Place · region

Rif

Also known as Rif Mountains, Riff

The Rif is a mountainous region of northern Morocco along the Mediterranean coast, inhabited mainly by Riffian Berbers who speak Tarifit. It was the home of the early Islamic Emirate of Nekor and later of strongholds such as Chefchaouen. From 1912 it lay in the Spanish protectorate, and in the Rif War of 1921–1926 Abd el-Krim led a revolt that founded the short-lived Rif Republic.

Rif
Image: Gabi from Alicante, Spain · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Rif. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/rif
MLA
“Rif.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/rif. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Rif.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/rif.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Rif’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/rif (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