History · 315,000 years in one vertical line
Timeline of Morocco
From the first face to the first high-speed train. Every dynasty, every turning point.
In 2017, a team led by Jean-Jacques Hublin reopened a collapsed cave 100 km west of Marrakech. Inside: the oldest known remains of Homo sapiens — 315,000 years old. Five individuals. Modern faces, elongated braincases. Morocco shifted from the margins of human origins to the centre. This timeline traces every chapter since: Phoeniciantraders, Roman columns, the birth of the Moroccan state under the Idrisids, the great Berber empires, colonial humiliation, and modern renaissance. Click any event to read the full story.
~315,000 BCE
Jebel Irhoud: Oldest Homo sapiens
Prehistory
~82,000 BCE
Grotte des Pigeons: Earliest jewellery
Prehistory
~15,000 BCE
Iberomaurusian culture
Prehistory
~5,000 BCE
Amazigh tribal consolidation
Prehistory
~1000 BCE
Phoenician trading posts
Phoenician & Carthaginian
~500 BCE
Carthaginian hegemony
Phoenician & Carthaginian
~300 BCE
Kingdom of Mauretania
Phoenician & Carthaginian
25 BCE
Juba II: Rome's Berber king
Roman
40 CE
Mauretania Tingitana: Roman province
Roman
~200 CE
Roman influence fades
Roman
429 CE
Vandals arrive
Roman
682 CE
Arab armies reach Morocco
Early Islamic
740 CE
Great Berber Revolt
Early Islamic
788 CE
Idrisid dynasty: Morocco is born
Idrisid (788–974)
859 CE
Al-Qarawiyyin founded
Idrisid (788–974)
1062
Almoravids found Marrakech
Almoravid (1040–1147)
1147
Almohad dynasty rises
Almohad (1147–1269)
1212
Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa
Almohad (1147–1269)
1269
Marinid dynasty takes power
Marinid (1269–1465)
~1325
Ibn Battuta departs Tangier
Marinid (1269–1465)
1472
Wattasid dynasty
Wattasid (1472–1554)
1525
Saadian dynasty rises
Saadian (1549–1659)
1578
Battle of the Three Kings
Saadian (1549–1659)
1578–1603
Ahmad al-Mansur: The Golden One
Saadian (1549–1659)
1660
Alaouite dynasty begins
Alaouite (1660–present)
1672–1727
Moulay Ismail: The Warrior Sultan
Alaouite (1660–present)
1757–1790
Sultan Mohammed III: Diplomacy
Alaouite (1660–present)
1860
Spain invades northern Morocco
Colonial Pressure
1906
Algeciras Conference
Colonial Pressure
1912
Treaty of Fes: French Protectorate
Colonial (1912–1956)
1921–1926
Rif War: Abd el-Krim
Colonial (1912–1956)
1944
Independence Manifesto
Colonial (1912–1956)
1953
Mohammed V exiled
Colonial (1912–1956)
1956
Independence
Independent Morocco
1961
Hassan II becomes king
Independent Morocco
1975
The Green March
Independent Morocco
1999
Mohammed VI: A new era
Independent Morocco
2011
Constitutional reform
Independent Morocco
2018
Al Boraq: Africa's first high-speed rail
Independent Morocco
2030
FIFA World Cup (with Spain & Portugal)
Independent Morocco
315,000 years. Eight dynasties. Three colonial powers. One independence. The bones at Jebel Irhoud have modern faces and ancient braincases — human enough to recognise, old enough to humble. Every empire that followed built on what the last one left behind: Roman columns became minaret foundations, Almohad walls became Marinid madrasas, colonial Ville Nouvelles grew beside medinas that predated them by a thousand years. Morocco is not a country with layers. It is the layers.
Sources
Jebel Irhoud (315,000 years): Hublin et al., Nature 546 (2017); Max Planck Institute; Scientific American; Smithsonian NMNH. Taforalt beads (~82,000 years): Bouzouggar et al., PNAS (2007). Phoenician settlements: UNESCO Lixus documentation; Encyclopaedia Britannica. Roman Mauretania Tingitana: UNESCO Volubilis file. Dynastic timeline: Wikipedia "History of Morocco"; j2adventures.com/morocco-timeline; BestMoroccoTravel.com; Encyclopaedia Britannica. Al-Qarawiyyin (859 CE): UNESCO; Guinness World Records. Ibn Battuta: The Rihla (translated by H.A.R. Gibb). Battle of Three Kings (1578): Andrew C. Hess, "The Battle of Lepanto and Its Place in Mediterranean History." Green March (1975): BBC News archives. 2011 Constitution: Reuters. Al Boraq (2018): ONCF. 2030 World Cup: FIFA.
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