History Of Marrakesh
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Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...
, a city in southern
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
, stretches back nearly a thousand years. The country of Morocco itself is named after it. Founded c. 1070 by the
Almoravids The Almoravid dynasty () was a Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire that stretched over the western Maghreb and Al-Andalus, starting in the 1050s and lasting until its fall to the Almo ...
as the capital of their empire, Marrakesh went on to also serve as the imperial capital of the
Almohad Caliphate The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berbers, 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). Th ...
from 1147. The
Marinid The Marinid dynasty ( ) was a Berber Muslim dynasty that controlled present-day Morocco from the mid-13th to the 15th century and intermittently controlled other parts of North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia) and of the southern Iberian Peninsula ...
s, who captured Marrakesh in 1269, relocated the capital to Fez, leaving Marrakesh as a regional capital of the south. During this period, it often broke off in rebellion into a semi-autonomous state. Marrakesh was captured by the Saadian sharifs in 1525, and resumed its status as imperial capital for a unified Morocco after they captured Fez in 1549. Marrakesh reached its epic grandeur under the Saadians, who greatly embellished the city. The Alawi sharifs captured Marrakesh in 1669. Although it served frequently as the residence of the Alawi sultans, Marrakesh was not their definitive capital, as Alawi sultans moved their courts frequently between various cities. In the course of its history, Marrakesh achieved periods of great splendor, interrupted by repeated political struggles, military disorders, famine, plagues and a couple of sacks. Much of it was rebuilt in the 19th century. It was conquered by French troops in 1912, and became part of the French protectorate of Morocco. It remained part of the
Kingdom of Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to the east, and t ...
after independence in 1956. Throughout its history, Marrakesh has maintained a keen rivalry with Fez as the leading city in Morocco, and the country often fragmented politically into two halves, with Fez the capital of the north and Marrakesh the capital of the south. The choice of
Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...
as the capital of modern Morocco can be seen as a compromise that afforded neither of the two rival cities primacy over the other.


Foundation

The region of Marrakesh, the plain south of the Tensift River in southern Morocco, was inhabited by
Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...
farmers since Neolithic times, and numerous stone implements have been unearthed in the area. Before the advent of the Almoravids in the mid-11th century, the region was ruled by the
Maghrawa The Maghrawa or Meghrawa () were a large Berber tribal confederation in North Africa. They are the largest branch of the Zenata confederation. Their traditional territories around the time of Muslim expansion into the Maghreb in the 7th century ...
from the city of
Aghmat Aghmat ( Tashelhit: ''Aɣmat'', ''Āghmāt''; pronounced locally ''Ughmat, Uɣmat'') was an important commercial medieval Berber town in Morocco. It is today an archaeological site known as "Joumâa Aghmat". The city is located approximately 30& ...
(which had served as a regional capital of southern Morocco since Idrisid times). The Almoravids conquered Aghmat in 1058, bringing their dominance over southern Morocco. However, the Almoravid emir
Abu Bakr ibn Umar Abu Bakr ibn Umar ibn Ibrahim ibn Turgut, sometimes suffixed al-Sanhaji or al-Lamtuni (died 1087; ) was a chieftain of the Lamtuna Berber Tribe and Amir of the Almoravids from 1056 until his death. He is credited to have founded the Moroccan c ...
soon decided Aghmat was overcrowded and unsuitable as their capital. Being originally
Sanhaja The Sanhaja (, or زناگة ''Znāga''; , pl. Iẓnagen, and also Aẓnaj, pl. Iẓnajen) were once one of the largest Berbers, Berber tribal confederations, along with the Zenata, Zanata and Masmuda confederations. Many tribes in Algeria, Libya ...
Lamtuna The Lamtuna () are a nomadic Berber tribe belonging to the Iẓnagen / Sanhaja (Zenaga) confederation, who traditionally inhabited areas from Sous to Adrar Plateau. During the Almoravid period, many Lamtunas emigrated northwards. Currently, the L ...
tribesmen from the
Sahara Desert The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...
, the Almoravids searched for a new location in the region that was more consonant with their customary lifestyle. After consultation with allied local
Masmuda The Masmuda (, Berber: ⵉⵎⵙⵎⵓⴷⵏ) is a Berber tribal confederation , one of the largest in the Maghreb, along with the Zenata and the Sanhaja. Today, the Masmuda confederacy largely corresponds to the speakers of the Tashelhit lan ...
tribes, it was finally decided that the Almoravids would set up their new base on neutral territory, between the Bani Haylana and the Bani Hazmira tribes.
Ibn Idhari Abū al-ʽAbbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ʽIḏārī al-Marrākushī () was a Maghrebi historian of the late-13th/early-14th century, and author of the famous '' Al-Bayan al-Mughrib'', an important medieval history of the Maghreb (Morocco, No ...
, ''Bayan al-Mughrib'', quoted in Levtzion and Hopkins (1981:p.226-27); Messier (2010: p.41)
The Almoravids rode out of Aghmat and pitched their desert tents on the west bank of the small Issil river, which marked the boundary between them. The location was open and barren, it had "no living thing except gazelles and ostriches and nothing growing except lotus trees and colocynths". A few kilometres to the north was the Tensift River, to the south the vast sloping plain of Haouz, pastureland suitable for their great herds. About a day's ride to the west was the fertile Nfis river valley, which would serve as the city's breadbasket.
Date palm ''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as the date palm, is a flowering-plant species in the palm family Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet #Fruits, fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across North Africa, northern A ...
s, virtually non-existent in Morocco north of the desert line, were planted around the encampment to supply the staple of Lamtuna diets. There is a dispute about the exact foundation date: chroniclers
Ibn Abi Zar Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Abī Zarʿ al-Fāsī () (d. between 1310 and 1320) is the commonly presumed original author of the popular and influential medieval history of Morocco known as '' Rawd al-Qirtas'',''Encyclopedia of Arabic literature: A ...
and
Ibn Khaldun Ibn Khaldun (27 May 1332 – 17 March 1406, 732–808 Hijri year, AH) was an Arabs, Arab Islamic scholar, historian, philosopher and sociologist. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest social scientists of the Middle Ages, and cons ...
give it as c. 1061-62 while
Ibn Idhari Abū al-ʽAbbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ʽIḏārī al-Marrākushī () was a Maghrebi historian of the late-13th/early-14th century, and author of the famous '' Al-Bayan al-Mughrib'', an important medieval history of the Maghreb (Morocco, No ...
asserts that it was founded in 1070. A probable reconciliation is that Marrakesh started in the 1060s, when Abu Bakr and the Almoravid chieftains first pitched their tents there, and that it remained a desert-style military encampment until the first stone building, the ''Qasr al-Hajar'' ("castle of stone", the Almoravid treasury and armory fort), was erected in May, 1070. In early 1071, Abu Bakr was recalled to the Sahara to put down a rebellion, and it was his cousin (and eventual successor)
Yusuf ibn Tashfin Yusuf ibn Tashfin, also Tashafin, Teshufin, (; reigned c. 1061 – 1106) was a Sanhaja leader of the Almoravid Empire. He cofounded the city of Marrakesh and led the Muslim forces in the Battle of Sagrajas. Yusuf ibn Tashfin came to al-And ...
who erected the city's first brick
mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...
. More buildings were erected soon afterwards, mud-brick houses gradually replacing the tents. The red earth used for the bricks gave Marrakesh its distinctive red color, and its popular appellation ''Marrakush al-Hamra'' ("Marrakesh the Red"). The layout of the buildings was still along the lines of the original encampment, with the result that early Marrakesh was an unusual-looking city, a sprawling medieval urban center evocative of desert life, with occasional tents, planted palm trees and an oasis-like feel. Sultan Ali ibn Yusuf ibn Tashfin laid the first bridge across the Tensift River to connect Marrakesh to northern Morocco, but the city's life was tied to and oriented towards the south. The High Atlas range south of the city was and has always been of vital concern to Marrakesh and a great determinant of its fate. Inimical control of the Atlas
mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...
es could sever Marrakesh's communications with the
Sous The Sous region (also spelt Sus, Suss, Souss or Sousse) (, ) is a historical, cultural and geographical region of Morocco, which constitutes part of the region administration of Souss-Massa and Guelmim-Oued Noun. The region is known for the en ...
and
Draa :''Dra is also the abbreviation for the constellation Draco.'' The Draa (, ; also spelled Dra or Drâa, in older sources mostly Darha or Dara, ) is Morocco's longest river, at . It is formed by the confluence of the Dadès River and Imini Ri ...
valleys, and seal off access to the Sahara Desert and the lucrative trans-Saharan trade in salt and gold with sub-Saharan Africa ('' al-sudan''), upon which much of its early fortunes rested. The Almoravids are said to have deliberately put the wide plain of Haouz between Marrakesh and the Atlas foothills in order to make it more defensible — by having a clear view of the distant dust clouds kicked up by any attackers coming from the Atlas, the city would have advance warning and time to prepare its defenses. Nonetheless, repeatedly through its history, whoever controlled the High Atlas often ended up controlling Marrakesh as well.


