Many civilisations and cultures have influenced the history of Tangier, starting from before the 10th centuryBCE. Starting as a strategicPhoenician town and trading centre, Tangier has been a nexus for many cultures. In 1923, it became aninternational zone managed bycolonial powers and became a destination for many European and American diplomats, spies, bohemians, writers and businessmen. That status came to an end withMoroccan independence, in phases between 1956 and 1960.
By the early 21st century, Tangier was undergoing rapid development and modernisation. Projects include tourism projects along the bay, a modern business district called Tangier City Centre, an airport terminal, and a football stadium. Tangier's economy is set to benefit greatly from theTanger-Med port.
TheCarthaginian name of the city is variously recorded asTNG (Punic:𐤕𐤍𐤂),TNGʾ (𐤕𐤍𐤂𐤀),TYNGʾ (𐤕𐤉𐤍𐤂𐤀),[4] andTTGʾ (𐤕𐤕𐤂𐤀);[5] these appear in Greek and Roman sources asTenga,Tinga,Titga, &c.[6] The oldBerber name wasTingi (ⵜⵉⵏⴳⵉ),[7] whichRuiz connects to Berbertingis, meaning "marsh".[8] TheGreekslater claimed thatTingís (Ancient Greek:Τιγγίς) had been named forTinjis, a daughter of theTitanAtlas, who was supposed to support thevault of heaven nearby.LatinTingis then developed intoPortugueseTânger,SpanishTánger, andFrenchTanger, which entered English asTangier andTangiers. TheArabic and modern Berber name of the town isṬanjah (طَنجة,ⵟⴰⵏⴵⴰ).[6]
Moroccan historianAhmed Toufiq considers that the name "Tingi" has the same etymology asTinghir, and is composed of "Tin", which is a feminine particle that could be translated as "owner" or "she who has", and "gi" which may have originally been "ig", meaning "high location". This corresponds to the popular Moroccan phraseTanja l-ɛalya (Tangier the High), which may be a remnant echo of the original meaning, as well as a reference to the high location of Tangier. A similar construction can be found in the name ofTinmel, the first capital of theAlmohads, which is composed of "Tin", and "Amlel" meaning "at foot of the mountain" or "at a low location".[9]
Tangier was formally known asColonia Julia Tingi ("TheJulian Colony of Tingis") following its elevation tocolony status during theRoman Empire. The nicknames "Bride of the North" and "Door of Africa" reference its position in far northwestern Africa near theStrait of Gibraltar.
Probably invited byCount Boniface, who feared war withthe empress dowager,[19] tens of thousands ofVandals underGaiseric crossed intoNorth Africa in 429 CE and occupied Tingis[20] and Mauretania as far east asCalama. When Boniface learned that he and the empress had been manipulated against each other byAetius, he attempted to compel the Vandals to return to Spain but was instead defeated at Calama in 431.[19] The Vandals lost control of Tingis and the rest of Mauretania in various Berber uprisings.
