Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaër (; , ,

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

: ''Errbaṭ-Sla-Zemmur-Zɛir'') was formerly one of the sixteen

regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

from 1997 to 2015. It was situated in north-western Morocco. It covered an area of 9,580 km², and had a population of 2,676,754 (2014 census). The capital was

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...

Administrative divisions

The region is made up into the following provinces and prefectures : * Prefecture of

(now part of the

Rabat-Salé-Kénitra Rabat-Salé-Kénitra () is one of twelve administrative regions of Morocco. It is situated in north-western Morocco and has a population of 5,132,639 (2024 census). The capital is Rabat. History Rabat-Salé-Kenitra was formed in September 201 ...

Region) * Prefecture of

Salé Salé (, ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the right bank of the Bou Regreg river, opposite the national capital Rabat, for which it serves as a commuter town. Along with some smaller nearby towns, Rabat and Salé form together a single m ...

(now part of the

Region) * Prefecture of Skhirat-Témara (now part of the

Region) *

Khemisset Province Khemisset () is a city in northern Morocco with a population of 131,542 recorded in the 2014 Moroccan census. It is situated on the A2 motorway between Rabat (81 km) and Meknès (57 km), and is the capital of Khémisset Province. From 1 ...

(now part of the

Region)

History

Most of the population of this region has historically been concentrated in coastal areas. The first recorded history is centered at

Chellah The Chellah or Shalla ( or ; ), is a medieval fortified Muslim necropolis and ancient archeological site in Rabat, Morocco, located on the south (left) side of the Bou Regreg estuary. The earliest evidence of the site's occupation suggests that th ...

, an early

Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...

n settlement at the edge of Rabat along the southern bank of the

Oued Bou Regreg The Bou Regreg () is a river located in western Morocco which discharges into the Atlantic Ocean between the cities of Rabat and Salé. The estuary of this river is termed Wadi Sala. The river is 240 kilometres long, with a tidal estuary of app ...

. Later the Romans took control and enlarged Chellah, whose ruins are today a prominent archaeological point of interest. Chellah was a significant ancient port city town with remains including the

Decumanus Maximus In Roman urban planning, a ''decumanus'' was an east–west-oriented road in a Roman city or '' castrum'' (military camp). The main ''decumanus'' of a particular city was the ''decumanus maximus'', or most often simply "the ''decumanus''". In t ...

, a forum, a monumental fountain, a triumphal arch, and other ruins. In the seventeenth century the first regional governmental entity was formed, unifying Rabat and Salé.''The Middle East and North Africa: Essays in Honor of J.C. Hurewitz'', J. C. Hurewitz, Reeva S. Simon, 1990,

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's la ...

, 545 pages This regime was the headquarters of

Barbary pirates The Barbary corsairs, Barbary pirates, Ottoman corsairs, or naval mujahideen (in Muslim sources) were mainly Muslim corsairs and privateers who operated from the largely independent Barbary states. This area was known in Europe as the Barba ...

and held sway over a turbulent time.

Anthropological genetic studies

In a genetic anthropological study of the

Arabic-speaking Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns language codes to 32 varieties of Arabic, including ...

inhabitants of Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer in

, entitled ''Exploitation de 15 STRs autosomaux pour l’étude phylogénétique de la population Arabophone de Rabat-Salé- Zemmour-Zaer (Maroc)'', 387 healthy, unrelated random individuals from the region were analyzed. The scientists concluded that there are deep links that confirm the

Arab identity Arab identity () is the objective or subjective state of Identity (social science), perceiving oneself as an Arab and as relating to being Arab. Like other Cultural identity, cultural identities, it relies on a common culture, a traditional linea ...

of the

inhabitants of Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer at the genetic level as well as at the linguistic and cultural level. After studying the genetic affinity of the Arabic-speaking inhabitants of Rabat, Salé, Zemmour, and Zaer, it became clear that there is a strong genetic connection between them and the

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

of the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, and that they are the product of two migrations from the

and

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

, which confirms the recorded Arab history of this region, which has historically known large influxes of

Arab tribes The tribes of Arabia () have inhabited the Arabian Peninsula for thousands of years and traditionally trace their ancestry to one of two forefathers: Adnan, whose descendants originate from West Arabia, North Arabia, East Arabia, and Central A ...

References

Former regions of Morocco {{Morocco-geo-stub