Imperial capital

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...
served as the capital of the vast Almoravid empire, which stretched over all of Morocco, western Algeria and southern Spain (
al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...
). Because of the barrenness of its surroundings, Marrakesh remained merely a political and administrative capital under the Almoravids, never quite displacing bustling
Aghmat Aghmat ( Tashelhit: ''Aɣmat'', ''Āghmāt''; pronounced locally ''Ughmat, Uɣmat'') was an important commercial medieval Berber town in Morocco. It is today an archaeological site known as "Joumâa Aghmat". The city is located approximately 30& ...
, just thirty kilometres away, as a commercial or scholarly center. This began to change under the Almoravid emir
Ali ibn Yusuf Ali ibn Yusuf (also known as "Ali Ben Youssef") () (c. 1084 – 28 January 1143) was the 5th Almoravid emir. He reigned from 1106 to 1143. Early life Ali ibn Yusuf was born in 1084–1085 (477 AH) in Ceuta. He was the son of Yusuf ibn Tashf ...
(r.1106-1142) ("Ben Youssef"), who launched a construction program to give Marrakesh a grander feel. Ali ibn Yusuf erected a new magnificent palace, along Andalusian design, on the western side of the city, connected by a corridor to the old Qasr al-Hajar armory. More importantly, he introduced a new system of waterworks, via cisterns and '' khettaras'' (gravity-driven underground canals) designed by his engineer Abd Allah ibn Yunus al-Muhandis, that could supply the entire city with plenty of water and thus support a larger urban population. Ibn Yusuf also built several monumental ablution fountains and a grand new mosque, the ''Masjid al-Siqaya'' (the first Ben Youssef Mosque), the largest mosque built in the Almoravid empire. The new mosque and the surrounding markets ('' souqs''), were set to form the center of urban life. The rest of the fledgling city was organized into neighborhoods, cut across by two grand street axes, connecting four monumental gates: ''Bab al-Khamis'' (north), ''Bab Aghmat'' (SE) and ''Bab Dukkala'' (NW) and the ''Bab al-Nfis'' (SW).Messier (2010: p.126) The new construction boom and availability of water began to finally attract merchants and craftsmen from elsewhere, gradually turning Marrakesh into a real city. The first to arrive were the tanners, arguably Marrakesh's most famous industry.Cenival (1913-36: p.297; 2007: p.321) (Goatskin tanned with
sumac Sumac or sumach ( , )—not to be confused with poison sumac—is any of the roughly 35 species of flowering plants in the genus ''Rhus'' (and related genera) of the cashew and mango tree family, Anacardiaceae. However, it is '' Rhus coriaria ...
is still commonly referred to as " Moroccan leather" in English; books "bound in Moroccan leather" are synonymous with high luxury). The "dirty" industries - tanners, potters, tile-makers, dyers - were set up on the east part of town, on the other side of the Issil river, partly because of the stench, partly because of their need for the river's water. Ali's irrigation system allowed a surfeit of new planted orchards, vineyards and olive gardens, which attracted oil presses and related businesses, set up on the north side of town. Wealthy merchants and courtiers would go on to erect stately city homes, with Andalusian-style inner fountained garden courtyards, the riads for which Marrakesh is famous, and splendid colonnaded villas outside of it. Although the bulk of Almoravid coinage was still struck by the
mint Mint or The Mint may refer to: Plants * Lamiaceae, the mint family ** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint" Coins and collectibles * Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins * Mint condition, a state of like-new ...
s of Sijilmassa and Aghmat, gold
dinar The dinar () is the name of the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, with a more widespread historical use. The English word "dinar" is the transliteration of the Arabic دينار (''dīnār''), which was bor ...
s were struck in Marrakesh already in 1092, announcing its debut as a city. Unlike other Moroccan cities,
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
were not allowed to live within Marrakesh by decree of the Almoravid emir, but Jewish merchants from Aghmat visited Marrakesh routinely, usually via the ''Bab Aylan'' gate and a makeshift Jewish quarter was erected outside the city limits. Intellectual life was more tentative. Although
Malikite The Maliki school or Malikism is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas () in the 8th century. In contrast to the Ahl al-Hadith and Ahl al-Ra'y schools of thought, the Malik ...
jurists and theologians closely connected to the Almoravid court moved to Marrakesh, there were no
madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...
s outside the palace, thus scholars were naturally more attracted to the vibrant intellectual centers of Fez and Cordoba, and even nearby Aghmat and Sijilmassa.Cenival (1913-36: p.298; 2007: p.322) A
leper colony A leper colony, also known by many other names, is an isolated community for the quarantining and treatment of lepers, people suffering from leprosy. '' M. leprae'', the bacterium responsible for leprosy, is believed to have spread from East ...
, the walled village of El Hara, was established then or sometime after, to the northwest of the city. The city's earliest
Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
saint, Yusuf ibn Ali al-Sanhaji ("Sidi Yussef Ben Ali", d.1197) was a leper. Curiously, Marrakesh was originally unenclosed, and the first walls were erected only in the 1120s. Heeding the advice of Abu Walid Ibn Rushd (grandfather of
Averroes Ibn Rushd (14 April 112611 December 1198), archaically Latinization of names, Latinized as Averroes, was an Arab Muslim polymath and Faqīh, jurist from Al-Andalus who wrote about many subjects, including philosophy, theology, medicine, astron ...
), Ali invested 70,000
gold dinar The gold dinar () is an Islamic medieval gold coin first issued in AH 77 (696–697 CE) by Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. The weight of the dinar is 1 mithqal (). The word ''dinar'' comes from the Latin word denarius, which was ...
s into bolstering the city's fortifications as
Ibn Tumart Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad Ibn Tūmart (, ca. 1080–1130) was a Muslim religion, religious scholar, teacher and political leader, from the Sous in southern present-day Morocco. He founded and served as the spiritual and first military leader ...
and the
Almohad The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire 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 became more influential. tall, with twelve gates and numerous towers, the walls were finished just on time for the first attack on the city by the Almohads. The
Almohads The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire 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 ...
were a new religious movement erected by preacher and self-proclaimed ''
Mahdi The Mahdi () is a figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the Eschatology, End of Times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad, and will appear shortly before Jesu ...
''
Ibn Tumart Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad Ibn Tūmart (, ca. 1080–1130) was a Muslim religion, religious scholar, teacher and political leader, from the Sous in southern present-day Morocco. He founded and served as the spiritual and first military leader ...
among the highland
Masmuda The Masmuda (, Berber: ⵉⵎⵙⵎⵓⴷⵏ) is a Berber tribal confederation , one of the largest in the Maghreb, along with the Zenata and the Sanhaja. Today, the Masmuda confederacy largely corresponds to the speakers of the Tashelhit lan ...
of the High Atlas. They descended from the mountains in early 1130 and besieged newly fortified Marrakesh for over a month, until they were defeated by the Almoravids in the great
Battle of al-Buhayra The Battle of al-Buhayra was a battle between the Almoravid and the Almohad armies in May 1130 CE just outside Marrakesh, Morocco. Prelude In the 1121 Ibn Tumart, the founder and ''mahdi'' of the reformist Almohad movement, arrived in Marrak ...
(''al-buhayra'' means 'lake', referring to the irrigatated orchard gardens east of the city, where the battle took place). Nonetheless, the Almoravid victory was short-lived, and the Almohads would reorganize and capture the rest of Morocco, eventually returning to take the final piece, Marrakesh, in 1146. After an eleven-month siege, and a series of inconclusive battles outside the city, in April 1147, the Almohads scaled the walls with ladders, opening the gates of Bab Dukkala and Bab Aylan, seizing the city and hunting down the last Almoravid emir in his palace. The Almohad Caliph
Abd al-Mu'min Abd al-Mu'min (c. 1094–1163) (; full name: ʿAbd al-Muʾmin ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAlwī ibn Yaʿlā al-Kūmī Abū Muḥammad) was a prominent member of the Almohad movement. Although the Almohad movement itself was founded by Ibn Tumart, Abd al-Mu' ...
refused to enter the city because (he claimed) the mosques were oriented incorrectly. The Almohads promptly demolished and razed all the Almoravid mosques so Abd al-Mu'min could make his entry. Only the ablution fountain of '' Koubba Ba'adiyin'' remains of Almoravid architecture today, in addition to city's main walls and gates (though the latter have been modified many times). Although the
Almohad The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire 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 ...
s maintained their spiritual capital at Tinmel, in the High Atlas, they made Marrakesh the new administrative capital of their empire, and erected much monumental architecture. On top of ruins of the Almoravid palace to the west, Abd al-Mu'min erected the (first) Koutoubia Mosque, although he promptly had it torn down shortly after its completion c. 1157 because of an orientation error. The second Koutoubia mosque was probably finished by his son Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur c. 1195, with a grandiose and elaborately adorned
minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...
that dominated the city's skyline. Al-Mansur also built the fortified citadel, the
Kasbah A kasbah (, also ; , , Maghrebi Arabic: ), also spelled qasbah, qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress, most commonly the citadel or fortified quarter of a city. It is also equivalent to the term in Spanish (), which is derived from the same ...
(''qasba''), just south of the city (''medina'') of Marrakesh, with the Bab Agnaou gate connecting them. The Kasbah would serve as the government center of Marrakesh for centuries to come, enclosing the royal palaces, harems, treasuries, armories and barracks. It also included the a main mosque known as the Kasbah Mosque or El Mansouria Mosque (named after its founder) near Bab Agnaou. Nothing, however, remains of the original Almohad palaces or al-Mansur's great
hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...
. The Almohads also expanded the waterworks with a wider irrigation system, introducing open-air canals (''seguias''), bringing water down from the High Atlas mountains through the Haouz plain. These new canals allowed them to establish the magnificent Menara Garden and Agdal Gardens to the west and south of the city respectively. Much of the Almohad architecture in Marrakesh had counterparts in the cities of
Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
(which the Almohads chose as their regional capital in
al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...
) and
Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...
(which they raised from scratch). Artisans who worked on these edifices were drawn from both sides of the
straits A strait is a water body connecting two seas or water basins. The surface water is, for the most part, at the same elevation on both sides and flows through the strait in both directions, even though the topography generally constricts the ...
, and follow similar designs and decorative themes, e.g. the
Giralda The Giralda ( ) is the bell tower of Seville Cathedral in Seville, Spain. It was built as the minaret for the Great Mosque of Seville in al-Andalus, during the reign of the Almohad dynasty, with a Renaissance-style belfry added by the Catholics ...
of Seville and the (unfinished) Hassan Tower of Rabat are usually twinned with Koutobuia. It was also under the Almohads that Marrakesh temporarily surged as an intellectual center, attracting scholars from afar, like
Ibn Tufayl Ibn Ṭufayl ( – 1185) was an Arab Andalusian Muslim polymath: a writer, Islamic philosopher, Islamic theologian, physician, astronomer, and vizier. As a philosopher and novelist, he is most famous for writing the first philosophical no ...
,
Ibn Zuhr Abū Marwān ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Zuhr (), traditionally known by his Latinized name Avenzoar (; 1094–1162), was an Arab physician, surgeon, and poet. He was born at Seville in medieval Andalusia (present-day Spain), was a contemporary of A ...
,
Ibn Rushd Ibn Rushd (14 April 112611 December 1198), archaically Latinized as Averroes, was an Arab Muslim polymath and jurist from Al-Andalus who wrote about many subjects, including philosophy, theology, medicine, astronomy, physics, psychology, math ...
, etc. It was during Almoravid and Almohad times that
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
received its name in foreign sources. Marrakesh was known in western Europe in its
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
ized form "Maroch" or "Marrochio", and the Almohad caliphate was usually referred to in Latin sources as the "Kingdom of Marrakesh" (''Regnum Marrochiorum''). Down to the 19th century, Marrakesh was often called "Morocco city" in foreign sources. The death of Yusuf II in 1224 began a period of instability. Marrakesh became the stronghold of the Almohad tribal sheikhs and the ''ahl ad-dar'' (descendants of Ibn Tumart), who sought to claw power back from the ruling Almohad family (the descendants of Abd al-Mu'min, who had their power base in Seville). Marrakesh was taken, lost and retaken by force multiple times by a stream of caliphs and pretenders. Among the notable events was the brutal seizure of Marrakesh by the Sevillan caliph Abd al-Wahid II al-Ma'mun in 1226, which was followed up by a massacre of the Almohad tribal sheikhs and their families and a public denunciation of Ibn Tumart's doctrines by the caliph from the pulpit of the Kasbah mosque.Cenival (1913-38: p.300; 2007: p.324) After al-Ma'mun's death in 1232, his widow tried to install her son, acquiring the support of the Almohad army chiefs and Spanish mercenaries with the promise to hand Marrakesh over to them for the
sack A sack usually refers to a rectangular-shaped bag. Sack may also refer to: Bags * Flour sack * Gunny sack * Hacky sack, sport * Money sack * Paper sack * Sleeping bag * Stuff sack * Knapsack Other uses * Bed, a slang term * Sack (band), ...
. Hearing of the terms, the people of Marrakesh hurried to strike their own deal with the military captains and saved the city from destruction with a hefty cash payoff of 500,000 dinars.


