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2009}}

Massive deforestation due to [[overgrazing]], forest fires, and forest clearing for agriculture, particularly for the creation of [[cannabis]] plantations, has taken place since the 1950s. This deforestation has led to [[soil degradation]] due to the washing away of [[topsoil]], which has aggravated the process.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Spatio-temporal analysis and identification of deforestation hotspots in the Moroccan western Rif |year=2023 |doi=10.1016/j.tfp.2023.100388 |last1=Boubekraoui |first1=Hamid |last2=Maouni |first2=Yazid |last3=Ghallab |first3=Abdelilah |last4=Draoui |first4=Mohamed |last5=Maouni |first5=Abdelfettah |journal=Trees, Forests and People |volume=12 |article-number=100388 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

==Tribes==
The Rif is home to tribal people belonging to different tribes which are usually subdivided in even smaller groups. Following is a list of tribes:<ref>{{Cite book |last=Coon |first=Charleton S. |author-link=Carleton S. Coon |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015020847656&view=1up&seq=38&q1=eighteen |title=Tribes of the Rif |publisher=University of Harvard |year=1931 |series=Harvard African studies.v. 9 |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |pages=4 |language=en |hdl=2027/mdp.39015020847656 |hdl-access=free}}</ref>
*[[Gzenaya]]
*[[Ait Ouriaghel|Ait Waryaghar]]
*Ait Amart
*Ait Touzine
*Ait Temsaman
*[[Ait Oulichek|Ait Ulishk]]
*Ait Tafersit
*Ait Said
*[[Kebdana]]
*Targuist
*Bokoya
*Ait Itteft
*Ait Boufrah
*Ait Hadifa

== See also ==
* [[Ghomaras]]
* [[Hirak Rif Movement|Hirak Rif]]
* [[Iznasen]]
* [[Nekor]]
* [[Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima]]
* [[Oriental (Morocco)]]

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{Cite journal|title=La ocupación de Melilla en 1497 y las relaciones entre los Reyes Católicos y el duque de Medina Sidonia|first=Antonio|last=Bravo Nieto|journal=Aldaba|year=1990|issue=15 |publisher=[[Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia]]|issn=0213-7925|location=Melilla|pages=15–38|doi=10.5944/aldaba.15.1990.20168 |doi-broken-date=12 July 2025 |doi-access=free}}
* Pierre-Arnaud Chouvy (2005). [http://geopium.org/?p=276 "Morocco said to produce nearly half of the world's hashish supply"], ''[[Jane's Intelligence Review]]''
* {{Cite book |last=Evans |first=James Allan Stewart |title=The Emperor Justinian and the Byzantine Empire |publisher=Greenwood |date=2005 |isbn=978-0-313-32582-3 |location=Westport}}
* {{Cite book|url=http://eprints.rclis.org/16861/1/Enrique%20Fazio%20en%20la%20Guerra%20Africa.pdf|last=Fernández-Rivero|first=Juan-Antonio|chapter=La fotografía militar en la guerra de África: Enrique Facio|title=Ceuta y la Guerra de África de 1859–1860|location=Ceuta|year=2011|pages=459–492|publisher= Instituto de Estudios Ceutíes|isbn=978-84-92627-30-1}}
* C. Michael Hogan (2008). [https://web.archive.org/web/20120419033431/http://globaltwitcher.auderis.se/artspec_information.asp?thingid=31757&lang=us "Barbary Macaque: Macaca sylvanus"], Globaltwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Hoyos |editor1-first=Dexter |first=Yann |last=Le Bohec |chapter= The "Third Punic War": The Siege of Carthage (148–146 BC) |date=2015 |orig-year=2011 |title=A Companion to the Punic Wars |location=Chichester, West Sussex |publisher=John Wiley |pages=430–446 |isbn=978-1-1190-2550-4 |author-link=Yann Le Bohec}}
* {{Cite journal|title=Granada y la expansión portuguesa en el Magreb extremo|first=José Enrique|last=López de Coca Castañer|journal=Historia. Instituciones. Documentos|issn=0210-7716|issue=25|year=1998|pages=351–368|publisher=[[Universidad de Sevilla]]|location=Seville|doi=10.12795/hid.1998.i25.018 |s2cid=252936676 |doi-access=free}}

== External links ==
{{commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121120043854/http://www.fadma.be/galeries/arrif Galerie Rif (Arrif)] {{in lang|fr}}
* [http://weecheng.com/morocco/chef/map-rif.gif Rif Map]
{{Major African geological formations}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Rif| ]]
[[Category:Al Hoceïma Province]]
[[Category:Berber history]]
[[Category:Geography of Fès-Meknès]]
[[Category:Geography of Oriental (Morocco)]]
[[Category:Geography of Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima]]
[[Category:Historical geography of Morocco]]
[[Category:Historical regions]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Morocco]]

Rif - Revision history

imported>Skitash: Reverted edit by ~2025-31475-13 (talk) to last version by LuniZunie