The Jbala is the mountainous region of northwestern Morocco between the Atlantic coast at Tangier and Larache, the Strait of Gibraltar, and the western edge of the Rif. The terrain is one of forested limestone uplands cut by short, steep rivers; the principal cities are Chefchaouen, Ouezzane, and Tetouan on the northern coastal slope.
The Jbala population is conventionally distinguished from the Rifian Berbers to the east by its language: Jebli Arabic, a distinctive Maghrebi variety with substantial Berber substrate, is the primary speech of the region, while Tarifit Berber is mostly absent. Linguistic and genetic evidence nevertheless points to a deep Berber substrate underlying a long Arabisation that began in the medieval period and intensified after the arrival of Andalusi refugees following the Reconquista.
Chefchaouen, founded in 1471 by the Idrisid sharifs of the Jbala as a refuge for Andalusi Muslims and Jews fleeing the Castilian advance, is the cultural capital of the region. Its blue-painted medina is among the most distinctive in Morocco; Tetouan, refounded in the late fifteenth century by Granadan exiles, retains the strongest Andalusi architectural and culinary signature in the country.
The Jbala has historically been a region of religious lodges (zawiyas) and Sufi orders, particularly the Wazzaniyya based at Ouezzane. Under the Spanish Protectorate (1912–1956) the Jbala was administered alongside the Rif as the Spanish Northern Zone; the post-independence period has incorporated the region into the Tangier–Tetouan–Al Hoceima administrative area.