Regional capital

The internal Almohad struggle led to the loss of
al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...
to Christian
Reconquista The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...
attacks, and the rise of a new dynasty, the Marinids in northeast Morocco. A
Zenata The Zenata (; ) are a group of Berber tribes, historically one of the largest Berber confederations along with the Sanhaja and Masmuda. Their lifestyle was either nomadic or semi-nomadic. Society The 14th-century historiographer Ibn Khaldun repo ...
clan originating from
Ifriqiya Ifriqiya ( '), also known as al-Maghrib al-Adna (), was a medieval historical region comprising today's Tunisia, eastern Algeria, and Tripolitania (roughly western Libya). It included all of what had previously been the Byzantine province of ...
, the Marinids arrived in
Taza Taza () is a city in northern Morocco occupying the corridor between the Rif mountains and Middle Atlas mountains, about 120 km east of Fez and 150 km south of Al Hoceima. It recorded a population of 148,406 in the 2019 Moroccan ...
in the 1210s. The Marinids ascended by sponsoring different Almohad pretenders against each other, while gradually accumulating power and conquering the north for themselves. By the 1260s, the Marinids had reduced the Almohads to the southern districts around Marrakesh. The Marinid emir Abu Yusuf Yaqub laid his first siege of Marrakesh in 1262, but it failed. He thereupon struck a deal with Abu Dabbus, the cousin of the Almohad caliph, to conquer it for them. Abu Dabbus captured Marrakesh in 1266, but refused to hand it over to the Marinids, forcing Abu Yusuf Yaqub to come down and lay siege to it himself. The Marinids finally captured the city in September 1269. The Almohad remnant retreated to the Atlas stronghold of Tinmel and continued putting up resistance until they were finally defeated in 1276. The Marinids decided against moving their court to Marrakesh and instead established their capital at Fez in the north. Toppled from its high perch, Marrakesh ceased to be an imperial capital, and thereafter served merely as a regional capital of the south. It suffered from relative neglect, as the Marinids expended their energies on embellishing Fez and other northern cities. Although the Almohads were extinguished as a political and military force, their old ''
mahdi The Mahdi () is a figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the Eschatology, End of Times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad, and will appear shortly before Jesu ...
st'' religious doctrines lingered, and Marrakesh remained a hotbed of
heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...
in the eyes of the orthodox
Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
Marinids.Julien (1931: p.188); Cornell (1997: p.128) Marinid emir Abu al-Hasan erected a couple of new mosques, notably the Ben Saleh Mosque (1331). Abu al-Hasan also erected Marrakesh's first
madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...
in 1343/9 This was part of a general effort by the Marinids to reimpose Sunnism and restore
Malikite The Maliki school or Malikism is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas () in the 8th century. In contrast to the Ahl al-Hadith and Ahl al-Ra'y schools of thought, the Malik ...
jurisprudence to the position of prominence in Morocco it had previously enjoyed under the Almoravids. Marrakesh did not accept its eclipse gracefully, and repeatedly lent itself as a base for rebellions against the Marinid rulers in Fez. The harbinger was the great 1279 revolt of the Sufyanid Arabs who had recently arrived in the region, which was crushed with difficulty by the Marrakesh governor, Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Muhalli, a Marinid client chieftain. The Marinids subsequently used Marrakesh as a training ground for the heirs to the throne, to hone their governing skills.Cenival (1913-36: p.301; 2007: p.325-6) The use of the title ''khalifa'' ("successor") to denote the office of the governor of Marrakesh, came into usage as a result. But the grandeur of the old imperial capital repeatedly encouraged the young princes to aim higher. The very first trainee, Abu Amir, was barely a year in office before he was encouraged by the Marrakeshis to rebel in 1288 against his father, the emir
Abu Yaqub Yusuf Abu Ya‘qub Yusuf or Yusuf I ( ''Abū Ya‘qūb Yūsuf''; 1135 – 14 October 1184) was the second Almohad ''Amir'' or caliph. He reigned from 1163 until 1184 in Marrakesh. He was responsible for the construction of the Giralda in Seville, whi ...
. After Abu Yaqub's death in 1307, the new Marrakesh governor, Yusuf ibn Abi Iyad, rebelled against his cousin, the Marinid emir Abu Thabit Amir, and declared independence. In 1320, it was the turn of Abu Ali, the son and heir of Abu Sa'id Uthman II, who rebelled and seized Marrakesh. Roles were reversed during the sultanate of
Abu Al-Hasan Ali ibn Othman Abu Al-Hasan 'Ali ibn 'Othman ( – 24 May 1351), () was a sultan of the Marinid dynasty who reigned in Morocco between 1331 and 1348. In 1333 he captured Gibraltar from the Castilians, although a later attempt to take Tarifa in 1339 ended in f ...
, when the heir Abu Inan rebelled in Fez in 1349, and the ruling sultan fled to Marrakesh, and made that his base. Abu Inan's own son and heir, al-Mu'tamid ruled Marrakesh practically independently - or, more accurately, Marrakesh was effectively ruled by Amir ibn Muhammad al-Hintati, the high chief of the
Hintata The Hintata or Hin Tata were a Berbers, Berber tribal confederation belonging to the tribal group Masmuda of the High Atlas, Morocco. They were historically known for their political power in the region of Marrakesh between the twelfth century an ...
of the High Atlas (one of the old Almohad
Masmuda The Masmuda (, Berber: ⵉⵎⵙⵎⵓⴷⵏ) is a Berber tribal confederation , one of the largest in the Maghreb, along with the Zenata and the Sanhaja. Today, the Masmuda confederacy largely corresponds to the speakers of the Tashelhit lan ...
tribes). Al-Hintati dominated the surrounding region, brought the Marinid heir in Marrakesh under his thumb, and arranged a modus vivendi with the sultan Abu Inan. Al-Hintati remained master of the south after the death of Abi Inan in 1358, when the Marinid state fell into chaos, and the power was fought over between a series of palace
vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...
s in Fez. After central powers was recovered by the new Marinid sultan Abd al-Aziz I, al-Hintati went into open rebellion in 1367 but was eventually defeated in 1370 and Marrakesh re-annexed. Chaos returned after the death of Abd al-Aziz I in 1372. The Marinid empire was effectively partitioned in 1374 between Abu al-Abbas ibn Abi Salim in Fez and his cousin Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Ifellusen in Marrakesh. But the two rulers quarreled and by 1382, Abu al-Abbas defeated his rival and reconquered Marrakesh.Julien (1931: p.185) The historical record thereafter is obscure, but it seems after a period of tranquility under Abu Abbas until 1393, Marrakesh and the surrounding region became effectively a semi-independent state in the hands of powerful regional governors (probably Hintata chieftains again), only nominally subject to the Marinid sultan in Fez. In 1415, the Christian
Kingdom of Portugal The Kingdom of Portugal was a Portuguese monarchy, monarchy in the western Iberian Peninsula and the predecessor of the modern Portuguese Republic. Existing to various extents between 1139 and 1910, it was also known as the Kingdom of Portugal a ...
launched a surprise attack and seized Ceuta, the first of a series of incursions by expansionary Portugal into Morocco that would mark much of the next century. Although effectively independent under Hintata emirs, Marrakesh is known to have participated in campaigns led by the sultans of Fez against the Portuguese invaders at
Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain#Autonomous cities, autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta is one of th ...
(1419) and
Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...
(1437). Following the failure to recover Ceuta, the Marinid emir was assassinated in 1420 and Morocco fragmented again. The Wattasids, a related noble family, seized power in Fez and ruled as
regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
s and
vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...
s on behalf of the Marinid child-sultan Abd al-Haqq II, but their authority did not really extend much beyond Fez, and Marrakesh remained virtually independent (certainly after 1430) in the hands of Hintata emirs.
Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
sm had arrived in the Maghreb and local Sufi
marabout In the Muslim world, the marabout () is a Sayyid, descendant of Muhammad (Arabic: سـيّد, Romanization of Arabic, romanized: ''sayyid'' and ''sidi'' in the Maghreb) and a Islam, Muslim religious leader and teacher who historically had the f ...
s arose to fill the vacuum of declining Marinid central power. At least two main branches of Sufi maraboutism can be identified:- the Shadhiliyya (strong in Marrakesh, the Sous, the Rif and Tlemcen), was more radical and oppositional to the established Marinid-Wattasid authorities, while the
Qadiriyya The Qadiriyya () or the Qadiri order () is a Sunni Sufi order (''Tariqa'') founded by Abdul Qadir Gilani (1077–1166, also transliterated ''Jilani''), who was a Hanbali scholar from Gilan, Iran. The order, with its many sub-orders, is widesp ...
(influential in Fez, Touat, Algiers and Bougie) was more moderate and cooperative. Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Jazuli ("Sidi Ben Slimane"), a Sufi Shadhili imam from the
Sous The Sous region (also spelt Sus, Suss, Souss or Sousse) (, ) is a historical, cultural and geographical region of Morocco, which constitutes part of the region administration of Souss-Massa and Guelmim-Oued Noun. The region is known for the en ...
, catapulted to prominence in the mid-15th century. Being a ''
sharif Sharīf or Sherif (, 'noble', 'highborn'), also spelled shareef, feminine sharīfa (), plural ashrāf (), shurafāʾ (), or (in the Maghreb) shurfāʾ, is a title used to designate a person descended, or claiming to be descended, from the fami ...
'' (i.e. a descendant from the family of
Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
), al-Jazuli rode a wave of nostalgia for the 9th-century sharifian Idrisids, whose popular cult had recently been revived, partly as a contradistinction to the unpopular Marinids-Wattasids. In 1458, Marinid emir Abd al-Haqq II finally cleared out his powerful Wattasid viziers, who had dominated the palace of Fez for nearly forty years. The Hintata chiefs of Marrakesh promptly broke off into open revolt and the country took a decided turn towards the Sufi marabouts. It is reported that al-Jazuli, at the head of 13,000 followers from the Sous, crossed over the Atlas and established Sufi '' zawiya'' all over the country, a score of them in Marrakesh alone. The assassination of Imam al-Jazuli in 1465 by Marinid agents led to an uprising in Fez which finally brought the Marinid sultanate to an ignominious end. A new wave of anarchy followed. The prospects of turning Morocco into a Sufi republic was interrupted by the return of the Wattasids, who seized power in Fez by 1472, this time installing themselves as sultans, but they were unable to exert their power much beyond the environs of Fez. The Hintata emirs in Marrakesh were similarly confined, the bulk of the south crumbling into the hands of local Sufi marabouts. The Portuguese availed themselves of the fragmentation to increase their encroachments on Morocco territory, not only in the north (e.g. in Asilah and Tangier, 1471), but also seizing more southerly enclaves, along the Atlantic coast of Morocco, directly threatening the putative kingdom of Marrakesh. The Portuguese established themselves in
Agadir Agadir (, ; ) is a major List of cities in Morocco, city in Morocco, on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean near the foot of the Atlas Mountains, just north of the point where the Sous River, Souss River flows into the ocean, and south of Casabla ...
(''Santa Cruz no Cabo do Gué'') in 1505, Souira Guedima (''Aguz'') in 1507 and Safi (''Safim''), in 1508. They subsequently seized Azemmour (''Azamor'') in 1513 and erected a new fortress nearby at Mazagan (''Magazão'', now al-Jadida) in 1514. From Safi and Azemmour, the Portuguese cultivated the alliance of local Arab and Berber client tribes in the surrounding region, notably a certain powerful Yahya ibn Tafuft. The Portuguese and their allies dispatched armed columns inland, subjugating the region of
Doukkala Doukkala (, ) is a natural region of Morocco made of fertile plains and forests. Nowadays it is part of the Casablanca-Settat administrative region. It is a plain stretching from the Atlantic Ocean south of Sidi Rahal Chatai up to some 50  ...
and soon encroaching on Marrakesh. By 1514, the Portuguese and their clients had reached the outskirts of Marrakesh and forced Nasir ibn Chentaf, the Hintata ruler of the city, to agree to tribute and allow the Portuguese to erect a fortress in Marrakesh.Cenival (1913-36: p.302; 2007: p.326-7) However, the agreement was not carried out, so the next year (1515) the Portuguese and their Moorish allies returned at the head of a strong army, aiming to seize Marrakesh directly, but their army were defeated in the outskirts by a new force that had rather suddenly appeared from the south: the Saadian sharifs.


