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.

Sus ⵙⵓⵙ (Tachelhit) سوس (Arabic)
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
Region	Souss-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]

Ibn Hawqal makes conflicting claims about the religious makeup of the Sous region at his time.[7] In one passage, he says that its inhabitants were Shi'is, but in another he says that the region was divided between Sunnis of the Maliki school and Shi'is, who he calls "Mūsawiyyun".[7] Tensions were high between these groups, he wrote, and there was a lot of warfare between them.[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

External links

• Euratlas Periodis Web - Map of Suss in Year 1600