Abdelkrim al-Khattabi

Muhammad ibn Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi (c. 1882–1963) was an educated judge (qadi) in Melilla before resigning in protest against Spanish colonial atrocities. Returning to the rugged Rif mountains, he united historically rival Amazigh clans into an organized, disciplined national army.

At the historic Battle of Annual (July 1921), Abdelkrim's 3,000 Rifian fighters completely routed a 20,000-man Spanish army under General Silvestre, forcing Spain into a humiliating retreat. He established the Republic of the Rif, introducing legal, educational, and modern administrative reforms. Defeated only in 1926 by a combined Franco-Spanish invasion of 250,000 men employing illegal mustard gas, he lived in exile, mentoring anti-colonial movements across Africa and Asia.