70,000-7,000 B.C. – Remains of Neanderthal men have been found along the coasts of Morocco

7,000-2,000 B.C. - First Moorish Tribes.

2,000-600 B.C. – The Moorish tribes start establishing commercial contacts with the Carthaginians.

600 B.C.-41 A.D.- The Moors found the kingdom of Mauritania, which extends from the Atlantic to Algeria.

42 A.D.-900 A.D.- Mauritania becomes part of the Roman Empire and it includes the territories of what are now Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and part of Libya. The original nucleus of Rabat was the roman town called Sala Colonia.

500 A.D.-900 A.D.- The collapse of the Roman Empire was followed by a series of Vandal invasions and conquest attempts by Byzantium. Islam begins to spread (711: landing of Gibraltar).

901-1608 - Islam is well established with a series of dynasties. In about 1070 the Almoravides found the city of Marrakech. The Portuguese, who have settled along the Atlantic coast, attack the Beni Saads (tribe descending from Mohammed) and take Marrakech which is conquered back in 1525 when a new dynasty is founded, that of the Saadians.

1609-1780 - The Andalusians emigrate from Spain and found an independent republic. The pirates’ season is open both in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.Rabat becomes one of the most important centres of the time for the sale of slaves and stolen merchandises.In 1666 the Alaulites found the Sceriffian Empire and build a series of fortresses all over the country where they keep a professional army known as the Black Guard. After Moulay Ismail’s death in 1727 the Black Guard go pillaging the country and thus starts a civil war.

1781-1845 – Sultan Sidi Mohammad builds the first part of the Royal Palace in Rabat. His support for the Algerian Emirs causes the military intervention of the French (1844).Following long and numerous negotiations, Morocco becomes a French protectorate although officially it is still governed by a Sultan.

1894-1912 – The presence of French military troupes helps to convince the Sultan to sign an official contract that sanctions the protectorate.1912-1927 – A series of revolts culminates with that of Abd el Krim, which is suffocated in blood by the French.

1956 –2000 – Moroccans finally earn their independence on 7th April 1956 and Sultan Mohamed V rules until 1962 when Hassan II succeeds him. This latter, without renouncing to its traditions, manages to modernise the country and is succeeded in 1999 by his son Mohamed VI, a young and cosmopolitan monarch who is bringing his country into the new millennium.