Tingis was reconquered byBelisarius, the general of theByzantine emperorJustinianI, in 533 as part of theVandalic War.[20] The new provincial administration was moved, however, to the more defensible base atSeptem (present-dayCeuta).[17] Byzantine control probably yielded to pressure fromVisigoth Spain around 618.[21]
Under theUmayyads, Tangier served as the capital of the Moroccan district (Maghreb al-Aqsa[30] oral-Udwa) of theprovince of Africa (Ifriqiya). The conquest of the Maghreb and Spain had, however, been undertaken principally as raids forslaves and plunder and the caliphate's leadership continued to treat all Berbers as pagans or slaves fortax purposes, even after their wholesale conversion to Islam.[31] In the area around Tangier, these hateful taxes were mostly paid in female slaves or in tenderlambskins obtained by beating the ewes to inducepremature birth.[31]Governor Yazid was murdered by Berber guards whom he had tattooed as slaves inc. 720,[31] and in the 730s, similar treatment fromGovernor Ubayd Allah andal-Muradi, his deputy at Tangier, provoked theBerber Revolt. Inspired by the egalitarianKharijite heresy,Barghawata and others underMaysara al-Matghari seized Tangier in the summer of 740.[32][33] In theBattle of the Nobles on the city's outskirts a few months later, Maysara's replacementKhalid ibn Hamid massacred the cream of Arab nobility in North Africa. An enragedCaliph Hisham ordered an attack from a second army "whose beginning is where they are and whose end is where I am," but this army wasdefeated at Bagdoura the next year.[34] The Barghawata were concentrated further south on the Atlantic coast, and area around Tangier fell into chaos until 785.[35]
TheFatimid caliphAbdullah al-Madhi began interfering in Morocco in the early 10th century, promptingthe Umayyad emir of Cordova to proclaim himself caliph and to begin supporting proxies against his rivals. He helped theMaghrawa Berbers overrunMelilla in 927,Ceuta in 931, and Tangier in 949.[35] Tangier's governor was subsequently named chief over Cordova's Moroccan possessions and allies.[35]Ali ibn Hammud, named Cordova's governor for Ceuta in 1013, took advantage of the realm's civil wars to conquer Tangier andMálaga before overrunning Cordova itself and proclaiming himself caliph in 1016. His Barghawata ally Rizḳ Allāh was then permitted to rule from Tangier with general autonomy.[35]
Like Ceuta, Tangier did not initially acknowledge theMarinids after the fall of the Almohads. Instead, the local chiefYusuf ibn Muhammad pledged himself to theHafsids in Tunisia and then to theAbbasids in the east before being killed inAH665 (late 1266 or early 1267).[35]Abu Yusuf Yaqub compelled Tangier's allegiance with a three months' siege in 1274.[35]
The next century was an obscure time of rebellions and difficulties for the city. During this time, the travelerIbn Battuta was born in Tangier in 1304, leaving home at 20 for thehajj.[36]Piracy from Tangier andSalé began to harass shipping in thestrait andNorth Atlantic in the late 14thcentury.[20] A partial plan of the late medievalkasbah was found in a Portuguese document now held by theMilitary Archives of Sweden in Stockholm.[37]
When the Portuguese started theircolonial expansion bytaking Ceuta in retribution for its piracy[20] in 1415,[38] Tangier was always a major goal. Theyfailed to capture it in 1437, 1458, and 1464,[35] but occupied it unopposed on 28 August 1471 after its garrison fled upon learning of theconquest of Asilah.[39] As in Ceuta, they converted its chief mosque into the town's cathedral church; it was further embellished by several restorations during the town's occupation.[17] In addition to the cathedral, the Portuguese raised European-style houses andFranciscan andDominican chapels and monasteries.[20] TheWattasids assaulted Tangier in 1508, 1511, and 1515 but without success. In the 17th century, it passed with the rest of Portugal's domains intoSpanish control as part of thepersonal union of the crowns[6] but maintained its Portuguese garrison and administration.[35]
Tangier in the 17th century