Saadian capital

The Saadians were a widely respected
sharif Sharīf or Sherif (, 'noble', 'highborn'), also spelled shareef, feminine sharīfa (), plural ashrāf (), shurafāʾ (), or (in the Maghreb) shurfāʾ, is a title used to designate a person descended, or claiming to be descended, from the fami ...
ian family of the
Draa :''Dra is also the abbreviation for the constellation Draco.'' The Draa (, ; also spelled Dra or Drâa, in older sources mostly Darha or Dara, ) is Morocco's longest river, at . It is formed by the confluence of the Dadès River and Imini Ri ...
valley. The head of the family, Abu Abdallah al-Qaim, was invited c. 1509-10 by the Sufi brotherhoods of the
Sous The Sous region (also spelt Sus, Suss, Souss or Sousse) (, ) is a historical, cultural and geographical region of Morocco, which constitutes part of the region administration of Souss-Massa and Guelmim-Oued Noun. The region is known for the en ...
valley to lead their ''
jihad ''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...
'' against the Portuguese intruders. Al-Qaim led a celebrated campaign against the advanced posts of Portuguese Agadir and was soon recognized as leader in
Taroudannt Taroudant (, ) is a city in the Sous in southwestern Morocco. It is situated east of Agadir on the road to Ouarzazate and south of Marrakesh. Today, it is a small market town and a tourist destination. History The Almoravid dynasty, Almoravids o ...
in 1511, receiving the allegiance of the tribes of the Sous. At the invitation of the Haha Berbers of the western High Altas, in 1514, al-Qaim moved to Afughal (near Tamanar), the shrine of the late sharif al-Jazuli and spiritual headquarters of the
Shadhili The Shadhili Order () is a tariqah or Sufi order. The Shadhili order was founded by Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili in the 13th century and is followed by millions of people around the world. Many followers (Arabic ''murids'', "seekers") of the Shadhil ...
branch of the Sufi marabout movement. That same year, al-Qaim's jihad received the blessings (and a white banner) from the Wattasid emir of Fez. From Afughal, al-Qaim and his sons directed operations against Portuguese-held Safi and
Azemmour Azemmour or Azammur () is a Moroccan city, lying at the Atlantic ocean coast, on the left bank of the Oum Er-Rbia River, 75 km southwest of Casablanca. Etymology The word Azemmour comes from the Berber word ''Azemmur'' ("wild olive tree" ...
. Initially poorly armed, the Saadian sharifs' military organization and strength improved with time. It was they who saved Marrakesh from the Portuguese attack of 1515. In 1518, the Sharifians finally defeated and killed the formidable client Yahya ibn Tafuft, soon followed by two of the Portuguese commanders. Via marabout networks among coastal tribes, from the Sous to Rabat, the Sharifians organized permanent, if loose, sieges around the Portuguese fortresses, cutting off their supplies and hampering their military operations. By the 1520s, the Portuguese had lost their sway over the outlying districts and were reduced to their fortresses. Marrakesh, like many other Moroccan cities, suffered greatly during this period, and it is reported that much of the city was depopulated as a result of the famines of 1514 and 1515, provoked by the military disorders in the countryside, the drought of 1517 and a series of failed harvests in 1520, 1521 and 1522. The state of Marrakesh around this time was described by the eyewitness traveller
Leo Africanus Johannes Leo Africanus (born al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Wazzān al-Zayyātī al-Fasī, ; – ) was an Andalusi diplomat and author who is best known for his 1526 book '' Cosmographia et geographia de Affrica'', later publish ...
in his '' Descrittione dell’ Africa''. He notes how "a great part of this city, lies so desolate and void of inhabitants, that a man cannot without great difficulty pass, by reason of the ruins of many houses lying in the way...scarcely is the third part of this city inhabited", and how the grand palaces, gardens, schools and libraries of Marrakesh were "utterly void and desolate", given over to wildlife. Nonetheless, the Saadian Sharifs deployed the organized networks of Sufi brotherhoods of the south to provide widespread food relief, and as a result attracted hungry migrants from the north. This effort elevated the reputation of the Saadians accordingly. Al-Qaim died in 1517, and his son Ahmad al-Araj took over the Saadian leadership. He moved to Marrakesh at the invitation of the Hintata ruler Muhammad ibn Nasir, to better direct operations. Tiring of his host (and father-in-law), al-Araj seized the Kasbah and killed the Hintata emir in 1524. Al-Araj made Marrakesh the new Saadian capital, assigning Taroudannt and the Sous to his younger brother, Muhammad al-Sheikh. It was al-Araj who arranged for the translation of the remains of his father al-Qaim and the imam al-Jazuli from Afughal to Marrakesh. The new Wattasid sultan Ahmad al-Wattasi of Fez was not pleased by the turn of events, and in 1526 led a large army south to conquer Marrakesh. But the effort failed and the Wattasid attacks were repulsed. After an inconclusive battle, they agreed to the 1527 Treaty of Tadla, whereby Morocco was partitioned roughly along the
Oum Er-Rbia River Oum Er-Rbia () is a large, long and high-throughput river in central Morocco. The river is long. With an average water throughput of 105 m3/s, Oum Er-Rbia is the second-largest river in Morocco after the Sebou River. It originates in the M ...
between the Wattasids of Fez in the north and the Saadians of Marrakesh in the south. This arrangement did not last long - the truce broke down in 1530 and again in 1536 and another major battle was fought near Tadla, this time the Saadians coming off the better of it. However, mediation by the Sufi brotherhoods and religious jurists of Fez restored the partition and turned attention back on the Portuguese enclaves. Relations between the Saadian brothers began to splinter shortly after, and in 1540-41 they led two separate sieges - Ahmad al-Araj against Azemmour, Muhammad al-Sheikh against Agadir. Al-Araj's siege failed, but Muhammad al-Sheikh captured Agadir in 1541, an event which provoked Portuguese evacuation elsewhere, and the Saadian recovery of Safi and Azemmour the very next year (1542). The victory elevated the prestige and ambitions of Muhammad al-Sheikh, who promptly challenged and defeated his brother, taking over the leadership of the Sharifian movement, and driving Ahmad al-Araj to exile in Tafilelt. Upon seizing Marrakesh, the autocratic-minded Muhammad al-Sheikh expelled the Sufi sheikhs, his brother's erstwhile allies, from the city. Muhammad al-Sheikh proceeded to invade Wattasid Fez in September 1544/5, defeating and capturing the sultan Ahmad al-Wattasi. But the religious jurists and the
Qadiri The Qadiriyya () or the Qadiri order () is a Sunni Sufi order (''Tariqa'') founded by Abdul Qadir Gilani (1077–1166, also transliterated ''Jilani''), who was a Hanbali scholar from Gilan, Iran. The order, with its many sub-orders, is wides ...
marabouts, strong in Fez, refused him entry into the city. Muhammad al-Sheikh was forced to lay siege and finally conquered the city by force in September 1549. The Saadians proceeded to advance east and annex
Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran and is the capital of Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the port of Rachgoun. It had a population of ...
in 1550. The Saadian success roused the intervention of the Ottoman Turks who had recently established themselves in nearby
Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...
and had been seeking to extend their influence further west. When the Saadian sharif proved deaf to their overtures, the Ottomans threw their considerable weight behind his enemies. With Ottoman assistance, in early 1554, the exiled Wattasid vizier Abu Hassan was installed in Fez. They also persuaded the deposed Saadian brother Ahmad al-Araj to launch a campaign from Tafilalet to recover Marrakesh. Muhammad al-Sheikh rallied and defeated his brother outside of Marrakesh, before turning north and reconquering Fez by September 1554. To keep the Ottomans at bay, the Saadians struck up an alliance with the
Kingdom of Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
in 1555. Nonetheless, Ottoman agents assassinated Muhammad al-Sheikh in 1557. The transition to his son and successor, Abdallah al-Ghalib was not smooth. Ottoman agents intrigued with his brothers - who were driven into exile. The Turks went on the offensive, capturing Tlemcen and invading the Fez valley in 1557. Al-Ghalib only just managed to fend off the Turkish attack at the Battle of Wadi al-Laban in 1558. The vulnerability of Fez to incursions from Ottoman Algeria prompted the Saadians to retain their court in safer Marrakesh rather than relocate to Fez. Thus, after over two centuries of interlude, Marrakesh was restored as the imperial capital of unified Morocco, and Fez demoted to a secondary regional capital of the north. The Saadians faced difficulties legitimizing their rule. As
sharif Sharīf or Sherif (, 'noble', 'highborn'), also spelled shareef, feminine sharīfa (), plural ashrāf (), shurafāʾ (), or (in the Maghreb) shurfāʾ, is a title used to designate a person descended, or claiming to be descended, from the fami ...
s, descendants of Muhammad, they claimed to stand above the ''
ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...
'' (religious jurists) and the Ottoman caliph. But the Saadians had no secure tribal basis, their ascendancy had been consistently opposed by the Maliki religious jurists and the rival Qadiri branch of Sufi marabouts, and many questioned their claims of sharifian ancestry and their jihadist credentials (in light of the Spanish alliance). The Saadians responded to these doubts in "the language of monuments", their showpiece: Marrakesh. Starting with Abdallah al-Ghalib, the Saadians revived and embellished Marrakesh into a magnificent imperial city, a monument unto their own royal majesty, to rival the splendor of Ottoman Constantinople. Their great vanity project was the complete reconstruction of the old Almohad Kasbah as their royal city, with new gardens, palaces, barracks, a refurbished El-Mansuria Mosque and (later) their
necropolis A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...
, the Saadian Tombs on the south side of the mosque. They refurbished the Ben Youssef Mosque and, to raise their own stable of jurists to rival Fez, founded the great new Ben Youssef Madrasa in 1564–65, the largest in the Maghreb at the time (and not a mere refurbishment of the old Marinid madrasa of Abu al-Hasan). The Saadians erected several new mosques, notably the Bab Doukkala Mosque (1557–1571) and the Mouassine or al-Muwassin Mosque (1562–72). The city's layout was redesigned: the city center refocused away from the Ben Youssef Mosque and re-centered at the Koutoubia Mosque further west. The Jewish district (the ''
Mellah A ''mellah'' ( or 'saline area'; and ) is the place of residence historically assigned to Jewish communities in Morocco. The urban ''mellah'', as it exists in numerous cities and large towns, is a Jewish quarter enclosed by a wall and a fortifi ...
'', literally the "salted place") was established c. 1558 just east of the Kasbah. The influx of
Morisco ''Moriscos'' (, ; ; "Moorish") were former Muslims and their descendants whom the Catholic Church and Habsburg Spain commanded to forcibly convert to Christianity or face compulsory exile after Spain outlawed Islam. Spain had a sizeable Mus ...
es, following their
expulsion from Spain Expulsion from Spain may refer to: * Expulsion of Jews from Spain (1492 in Aragon and Castile, 1497–98 in Navarre) * Expulsion of the Moriscos (1609–1614) See also * Forced conversions of Muslims in Spain (1500–1502 in Castile, 1515–16 ...
in the early 17th century led to the establishment of a dedicated quarter of Orgiba Jadida. The Saadians erected pilgrimage shrines to two of the major
Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
saints - the Zawiya of Sidi Ben Slimane al-Jazuli (c. 1554), founder of the 15th-century
Shadhili The Shadhili Order () is a tariqah or Sufi order. The Shadhili order was founded by Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili in the 13th century and is followed by millions of people around the world. Many followers (Arabic ''murids'', "seekers") of the Shadhil ...
Sufi brotherhood whose remains were translated from Afughal, and the Zawiya of Sidi Bel Abbas al-Sabti (c. 1605), the patron saint of Marrakesh (other Sufi shrines were built later, and most were restored or modified several times after this). Following the death of al-Ghalib in 1574, the Saadians entered into a dynastic succession conflict, provoking Portuguese intervention. After a celebrated victory over the Portuguese king at a 1578 battle at
Ksar el-Kebir Ksar el-Kebir (), also known as al-Qasr al-Kabir, is a city in northwestern Morocco, about north of Rabat, east of Larache and south of Tangier. It recorded a population of 126,617 in the 2014 Moroccan census. The name means "the big castle ...
, the new Saadian ruler,
Ahmad al-Mansur Ahmad al-Mansur (; 1549 – 25 August 1603), also known by the nickname al-Dhahabī () was the Saadi Sultanate, Saadi Sultan of Morocco from 1578 to his death in 1603, the sixth and most famous of all rulers of the Saadis. Ahmad al-Mansur was an ...
(r.1578-1603), continued al-Ghalib's building program in Marrakesh, and took Saadian pretensions to a new height, earning him the appellation ''al-Dhahabi'' ("the Golden"). He abandoned the Kasbah and erected a new sumptuous residence for himself, the
El Badi Palace El Badi Palace or Badi' Palace (, also frequently translated as the "Incomparable Palace") is a ruined palace located in Marrakesh, Morocco. It was commissioned by the sultan Ahmad al-Mansur of the Saadian dynasty a few months after his accessio ...
(meaning "the Splendid" or "the Incomparable", an enlarged version of the
Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Muslim world, Islamic world. Additionally, the ...
in Granada). He raised a professional standing army, adopted the
caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...
al title of 'al-Mansur', and emulated the ornate ceremonial magnificence of the Ottoman court (including speaking to courtiers only from behind a curtain). Al-Mansur initially financed his extravagances with the ransoms of Portuguese prisoners and heavy taxation. When these wore out, and the populace began simmering, al-Mansur seized control of the trans-Saharan trade routes and went on to invade and plunder the gold-saturated Sudanese realm of the
Songhai Empire The Songhai Empire was a state located in the western part of the Sahel during the 15th and 16th centuries. At its peak, it was one of the largest African empires in history. The state is known by its historiographical name, derived from its lar ...
in 1590–91, bringing
Timbuktu Timbuktu ( ; ; Koyra Chiini: ; ) is an ancient city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. It is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali, having a population of 32,460 in the 2018 census. ...
and
Djenné Djenné (; also known as Djénné, Jenné, and Jenne) is a Songhai people, Songhai town and Communes of Mali, urban commune in the Inland Niger Delta region of central Mali. The town is the administrative centre of the Djenné Cercle, one of the ...
temporarily into the Moroccan empire. Things soon began to fall apart. A nine-year plague enveloped Morocco in 1598–1607, weakening the country tremendously, and taking al-Mansur in 1603. His successor Abu Faris Abdallah was acclaimed in Marrakesh, but the jurists of Fez elevated his brother Zidan al-Nasir instead. Zidan managed to prevail and entered Marrakesh in 1609. But now another brother, Muhammad al-Sheikh al-Ma'mun revolted in the north, and soon Zidan was reduced to Marrakesh. As Saadian power buckled, Morocco fell into anarchy and fragmented into smaller pieces for much of the next century. Zidan was driven out of Marrakesh by a religious leader, the self-proclaimed ''
mahdi The Mahdi () is a figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the Eschatology, End of Times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad, and will appear shortly before Jesu ...
'' Ahmed ibn Abi Mahalli in 1612, and was restored only in 1614 with the assistance of another religious leader, Yahya ibn Abdallah, a Sufi marabout from the High Atlas, who subsequently tried to exert his own power over the city from 1618 until his death in 1626. Zidan somehow found the time and resources during all this to complete the Saadian Tombs at the Kasbah Mosque. However, there were not enough resources to complete a grand Saadian mosque begun by Ahmed al-Mansur, slated to be called the Jemaa al-Hana ("Mosque of Prosperity"); local people soon began to call the unfinished site the
Jemaa el-Fnaa Jemaa el-Fnaa (), also Jemaa el-Fna, Djema el-Fna or Djemaa el-Fnaa, is a square and market place in Marrakesh's medina quarter (old city). It remains the main square of Marrakesh, used by locals and tourists. Name The origin of its name is uncl ...
(Mosque of the Ruins), what would become the future central square of Marrakesh.Park and Boum (1996: p.240) While the rest of Morocco was parcelled out to other parties, Marrakesh remained practically the sole citadel of a succession of irrelevant Saadian sultans, their small southern dominion extending only from the foot of the High Atlas to the
Bou Regreg The Bou Regreg () is a river located in western Morocco which discharges into the Atlantic Ocean between the cities of Rabat and Salé. The estuary of this river is termed Wadi Sala. The river is 240 kilometres long, with a tidal estuary of ap ...
. The neighboring
middle Atlas The Middle Atlas (Amazigh: ⴰⵟⵍⴰⵚ ⴰⵏⴰⵎⵎⴰⵙ, ''Atlas Anammas'', Arabic: الأطلس المتوسط, ''al-Aṭlas al-Mutawassiṭ'') is a mountain range in Morocco. It is part of the Atlas mountain range, a mountainous regio ...
, Sous and Draa valleys were in the hands of rivals and marabouts, and the Atlantic coast in the hands of various local warlords and companies of Morisco corsairs. In 1659, the Shabana (Chebana, Shibanna, Shbanat), an Arab Bedouin tribe of Hillalian descent, once part of the Saadian army, seized control of Marrakesh and put the last Saadian sultan, Abdul al-Abbas, to death. Their ''qaid'', Abd al-Karim ibn Abu Bakr al-Shbani declared himself the new sultan of Marrakesh.


