Originally the domain of Berber tribes of the High Atlas, the history and politics of Central Morocco were irrevocably changed with the establishment of Marrakesh in 1062. The city was founded by the religious aesthetics, the Almoravids (of Arab ethnicity), and the Berbers were gradually driven from the Haouz plain to the isolated villages of the High Atlas, where they remain to this day. Over the next century Marrakesh grew rich and powerful on the back of the lucrative caravan trade which travelled the oasis valleys of the Dadès and Drâa. The exquisite luxury goods that returned from Niger, and the motley band of tribal traders attracted by the profits of the caravans, did much to establish the '1001 Nights' oriental mystique that still lingers over Marrakesh.

This opulent fantasy found a reality in the court of the infamous Thami el-Glaoui, the last pasha of Marrakesh (1912-55), the 'Lord of the Atlas' and the uncrowned king of the South. A Berber of the Glaoua tribe, el-Glaoui did more than anyone else to cultivate the mystique of Marrakesh. A supporter of colonial rule, which he used to bolster his own regional power, his cruelty and connoisseurship were legendary and, along with his brother el-Mandani, he was responsible for nearly all the grand kasbahs of the South. His violent deposition at Independence (1956) brought to an end the great and terrible age of Moroccan sultans.

Shortly afterwards, King Mohammed V died and Hassan II took over as Morocco's slightly less autocratic ruling monarch. During his forty year reign, the country's politics, society and culture changed dramatically - and so did he, softening his hardline stance shortly before his death in 1999.

In 1999, the succession of Mohammed VI ushered in an era of more liberal, social policies and improved human rights. However, the country's economy is still heavily dependent on agriculture, which has been hampered by droughts, and unemployment is rife. Unfortunately, Mohammed VI's Western-looking tendencies have created tensions among the fundamentalist Islamic movements and a series of bombings took place in Casablanca in 2003. Despite this, Morocco maintains its reputation as one of the world's most tolerant Islamic societies.