Iberian rule lasted until 1661,[20] when it was given toEngland'sKing CharlesII as part of thedowry of the PortugueseinfantaCatherine of Braganza.[40] A squadron under the admiral and ambassadorEdward Montagu arrived in November.English Tangier, fully occupied in January 1662,[41] was praised by Charles as "a jewell of immense value in the royaldiadem"[20] despite the departing Portuguese taking away everything they could, even—according to the official report—"the very fflowers, the Windowes and the Dores".[42] Tangier received agarrison and a charter which made it equal to other English towns, but the religious orders were expropriated, the Portuguese residents nearly entirely left, and the town'sJews were driven out owing to fears concerning their loyalty.[43] Meanwhile, theTangier Regiment were almost constantly under attack by locals who considered themselvesmujahideen fighting aholy war.[35] Their principal leader wasKhadir Ghaïlan (known to the English as "Gayland" or "Guyland") of the Banu Gurfat, whom theEarl of Peterborough attempted to buy off.[35] Ultimately, the truce lasted only for part of 1663 and 1664; on May 4 of the latter year, theEarl of Teviot and around 470 members of the garrisonwere killed in an ambush beside Jew's Hill.[35]Lord Belasyse happened to secure a longer-lasting treaty in 1666:[44] Khadir Ghaïlan hoped to support a pretender against the newAlawid sultanAl-Rashid and things subsequently went so badly for him that he was obliged to abide by its terms until his death in 1673.[35]
The English took advantage of the respite to improve greatly the Portuguese defences.[35] They also planned to improve the harbour by building amole, which would have allowed it to play the same role that Gibraltar later played in British naval strategy. Incompetence, waste and outright fraud and embezzlement caused costs to swell; among those enriched wasSamuel Pepys.[45] The mole cost£340,000 and reached 1,436 ft (438 m) long before its destruction.[46][47][48] Although funding was found for the fortifications, the garrison's pay was delayed until in December 1677 it was 21⁄4 years in arrears;Governor Fairborne dealt with the ensuingmutiny by seizing one of the soldier'smuskets and killing him with it on the spot.
Adetermined siege bySultan Moulay Ismail of Morocco between 1678 and 1680 was unsuccessful,[49] but longstanding exasperation with the colony's finances[50] and the difficulties caused by the siege[51] pushed Parliament to write off the effort in 1680.[50] At the time, Tangier's population consisted of only about 700 apart from the thousand-man garrison;Governor Kirke estimated 400 of them had sufferedgonorrhea from the same "mighty pretty" sex worker.[50] Forces underLord Dartmouth (includingSamuel Pepys) methodically destroyed the town and its port facilities for five months prior to Morocco's occupation of the city on 7 February 1684.[52]
Ali ibn Abdallah and his son Ahmed ibn Ali served in turn as the town's governors until 1743, repopulating it with populace from the surrounding countryside.[53] They were powerful enough to opposeSultan Abdallah through his various reigns, giving support and asylum to his various rivals within and without the royal family.[54]
Renschhausen building, erected around 1913 by German businessman Adolf Renschhausen, exemplar of German influence in pre-World-War-I TangierFormer stock exchange building in theVille Nouvelle
Italian revolutionary heroGiuseppe Garibaldi lived in exile at Tangier in late 1849 and the first half of 1850, following the fall of the revolutionaryRoman Republic.
Tangier's geographic location made it a centre ofEuropean diplomatic and commercial rivalry in Morocco in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[59] By the 1870s, it was the site of every foreign embassy and consul in Morocco but only held about 400 foreign residents out of a total population of around 20,000.[18] The city increasingly came under French influence, and it was here in 1905 thatKaiser WilhelmII triggeredan international crisis that almost led to war between his country and France by pronouncing himself in favour of Morocco's continued independence, with an eye to its future acquisition by theGerman Empire. TheAlgeciras Conference which ended the standoff left Tangier'spolice training andcustoms collections in international hands[55] but Britain's strong support of its "Entente Cordiale" with France ended German hopes concerning Morocco.