Alawi city

In the course of the 17th century, the Alawis, another
sharif Sharīf or Sherif (, 'noble', 'highborn'), also spelled shareef, feminine sharīfa (), plural ashrāf (), shurafāʾ (), or (in the Maghreb) shurfāʾ, is a title used to designate a person descended, or claiming to be descended, from the fami ...
ian family, had established themselves in Tafilalet (Sijilmassa region). After the death of the Alawi scion Ali al-Sharif in 1640, his son Muley Muhammad became the head of the family and expanded their dominance locally. Around 1659, one of Muhammed's brothers, Muley al-Rashid was expelled from Tafilalet (or left on his own accord) and proceeded to wander around Morocco, eventually settling in
Taza Taza () is a city in northern Morocco occupying the corridor between the Rif mountains and Middle Atlas mountains, about 120 km east of Fez and 150 km south of Al Hoceima. It recorded a population of 148,406 in the 2019 Moroccan ...
, where he quickly managed to carve out a small fief for himself. Muley Muhammad, who had his own ambitions over the country, confronted his brother, but was defeated and killed outside Taza in 1664. Al-Rashid seized the family dominions of Talifalet and the Draa valley (which Muhammad had conquered in 1660). With these amplified bases, Muley al-Rashid had the wherewithal to launch a campaign of conquest over the rest of Morocco. Al-Rashid started his campaign from Taza in the north and entered Fez in 1666, where he was proclaimed sultan. Two years later, he defeated the Dili marabouts that controlled the Middle Atlas. Muley al-Rashid proceeded south to capture Marrakesh in 1669, massacring the Shabana Arabs in the process. He then proceeded down into the
Sous The Sous region (also spelt Sus, Suss, Souss or Sousse) (, ) is a historical, cultural and geographical region of Morocco, which constitutes part of the region administration of Souss-Massa and Guelmim-Oued Noun. The region is known for the en ...
, conquering it by 1670, thereby reunifying Morocco (save for the coastal areas, which would take a little longer). Al-Rashid is usually credited for the erecting the shrine and mosque of
Qadi Iyad Abū al-Faḍl ʿIyāḍ ibn Mūsā ibn ʿIyāḍ ibn ʿAmr ibn Mūsā ibn ʿIyāḍ ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Mūsā ibn ʿIyāḍ al-Yaḥṣubī al-Sabtī (Camilo Gómez-Rivas, Islamic Legal Thought: A Compendium of Muslim Jurists, ...
("Cadi Ayyad") in Marrakesh, where the remains of his father, Ali al-Sharif, stem of the Alawi dynasty, were translated. Two later Alawi rulers (Moulay Suleiman and Muhammad IV) would choose be buried here as well. On al-Rashid's death in April 1672, Marrakesh refused to swear allegiance to his brother and successor
Ismail Ibn Sharif Moulay Ismail Ibn Sharif (, – 22 March 1727) was a Sultan of Morocco from 1672 to 1727, as the second ruler of the 'Alawi dynasty. He was the seventh son of Sharif ibn Ali, Moulay Sharif and was governor of the province of Fez and the north o ...
, who had served as vice-roy in Fez. Instead, Marrakeshis opted for his nephew Ahmad ibn Muhriz.Cenival (1913-36: p.303; 2007: p.328) Ismail promptly marched south, defeated Ahmad and entered Marrakesh in June 1672. But Ibn Muhriz escaped and fled to the Sous, from whence he would return in 1674, take Marrakesh back and fortify himself there. Ismail was forced to return and lay a two-year siege on the city. Marrakesh finally fell to assault in June 1677, and this time Muley Ismail took his revenge on the city, giving it over to the sack. Ibn Muhriz, however, had escaped to the Sous again and would try a few more times to recover it, until he was finally tracked down and killed in 1687. Ismail's punishment of Marrakesh did not end there. Ismail established his capital at
Meknes Meknes (, ) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th century by the Almoravid dynasty, Almoravids as a military settlement, Mekne ...
, erecting his royal palaces there with materials stripped from the palaces and buildings of Marrakesh. Much of the Kasbah, lovingly built up by the Saadians, was stripped bare and left in ruins, as were most other Saadian palaces in the city. Al-Mansur's great al-Badi palace was practically dismantled and carted off to Meknes, the Abu al-Hasan Madrasa completely so. Nonetheless, Ismail's legacy in Marrakesh was not purely destructive. Ismail translated many tombs of Sufi saints in the region to Marrakesh, and erected several new shrines for them. Seeking to replicate the great pilgrimage festivals of
Essaouira Essaouira ( ; ), known until the 1960s as Mogador (, or ), is a port city in the western Moroccan region of Marrakesh-Safi, on the Atlantic coast. It has 77,966 inhabitants as of 2014. The foundation of the city of Essaouira was the work of t ...
, Ismail requested the Sufi sheikh Abu Ali al-Hassan al-Yusi to select seven of them to serve as the " Seven Saints" (''Sab'atu Rijal'') of Marrakesh, and arranged a new pilgrimage festival. For one week in late March, the pilgrims have to visit all seven shrines in required order (roughly anticlockwise): 1. Yusuf ibn Ali al-Sanhaji ("Sidi Yussef Ben Ali", d.1197), just outside the Bab Aghmat in the southeast, 2.
Qadi Iyad Abū al-Faḍl ʿIyāḍ ibn Mūsā ibn ʿIyāḍ ibn ʿAmr ibn Mūsā ibn ʿIyāḍ ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Mūsā ibn ʿIyāḍ al-Yaḥṣubī al-Sabtī (Camilo Gómez-Rivas, Islamic Legal Thought: A Compendium of Muslim Jurists, ...
("Cadi Ayyad ben Moussa", d.1149), inside the Bab Aylan in the east, 3. Abu al-Abbas al-Sabti ("Sidi Bel Abbes", d.1204), by the Bab Taghzout in the north (note: the pilgrimage route from 2 to 3 passes usually outside the eastern city wall, and re-enters at Bab el-Khemis, in order to touch the shrines of Sidi el-Djebbab and Sidi Ghanem along the way, although they are not part of the Seven); from Bab Tahgzhout, the pilgrimage path heads straight south through the middle of the city, visiting in succession the shrines of 4. Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Jazuli ("Sidi Ben Slimane", d. 1465), just south the previous, 5. Abd al-Aziz al-Tabba ("Sidi Abdel Aziz el-Harrar", 1508), just west of the Ben Youssef Mosque, 6. Abdallah al-Ghazwani ("Sidi Mouley el-Ksour", d.1528), just below the al-Mouassine Mosque then exiting the city again, through the Bab al-Robb gate (west of the Kasbah) to reach the final shrine 7. Abd al-Rahman al-Suhayli ("Sidi es-Souheli", d.1185), outside the city to the southwest. In 1699–1700, Ismail partitioned Morocco into lordships to be governed by his many sons. The experiment did not turn out too well, as several used their fiefs as a basis of revolt. One of these sons, Mulay Muhammed al-Alem, rose up in the Sous and seized Marrakesh, which had to be taken back again. In the aftermath, Ismail canceled the experiment and annexed all the lordships back. Chaos returned after Moulay Ismail's death in 1727, and a succession of Alawi sultans followed by a series of coups and counter-coups, engineered by rival army factions, for the next couple of decades. Marrakesh did not play too much of a role in these palace affairs. Abdallah ibn Ismail seized Marrakesh in 1750, placing it under his son Muhammad as viceroy, who ruled it with remarkable stability while chronic anarchy reigned in the north. In 1752, the army offered Muhammad the crown of the whole in place of Abdallah, but he refused, letting his father reign until his death in 1757. Upon his ascension, Muhammad III ibn Abdallah retained Marrakesh as preferred residence and ''de facto'' capital. Neglected since Ismail's pillaging spree, Muhammad found much of the city, particularly the Kasbah, in ruins and reportedly had to live in his tent when he arrived. But he soon set to work. He rebuilt the Kasbah almost from scratch, erecting the royal palace Dar al-Makhzen (Palais Royal, also known as the Qasr al-Akhdar, or "Green Palace", on account of its internal garden, the Arsat al-Nil, named after the
Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...
) and the Dar al-Baida ("White Palace") nearby, both on the ruins of old Saadian palaces. Muhammad established four estates within Marrakesh for each of his sons, as a gift for when they came of age - the ''arsats'' of al-Mamoun, al-Hassan, Moussa and Abdelsalam. Muhammad III also expanded the walls of Marrakesh the north by the Bab Taghzut, to include the formerly suburban mosque and shrine of patron Sidi Bel Abbas al-Sabti, incorporating it as a new city district. Much of the modern medina of Marrakesh is owed to how Muhammad III re-built it in the late 18th century. Crisis followed Muhammad III's death in 1790. The succession of his son
Yazid Yazīd (, "increasing", "adding more") is an Arabic name and may refer to: Given name * Yazid I (647–683), second Umayyad Caliph upon succeeding his father Muawiyah * Yazid II (687–724), Umayyad caliph * Yazid III (701–744), Umayyad caliph ...
, whose cruel reputation preceded him, was disputed and Marrakeshis instead acclaimed his brother Hisham. Yazid marched on and recovered Marrakesh, putting it through a violent sack, but he was killed by Hisham's counterattack. Fez declined to recognize Hisham, and opted for another brother,
Suleiman Suleiman (; or dictionary.reference.comsuleiman/ref>) is the Arabic name of the Jewish and Quranic king and Islam, Islamic prophet Solomon (name), Solomon. Suleiman the Magnificent (1494–1566) was the longest-reigning sultan of the Ottoman E ...
(or Slimane) while Marrakesh itself divided its loyalties, part of it opting for Hisham, another part acclaiming another brother Hussein. Suleiman bided his time, while Hisham and Hussein fought each other to exhaustion. Marrakesh finally slipped into Suleiman's hands in 1795. The plague hit Marrakesh again in 1799, heavily depopulating the city. Nonetheless, it was maintained by Suleiman as his primary residence and capital. He completely rebuilt the Ben Youssef Mosque, not a trace remaining of its old Almoravid and Almohad design. Driven out of Fez, Suleiman was defeated just outside Marrakesh in 1819, in an uprising by the Cherarda (an Arab Bedouin army tribe from the Gharb), although his person was preserved and delivered safely. After Suleiman's death in 1822, his successor Muley
Abd al-Rahman Abdelrahman or Abd al-Rahman or Abdul Rahman or Abdurrahman or Abdrrahman ( or occasionally ; DMG ''ʿAbd ar-Raḥman'') is a male Arabic Muslim given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' Abd'', ''al-'' and '' ...
reopened trade with foreign nations. Marrakesh hosted numerous foreign embassies seeking out trade treaties with the new Alawi sultan - e.g. Portugal in 1823, Britain in 1824, France and Sardinia in 1825. Abd al-Rahman is principally responsible for reforesting the gardens outside of Marrakesh. The 19th century saw increasing instability and the progressive encroachment of European powers on Morocco. The
French conquest of Algeria The French conquest of Algeria (; ) took place between 1830 and 1903. In 1827, an argument between Hussein Dey, the ruler of the Regency of Algiers, and the French consul (representative), consul escalated into a blockade, following which the Jul ...
began in 1830. Moroccan troops were rushed up to defend
Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran and is the capital of Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the port of Rachgoun. It had a population of ...
, which they considered part of their traditional sphere, but the French captured Tlemcen in 1832 and drove the Moroccans out. Abd al-Rahman supported the continued guerilla resistance in Algeria led by
Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza'iri Abd al-Qadir ibn Muhyi al-Din (6 September 1808 – 26 May 1883; '), known as the Emir Abdelkader or Abd al-Qadir al-Hassani al-Jaza'iri, was an Algerian religious and military leader who led a struggle against the French colonial invasion of ...
. The French attacked Morocco directly in 1844, and forced a humiliating defeat on Abd al-Rahman. By this time, the internal situation in Morocco was already unstable, with army units across the north and east basically ungovernable, famine once again rocked Morocco. Abd al-Rahman's successor, Mohammed IV of Morocco was confronted immediately by the Spanish War of 1859-60 and yet another humiliating treaty. While the sultan was busy dealing with the Spaniards in Ceuta, the Rehamna tribe in the south rebelled and laid a tight siege on the city of Marrakesh, which was broken by Muhammad IV only in 1862. Muhammad IV and his successors Hassan I and Abd al-Aziz moved the court and capital back to Fez, demoting Marrakesh once again to a regional capital under a family ''khalifa''. Nonetheless, Marrakesh was still visited periodically, and numerous new buildings were erected, most notably the late 19th-century palaces of various leading courtiers and officials. The Bahia Palace ("the Brilliant") was built in the 1860s as the residence of Si Musa, a palace slave and grand
vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...
of Muhammad IV and Hassan I. It was used as a residence by Si Musa's son and successor Ahmed ibn Musa ("Ba Ahmed"), who served as the grand vizier of Abd al-Aziz. Other Alawi palaces of this era include the Dar Si Said (now the Museum of Moroccan Art), built by Ba Ahmed's brother, Si Said ibn Musa, the Dar Menebbi (now the Musée de Marrakech) built by the Tangier noble and war minister Mehdi el-Menebbi and the early 20th-century palace of Dar el Glaoui, residence of the pasha
Thami El Glaoui Thami El Glaoui (; 1879–23 January 1956) was the Pasha of Marrakesh from 1912 to 1956. His family name was el Mezouari, from a title given an ancestor by Ismail Ibn Sharif in 1700, while El Glaoui refers to his chieftainship of the Glaoua (Gla ...
. The late 19th century also saw the erection of many new religious buildings, such as the Sufi shrine of Sidi Abd al-Aziz and the mosques of Sidi Ishaq, Darb al-Badi, Darb al-Shtuka, Dar al-Makzhen and Ali ibn Sharif. With the arrival of increasing European influence - cultural as well as political - in the Alawi court in Fez, Marrakesh assumed its role as opposition center to Westernization. Until 1867, individual Europeans were not permitted to enter the city unless they acquired special permission from the sultan. The colonial encroachment had led to a shift in the traditional relationship between the " Makhzen" (Alawi sultan's government) and the semi-autonomous rural tribes. To extract more taxes and troops from them, the Alawi sultan began directly appointing lords (''
qaid Qaid ( ', "commander"; pl. ', or '), also spelled kaid or caïd, is a word meaning "commander" or "leader." It was a title in the Normans, Norman kingdom of Sicily, applied to palatine officials and members of the ''curia'', usually to thos ...
s'') over the tribes - a process that accelerated in the 1870s with the loss of
customs Customs is an authority or Government agency, agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling International trade, the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out ...
revenues in Moroccan ports to colonial powers after 1860. Initially a centralizing move, these appointed qaids, once ensconced in their tribal fiefs, proved to be more difficult to control than the old elected tribal leaders had been. In the late 19th century, Madani al-Glawi ("El Glaoui"), the qaid of
Telouet Telouet Kasbah (Berber languages, Berber: ⵉⵖⵔⵎ ⵏ ⵜⵍⵡⴰⵜ; ; ) is a Kasbah along the former route of the Convoy, caravans from the Sahara over the Atlas Mountains to Marrakech. The kasbah was the seat of the Thami El Glaoui, El Gla ...
, armed with a single 77m
Krupp Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp (formerly Fried. Krupp AG and Friedrich Krupp GmbH), trade name, trading as Krupp, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century as well as Germany's premier weapons manufacturer dur ...
cannon (given to him by sultan Hassan I in 1893), managed to impose his authority over neighboring tribes of the High Atlas and was soon exerting his dominance on the lowlands around the city of Marrakesh, half-in-alliance, half-in-rivalry, with two other great High Atlas qaids, Abd al-Malik al-Mtouggi (al-Mtugi), who held the Atlas range southwest of al-Glawi, and Tayyib al-Goundafi (al-Gundafi), to the northeast of him. The largest regional tribe was the Rehamna, an offshoot of the
Maqil The Banu Ma'qil () is an Arab nomadic tribe that originated in South Arabia. The tribe emigrated to the Maghreb region of North Africa with the Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym tribes in the 11th century. They mainly settled in and around the Saharan ...
Arabs, who held much of the lowland plain of Haouz and the upper Tensift, and constituted as much as a third of the population of Marrakesh itself. The High Atlas lords exerted their influence over the Rehamna tribe via their two major chieftains, the El Glaoui-allied al-Ayadi ibn al-Hashimi and the Mtouggi-allied Abd al-Salam al-Barbushi.


