Morocco's history stretches back at least 300 000 years — Jebel Irhoud in the south yielded the oldest Homo sapiens fossils ever found. The Berbers (Amazigh) are the original inhabitants, and despite waves of conquerors, Berber culture remains the foundation of Moroccan identity to this day. Phoenicians established trading posts on the Atlantic coast around 1100 BCE, founding Lixus and Mogador (today Essaouira). Carthage absorbed these colonies, and after the Punic Wars, Rome took over — turning Morocco into the province of Mauretania Tingitana, with Volubilis as its inland capital. The Roman ruins of Volubilis, near Meknes, are still spectacular today. The decisive turning point came in 670 CE with the arrival of Arab armies and the spread of Islam. The first Moroccan dynasty, the Idrisids, founded Fez in 789 — a city that would become the intellectual heart of the Islamic West. The University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, founded in 859 by Fatima al-Fihri, is recognised by UNESCO as the oldest continuously operating university in the world. The Almoravids (11th century) and Almohads (12th century) ruled empires stretching from southern Spain to Senegal. Marrakesh, founded in 1062, became the imperial capital. The Almohad mosque of Tinmal in the Atlas and the Koutoubia minaret in Marrakesh date from this golden age. After centuries of dynastic change — Marinids, Saadians, Alawites — Morocco was never colonised by the Ottomans, an unusual distinction in North Africa. In 1912 a French protectorate was imposed (with Spain controlling the north and the Sahara), but Morocco regained full independence in 1956 under Sultan Mohammed V. His son Hassan II ruled for 38 years; the current king, Mohammed VI, has reigned since 1999, overseeing major social and infrastructure reforms. Morocco today is a constitutional monarchy with a population of about 38 million, three official languages (Arabic, Berber/Tamazight, and French in administration), and a culture that absorbs Berber roots, Arab-Andalusian refinement, sub-Saharan trade routes and a hundred years of French influence — all visibly layered in every medina you walk through.