Improved harbour facilities were completed in 1907, with an inner and outermole.[55] In 1905 the first Moroccan newspaper,Lisan al-Maghrib ("The Voice of Morocco"), was established in Tangiers on the order of SultanAbdelaziz, partly with the aim of counteracting the views expressed byal-Sa'adah, an Arabic newspaper established in 1904 or 1905 by the French embassy in the city.[60][61] The newspaper was founded and managed on behalf of the government by two Lebanese journalists, Faraj and Artur Numur.[60] It later became more notorious for publishing reformist ideas and views critical of the sultan.[60][61] In the years leading up to theFirst World War, Tangier had a population of about 40,000, about half Muslim, a quarterJewish, and a quarter European Christians. Of the Europeans, about three-quarters were Spanish artisans and labourers.[55][6]
In 1912, theTreaty of Fes established theFrench protectorate over most of Morocco andSpanish rule in the country's far south and north, but left Tangier's status for further determination.Hubert Lyautey persuaded the last Sultan of independent Morocco,Abdelhafid, to abdicate in exchange for the receipt of a massive pension.[62] Abdelhafid planned to live in Tangier where he used part of his pension to build an opulent mansion west of the old city, theAbdelhafid Palace, completed in 1914.[63] The complex was later purchased by Italian interests and is now also known as the "Palace of Italian Institutions" (French:palais des institutions italiennes).[64] Thestandard-gauge Franco-SpanishTangier–Fez Railway (French:Compagnie Franco-Espagnole du Tanger–Fès) was constructed from 1919 to 1927.
TheTangier International Zone was created under the joint administration of France, Spain and theUnited Kingdom by an international convention signed in Paris on 18 December 1923.[65] Ratifications were exchanged in Paris on 14 May 1924, and the convention was registered inLeague of Nations Treaty Series on 13 September 1924.[66] It was amended by a protocol of July 1928 to elevate the status of Italy, an idea put forth bySir Austen Chamberlain of Great Britain.[67] The European powers' creation of the statute of Tangier promoted the formation of a cosmopolitan society where Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived together with reciprocal respect and tolerance. A town where men and women, with many different political and ideological tendencies, found refuge, including Spaniards from the right or from the left, Jews fleeing Nazi Germany and Moroccan dissidents. With very liberal economic and fiscal laws, Tangier became - in an international environment full of restrictions, prohibitions and monopolies - a tax haven with absolute freedom of trade.[68] The International Zone of Tangier had a 373 km2 (144 sq mi) area and, by the mid-1930s, a population of about 50,000 inhabitants: 30,000 Muslims; 12,000 Jews; and 8,000-odd Europeans, with a decreasing proportion of working-class Spaniards.[17] At its peak in the 1940s, there were 22,000 Jews in Tangier.[69]
Spanish troops occupied Tangier on 14 June 1940, the same dayParis fell to the Germans. Despite calls by Spanish nationalists to annex "Tánger español", theFranco regime publicly considered the occupation a temporarywartime measure.[70] A diplomatic dispute between Britain and Spain over the latter's abolition of the city's international institutions in November 1940 led to a further guarantee of British rights and a Spanish promise not to fortify the area.[71] The territory was restored to its pre-war status on October 11, 1945.[72]
The Tangier International Zone played an important role in the campaign for Moroccan independence.[73] Because of its legal status as an international zone, activists were able to meet in Tangier, relatively protected from the French and Spanish authorities.[73] In 1951, the National Front was created in Tangier, a pact between Morocco's four nationalist parties to coordinate their campaign to achieve Moroccan independence.[74]
In July 1952 the protecting powers met atRabat to discuss the International Zone's future, agreeing to abolish it. Tangier joined with the rest of Morocco following the restoration of full sovereignty in 1956.[75] At the time of the handover, Tangier had a population of around 40,000 Muslims; 31,000 Christians; and 15,000 Jews.[76]
Leonardo de Ferrari's plan of thePortuguese fortifications at Tangier, c.1655.
