The Rif War

On 25 May 1926 a party of Moroccans arrived at the frontline headquarters of the French army in northern Morocco. They had come to surrender. Their leader was Muhammad bin Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi, who for five years had led one of the most successful wars of resistance in imperial history. Neither a guerrilla insurgent nor a sultan, he had created a new state. With him, when he surrendered, were the remnants of his government, their wives and children, and a huge mule train carrying his personal property. It was an anti-climactic end to a famous struggle against European colonialism.