Sous

The Sous region (also spelt Sus, Suss, Souss or Sousse) (Arabic: سوس, romanized: sūs, Tachelhit: ⵙⵓⵙ, romanized: sus) is an area in mid-southern Morocco. Geologically, it is the alluvial basin of the Sous River (Asif n Sus), separated from the Sahara desert by the Anti-Atlas Mountains.[1] The natural vegetation in the Sous region is savanna dominated by the argan (Argania spinosa), a local endemic tree found nowhere else;[2] part of the area is now a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve to protect this unique habitat.[3] The region of Sous is generally fertile and has a high agricultural production.

For the king of Sparta, see Soos (king of Sparta). For the French coin, see French sol.
Sus
Region
The Sous, here northeast of Taroudant, with Argan trees interplanted with cereal crops
Sus
Location in Morocco
Coordinates: 30.08°N 8.48°W / 30.08; -8.48
Country Morocco
RegionSouss-Massa, Guelmim-Oued Noun

History

Medieval Arabic geographers generally divided the Sous region into two distinct sub-regions: al-Sūs al-Aqṣā, or "farther Sus", and al-Sūs al-Adnā, or "nearer Sus".[4][5][6] Sus al-Aqsa consisted of the southern/western part, and Sus al-Adna consisted of the northern/eastern part; however, there were never any precise boundaries between the two.[6] The capital of the Sous was at Igli.[7] There was also a ribat at Massa near the Atlantic coast.[7]

Around 683, Uqba ibn Nafi conquered the Sous region, but after his death in 688 his conquests in Morocco slipped out of Muslim control.[7] The Sous was reconquered around 20 years later by Musa ibn Nusayr, who began the spread of Islam among the local population.[7]

Bibliography
  • Boogert, Nico van den. The Berber Literary Tradition of the Sous: with an edition and translation of 'The Ocean of Tears' by Muḥammad Awzal (d. 1749), Leiden: Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, 1997. ISBN 90-6258-971-5
  • Montagne, Robert. Les Berbères et le Makhzen dans le sud du Maroc; essai sur la transformation politique des Berbères sédentaires (groupe Chleuh). Rabat: Dar Al-Aman, 2013 ISBN 9954-561-35-8.
  • UNESCO Arganeraie Biosphere Reserve

References
  1. Allah, Redouane Choukr; Ragab, Ragab; Bouchaou, Lhoussaine; Barceló, Damià (2017-02-25). The Souss‐Massa River Basin, Morocco. Springer. p. 30. ISBN 978-3319511313.
  2. Allah, Redouane Choukr; Ragab, Ragab; Bouchaou, Lhoussaine; Barceló, Damià (2017-02-25). The Souss‐Massa River Basin, Morocco. Springer. p. 103. ISBN 978-3319511313.
  3. Ham, Anthony; Hardy, Paula (2007). Morocco. Ediz. Inglese. Lonely Planet. p. 389. ISBN 978-1740599740.
  4. Lévi Provençal, E. (1913–1936). "al-Sūs al-Aḳṣā". Brill Encyclopaedia of Islam, First Edition (Web). ISBN 978-9004082656. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  5. Mohamed, Mohamed Hassan (2012). Between Caravan and Sultan: The Bayruk of Southern Morocco: A Study in History and Identity. Leiden, Boston: Brill. pp. 19–20. ISBN 978-9004183827. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  6. Coppée, Henry (1881). History of the Conquest of Spain by the Arab-Moors: With a Sketch of the Civilization which They Achieved, and Imparted to Europe, Volume 1. Boston: Little, Brown, & Company. pp. 68, 190, 351. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  7. Jenkins, R. G. (1979). "'Abd Allāh b. Yāsīn and the Almoravids". In Willis, John Ralph (ed.). Studies in West African Islamic History: Volume 1: The Cultivators of Islam, Volume 2: The Evolution of Islamic Institutions & Volume 3: The Growth of Arabic Literature. Abingdon: Routledge. pp. 81–3. Retrieved 8 March 2022.

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