Central Tangier lies about 23 km (14 mi) east ofCape Spartel,[77] the southern half of theStrait of Gibraltar.[55] It nestles between two hills at the northwest end of theBay of Tangier, which historically formed the best natural harbour anywhere on the Moroccan coast before the increasing size of ships required anchorage to be made further and further from shore.[55] The shape of the gradually-rising underlying terrain creates the effect of the city as anamphitheatre, with the commercial district in the middle.[55] The western hill (French:La Montagne) is the site of the city's citadel orkasbah. The eastern hill formsCape Malabata,[17] sometimes proposed as the point for astrait crossing.[78] (Years of studies have, however, made no real progress thus far.)[79]
The Marshan is a plateau about 1,189 metres (3,900 ft) long spreading west of downtown along the sea.[17]
Tangier has amediterranean climate (KöppenCsa) with heavier rainfall than most parts of North Africa and nearby areas on theIberian Peninsula owing to its exposed location.[80] Theprevailing winds blow from the sea and have kept the site generally healthy even in earlier times with much poorer sanitation.[30] The summers are relatively hot and sunny and the winters are wet and mild. Frost is rare, although a new low of −4.2 °C (24.4 °F) was recorded in January 2005.[80]
Climate data for Tangier (Tangier Airport) 1961–1990, extremes 1917–1963
This section needs to beupdated. The reason given is: Citation is for the 2004 census. Both citation and numbers may need updating for the 2024 census.. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(November 2024)
The current prefecture is divided administratively into the following:[83]
Tangier's economy relies heavily ontourism. In the 1960s and '70s, Tangier formed part of thehippie trail.[84] It became less popular and tourist attractions became run-down as cheap flights made central Moroccan cities likeMarrakesh more accessible to European tourists; crime rose and a somewhat dangerous reputation drove more tourists away.[84] Since 2010, however,King MohammedVI has made a point of restoring the city's shipping and tourist facilities and improving its industrial base. Among other improvements, the beach was cleaned and lined with new cafes and clubs; the new commercial port meanscruise ships no longer unload beside cargo containers.[84]
Seaside resorts have been increasing with projects funded by foreign investments.Real estate andconstruction companies have been investing heavily in tourist infrastructures. A bay delimiting the city centre extends for more than 7 km (4 mi). The years 2007 and 2008 were particularly important for the city because of the completion of large construction projects; these include the Tangier-Mediterranean port ("Tanger-Med") and its industrial parks, a 45,000-seat sports stadium, an expanded business district, and renovated tourist infrastructure.
Tanger-Med, a new port 40 km (25 mi) outside Tangier proper, began construction in 2004 and became functional in 2007. Its site plays a key role in connecting maritime regions, as it is in a very critical position on the Strait of Gibraltar, which passes between Europe and Africa. The makeup of the new port is 85% transhipment 15% for domestic import and export activities.[85] The port is distinguished by its size, infrastructure, and efficiency in managing the flow of ships. Tanger-Med has linked Morocco to Europe's freight industry. It has also helped connect Morocco to countries in the Mediterranean, Africa, and America. The port has allowed Tangier to become a more globalised city with new international opportunities that will help facilitate economic growth.[86] The construction and operation of the port aimed to create 120,000 new jobs, 20,000 at the port and 100,000 resulting from growing economic activity.
Agriculture in the area of Tangier is tertiary and mainly cereal. The city is chiefly famed fortangerines, a kind ofmandarin orange hybrid first grown in the orchards then once south of themedina, but it was never commonly exported. As early as 1900, local consumption had already outstripped supply and required imports fromTetuan and elsewhere.[87] Mass farming of tangerines instead began inFlorida in theUnited States, where the first tree was introduced atPalatka by a Major Atway sometime before 1843.[88]
Artisanal trade in the medina ("Old City") specialises mainly inleather working, handicrafts made from wood and silver, traditional clothing, and Moroccan-style shoes.
The city has grown quickly due torural exodus from other smaller cities and villages. The 2014 population is more than three-times larger than 32 years ago (850.000 inhabitants in 2014 vs. 250,000 in 1982).[citation needed] This phenomenon has resulted in the appearance of peripheral suburban districts, mainly inhabited by poor people, that often lack sufficient infrastructure.
