فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
Taza: Throughout its history, from the Middle Ages to the French occupation, the city of Taza consistently resisted surrender to any power. This resilience stemmed from its unique geographical location, which defined its strategic pass, climate, and terrain, as well as the fortitude of its inhabitants, who grew up coexisting with the harshness of nature.
Consequently, just as Taza attracted rebels, dissidents, invaders, and fugitives, it also drew the attention of the rulers in Fez and Marrakesh. Its prominent place in historical records and the continued resonance of its name are no mere coincidence; rather, a latent collective consciousness prompts its mention and remembrance.
“The Key and Lock of the West”: The Genesis of a Strategic City
Taza emerged in the 10th century AD on a narrow pass between the Rif and the Atlas Mountains, founded by the Miknasa tribe, who revolted against the rulers of Kairouan and constructed military fortifications. The rebels swiftly established a religious sanctuary there to emphasize the city’s role and location, enticing Kharijites arriving from the east. This site would later be known as the “Pass of Taza” due to its ability to connect the regions of Sefrou and Fez with the rest of the country.
In the 13th century, when the Marinid dynasty established their imperial capital in Fez, they remained deeply attached to Taza, a region they knew well from their seasonal migrations, as described in “Nafh al- الطيب من غصن الأندلس الرطيب وذكر وزيرها لسان الدين ابن الخطيب” by al-Maqqari al-Tilimsani: “They used to graze their livestock in the spring and summer as far as the vicinity of Taza and Oujda, then return south at the end of autumn.”
They referred to it as the “key and lock of the West,” and it was the city where Sultan Abu al-Rabi’ Sulaiman, who died in 1309, was buried. Following his death, Abu Sa’id Uthman seized power, setting out from Taza towards Fez before declaring himself ruler of Sijilmasa starting in 1315.
“A Quintessential Warrior City” Facing Ambitions
When the Saadian Sharifs managed to extend their control over vast parts of Morocco, Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur al-Dhahabi recognized Taza’s importance in its ability to repel the Ottomans, who made no secret of their ambitions to invade Morocco from the east. Thus, Ahmad al-Mansur worked to restore Taza’s walls and fortresses, transforming it into “a quintessential warrior city.” During this time, the Golden Sultan built the famous bastion known as “al-Bastiyun,” which allowed for the blocking of a strategic route and the monitoring of water sources feeding the valley.
At the beginning of the French Protectorate, “al-Bastiyun” greatly interested historians and explorers. The military authorities also used it, after its restoration, to house their forces there, according to historians Jean Campardou and Henri Basset, who prepared an in-depth study on this fortress, which was listed as a national historical monument in 1916. Their study, published in “Archives Berbères,” noted that al-Bastiyun, whose construction date is not clearly established, had marked Moroccan history since the 15th century.
In 1665, the Alaouite Sultan Moulay Rachid marched on Taza and settled there. He worked to win over its inhabitants to his leadership in order to occupy Fez. It took him nearly two years of campaigns launched from Taza to seize Fez, which he eventually succeeded in doing, but he made Taza a rear base in case of a counterattack. The city continued to receive the attention of the Alaouite sultans, from Moulay Ismail to Moulay Abdelaziz, the last sultan of independent Morocco.
The Era of “Bou Hamara” and the French “Bogeyman”
It was no surprise that Taza garnered the attention of France before it imposed its protectorate over Morocco. Nor was it strange that the French explorer Charles de Foucauld mentioned it in his book “Reconnaissance au Maroc” (Reconnaissance of Morocco), where he wrote: “Supported from the south by a high mountain range, bordered by slopes from the north and west, and a sharply inclined slope in the northwest. It can be easily accessed from only one side, the southeast,” a description that accurately captures its exceptional geography, as if warning his countrymen of the dangers they might face at the gates of a city of rebels, dissidents, fugitives, and those aspiring to rule. One of the latter was “Jilali al-Rougui Bou Hamara,” who caused great concern for Sultan Moulay Abdelaziz between 1902 and 1909, claiming to be the eldest son of Moulay Hassan I and therefore the most deserving of the Sultan’s throne in northern Morocco. Bou Hamara reached Taza with nearly 15,000 warriors. From there, he waited for Moulay Abdelaziz to head towards Marrakesh in order to seize Fez. When Moulay Abdelaziz sent his forces to quell this strange rebellion, they suffered a real defeat at the hands of Bou Hamara’s men, who was eventually forced to settle in the northeast, continuing to “rule” for six years before being defeated by the army of Sultan Moulay Abdelhafid.
“The Taza Mission”
But Taza did not yield easily. After Bou Hamara’s departure, the Ghiyata tribe controlled the city, forcing the French to call in two additional columns of soldiers led by Generals Gouraud and Baumgarten. Faced with superior numbers and equipment, the protectorate authorities managed to subdue Taza on May 10, 1914. However, about three months later, fighting resumed, and the locals managed to regain control of the city, restoring Taza’s reputation and turning it into the terrifying “bogeyman” for the French, who found themselves compelled to undertake an operation they called the “Taza Mission,” aimed at definitively ending the rebellion, defining an area of over 150 kilometers in length and more than 60 kilometers in width for their offensives. Despite the intensity of the operations, the French did not succeed in completely suppressing the rebels of Taza.
“After their retreat before the advance of our occupation, the Rifians living there showed fierce opposition against us. Some were forced to leave their villages… but some, like the Marmoucha, did not fear living for three years in the valleys and forests, enduring the bitter cold in the mountains rather than surrendering,” wrote the French historian Henriette Célarié in her book “Pages de Gloire au Maroc” (Pages of Glory in Morocco), before adding, “Given the military operations against the Rif, we were not able to move on to reducing the major mission until the first half of July.”