Hafidiya

After the death in May 1900 of the grand vizier Ahmed ibn Musa ("Ba Ahmed"), the empire's true regent, the young Alawi sultan Abd al-Aziz tried to handle matters himself. But the teenage sultan, who preferred to surround himself with European advisors, was unduly susceptible to their influence and soon alienated the population. The country careened into the throes of anarchy, tribal revolts and plots of feudal lords, not to mention European intrigues. Unrest mounted with the devastating famine in 1905–1907, and the humiliating concessions at the 1906
Algeciras Conference The Algeciras Conference of 1906 took place in Algeciras, Spain, and lasted from 16 January to 7 April. The purpose of the conference was to find a solution to the First Moroccan Crisis of 1905 between France and Germany, which arose as Germany ...
. The Marrakesh ''khalifa'' Abd al-Hafid was urged by the powerful southern qaids of the High Atlas to lead a revolt against his brother Abd al-Aziz (then based in Rabat, Fez being divided). The unrest had been accompanied by a spasm of violent
xenophobia Xenophobia (from (), 'strange, foreign, or alien', and (), 'fear') is the fear or dislike of anything that is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression that is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-gr ...
, which saw the lynching of several European residents in Tangier, Casablanca and Marrakesh. Dr. Émile Mauchamp, a French doctor suspected of spying for his country, was murdered in Marrakech by a mob in March 1907. This gave France the pretext for more direct intervention. French troops occupied
Oujda Oujda (, ) is a major city in northeast Morocco near the Algeria–Morocco border, border with Algeria. Oujda is the capital city of the Oriental (Morocco), Oriental region of northeastern Morocco and has a population of 506,224 people (2024 censu ...
in March 1907, and, in August 1907, bombarded and occupied Casablanca. The French intervention pushed the revolt forward, and Marrakeshis acclaimed Abd al-Hafid as the new sultan on 16 August 1907. Alarmed, Abd al-Aziz sought out the assistance from the French in Casablanca, but that only sealed his fate. The
ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...
(religious jurists) of Fez and other cities promptly declared Abd al-Aziz unfit to rule and deposed him permanently by January 1908. In June, Abd al-Hafid personally went to Fez to receive the city. Abd al-Aziz finally reacted, gathered his army and marched on Marrakesh in the summer of 1908. But discontent was rife, and much of his army deserted along the way, with the result that Abd al-Aziz was easily and decisively defeated by the Hafidites in a battle at Bou Ajiba outside Marrakesh on 19 August 1908. Abd al-Aziz fled and abdicated two days later. In reward for their assistance, sultan Abd al-Hafid appointed Madani al-Glawi as his grand
vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...
, and his brother Thami al-Glawi as the ''
pasha Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...
'' (governor) of Marrakesh. Despite his victory, Abd al-Hafid's position was hardly enviable, given the French military and financial noose.
Imperial Germany The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
and
Ottoman Turkey The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Central Euro ...
, interested in increasing their influence, had offered their support to Abd al-Hafid to get rid of the French, but direct French pressure made Abd al-Hafid even more dependent. Foiled, the Germans switched their attentions to the southern Morocco, and cultivated their influence there, striking several informal agreements with various southern lords. Notable among these was the Saharan
marabout In the Muslim world, the marabout () is a Sayyid, descendant of Muhammad (Arabic: سـيّد, Romanization of Arabic, romanized: ''sayyid'' and ''sidi'' in the Maghreb) and a Islam, Muslim religious leader and teacher who historically had the f ...
Ma al-'Aynayn, who had led the anti-French resistance in
Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...
in the early 1900s. He had moved north and was part of the coalition that brought Abd al-Hafid to power in 1909. Encouraged by the Germans, the very next year, al-Aynayn proclaimed his intent to drive the French out of Morocco but he was defeated by French general Moinier at
Tadla Tadla is a historical and geographical region of Morocco, located in the center of the country, north of the High Atlas mountain range and west of the Middle Atlas. It is the region of origin of the eponymous collection of tribal, semi-nomadic p ...
(northeast of Marrakesh) in June 1910 and was forced to retreat to
Tiznit Tiznit or Tiznet (, ) is a town in the west coast of the Moroccan region of Souss-Massa, founded in 1881 by Alawi Sultan Hassan I. It is the capital of Tiznit Province and recorded a population of 74,699 in the 2014 Moroccan census. Internati ...
, in the Souss valley, where he died shortly after. Facing financial difficulties and foreign debt problems, Abd al-Hafid and El Glaoui imposed new heavy taxes, which set the country simmering. In return for a new French loan, Abd al-Hafid was forced to capitulate to the Franco-Moroccan accords in March, 1911, which enlarged the tax and property privileges of French expatriates, ratified French administration of the occupied Oujda and Chaouia regions, and even indemnified them for their military expenses. The accords were received with widespread dismay in Morocco. An uprising in Fez had to be put down with the assistance of French troops and Abd al-Hafid was forced to dismiss the El Glaoui brothers from their posts in June 1911. The entry of French troops alarmed other European powers. Spanish troops quickly expanded their territorial enclave in the north, while Germany dispatched a gunboat to
Agadir Agadir (, ; ) is a major List of cities in Morocco, city in Morocco, on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean near the foot of the Atlas Mountains, just north of the point where the Sous River, Souss River flows into the ocean, and south of Casabla ...
(see
Agadir Crisis The Agadir Crisis, Agadir Incident, or Second Moroccan Crisis, was a brief crisis sparked by the deployment of a substantial force of French troops in the interior of Morocco in July 1911 and the deployment of the German gunboat to Agadir, ...
). At the height of the crisis, the dismissed El Glaoui brothers approached German diplomats in Essaouira offering to detach southern Morocco, with Marrakesh as its capital, and turn it into a separate German protectorate. But the offer was rebuffed, as a French-German accord was about to be signed in November 1911 resolving the Agadir crisis.


