Draft:Cheraga tribe

• Comment: Please spell check this draft. Theroadislong (talk) 21:34, 30 September 2026 (UTC)

• Comment: The source provided needs an inline citation + you're going to need more than one source. Jdcomix (talk) 13:24, 17 September 2026 (UTC)

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Cheraga
ⵛⵔⴰⴳⴰ شراݣة
Tribal map of Morocco including Cheraga
Classification	Tribal confederation
Religions	Sunni islam
Languages	Arabic and Some Tamazight variants
Country	Morocco
Region	North of fez
Lineage	Arabo-Berber

The cheraga tribe(in arabic: شراقة) was a guich tribe in Morocco formed of both arab (beni amer and Ashja') and berber( Houaras, Mediouna and Beni-Snous) elements.

The tribe is said to originally come from the Hamyans of western Algeria. Still, they are said to be culturally jebala by habitat, occupying the mountainous areas in the north of Fez, certain sources describe them as being a significant supplier of soldiers for the army, or more precisely called djich.

Etymology

The name cheraga or cheraka (شراقة) simply means easterner and the tribe was given this label because they came from the east From oujda and what is now Western Algeria .

History

Zayyanid dynasty era (1308–1557)

Map of the Zayyanid territory at the beginning of the 14th century

Before they became a guich tribe, the Cheraga tribe first served the Zayyanid dynasty ,they originated from two "mother" groups, Beni Amer (shared with Hyayna) and Ashjaa (an Arab tribe from eastern Morocco, from the small Ghatafan confederation). They were primarily described during this time as an Arab and Zenata mixed tribe.

The Majority of Beni Amer and Ashja' still in the east when the Zayyanids fell to the Ottomans, migrated to the west in Morocco, to avoid Ottoman rule.

Saadian era (1509–1659)

During the Saadian Era, the Cheraga were a special troop alongside the Ehl Souss that were incorporated into the army to add local elements to it (which gave birth to the first two Makhzen or guich tribes), and the Saadian sultan Ahmad Al Mansur reportedly integrated all Bedouin tribes from the Oujda and Tlemcen region under the name of Cheraga.

The cheraga had grown so large at this point that the majority of the Saadian army was from them which caused resentment among the nearby Fassis.

Saadian cavalry depicted by Jorge de Henin in 1614

During the battle of the three kings a significant part of the Saadian army was made up of Cheraga men alongside other Guich tribes.

According to some sources after an incident involving a Cheraga soldier breaking into a woman's home in Fez, the soldier killed her child while the woman locked herself up on a balcony. This led to a general anti-Cheraga movement in the entire city, led by a man named Eccherif Ezzerhouni in the year 1611, and they killed all Cheraga soldiers and Tlemcanites still in Fez. The fassis later attacked Cheraga settlements outside the cities but the Cheraga retaliated and killed around 2000 Fassis. This gave birth to a bloody rivalry between Fassis and Cheraga .; they were then involved in all the agitations that led to the Saadian collapse.

Early Alouite Era (1666–1912)

Kasbah Cherarda was built by the alouite sultan to house the Guich tribes in fez

When Moulay Rachid became sultan in 1666, he allied with the Cheraga to do various expeditions and they stayed in Kasbah el khemis now known as Kasbah des Oudayas.

Despite serving the Saadians before even becoming a guich tribe; it is only during the alouite era that Rachid ben Cherif gave them land in the north of Fez.And then later in 1679 Moulay ismail installed them in multiple Ksbahs around the city.

Some Cheraga (Around 3000) soldiers later acted as royal guards alongside the Oudaya (Around 2000)for Moulay Ismail and also were the first part of his army.

In 1786, the Alouite sultan sidi Mohamed Ben Abdallah had to organise a military expedition against the now rebellious Cheraga , to restore order however this was seen by locals as the sultan attacking the military hierarchy itself.

According to French observers in 1900, the Cheraga had 4500 Soldiers in the army while the total of Guich Tribe soldiers in the army was about 10000 which is said to be a decline from previous years.

The tribe laid down three specific conditions for them to recognize the sultan Moulay Hafid : 1.To give them back houses in Fes Moulay El hassan took from them, 2.To take them to the city and hand them new Weapons and Ammunitions 3.To give them rations frequently in exchange for them paying 11 Douros.

French protectorate era (1912–1956)

Fez outskirts during the french protectorate

The Cheraga tribe, alongside the Oudaya tribe, was influenced during the French protectorate of Morocco by the Cherada revolt and joined the Revolt against both the Makhzen and colonial French rule.

During the French Protectorate, the tribe reportedly had frequent hostilities with the French authorities.

During the 1925 Rif resistance advances on French zones, Cheraga families reportedly sided with the Rifian dissidents.

Territory

The tribe occupies territory in the north of fes sharing it with various different tribes such as Oulad Djema, and their territory extends all the way to sebou where it separates them from other tribes such as Fechtala.

The Cheraga reportedly had full ownership of almost the entirety of their domain.

Political significance and administrative situation

The Cheraga tribe was a makhzen tribe, meaning it supplied the army without directly having permanent service there. They were administered by four fractions organized by the fessi commandment Oulad Ba Mohamed: the Oulad Djema fraction, the Beni Amer fraction, the Sedja fraction, and the Beni Snouss fraction. These show the tribe was a mix of different tribal elements rather than a single homogeneous tribe.

In 1796, The pasha of the tribe was named Ibn Khuda Mohamed (in arabic: ابن خدة محمد).

They reportedly also were the only Guich tribe to have a singular Pasha, reuniting all the different fractions under one Pasha.

The Cheraga pasha sat alongside the Fez pasha in the Dar el Makhzen of fez.