Gate of the KasabahPortal of theGrand Mosque of TangierFountains of Bab al-AssaInterior of the Moshe Nahon Synagogue
The old town is still surrounded by the remains of what was once more than 1,829 metres (6,000 ft) of stone rampart. Most of it dates to the town's Portuguese occupation, with restoration work later undertaken at different times. Three major bastions were the Irish Tower (Bordj al-Naʿam), York Castle (Bordj dar al-Barud), and theBordj al-Salam.[17]
Kasbah Palace, former residence of the governors of Tangier, built on the site of the former English Upper Castle,[17] now Museum of Mediterranean Cultures
The new Tanger-Med port is managed by the Danish firmA. P. Moller–Maersk Group and will free up the old port for tourist and recreational development. Several ferries per day connectTangier-Ville Ferry Terminal toTarifa, and Tangier-Med toAlgeciras. Two departures per week connect Tangier-Med directly toGibraltar.
Tangier'sIbn Batouta International Airport and the rail tunnel will serve as the gateway to the Moroccan Riviera, the littoral area between Tangier and Oujda. Traditionally, the northern coast was a rural stronghold, with some of the best beaches on theMediterranean. It is slated for rapid urban development. The Ibn Batouta International Airport has been modernised to accommodate more flights. The biggest airline at the airport isRoyal Air Maroc.
Tangier offers four types of education systems: Arabic, French, Spanish and English. Each offers classes starting from pre-Kindergarten up to the 12th grade, as for German in the three last years of high school. TheBaccalauréat, orhigh school diploma are the diplomas offered after clearing the 12 grades.
Many universities are inside and outside the city. Universities like the Institut Supérieur International de Tourisme (ISIT), which grants diplomas, offer courses ranging frombusiness administration tohotelmanagement. The institute is one of the most prestigioustourism schools in the country. Other colleges such as the École Nationale de Commerce et de Gestion (ENCG-T) is among the biggestbusiness schools in the country as well as École Nationale des Sciences appliquées (ENSA-T), a risingengineering school for applied sciences. University known as Abdelmaled Essaadi holding many what they mainly known as faculties; Law, Economics and Social sciences (FSJEST) and the FST of Technical Sciences. and the most attended Institut of ISTA of the OFPPT.
There are more than a hundred Moroccanprimary schools, dispersed across the city. Private and public schools, they offer education in Arabic, French and some school English until the 5th grade. Mathematics, Arts, Science Activities and nonreligious modules are commonly taught in the primary school.
Never in my life have I observed anything more bizarre than the first sight of Tangier. It is a tale out of theThousand and One Nights... A prodigious mix of races and costumes...This whole world moves about with an activity that seems feverish.
WhenCount de Mornay traveled to Morocco in 1832 to establish a treaty supportive of the recentFrench annexation of Algeria, he took along theRomantic painterEugène Delacroix. Delacroix not only reveled in theorientalism of the place; he also took it as a new and living model for his works onclassical antiquity: "The Greeks and Romans are here at my door, in the Arabs who wrap themselves in a white blanket and look like Cato or Brutus..."[97] He sketched and painted watercolours continuously, writing at the time "I am like a man in a dream, seeing things he fears will vanish from him." He returned to his sketches and memories of North Africa for the rest of his career, with 80 oil paintings likeThe Fanatics of Tangier andWomen of Algiers becoming legendary and influential on artists such asVan Gogh,Gauguin, andPicasso. They were particularly struck by the quality of the light: toCézanne, "All this luminous colour... seems... that it enters the eye like a glass of wine running into your gullet and it makes you drunk straight away".[98] Tangier subsequently became an obligatory stop for artists seeking to experience the colours and light he spoke of for themselves—with varying results.Matisse made several sojourns in Tangier, always staying at the Grand Hotel Villa de France. "I have found landscapes in Morocco," he claimed, "exactly as they are described in Delacroix's paintings." His students in turn had their own; the Californian artistRichard Diebenkorn was directly influenced by the haunting colours and rhythmic patterns of Matisse's Morocco paintings.
