Bled es-Siba

Lawless area in the early 20th century Morocco

Bled es-Siba or Bled Siba (Arabic: بلاد السيبة), is a historical term in pre-colonial Moroccan history that refers to a lawless area that was out of the control of the Moroccan Sultans.^[1]

Etymology

Bled es-Siba literally means "region of anarchy", as opposed to Bled el-Makhzen, which refers to the region under the control of the Makhzen governing institution.

Siba itself is an Arabic word that is used to refer “to a camel set aside from the herd, left to fend for itself, as a form of sacrifice.” ^[2]

Historical background

Morocco has been ruled by the Alaouite dynasty since the 17th century. Many Berber tribes were however, not submissive to the Sultan, which led to two different regions: Bled es-Siba and Bled el-Makhzen.^[3]

Makhzen and Siba

The relation between the central power of Makhzen and the region of Bled es-Siba was more complex than a simple territorial separation. Even though the tribes in Bled es-Siba were not submissive to the central power, the spiritual authority of the Sultan was always accepted.^[3]

References

^ Hoffman, Bernard G. (1967). The Structure of Traditional Moroccan Rural Society. The Hague and Paris: The Hague and Paris: Mouton.
^ Scheele, Judith (2022-12-01). "Northwest African perspectives on the concept of the state". HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory. 12 (3): 732–746. doi:10.1086/722386. ISSN 2575-1433.
^ ^a ^b Landmark cases in international law. Kluwer Law Intern. 1998. ISBN 9789041197092. OCLC 40551880.