Bab Segma () was a former

Marinid The Marinid Sultanate was a Berber Muslim empire from the mid-13th to the 15th century which controlled present-day Morocco and, intermittently, other parts of North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia) and of the southern Iberian Peninsula (Spain) a ...

gate A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word derived from old Norse "gat" meaning road or path; But other terms include ''yett and port''. The concept originally referred to the gap or hole in the wall ...

Fes Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.11 mi ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. It was located north of Fes el-Jdid and was built in 1286 as a part of the Marinid royal gardens located there. The towers of the gate are still visible today and the name of the gate is still used as a

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

in the area.

History

This gate was located in the area between what is now the

Kasbah Cherarda Kasbah Cherarda () is a kasbah in the city of Fez, Morocco, located on the northern outskirts of Fes el-Jdid. It was initially referred to as Kasbah el-Khemis, the "Thursday Fort" ( ar, قصبة الخمس) as there was an open market held every ...

and the walls of the New Mechouar. It is still marked by two massive octagonal towers dating from the Marinid period (with subsequent remodeling). These two octagonal towers are believed to have been part of an entrance to the Mosara Garden, a vast Marinid royal garden created in 1287 by

Abu Ya'qub 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, whic ...

to the north of Fes el-Jdid. The gardens were enclosed by their own walls and were supplied with water via a raised aqueduct that ran between

Bab Dekkakin Bab Dekkakin or Bab Dekakene () is a fortified and ceremonial gate in Fes, Morocco. The gate is situated between the Old Mechouar (or ''Vieux Méchouar'') and the New Mechouar (or ''Nouveau Méchouar'') on the northern edge of Fes el-Jdid. ...

and Bab Segma. The aqueduct passed inside the octagonal towers before turning towards the interior of the gardens; rectangular openings in the mid-upper parts of the towers today show where the aqueduct once passed. The gardens fell into disuse and disappeared after the Marinid period, leaving only the towers of Bab Segma and a few other traces nearby. In the 17th century the

Alaouite The Alawi dynasty ( ar, سلالة العلويين الفيلاليين, translit=sulālat al-ʿalawiyyīn al-fīlāliyyīn) – also rendered in English as Alaouite, Alawid, or Alawite – is the current Moroccan royal family and reigning d ...

sultan Moulay Rashid built the Kasbah Cherarda on the gate's northwest side. It is believed that for a time a covered passage ran on top of the old aqueduct connecting Bab Dekkakin with the Kasbah; the semi-circular outline of a vaulted roof is still visible above the former path of the aqueduct and likely corresponds to this passage. The name "Bab Segma" later came from a pious woman called Amina Sagma who was buried here in 1737, and has remained as a

in the area sometimes applied to the nearby Bab Kbibat es-Smen gate. The latter was built in 1886 as the northern entrance to the New Mechouar; though another source gives its name as Bab Moussiki. The nearby cemetery to the north of Fes el-Jdid is also typically referred to as the "Bab Segma Cemetery".

References

{{Morocco-struct-stub Gates of Fez, Morocco category:Marinid architecture