Morocco's political system features a symbiotic relationship between two dissimilar systems of power. The first is rational and corresponds to modern state function of bureaucratic and administrative governance while the latter is traditional in nature and has buttressed those rational institutions of power in Morocco. Much of the current authoritarian state in Morocco is to be understood within this peculiar relationship, where makhzen operates within the rational mechanisms, with a whole set of traditional and patrimonial practices. This patrimonial system refers to the vibrant authority of makhzen, which predates the colonial era. French colonial rule in Morocco has in many respects strengthened the process of state building in Morocco. The paper argues that the French colonial “mission civilisatrice” in Morocco primarily sought to build a centralized form of government and extend it beyond the territories formerly under the direct tutelage of the makhzen, namely bled es-siba (land of dissidence), while, at the same time, preserving the sharifian institutions especially during the early years of the protectorate. One of the early colonial administrators in Morocco, Maréchal Hubert Lyautey reinvigorated the sultan’s traditional power, and endowed it with a modern state apparatus. This marked an important shift in the evolution of the Moroccan state from its traditional and primordial system of governance into a more modern administrative and bureaucratic model of government. Makhzen conserved its appearance and rituals of power so long as they did not interfere with the political and administrative apparatus of the protectorate. Lyautey’s style of administration would prove instrumental in maintaining the monarchy’s “sultanistic” grip over modern Morocco since the independence in 1956.