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Tasghîmût
''Tasghîmût'' (also Tashgimut, Tashgimout) is a medieval fortress near Marrakesh, Morocco, built on a rocky plateau (an " erosion cirque") and fortified by the Almoravids under Ali ibn Yusuf in the 12th century to protect the nearby capital of Aghmat when the Almohads were making inroads in the western Maghreb. The fortress was conquered by the Almohads in 1132. Some archeological excavations were carried out in the 20th century, but many of the remains of the fortifications have been used for local building projects. Location and history Tasghîmût is about south-east of Marrakesh. At one time it dominated the ancient capital of Aghmat. The site, which also has evidence of Neolithic occupation, resembles Jebel Mudawwar, as an oval, rocky plateau cut through by ravines, overlooking a surrounding plain. Like Jebel Mudawwar it has defensive lines that follow the topography, as well as dams, and one of its inhabited areas is singled out for a privileged occupant. The fortificati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jebel Mudawwar
Gara Medouar, also known as Jebel Mudawwar ("round mountain"), Gara Mdouar or Mdoura, is a horseshoe-shaped geological formation (" erosion cirque") near Sijilmasa, Morocco. In the 11th century it was developed into a fortress with a military garrison that likely protected the nearby trade city of Sijilmasa, where gold coins were minted, and the trade routes from the south. Representatives of the Almoravid dynasty likely had the fortifications built, which included a wall of up to 12 metres high that closed off the only opening to the massif, two walls and defensive structures along the mountains, dams in the canyons to collect water, and a variety of structures on the plateaus. The massif was studied by Moroccan sociologist Paul Pascon. Starting with the 1999 film ''The Mummy'', it has also been used as a filming location, and has become a tourist attraction especially for off-roaders. Description and location Gara Medouar is located to the west of the principal tell of Sijil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Almohad Caliphate
The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the unity of God) was a North African Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb). The Almohad movement was founded by Ibn Tumart among the Berber Masmuda tribes, but the Almohad caliphate and its ruling dynasty were founded after his death by Abd al-Mu'min al-Gumi. Around 1120, Ibn Tumart first established a Berber state in Tinmel in the Atlas Mountains. Under Abd al-Mu'min (r. 1130–1163) they succeeded in overthrowing the ruling Almoravid dynasty governing Morocco in 1147, when he conquered Marrakesh and declared himself caliph. They then extended their power over all of the Maghreb by 1159. Al-Andalus soon followed, and all of Muslim Iberia was under Almohad rule by 1172. The turning p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Almoravid Dynasty
The Almoravid dynasty ( ar, المرابطون, translit=Al-Murābiṭūn, lit=those from the ribats) was an imperial Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire in the 11th century that stretched over the western Maghreb and Al-Andalus, starting in the 1050s and lasting until its fall to the Almohads in 1147. The Almoravid capital was Marrakesh, a city founded by the Almoravid leader Abu Bakr ibn Umar circa 1070. The dynasty emerged from a coalition of the Lamtuna, Gudala, and Massufa, nomadic Berber tribes living in what is now Mauritania and the Western Sahara, traversing the territory between the Draa, the Niger, and the Senegal rivers. The Almoravids were crucial in preventing the fall of Al-Andalus (Muslim rule in Iberia) to the Iberian Christian kingdoms, when they decisively defeated a coalition of the Castilian and Aragonese armies at the Battle of Sagrajas in 1086. This enabled them to control an empire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steephead Valley
A steephead valley, steephead or blind valley is a deep, narrow, flat bottomed valley with an abrupt ending. Such closed valleys may arise in limestone or karst landscapes, where a layer of permeable rock lies above an impermeable substract such as marl. Water flowing through a steephead valley leaves via one or more ponors or sinkholes. Blind valleys are typically dry at their lower ends. If the ponor cannot contain the high runoff during a flood event an intermittent flow may continue through the valley beyond the sink. Such a landform is called a semi-blind or half-blind valley. Development They are created by a stream flowing within the permeable rock and eroding it from within, until the rock above collapses opening up a steep narrow valley which is then further eroded by the stream running across the impermeable valley floor. At the head of the valley the stream emerges from the rock as a spring. Notable examples can be found in the Jura region of France, for examp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marrakesh
Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh-Safi region. The city is situated west of the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. Marrakesh is southwest of Tangier, southwest of the Moroccan capital of Rabat, south of Casablanca, and northeast of Agadir. The region has been inhabited by Berber farmers since Neolithic times. The city was founded in 1070 by Emir Abu Bakr ibn Umar as the imperial capital of the Almoravid Empire. The Almoravids established the first major structures in the city and shaped its layout for centuries to come. The red walls of the city, built by Ali ibn Yusuf in 1122–1123, and various buildings constructed in red sandstone afterwards, have given the city the nickname of the "Red City" ( ''Almadinat alhamra) or "Ochre City" (). Marrakesh grew rapidly and e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly regarded as synonyms, although subtle differences in usage exist. A sub-armory is a place of temporary storage or carrying of weapons and ammunition, such as any temporary post or patrol vehicle that is only operational in certain times of the day. Etymology The term in English entered the language in the 16th century as a loanword from french: arsenal, itself deriving from the it, arsenale, which in turn is thought to be a corruption of ar, دار الصناعة, , meaning "manufacturing shop". Types A lower-class arsenal, which can furnish the materiel and equipment of a small army, may contain a laboratory, gun and carriage factories, small-arms ammunition, small-arms, harness, saddlery tent and powder factories; in addition, it mu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Highlands
Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia * Southern Highlands (New South Wales), usually referred as the Southern Tablelands in New South Wales * Central Highlands (Victoria) * Central Highlands (Tasmania) * Northern Highlands, usually referred as the Northern Tablelands in New South Wales Brazil *Brazilian Highlands, the heartland of the country, located on the continental plateau Canada * Grey Highlands, a municipality in central Ontario near the Green Belt * Highlands, British Columbia, a municipality on Vancouver Island, British Columbia * Highlands, Edmonton, a residential neighbourhood in north east Edmonton, Alberta, Canada * Highlands, Newfoundland and Labrador, a settlement Iceland * Highlands of Iceland, cover most of the interior of Iceland Africa * Ethiopian Highlands, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forts In Morocco
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ("to make"). From very early history to modern times, defensive walls have often been necessary for cities to survive in an ever-changing world of invasion and conquest. Some settlements in the Indus Valley civilization were the first small cities to be fortified. In ancient Greece, large stone walls had been built in Mycenaean Greece, such as the ancient site of Mycenae (famous for the huge stone blocks of its ' cyclopean' walls). A Greek '' phrourion'' was a fortified collection of buildings used as a military garrison, and is the equivalent of the Roman castellum or English fortress. These constructions mainly served the purpose of a watch tower, to guard certain roads, passes, and borders. Though smaller than a real fortress, they ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berber Architecture
, image = File:Berber_flag.svg , caption = The Berber ethnic flag , population = 36 million , region1 = Morocco , pop1 = 14 million to 18 million , region2 = Algeria , pop2 = 9 million to ~13 million , region3 = Mauritania , pop3 = 2.9 million , region4 = Niger , pop4 = 2.6 million, Niger: 11% of 23.6 million , region5 = France , pop5 = 2 million , region6 = Mali , pop6 = 850,000 , region7 = Libya , pop7 = 600,000 , region8 = Belgium , pop8 = 500,000 (including descendants) , region9 = Netherlands , pop9 = 467,455 (including descendants) , region10 = Burkina Faso , pop10 = 406,271, Burkina Faso: 1.9% of 21.4 million , region11 = Egypt , pop11 = 23,000 or 1,826,580 , region12 = Tunisia , pop12 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fires. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones.''The Flints from Portsdown Hill'' Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white or brown in colour, and often has a glassy or waxy appearance. A thin layer on the outside of the nodules is usually different in colour, typically white and rough in texture. The nodules can often be found along streams and [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henri Terrasse
Henri Terrasse (Vrigny-aux-Bois, 8 August 1895 – Grenoble, 11 October 1971) was a French historian, archeologist, and orientalist who specialized in the art and history of the Islamic world and of Morocco in particular. Biography Terrasse was born in France in 1895. In 1921 he emigrated to the French protectorate of Morocco, where he taught first at the ''Collège Moulay Youssef''. In 1923 he became professor at the important ''Institut des Hautes Etudes Marocaines'' in Rabat, where he collaborated with French orientalist Henri Basset for a series of studies on Almohad mosques. In 1932 he defended a thesis for the Sorbonne on "Hispano-Moorish" art up to the Almohad period. In 1935 he was appointed the director of the ''Service des Monuments historiques du Maroc'', an agency under the French Protectorate which inspected and managed historic monuments and antiquities in the country. In this job he dedicated himself to the conservation and restoration of Morocco's historical he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henri Basset
Henri Basset (7 November 1892 – 13 April 1926) was a 20th-century French historian, orientalist and linguist and a Berberologist. Biography The son of René Basset and elder brother of André Basset, Henri Basset joined the École Normale Supérieure in 1912. A teacher at the "École supérieure de langue arabe et de dialectes berbères" from 1916, he passed his doctorate in 1920 at the faculté de Lettres of Algiers with two works entitled ''Essai sur la littérature des Berbères'' and '' Le culte des grottes au Maroc'' and was appointed the same year deputy director of the ''Institut des hautes études marocaines''. Bibliography *1920''Essai sur la littérature des Berbères''(Paris: Ibis press - Awal, 2001 ) *1920''Le culte des grottes au Maroc'' Alger: J. Carbonel, (Clichy: Éd. du Jasmin, 1999 ) *1921: ''Graffiti de Chella'', ''Hespéris'' I with J. Campardou, (p. 87–90), fig. *1922: Les rites de la laine à Rabat", ''Hespéris'' II, (p. 139–160) *19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
