Khenifra

Khenifra, town, central Morocco. It is situated in the western foothills of the southern Middle Atlas (Moyen Atlas) mountains and lies along the banks of the Oum er-Rbia River at an elevation of about 3,280 feet (1,000 metres). The site was originally the wintering headquarters for the Aït Affi, a branch of the local Zaian (Amazigh [Berber]) nomads. In 1688 it assumed strategic importance when the ʿAlawī sultan Mawlāy Ismāʿīl built a casbah (Arabic, qaṣabah, “fortress”) and a bridge there. Toward the end of the 19th century, Muha ū Hāmū al-Zaiyānī, the governor of the local Amazigh tribes appointed by the sultan, established a market at the site, later constructed the town of Khenifra, and subsequently brought the surrounding area under his subjection and declared himself independent of the sultan. Although French troops occupied the town in 1914, it was not until 1921, when the local governor was killed, that the French assumed control over the region. The inhabitants of the surrounding area are mainly Tamazight-speaking seminomadic Zaian Amazigh who are known for their formidable horsemanship and live in ksars (qaṣr, fortified villages) in the mountains raising sheep and low-yield cereals. Pop. (2004) 72,672.