In the 1940s and until 1956 when the city was anInternational Zone, the city served as a playground for eccentric millionaires, a meeting place forsecret agents and a variety of crooks and a mecca for speculators and gamblers, an Eldorado for the fun-loving "Haute Volée". During theSecond World War theOffice of Strategic Services operated out of Tangier for various operations in North Africa.[99]
Around the same time, a circle of writers emerged which was to have a profound and lasting literary influence. This includedPaul Bowles, who lived and wrote for over half a century in the city,Tennessee Williams andJean Genet as well asMohamed Choukri (one ofNorth Africa's most controversial and widely read authors),Abdeslam Boulaich,Larbi Layachi,Mohammed Mrabet andAhmed Yacoubi. Among the best known works from this period is Choukri'sFor Bread Alone. Originally written in Classical Arabic, the English edition was the result of close collaboration with Bowles (who worked with Choukri to provide the translation and supplied the introduction).Tennessee Williams described it as "a true document of human desperation, shattering in its impact." Independently,William S. Burroughs lived in Tangier for four years and wroteNaked Lunch, whose locale ofInterzone is an allusion to the city.
After several years of gradual disentanglement from Spanish and French colonial control, Morocco reintegrated the city of Tangier at the signing of theTangier Protocol on 29 October 1956. Tangier remains a very popular tourist destination for cruise ships and day visitors fromSpain andGibraltar.
Most of the inhabitants of Tangier speak a very distinctive variety ofMoroccan Arabic which differs from other Darija counterparts. The difference resides in pronunciation, tempo, grammar and a unique vocabulary. Arabic is used in government documentation and on road signs together with French. French is taught in primary schools and high schools and used in universities and large businesses. Spanish is well understood and spoken fluently, mainly exclusively by Tangierian locals. English, on the other hand, has been and still is used in tourist sectors.
The autochthonous population of Tangier has been declining drastically since the mid-2000s, as many locals, especially those from the younger generations, have moved to nearby Spain. While the industrial sector is expanding constantly, the internal immigration from the south to north is increasing rapidly. As a consequence, the Tangierian dialect is losing its distinctiveness or is being altered (in a recent study, social media has been depicted as one of these factors).
Nowadays, the Tangierian dialect is less prominent in public places, with the southern Darija dialect being more common in the area, to the extent that some observers question if Tangier retains its identity as it was before.
Due to its Christian past before the Muslim conquest, it remains atitular see of theRoman Catholic Church.[6] Originally, the city was part of the larger Roman province ofMauretania Caesariensis, which included much of North Africa. Later the area was subdivided, with the eastern part keeping the former name and the newer part receiving the name ofMauretania Tingitana. It is not known exactly at what period there may have been an episcopal see at Tangier in ancient times, but in the Middle Ages Tangier was used as atitular see (i.e., an honorific fiction for the appointment of curial and auxiliary bishops), placing it in Mauretania Tingitana. For the historical reasons given above, one official list of theRoman Curia places the see in Mauretania Caesarea.
Towards the end of the 3rd century, Tangier was the scene of the martyrdoms ofSt.Marcellus, mentioned in theRoman Martyrology on 30 October, and ofSt.Cassian, mentioned on 3 December.[6]
Under the Portuguese, thediocese of Tangier was asuffragan ofLisbon but, in 1570, it was united with thediocese of Ceuta. Six Bishops of Tangier from this period are known, the first—who did not reside in his see—in 1468. During the era of the French and Spanish protectorates over Morocco, Tangier was the residence of thePrefect Apostolic of Morocco, the mission having been founded on 28 November 1630 and entrusted to theFriars Minor. At the time, it had a Catholic church, several chapels, schools and a hospital. The Prefecture Apostolic was raised to the status ofVicariate Apostolic of Morocco on 14 April 1908. On 14 November 1956, it became theArchdiocese of Tangier.[100]
Tangierians regard football as the primary entertainment when it comes to sport-material. There are several football fields around the city. Tangier would have been one of the host cities for the2015 Africa Cup of Nations football tournament, which would be played at the newIbn Batouta Stadium and in other cities across Morocco, until Morocco was banned from participating theAfrica Cup of Nations due to their denial.[104] Instead Tangier will host matches for the2025 edition after Guinea withdraw from hosting. It could also host matches for the2030 FIFA World Cup.
