It is the capital of the Tangier-Tetouan Region and of the Tangier-Asilah prefecture of Morocco. The history of Tangier is very rich, due to the historical presence of many civilizations and cultures starting from before the 5th century BCE. Between the period of being a strategic Berber town and then a Phoenician trading center to the independence era around the 1950s, Tangier was a refuge for many cultures.