Makhzen
Makhzen also Makhzan, Machzan, Arabic المخزن, DMG maḫzan, was since the reign of the Saadian in the 16th century to the colonial period, the name of the sultan's government in Morocco. Officials at the royal court were as much to Makhzen as dignitaries and leaders of tribes that were loyal to the ruling house and were therefore rewarded with privileges and perks.
The country was administered by the Makhzen bilad al - makhzen ( "Land of the Makhzen " ) in contrast to the land outside, which was controlled by independent Berber tribes and was bilad al - siba ( "Land of Death" ). The latter areas were rarely under the control of the Sultan. Power struggles between the two areas dominated the entire medieval history of Morocco.
History
" Keep " the Word of Khazana, " lock up ", and derived originally denoted a place were kept on the taxes. In this meaning, was perhaps the first to makhzen beginning of the 9th century, during the reign of Ibrahim I. ibn al- Aghlab used in Ifriqiya for an iron chest in which the taxes were collected, which had to send the tributary country to the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad. From the Almoravids in the 11th century makhzen designated in Morocco decentralized distributed collection points across the country for the tax revenue of the ruling family. The name for the treasuries of the Government transferred under the Sheriff dynasties gradually to the Sultan rule altogether. Up to the Saadiern he had become the common name for the government, the financial management and the other institutions of the Muslim community (al- bayt al -Mal ). The term was apparently not in a religious context, but referred to the authority of the state and its organs to enforce the power.
With the establishment of a state power, the head of the title Sultan wore, a characteristic for Morocco division of land took place in two hostile Related areas: Under the tax authority and administration of the government was the area bilad al - makhzen. The adjoining land within the control of individual tribal Upper bilad was called al - siba, "Land of the Renegades / dissidents ". The Idrisids formed the first, resulting in the country itself dynasty. They ruled 789-985 and justified themselves with a Sherifian descent. While Morocco has been largely Islamized under their rule, their power was limited to small areas in the west part of the country. It was not until the Almoravids and their successors, the Almohads, the central authority of a Makhzen was noticeable, who finished the inhabitants of the conquered territories with the kharaj control ( Haraj ) on arable land. To collect this tax, the military control of the lands was required. The military service rendered Arab tribes, who were on the side of the Makhzen and were even exempt from land tax. The limits to enemy territory for centuries were battlefields.
The Berber Wattasids Dynasty (1465-1549) exerted only a weak rule. They were also threatened the internal stresses by Spaniards and Portuguese who took in 1500 the major port cities on the Atlantic coast. The Wattasids were beaten by the coming of southern Morocco Saadiern. The Spanish influence is now made itself felt in a more complex organization of the administration. From the neighboring country of Algeria had the early 16th century, the cultural influence of the luxurious Turkish court life of the Ottoman colonizers across. Through the exchange of ambassadors made official relations with European countries strengthened the political prestige of the ruler.
In the 17th century, the outer boundary of the Sultan country was about on the western slopes of the Middle Atlas, whose retreats independent Berber tribes of the Zanata and the Sufi brotherhood of Dila'iyya threatened the important for the camel caravan trade route between Fez and Marrakech. The Alawites Sultan Moulay al-Rashid defeated 1668/69, the Brotherhood and destroyed their headquarters ( zawiya ) in Kasba Tadla. With the support of the Ottoman Dila'iyya leader Ahmad al - Dalai came back in 1677 from the Algerian exile and took with support from the regional Berber princes of the struggle against the central government again. Moulay al- Rashid's successor, Sultan Moulay Ismail, allowed for the permanent protection of the eastern boundary of the late 17th century along the way to build or expand a number of fortified settlements ( Kasbahs ). Kasba Tadla south of Beni- Mellal were the north Khénifra, Azrou, Sefrou Taza way to the north of the Atlas mountains. The including smaller sentry total of 70 positions were guarded by special, consisting of black African slaves troops and marked the limit of the tax detail enabled area. The inhabitants of these distant areas paid their taxes rather irregular.
The formation of Makhzan structures resulted in part from the domestic political claim to control a large, unstable in many parts of territory, on the other hand as a result of external influences. The largest expansion had the Sultan Moulay al -Hassan rule under I (reigned 1873-1894 ), his successor became dependent of the contending European powers to colonial possessions.