French protectorate

The resolution of the Agadir crisis cleared the way for the Treaty of Fez on March 30, 1912, imposing a French Protectorate on Morocco. General
Hubert Lyautey Louis Hubert Gonzalve Lyautey (17 November 1854 – 27 July 1934) was a French Army general and colonial administrator. After serving in Indochina and Madagascar, he became the first French Resident-General in Morocco from 1912 to 1925. In earl ...
was appointed the first French
Resident-General A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of in ...
of Morocco. The news was received with indignation, the Moroccan army mutinied in mid-April and a violent popular uprising in Fez erupted. A new column of French troops managed to occupy Fez in May, but events were already in motion - the tribesmen of the north were set aflame and the French colonial forces were spread out and besieged along the thin line from Casablanca to Oujda. Changing course, the sultan Abd al-Hafid entered into contact with the rebels, prompting the French general Lyautey to force him to abdicate on 11 August, in favor of his more amenable brother,
Yusuf Yusuf ( ') is a male name meaning " God increases" (in piety, power and influence).From the Hebrew יהוה להוסיף ''YHWH Lhosif'' meaning " YHWH will increase/add". It is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew name Yosef and the English na ...
(at the time, the pasha of Fez), who was promptly escorted to the relative safety of
Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...
under French guard. Discontent in the south gathered around Ahmed al-Hiba, nicknamed the "Blue Sultan", son of the late sheikh Maa al-Aynan, whose forces were still gathered at
Tiznit Tiznit or Tiznet (, ) is a town in the west coast of the Moroccan region of Souss-Massa, founded in 1881 by Alawi Sultan Hassan I. It is the capital of Tiznit Province and recorded a population of 74,699 in the 2014 Moroccan census. Internati ...
in the
Sous The Sous region (also spelt Sus, Suss, Souss or Sousse) (, ) is a historical, cultural and geographical region of Morocco, which constitutes part of the region administration of Souss-Massa and Guelmim-Oued Noun. The region is known for the en ...
s valley. Proclaiming the Alawites had failed in their duty, al-Hiba proposed to cross over the Atlas and establish a new southern state based in Marrakesh, from which he would go on to drive the French out of the north. Despite al-Hiba's denunciation of the quasi-feudal system of grand qaids, some of the southern lords, who had previously enjoyed German patronage and balked at the prospect of French-northern dominance, lent their military support to al-Hiba's bid. With the assistance of the qaids Haida ibn Mu'izz of Taroudannt and Abd al-Rahman al-Guellouli of Essaouira, the Hibists quickly gained possession of the
Sous The Sous region (also spelt Sus, Suss, Souss or Sousse) (, ) is a historical, cultural and geographical region of Morocco, which constitutes part of the region administration of Souss-Massa and Guelmim-Oued Noun. The region is known for the en ...
valley and the Haha region. Al-Hiba promptly gathered up his Saharan and Soussian tribesmen and began his march over the High Atlas in July, 1912. Although the High Atlas lords considered stopping him, Hibist fever had gripped the rank-and-file of their tribes, and they did not dare oppose al-Hiba or risk being overthrown themselves. Al-Hiba's passage over the High Atlas was facilitated by the qaid al-Mtouggi. In August, 1912, hearing of the abdication of Abd al-Hafid, al-Hiba declared the throne vacant and was acclaimed by his followers as the new Sultan of Morocco at Chichaoua, in the outskirts of Marrakesh. The Mtouggi-allied pasha of Marrakesh, Driss Mennou handed Marrakesh over to Ahmed al-Hiba on 15 August. The rise of a new sultan in Marrakesh alarmed Lyautey. Although Paris contemplated a power-sharing arrangement that might allow al-Hiba to remain sultan of Marrakesh and the south, Lyautey was sufficiently aware of Moroccan history to consider that unsustainable.Burke (1976: p.204) Lyautey tried what he could to delay al-Hiba's advance and prevent Marrakesh from falling. Through the private channels of the Marrakeshi banker Joshua Corcus, Lyautey entered into communication with the El Glaoui brothers, Madani and Thami. In the political wilderness since their dismissal in early 1911, the El Glaoui brothers sensed their handling of al-Hiba could serve as their ticket back to the top. They were unable to prevent the Hibists from taking Marrakesh and, pressed by them, Thami El Glaoui surrendered five of the six French officials residents in the city over to al-Hiba (retaining one for himself, to serve as a witness of his actions to the French authorities).Abun-Nasr (1987: p.371) Nonetheless, the El Glaoui brothers steadily fed the French authorities updates on the situation in Marrakesh and used their personal influence to lure wavering qaids away from the Hibist cause. Deeming it the priority threat to the French protectorate, Lyautey peeled away French colonial soldiers from their hard-pressed positions in the north to assemble a new column, under the command of Colonel
Charles Mangin Charles Emmanuel Marie Mangin (6 July 1866 – 12 May 1925) was a French general during World War I. Early career Charles Mangin was born on 6 July 1866 in Sarrebourg. After initially failing to gain entrance to Saint-Cyr, he joined the 77th In ...
, and promptly set them out to take Marrakesh. Mangin's column met the Hibist army at Battle of Sidi Bou Othman (6 September 1912). Modern French artillery and machine guns practically massacred al-Hiba's poorly equipped army of partisans. Seeing the writing on the wall, most large lords - al-Mtouggi, Driss Menou, al-Goundafi even Haida al Mu'izz - had switched sides and abandoned al-Hiba, some before the battle, others immediately afterwards. As Mangin approached the city, on 7 September, the qaids, led by El Glaoui, pounced inside it, their loyalists overwhelming the Hibist garrisons, seizing hold of the hostages and driving al-Hiba and his remaining partisans out of Marrakesh. Having restored order inside the city, the qaids allowed the French column under Mangin to enter and take possession of Marrakesh, nominally in the name of sultan Yusuf, on 9 September 1912.
Thami El Glaoui Thami El Glaoui (; 1879–23 January 1956) was the Pasha of Marrakesh from 1912 to 1956. His family name was el Mezouari, from a title given an ancestor by Ismail Ibn Sharif in 1700, while El Glaoui refers to his chieftainship of the Glaoua (Gla ...
was promptly restored to his former position as ''pasha'' of Marrakesh and awarded the
Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
by Lyautey, who visited Marrakesh in October, 1912. The region around Marrakesh was organized as a military district, initially under Mangin, but given the lack of French troops, Lyautey's policy was to rely on the grand qaids - al-Glawi, al-Mtouggi, al-Goundafi, al-Ayadi, Haida, etc. - to hold the south in their name. El Glaoui and al-Goundafi proved their worth almost immediately, invading the Souss and driving the Hibists out of Taroudannt, forcing them up the mountains. Leopold Justinard organized a French column from Marrakesh in 1917 to put an end to the Hibist threat, but they faced such fierce resistance in the mountains, they were unable to make much headway. The Anti-Atlas, as well as other hard-to-access regions, would remain out of French hands for a while. Upon the death of Madani al-Glawi in 1918, Lyautey ignored the opportunity to chop away at the Glawi clan's power, characterized as increasingly tyrannical and unsavory by many other French officials, and instead promoted Thami's bid at the head of the Glawi clan and the undisputed "Lord of the Atlas", above all others. As rival Atlas qaids al-Mtouggi and al-Gundafi faded, Thami El Glaoui's only real challenger was his own rabidly anti-French nephew, Si Hammu, the son of al-Madani, who had inherited the al-Glawi family mountain holdings in
Telouet Telouet Kasbah (Berber languages, Berber: ⵉⵖⵔⵎ ⵏ ⵜⵍⵡⴰⵜ; ; ) is a Kasbah along the former route of the Convoy, caravans from the Sahara over the Atlas Mountains to Marrakech. The kasbah was the seat of the Thami El Glaoui, El Gla ...
and defied all attempts to bring him to heel. As the French authorities deemed Marrakesh and Fez dangerously prone to revolt, the Moroccan capital was moved permanently to
Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...
, leaving Marrakesh in the tight grip of
Thami El Glaoui Thami El Glaoui (; 1879–23 January 1956) was the Pasha of Marrakesh from 1912 to 1956. His family name was el Mezouari, from a title given an ancestor by Ismail Ibn Sharif in 1700, while El Glaoui refers to his chieftainship of the Glaoua (Gla ...
, who remained as pasha of Marrakesh throughout nearly the entire French Protectorate period (1912-1956). El Glaoui collaborated intimately with the French authorities and used his formal power over Marrakesh to acquire vast properties in the city and region, accumulating a personal fortune reportedly greater than the sultan's own. El Glaoui's notorious corruption - he received a cut from practically every business in Marrakesh, including prostitution and drug-trafficking - was tolerated and almost even encouraged by the residents-general, for so long as had his hand in the till, El Glaoui had every incentive to maintain and prolong the state of affairs, making him a dependable client of the French authorities. In 1912, Marrakesh had 75,000 inhabitants, compactly contained in the Medina, the Kasbah and the Mellah, with city life centered around the
Jemaa el-Fnaa Jemaa el-Fnaa (), also Jemaa el-Fna, Djema el-Fna or Djemaa el-Fnaa, is a square and market place in Marrakesh's medina quarter (old city). It remains the main square of Marrakesh, used by locals and tourists. Name The origin of its name is uncl ...
. European colonists soon began arriving in Marrakesh - some 350 had already taken residence in the city by March 1913 - and El Glaoui facilitated their entry with apportionments of land in the area. However, not all European visitors were thrilled.
Edith Wharton Edith Newbold Wharton (; ; January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937) was an American writer and designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of the upper-class New York "aristocracy" to portray, realistically, the lives and morals of the Gil ...
, who visited Marrakesh in 1917 as Lyautey's guest, found the city "dark, fierce and fanatical" and while fond of its fine palaces, denounced the "megalomania of the southern chiefs" of Marrakech. Lyautey had grand plans for urban development, but he also wanted to conserve the artistic heritage and not touch the historic centers of Moroccan cities. The French urban planner Henri Prost arrived in 1914 at Lyautey's invitation, and upon his instructions, set about planning a new modern city in the outskirts of Marrakesh, primarily for French colonists. Taking the Koutoubia mosque and the Jemaa el-Fnaa as the central point for the whole, Prost directed the development of the new city (''ville nouvelle'') at what is now Gueliz in the hills northwest of Marrakesh. The church of St. Anne, the first proper Christian church in Marrakesh, was one of the first buildings erected in Gueliz. Prost laid out a great road from Gueliz to Koutoubia, which became what is now Avenue Muhammad V, entering the Medina by Bab el-Nkob. Development of the new city took place in the 1920s. The
Majorelle Garden The Majorelle Garden (, , ) is a botanical garden and artist's landscape garden in Marrakesh, Morocco. It was created by the French Orientalist artist Jacques Majorelle over almost forty years, starting in 1923, and features a Cubist villa desi ...
in Gueliz was set up by
Jacques Majorelle Jacques Majorelle (7 March 1886 – 14 October 1962), son of the celebrated Art Nouveau furniture designer Louis Majorelle, was a French Painting, painter. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Nancy, France, Nancy in 1901 and later at the A ...
in the late 1920s.Ghachem-Benkirane and Saharoff (1990: p.74) In 1928, south of Gueliz, Henri Prost began laying out the more exclusive quarter of l' Hivernage, destined as a haven for French diplomats and high officials wintering in Marrakesh (hence its name). It was kept separate from Gueliz by the el Harti gardens and a series of sports fields and complexes. Hivernage was laid out in the palm and olive groves along the road (modern Avenue de La Menara) that connected the old city (at Bab al-Jedid) with the Menara Garden in the west. The avenue was set parallel to the High Atlas to maximize the panoramic view of its peaks.Borghi and Camuffo (2010: p.139-49) With the help of the architect Antoine Marchisio, Prost erected the luxurious La Mamounia hotel in 1929, in the gardens of the 18th-century ''arsat'' of al-Mamoun, elegantly melding
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
and Orientalist-Marrakeshi designs.
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
, who first visited Marrakesh in 1935 and stayed at La Mamounia, considered it to be one of the best hotels in the world.Howe (2005: p.46). A
casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...
was soon added. Hivernage, covered by grand villas and hotels, would become a winter destination for many French music-hall celebrities, such as
Maurice Chevalier Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor, and entertainer. He is best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", " Louise", " Mimi", and " Thank Heaven f ...
,
Edith Piaf Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English word , meaning ''wealth'' or ''prosperity'', in combination with the Old English , meaning '' strife'', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian lang ...
and
Josephine Baker Freda Josephine Baker (; June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975), naturalized as Joséphine Baker, was an American and French dancer, singer, and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in France. She was the first Black woman to s ...
, and soon morph into the playground of American and European movie stars and a routine stop for the post-war
jet set The jet set is a social group of wealthy and fashionable people who travel the world to participate in social activities unavailable to ordinary people. The term was introduced in 1949 and replaced " café society"; it reflected a style of life ...
. The old Atlas qaid, Thami El Glaoui welcomed the stream of celebrity guests, hosting parties for them in his palaces that are said to have been dripping with lavish excess. Marrakesh, the launchpad of so many revolts in the past, was kept uncharacteristically subdued under El Glaoui's thumb. It was the north that simmered. The
Rif War The Rif War (, , ) was an armed conflict fought from 1921 to 1926 between Spain (joined by France in 1924) and the Berber tribes of the mountainous Rif region of northern Morocco. Led by Abd el-Krim, the Riffians at first inflicted several ...
that erupted in 1919 in Spanish Morocco soon spilled over into the French Protectorate, threatening Fez. Lyuautey was critical of the counter-insurgency strategy directed by Madrid and Paris, feeling it important to reinforce the sultan's authority through native institutions. Lyautey resigned in 1925, and was replaced by a series of more conventional residents-general. Sultan Youssef died in 1927, and was succeeded by his son
Mohammed V of Morocco Mohammed al-Khamis bin Yusef bin Hassan al-Alawi, better known simply as Mohammed V (10 August 1909 – 26 February 1961), was the last Sultan of Morocco from 1927 to 1953 and from 1955 to 1957, and first King of Morocco from 1957 to 1961. A ...
. Thami El Glaoui had a critical role in this selection, and maintained his absolute control over Marrakesh, which was now nominally under a new ''khalifa'' Moulay Driss, the eldest son of Youssef. Young and powerless, Muhammad V offered little resistance to the French protectorate authorities at first. He put his signature to the notorious 1930 '' Dahir'', separating
Berbers Berbers, or the Berber peoples, also known as Amazigh or Imazighen, are a diverse grouping of distinct ethnic groups indigenous to North Africa who predate the arrival of Arab migrations to the Maghreb, Arabs in the Maghreb. Their main connec ...
from
Arabs Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...
, and placing the former under the jurisdiction of French courts. This led to an eruption of anti-French nationalist feeling and led to the establishment of the Hizb el-Watani (Parti National) by young nationalist leaders like Allal al-Fassi, with cells in various cities, including Marrakesh. After riots in
Meknes Meknes (, ) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th century by the Almoravid dynasty, Almoravids as a military settlement, Mekne ...
in 1937, French authorities cracked down on the incipient nationalist movements and exiled their leaders. This period coincided with a series of French military campaigns that finally subdued lingering resistance in the farther corners and highlands of Morocco - the Middle Atlas (1931), the Tafilalet (1932), the Jebal Saghro (1933–34) and finally the Anti-Atlas (1934) were subjugated by French military campaigns. With the
fall of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Net ...
in 1940, during World War II, the French Protectorate of Morocco came under the jurisdiction of the
Vichy regime Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the defeat against ...
, which installed its own residents-general. The sultan Muhammad V was not inclined to his new masters. Although generally powerless, the sultan refused Vichy demands when he could, including reportedly rejecting Vichy demands in 1941 to pass anti-Jewish legislation, claiming them inconsistent with Moroccan law. Muhammad V welcomed the November 1942 Allied landings in Morocco, refusing Vichy instructions to move his court inland. Muhammad V hosted the Allied leaders Winston Churchill and
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
at the
Casablanca Conference The Casablanca Conference (codenamed SYMBOL) or Anfa Conference was held in Casablanca, French Morocco, from January 14 to 24, 1943, to plan the Allies of World War II, Allied European strategy for the next phase of World War II. The main disc ...
in January 1943, in the course of which Churchill lured Roosevelt on a side excursion to Marrakesh.Ghachem-Benkirane and Saharoff (1990: p.76) The Allied presence in Morocco encouraged the nationalist movements, who were brought under a new umbrella party, '' Hizb al-Istiqlāl'' (Independence Party) in 1943. However, an Istiqlal petition to the Allied powers requesting a commitment to post-war independence for Morocco was used by the Free French authorities to crack down on Istiqlal in 1944. The French swept up and arrested its leaders on trumped-up charges of helping the German war effort, provoking a wave of demonstrations in various cities which were violently suppressed. In 1946, the new resident-general Eirik Labonne, reversed course, released political prisoners, and sought an accommodation with the nationalist parties. In 1947, Muhammad V made a journey to International-controlled
Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...
, where he delivered a famous speech omitting any mention of the French, widely interpreted as expressing his desire for independence and aligning his objectives with that of Istiqlal. This infuriated the pasha of Marrakesh, Thami El Gouali, who declared Muhammad V unfit to rule. Intriguing with the French general Augustin Guillaume, the new resident general since 1951, Thami El Glaoui engineered the deposition and exile of Muhammad V on 13 August 1953, replacing him with his uncle Mohammed ibn Arafa. Nationalists fled into the Spanish zone, and a
guerrilla war Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrorism ...
over the border into the French zone began soon after, encouraged by the
Algerian War The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...
that had erupted next door. At length, El Glaoui changed his mind, and in October 1954, declared that Muhammad V ought to be reinstated. Despite vigorous opposition from the French ''colons'' in Morocco, the French government, facing deepening crises elsewhere overseas, finally agreed and signed the accords of
La Celle-Saint-Cloud La Celle-Saint-Cloud () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in Northern France. It is a western outer suburb of Paris, from its centre, on the departmental border with Hauts-de-Seine. In 2021, it had a popula ...
in November 1955. The restored Muhammad V returned to Morocco that same month, where he was received with near-hysterical joy. On March 2, 1956, France officially cancelled the 1912 treaty of Fez (Spain cancelled her own treaty a month later), and Morocco recovered her independence. Thami El Glaoui, long-time pillar and symbol of the French colonial order, had died only a few months earlier, bringing an end to his despotic rule over Marrakesh.