Basketball comes the second most practised sport in Tangier. The city is known for their local teams IRT, Ajax Tanger, Juventus Tangier and so on.
TheMuseum of the American Legation, whose building was granted to the United States in 1821 by the Sultan Moulay Suliman served as a consulate of the United States and a later legation, as well as a high traffic post for the intelligence agents of the Second World War and a Peace Corps training facility. Today, its courtyards and narrow corridors serve as an elaborate museum that demonstrates relations between the United States and Morocco and the Moroccan heritage, including a wing dedicated toPaul Bowles, where you can see the documents and photographs of the writer donated to the museum by the gallerist and friend of the writerGloria Kirby in 2010.[105]
Fondation Lorin (Musée de la Fondation Lorin) opened in 1930 in a former synagogue. In addition to art, there are newspapers, photographs and posters on display.[106]
Tangier has been reputed as asafe house for internationalspying activities.[107] Its position during theCold War and during other spying periods of the 19th and 20th centuries is legendary.
Tangier acquired the reputation of a spying and smuggling centre and attracted foreign capital due to political neutrality and commercial liberty at that time. It was via a British bank in Tangier that theBank of England in 1943 for the first time obtained samples of the high-quality forged British currency produced by the Nazis in "Operation Bernhard".
The city has also been a subject for manyspy fiction books and films.
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^Meakin, James Edward Budgett; Meakin, Kate Alberta (1911)."Morocco" . InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 850–861, see page 855, final two lines.In the fifth century A.D. the country became subject to the Vandals and, about 618, to the Goths.
^Ibn Abd al-Hakam (1922), Torrey, Charles Cutler (ed.),The History of the Conquest of Egypt, North Africa, and Spain..., New Haven: Yale University Press.
^Benabbès, Ahmed (2005), "Les Premiers Raids Arabes en Numidie Byzantine: Questions Toponymiques",Identités et Cultures dans l'Algérie Antique, Rouen: University of Rouen.(in French)
^Articles of Peace Concluded and Agreed between His Excellency the Lord Bellasyse, His Majesties Governour of His City and Garrison of Tangier in Affrica, &c. and Cidi Hamlet Hader Ben Ali Gayland, Prince of VVest-Barbary, &c., London, 2 April 1666.
^Lincoln, Margarette (2014), "Samuel Pepys and Tangier, 1662–1684",Huntington Library Quarterly, vol. 77, pp. 417–434,doi:10.1525/hlq.2014.77.4.417.
^Meakin, James Edward Budgett; Meakin, Kate Alberta (1911)."Morocco" . InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 850–861, see page 857, final para.By Sulaiman's direction the imperial umbrella passed to his nephew, Abd-er-Rahman II., on whom he could rely to maintain his policy. Although disposed to promote foreign trade, he made a futile attempt in 1828 to revive piracy, which the Austrians frustrated by reprisals next year.
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^César Ducruet, Fatima Mohamed-Chérif, Najib Cherfaoui. Maghreb Port Cities in Transition: The Case of Tangier (n.d.): n. pag. Web.
^Ouail El Im Rani Et Al., International Journal of Research in Management, Economics and Commerce, ISSN 2250-057X, Impact Factor: 6.384, Volume 06 Issue 07, July 2016, Page 73-81. Tangier Med Port: What Role for the Moroccan Economy and the International Trade? (n.d.): n. page. Web.
^Pennell, C. R. (1999). "Wars: The Second World War in Morocco".Morocco since 1830: A History. New York University Press. p. 257.ISBN978-1-85065-426-1.
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Tangier on Archnet – History, sites, photos (historic and contemporary), and media
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