Tadla is a historical and geographical region of Morocco, located in the center of the country, north of the High Atlas mountain range and west of the Middle Atlas. It is the region of origin of the eponymous collection of tribal, semi-nomadic pastoralist population, the Tadla tribes.

A map of the historical Tadla region and its tribes.

Nowadays, the historical region of Tadla is mainly part of the administrative region of Béni Mellal-Khénifra, except for the historical territory of the Beni Meskine tribe, which is part of the Casablanca-Settat administrative region.

History edit

The Tadla region was one of the first regions of Morocco that was conquered by the Muslims during the 7th century. The region was relatively green and had a good agricultural potential, thus its name, Tadla, which comes from the Amazigh or Standard Moroccan Amazigh word "tadla" (written:ⵜⴰⴷⵍⴰ) meaning "the sheaf" (of wheat).[1]

Geography edit

Demography edit

The population of the Tadla is traditionally divided into 9 tribes, mainly of Arab origin:

References edit

Bibliography edit

  • (in French) Cpt. R. Peyronnet, "History of the Tadla from the origins to 1910" (French: Histoire du Tadla des origines à 1910), in: Bulletin de la Société de Géographie d'Alger et de l'Afrique du Nord, 24th y. (1919), pp. 49–62
  • (in Arabic) A. M. Qasimi, "History of the Bani ʿAmir tribe and the neighbouring Tadla, 1188-1956" (Arabic: تارخ قبيلة بني عمير والمحيط التادلي، 1188م - 1956م), D.N. (2005)