Modern times

Following the death of El Glaoui in 1956, his vast family properties in and around Marrakesh were seized by the Moroccan state. The urban development of Marrakesh continued primarily to the west. The modern downtown has been built primarily along Avenue Muhammad V connecting the Medina with Gueliz, with the town hall, banks, and major commercial buildings concentrated there, while Hivernage has sprouted ever more hotels and apartment complexes, displacing the exclusive luxury villas to the Palmerie east of the city. The Dar al-Makhzen (Palais Royal) in the Kasbah, profoundly overhauled by King
Hassan II of Morocco Hassan II (; 9 July 1929 – 23 July 1999) was King of Morocco from 1961 until his death in 1999. A member of the Alawi dynasty, he was the eldest son of King Mohammed V of Morocco, Mohammed V, and his second wife Princess Lalla Abla ...
, continues to serve as a secondary royal residence. The Mellah, heavily depleted of its Jewish population since the mass emigration of
Moroccan Jews Moroccan Jews (; ; ) are Jews who live in or are from Morocco. Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community dating to Roman Empire, Roman times. Jews began immigrating to the region as early as 70 CE. They were much later met by a second wave o ...
to
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
after 1948 or to booming districts elsewhere (esp.
Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...
), has become less distinct from the rest of the Medina. Since independence, it has become commonplace to hear that while
Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...
may be the political capital,
Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...
the economic capital, Fez the intellectual or traditional capital, Marrakesh remains the cultural and tourist capital of Morocco. Marrakesh certainly continued to thrive as a tourist destination, initially as a luxury wintering spot for wealthy Westerners, but soon drawing a wider clientele. The city became a trendy location to visit for
hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...
s in the 1960s, a "hippie mecca", attracting numerous western rock stars and musicians, artists, film directors and actors, models, and fashion divas. Tourism revenues doubled in Morocco between 1965 and 1970. Yves Saint Laurent,
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
, The Stones and Jean-Paul Getty all spent significant time in the city; Laurent bought a property here and renovated the Majorelle Gardens. Due to the large number of American drifters arriving in Morocco and visiting Marrakech in the early 1970s, Moroccans were growing increasingly discontent that their country was being used as a "sort of countercultural waterhole". A 1973 article in ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...
'' reported that a crackdown by the Moroccan authorities had begun on westerners with long hair. By the mid-1970s, the dope colony which had formed in Morocco had been cleared out. Expatriates with stylistic aspirations, especially from France, have poured investment into the city since this period, and developed many of the '' riads'' and palaces. Old buildings were renovated in the Old Medina, new residences and commuter villages were built in the suburbs, and new hotels began to spring up.
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
agencies became active in Marrakech from the 1970s and its political presence internationally has grown with it. In 1982,
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
declared the old town area of Marrakech a
UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
, raising international awareness of the cultural heritage of the city. In the 1980s, Patrick Guerand-Hermes purchased the 30-acre Ain el Quassimou, built by the Tolstoy family; which is now part of Polo Club de la Palmarie. On April 15, 1994, the Marrakech Agreement was signed here which established the
World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...
, and in March 1997, the
World Water Council The World Water Council (WWC), also known as the Conseil Mondial de l'Eau (CME), is an international think tank. It was founded in 1996, with its headquarters in Marseille, France. It has 358 members (as of February 2020) which encompass organiza ...
organized its First World Water Forum in Marrakech, attended by some 500 people internationally. In the 21st century property and real estate development in the city has boomed, with a dramatic increase of new hotels and shopping centres, fuelled by the policies of the Moroccan King
Mohammed VI of Morocco Mohammed VI (; born 21 August 1963) is King of Morocco. A member of the Alawi dynasty, he acceded to the throne on 23 July 1999, upon the death of his father, King Hassan II. Upon ascending to the throne, Mohammed initially introduced severa ...
who has the goal of increasing the number of tourists visiting Morocco to 20 million a year by 2020. In 2010 a major gas explosion occurred in the city. On April 28, 2011, a bomb attack took place in the Djemaa el-Fna square of the old city, killing 15 people, mainly foreigners. The blast destroyed the nearby Argana Cafe. From November 7 to 18, 2016, the city of Marrakesh was host to the meeting of
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the UN process for negotiating an agreement to limit dangerous climate change. It is an international treaty among countries to combat "dangerous human interference with th ...
(UNFCCC), known as the 22nd Session of the Conference of the Parties, or COP 22. Also known as 2016 United Nations Climate Change Conference it also served as the first meeting of the governing body of the
Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement (also called the Paris Accords or Paris Climate Accords) is an international treaty on climate change that was signed in 2016. The treaty covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance. The Paris Agreement was ...
, known by the acronym CMA1. The UNFCCC secretariat (UN Climate Change) was established in 1992 when countries adopted the UNFCCC. In recent years, the secretariat also supports the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action, agreed by governments to signal that successful climate action requires strong support from a wide range of actors, including regions, cities, business, investors and all parts of civil society. Commencing six months ahead of the start of the UN Climate Change Conference in Marrakesh, construction work at the Bab Ighli site was launched. The site was composed of two zones. The “Blue Zone”, placed under the authority of the United Nations, and spanning 154,000 m2 and consisting notably of two plenary rooms, 30 conference and meeting rooms for negotiators and 10 meeting rooms reserved for observers. The second zone, the "Green Zone", was reserved for non-state actors, NGOs, private companies, state institutions and organizations, and local authorities within two areas (“civil society” and “innovations”) each measuring 12,000 m2. The area will also include spaces dedicated to exhibitions and restaurants. The total surface of the Bab Ighli site will be 223,647 m2 (more than 80,000 m2 covered by a roof). Content is copied from this source, which is © 2019 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Reuse is authorised, provided the source is acknowledged.


See also

* Landmarks of Marrakesh * Timeline of Marrakesh


Notes


Works cited

* * * * * *


References

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* Bloom, J.M. and S.S. Blair editors, 2009, ''The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture''. Oxford: Oxford University Press
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* Borghi, Rachele and Monica Camuffo (2010) "Differencity: postcolonalism e construzione della identita urbane" in P. Barberi, editor, ''È successo qualcosa alla città. Manuale di antropologia urbana'' Rome: Donzell
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* Burke, Edmund (1976) ''Prelude to Protectorate in Morocco: Pre-colonial protest and resistance, 1860-1912''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. * Casamar Pérez, Manuel (1992) "The Almoravids and the Almohads: An introduction" in J.D. Dodds, editor, ''Al-Andalus: The Art of Islamic Spain''. New York: Metropolitan Museum
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* Cenival, Pierre de (1913-36) "Marrakush" in T. Houtsma, editor, ''The Encyclopedia of Islam: a dictionary of the geography, ethnogropy and biography of the Mohammaden peoples''. Reprinted 1987 as ''E.J. Brill's Encyclopedia of Islam'', Leiden: E.J. Brill., vol.
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* Cenival Pierre de (2007) "Marrakesh", new edition of 1913-36 article, in C.E. Bosworth, editor,''Historic Cities of the Islamic World'', Leiden: Brill p.319-3
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* Cornell, V.J. (1998) ''Realm of the Saint: Power and Authority in Moroccan Sufism''. Austin: University of Texas Press. * Cornet, C.J.A. (1914) ''A la conquête du Maroc Sud avec la colonne Mangin, 1912-1913''. Paris: Plon-Nourit
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* El Glaoui, Abdessadeq (2004) ''Le Ralliement: le Glaoui, mon père, récit et témoignage'' 2nd edition, Rabat: Marsa
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* Ewert, Christian (1992) "The Architectural Heritage of Islamic Spain in North Africa", in J.D. Dodds, editor, ''Al-Andalus: The Art of Islamic Spain''. New York: Metropolitan Museum
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* Funck-Brentano, C. (1913-136) "Al-Mansur, Ahmad b. Muhammad" in T. Houtsma, editor, ''The Encyclopedia of Islam: a dictionary of the geography, ethnogropy and biography of the Mohammaden peoples''. Reprinted 1987 as ''E.J. Brill's Encyclopedia of Islam'', Leiden: E.J. Brill., vol.
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* Ghachem-Benkirane, N. and P. Saharoff (1990) ''Marrakech: demeures et jardins secrets'' Paris: AC
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* Gottreich, Emily (2007). ''The Mellah of Marrakesh: Jewish And Muslim Space in Morocco's Red City''. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. * Hoisington, William A. (1995) ''Lyautey and the French Conquest of Morocco''. New York: St. Martin's. * Hoisington, William A. (2005) ''The Assassination of Jacques Lemaigre Dubreuil: A Frenchman between France and North Africa''. Abingdon, Oxford: Routledge-Curzon
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* Howe, Marvine (2005) ''Morocco: The Islamist Awakening and Other Challenges''. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. * Katz, Jonathan Glustrom (2006) ''Murder in Marrakesh: Émile Mauchamp and the French Colonial Adventure'' Bloomington: Indiana University Pres
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* Julien, Charles-André. (1931) ''Histoire de l'Afrique du Nord, vol. 2 - De la conquête arabe à 1830'', 1961 edition, Paris: Payot * Lamzah, Assia (2008) "The Impact of the French Protectorate on Cultural Heritage Management in Morocco: The Case of Marrakesh", Ph.D dissertation, Urbana: University of Illinois
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* Larui, A. (1985) "African initiatives and resistance in North Africa and the Sahara", in Adu Boahen, editor, ''Africa Under Colonial Domination, 1880-1935''. Paris: UNESCO, pp. 87–113. * Levi-Provençal, E. (1913–36) "Maghrawa" in T. Houtsma, editor, ''Encyclopedia of Islam''. Leiden: Brill. 1987 edition, vol. 5
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* Levtzion, N. (1977) "The western Maghreb and Sudan" in R. Oliver, editor, Cambridge History of Africa. v.3, c. 1050-c. 1600. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 331-462 * Levtzion, N. and J.F.P. Hopkins, editors, (1981) ''Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History''. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 2000 reprint, Princeton: Markus Wiener. * Maxwell, Gavin (1966) ''Lords of the Atlas: the rise and fall of the House of Glaoua, 1893-1956''. New York: Century * McKenna, Amy, editor, (2010) ''The History of Northern Africa''. New York: Britannica Educational Publishin
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* Meakin, Budgett (1901) ''The Land of the Moors: a comprehensive description''. London: Swan Sonnenschein
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* Messier, Ronald A. (2010) ''The Almoravids and the Meanings of Jihad''. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Praeger. * Montalbano, Calogero (2008) "Dar al-Ma: the Architecture of Water in the Islamic world", in S.K. Jayyusi et al., editors, ''The City in the Islamic World, vol. 2'', Leiden: Brill, pp. 679–730. * Park, T.K. and A. Boum (1996) ''Historical Dictionary of Morocco'', Lanham, Md: Scarecrow * Paiva Manso, Levy Maria Jordão, Visconde de (1872) ''Historia Ecclesiastica Ultramarina''. Lisbon: Imprensa Nacional
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* Pennell, C. (2000) ''Morocco since 1830: a history''. New York: New York University Press. * Porch, Douglas (1982) ''The Conquest of Morocco''. 2005 edition, New York: Farrar Straus and Giraux
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* Rogerson, Barnaby (2000) ''Marrakesh, Fez Rabat'' London: Cardoga
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* Rogerson, Barnaby (2009) ''The Last Crusaders: East, West and the Battle for the Center of the World''. Boston: Little Brown. * Sales, Ros (2007) ''Time Out Marrakech, Essaouira & the High Atlas''. London: Time out Guides
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* Van Hulle, Jean-Claude (1994) ''Bienvenue à Marrakech''. Paris: ACR
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* Waterbury, John (1970) ''Commander of the Faithful: the Moroccan political elite - a study in segmented politics''. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. * Wilbaux, Quentin et al. (1999) ''Marrakesh: The Secret of Its Courtyard Houses'' Paris: ACR
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External links

* *
Map of Marrakesh
1868 ''Bulletin de la société de géographie'' Gallica, BnF, Paris. {{Marrakesh Marrakesh
Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...