Administrative structure
The Sultan was determined by the authorities ( ulama ), ie of his relatives at the court, the managers of the big cities and from the ranks of tribal leaders by choice or negotiation. A compulsory succession rules did not exist. While the former Sultan was able to propose his successor, but the electors were in the proclamation (ba ʿ ya) not tied to such a vote.
The area of the Makhzen was divided into three regions, which were administered by a secretary ( Katib ): 1) The northern region of the Straits of Gibraltar to the Bou- Regreg River, which flows into the Atlantic between Rabat and Salé. 2) From here to the south to the edge of the Sahara. 3) The Sahara border area in the east of the Atlas mountains around Tafilet. All areas were under a vizier ( wazir ), the al - sadr al -a ʿ zam.
Besides this vizier, the Council of the Makhzen in the 19th century consisted of a specially competent for relations with the Europeans vizier, the Wazir al - Bahr ( "Minister of the Sea" ). He was Sidi Muhammad IV (reigned 1859-1873 ) as a " representative of the Sultan " ( Naib al -Sultan ) has been used and should negotiate from his office in Tangier from the ever-increasing demands of European dealer for offices in the coastal cities and prevent their further advance. His position was not equivalent Allaf with the Foreign and War Minister, the ʿ. There was also a group of high officials, the Umana ʾ ( Sg amine), which were divided into three administrative areas: At the top stood the Amin al- ʾ Umana, he was responsible for the collection of taxes. Under him, acted 1) Umana ʾ al - marasiya, head of the customs authorities in the port cities. 2) The Umana ʾ al - mustafādāt collected gating, lease of government land and population control, therefore the Jews control ( ǧizya ) and the Muslim tax ( al -a ʿ shar ) a. 3) Finally, there was the Umana ʾ ʾ il al - Qaba who raised the taxes from the tribes.
The Secretary of complaints called Katib al - shikāyāt, Minister of Justice was the Qadi ʾ l - quḍāt ( " Kadi Kadi of "). All the ministers had their offices ( Banika, Pl Bana ʾ ik) within the palace district ( maschwar ), as well as the Qadi al - maschwar that for the soldiers ( Palace Guard ) in the palace was in charge, and visitors to the Sultan vorführte. One level down, and supervised by the Qadi al - maschwar followed the equerry Mawla (MUL ) al - Ruwa and a number of other officials. An influential position has also held the hadschib. His office was closer to the actual living area of the palace, for the organization of which he was responsible. Outside the palace district there were to simple village headman ( Mukaddam ) a network of more or less poorly paid employees and informers.
In the land of the Sultan power was represented by the appropriate officials. The religious power of the Berber tribal leaders who were in league with Islamic holy, kept the sultans received their Sherifian descent. In order prevailing in many parts of the nation veneration of saints confront something equivalent, Moulay Ismail in 1691 installed the cult of the seven saints of Marrakesh. Overall, however, shifted the power of the state over time by the religious basis towards a political structure and a legislation which, although had its roots in Islam, but was written mostly civil. The Shari'a focused on the personal law.
The term makhzen stands for a centralized state system in which all taxes benefited only the apparatus of power and hardly any investment in infrastructure, health or education system were made. He also is a doctrinal nature of governance, whose decisions were not visible from the outside, and has a developing democratic institutions are not allowed. On the other hand, the bureaucracy functioned relatively effectively and made in uncertain times for stability in an area that was surrounded on all sides by anarchy. In bilad al - siba prevailed at the same time regularly mutually warring tribal leaders over small areas that travelers could cross only with the consent and escorted by members of each tribe.
The statement of the French administration that the Makhzen would have collapsed without their support, can be seen as a protection claim. The financial difficulties of the government at the end of the 19th century had its causes in predominantly European colonialism.
In November 1912 Morocco contractually French protectorate, a small part of the country was in the north came under Spanish administration. The three hundred -year reign of Sultan was only formally on, all major political decisions made the colonial powers. They modernized the Makhzen management according to their needs and procured Morocco for the first time clearly defined borders. With independence in 1956, a King had become of the Sultan, who continued to rule his newly structured country with a barely modified absolutist claim.