Pre-colonial Makhzen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The pre-colonial Makhzen (Arabic: المخزن, romanized: makhzan, lit. 'warehouse') was the governing institution of pre-colonial Morocco prior to the imposition of the French protectorate as a result of the Treaty of Fes in 1912. The form of government in Morocco was an absolute monarchy, and all political sovereignty belonged to the Sultan of Morocco. The Makhzen governed on the basis of Shari'a Islamic law derived from the Qur'an.[1] The Makhzen operated on a system of Sharifism, in which the shurafā, descendants of Muhammad through his grandson Hasan ibn Ali, held a privileged political and religious position in society.[2] Bilād al-Makhzen ('the land of the makhzen') was the term for the areas under central government authority, while those areas run by autonomous tribal authority were known as Bilād as-Siba ('the land of dissidence').[3]
Administration
The Empire of Morocco was divided into provinces, and these were divided into districts. Provinces were governed by a qāḍī, while districts were governed by sheikhs. The qāḍīs were appointed by the sultan in the Moroccan capital of Fes. Each village was governed by a muqaddam, who was responsible for order among the governed civilians. Governors were appointed from the most influential people of their tribe or district. Their duty was to levy taxes for the imperial treasury and to maintain order, and could punish by fine, imprisonment or foot whipping. Only the sultan of Morocco had the right to give the direct order of capital punishment.[1] Most of these governors, in addition to the police force, were unpaid officials. It was only until the recommendations and advice of Sir John Drummond Hay during the reign of Sultan Muhammad IV bin Abd al-Rahman (1859-1873) that the plan of paying administrators was introduced, following the Anglo-Moroccan Treaty of 1856, to the great advantage of the treasury. However, great fraud and irregularities remained.[1]