Timeline: Morocco

A chronology of key events:

7th century AD - Arab invasion; Idris founds the first major Muslim dynasty.

High peaks and fertile valleys: Morocco's Atlas mountains

10-17th centuries - Dynasties and religious movements come and go, including the Almoravid movement which at its peak controlled Morocco and parts of present-day Algeria and Spain.

1860 - Dispute over Spain's Ceuta enclave; Spain declares war, wins a further enclave and an enlarged Ceuta in the settlement.

1884 - Spain creates a protectorate in coastal areas of Morocco.

1904 - France and Spain carve out zones of influence.

1906 - Algeciras Conference in Spain; France and Spain get the go-ahead to police Moroccan ports and collect customs fees.

French protectorate

1912 - Morocco becomes a French protectorate under the Treaty of Fez, administered by a French Resident-General. Spain continues to operate its coastal protectorate. The sultan has a largely figurehead role.

1921-6 - Tribal rebellion in Rif mountains is suppressed by French and Spanish troops.

Rabat - once called the "pearl of Morocco" Founded in 12th century Population: 1.3 million 2003: Morocco's many contradictions

1943 - Istiqlal - Party of Independence - founded to press for independence.

1956 March - End of French protectorate after unrest and strong nationalist sentiment. Spain keeps its two coastal enclaves. Sultan Mohammed becomes king in 1957.

1961 - Death of King Mohammed; King Hassan II comes to power.

1963 - First general elections.

1965 - Social unrest: King Hassan declares a state of emergency and suspends parliament.

1971 - Failed attempt to depose king and establish republic.

Polisario movement

1973 - Polisario movement formed, aims to establish an independent state in Spanish Sahara, a territory south of Morocco controlled by Spain. The group has Algerian support.

King Hassan became Arab world's longest-serving ruler 1999 In pictures: Morocco bids farewell 1999: King Hassan - a life in pictures

1975 6 November - The Green March: King Hassan orders 350,000 civilian volunteers to cross into Spanish Sahara.

1975 December - Spain agrees to leave Spanish Sahara, soon to become Western Sahara, and to transfer it to joint Moroccan-Mauritanian control. Algeria objects and threatens military intervention. Moroccan forces enter and occupy the territory.

1976 - Moroccan and Algerian troops clash in Western Sahara. Algeria announces the formation of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) with a government-in-exile. Morocco and Mauritania divide-up Western Sahara.

1976 onwards - Fighting between Moroccan military and Polisario forces; the war is a considerable financial drain on Morocco.

1983 - Summit between King Hassan and Algerian president prompts thaw in relations.

WESTERN SAHARA Polisario soldiers waged a guerrilla war against Morocco Profile: Western Sahara 2003: 'Africa's last colony'

1983 - King cancels planned elections amid political unrest and economic crisis.

1984 - Morocco leaves the Organisation of African Unity in protest at the SADR's admission to the body. Polisario claims to have killed more than 5,000 Moroccan soldiers between 1982-85.

1988 - Resumption of full diplomatic relations with Algeria.

Sahara ceasefire

1991 - UN-monitored ceasefire begins in Western Sahara, but the territory's status remains undecided and ceasefire violations are reported. The following decade sees much wrangling over a proposed referendum on the future of the territory but the deadlock is not broken.

1998 - Morocco's first opposition-led government comes to power.

1999 - King Hassan II is succeeded by his son, Mohammed VI.

2001 November - King Mohammed starts a controversial tour of Western Sahara, the first by a Moroccan monarch for a decade.

2002 July - Morocco and Spain agree to US-brokered resolution over the disputed island of Perejil. Spanish troops had taken the normally-uninhabited island after Moroccan soldiers landed on it and set up tents and a flag.

Marrakesh: Former capital's markets, festivals draw tourists

2002 December - Morocco and Spain hold their first talks since their conflict over Perejil. In January 2003 they agree to return ambassadors.

2003 February - Casablanca court jails three Saudi members of al-Qaeda for 10 years after they were accused of plotting to attack US and British warships in the Straits of Gibraltar.

2003 May - More than 40 killed when suicide bombers attack several sites in Casablanca, including a Spanish restaurant and Jewish community centre.

2004 February - Powerful earthquake hits the north; more than 500 people are killed.

2004 July - Free trade agreement with the US comes into effect. It follows Washington's designation of Morocco as a major non-Nato ally.

GATEWAY TO EUROPE Morocco is a favoured stepping stone for African migrants heading for Europe Many try enter via the Spanish enclaves Ceuta and Melilla Many drown or are caught while attempting the sea crossing Key facts: Africa to Europe migration

2005 September-October - Hundreds of African migrants try to storm Morocco's borders with the Spanish enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta. Morocco deports hundreds of the illegal migrants.

2005 December - Truth commission investigating human rights abuses during the rule of King Hassan II says 592 people were killed between 1956-99.

2006 April - Chinese President Hu Jintao visits, signs a series of trade agreements.

2006 January - Spanish Premier Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero visits the the Spanish enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta. He's the first Spanish leader in 25 years to make an official visit to the territories.

2007 January - Five men freed from US custody at Guantanamo Bay in 2004 are cleared of terrorism-related charges by a court in Morocco.

Moroccans have stepped up security in the face of bombings

2007 April - Three suspected suicide bombers blow themselves up in Casablanca, a few weeks after a suicide blast in an internet cafe weeks earlier.

Two suicide bombers blow themselves up outside US diplomatic offices in Casablanca.

Morocco unveils an autonomy blueprint for Western Sahara to the United Nations. Independence movement Polisario rejects the plan and puts forwards its own proposal.

2007 June - Morocco and the Polisario Front hold UN-sponsored talks in New York but fail to come to any agreement.

2007 September - Parliamentary elections. The conservative Istiqlal party, a member of the ruling coalition, wins the most votes.

2007 November - Spanish King Juan Carlos visits Ceuta and Melilla, angering Morocco which demands the return of the enclaves.

2008 April - Spanish police arrest two Moroccans wanted over 2003 Casablanca bombings, plan extradition.