Kalaat Sraghna (

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 ...

: ⵇⵍⵄⵜ ⵙⵔⴰⵖⵏⵙ, ar, قلعة السراغنة, qalʿat as-sarāḡina, sometimes spelled El Kelaa des Srarhna) is a town in central Morocco. The economy of the town is mostly based on agriculture, the growing of olive trees being predominant.

History

According to some historical references, the Alaouite Sultan Moulay Ismail established the city, Kelaat Sraghnas in the 17th century. The Sultan had aimed to found citadels and Quasbas to control the movements of mountainous tribes. Other references state that the existence of the city refers to the period of the

Almoravids The Almoravid dynasty ( ar, المرابطون, translit=Al-Murābiṭūn, lit=those from the ribats) was an imperial Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire in the 11th century that ...

. According to other sources, the city was known as the Arabs designations such as "Gaynou" Lagrare, and it was founded by the Almoravids as a project to monitor the road between

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 ...

and

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...

, to populate the area and fight against Berghouata’s heresy. Nevertheless, some manuscripts cite evidence that

Saadian The Saadi Sultanate (also rendered in English as Sa'di, Sa'did, Sa'dian, or Saadian; ar, السعديون, translit=as-saʿdiyyūn) was a state which ruled present-day Morocco and parts of West Africa in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was l ...

Dynasty founded the city in the late the sixteenth century and it was known as the designation "Kelaat Lagrare".

Climate

El Kelaa des Sraghna has a

hot semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

( Köppen climate classification ''BSh'').

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:El Kelaa Des Sraghna Populated places in El Kelâat Es-Sraghna Province Municipalities of Morocco El Kelaa des Sraghna