Rabat (,
also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...
city of
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 A ...
and the
country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014)
and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. It is also the capital city of the
Rabat-Salé-Kénitra
Rabat-Salé-Kénitra ( ar, الرباط-سلا-القنيطرة, ar-ribāṭ salā al-qunayṭira; ber, ⴻⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ-ⵙⵍⴰ-ⵇⵏⵉⵟⵔⴰ, eṛṛbaṭ sla qniṭra) is one of the twelve administrative regions of Morocco. It is ...
administrative region.
Rabat is located on the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
at the mouth of the river
Bou Regreg
The Bou Regreg ( ar, أبو رقراق) is a river located in western Morocco which discharges to 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 t ...
, opposite
Salé
Salé ( ar, سلا, salā, ; ber, ⵙⵍⴰ, sla) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the right bank of the Bou Regreg river, opposite the national capital Rabat, for which it serves as a commuter town. Founded in about 1030 by the Banu Ifran, ...
, the city's main
commuter town
A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many ...
.
Rabat was founded in the 12th century by
Almohads
The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the unity of God) was a North African Berber Muslim empire ...
. The city steadily grew but went into an extended period of decline following the collapse of the Almohads. In the 17th century Rabat became a haven for
Barbary pirates
The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli. This area was known in Europe ...
. The French established a
protectorate over Morocco in 1912 and made Rabat its administrative center. Morocco achieved independence in 1955 and Rabat became its capital.
Rabat,
Temara
Temara ( ar, تمارة; ber, ⵜⵎⴰⵔⴰ) is a coastal city in Morocco.Location information.
It is located in the region of Rabat-Salé-Kénitra, directly south of Rabat on the Atlantic coast, in the suburban area of the capital. The city ...
, and Salé form a
conurbation
A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most cas ...
of over 1.8 million people.
Silt-related problems have diminished Rabat's role as a
port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...
; however, Rabat, and Salé still maintain important
textile
Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, different #Fabric, fabric types, etc. At f ...
,
food processing
Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into food, or of one form of food into other forms. Food processing includes many forms of processing foods, from grinding grain to make raw flour to home cooking to complex in ...
and
construction
Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and ...
industries. In addition, tourism and the presence of all foreign
embassies
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...
in Morocco serve to make Rabat one of the most important cities in the country. The Moroccan capital was ranked at second place by
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
in its "Top Travel Destinations of 2013". It is one of four
Imperial cities of Morocco
The Imperial Cities of Morocco are the four historical capital cities of Morocco: Fez, Marrakesh, Meknes and Rabat.
Rabat is the current capital of Morocco.
Fez
Founded by Idris I between 789 and 808, the town of Fez was the capital city sever ...
, and the medina of Rabat is listed as a
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
. Rabat is accessible by train through the
ONCF
ONCF (from French: ''Office National des Chemins de Fer''; ar, المكتب الوطني للسكك الحديدية ''Al-Maktab al-Waṭaniy lil-Sikak al-Ḥadīdiyyah''; ''Moroccan National Railways Office'') is Morocco's national railway op ...
system and by plane through the nearby
Rabat–Salé Airport
Salé Airport or Rabat–Salé Airport is an international airport located in the city of Salé, also serving Rabat, the capital city of Morocco and of the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region. It is a joint use public and military airport, also hostin ...
.
Etymology
The name Rabat comes from the
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
word (''er-Ribât'') meaning ''the
ribat
A ribāṭ ( ar, رِبَـاط; hospice, hostel, base or retreat) is an Arabic term for a small fortification built along a frontier during the first years of the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb to house military volunteers, called ''murabitun'' ...
'', an Islamic base or fortification. This name is short for (''Ribâtu l-Feth'') meaning ''the ribat of
conquest
Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms.
Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, ...
'' or ''stronghold of victory''—a title given by the
Almohads
The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the unity of God) was a North African Berber Muslim empire ...
when they established the city as a
naval base
A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that u ...
in 1170.
History
Ancient ''Sala''
In the first millennium BC the
Phoenicia
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...
ns founded several trading colonies along the Atlantic coast of what is now Morocco, but the existence of a
Phoenicia
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...
n settlement in the area, called ''Sala'' or ''Shallat'', has been debated by archeologists.
By the first century BC the local inhabitants were still writing in the neo-Punic language, but the region came under the influence of
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
.
It was controlled by the ancient
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 (1913–19 ...
Mauretanian Kingdom
Mauretania (; ) is the Latin name for a region in the ancient Maghreb. It stretched from central present-day Algeria westwards to the Atlantic, covering northern present-day Morocco, and southward to the Atlas Mountains. Its native inhabitants ...
until it was formally annexed by Rome in the first century BC.
On the site now known as
Chellah
The Chellah or Shalla ( ber, script=Latn, Sla or ; ar, شالة), is a medieval fortified Muslim necropolis and ancient archeological site in Rabat, Morocco, located on the south (left) side of the Bou Regreg estuary. The earliest evidence of t ...
, just south of the walled city today, the Romans built a city named ''Sala Colonia''. Excavations have revealed that older Mauretanian structures existed on the site before Roman structures were built over them.
Along with
Lixus Lixus may refer to:
* ''lixus'', the Latin word for "boiled"
* Lixus (ancient city) in Morocco
* ''Lixus (beetle)'', a genus of true weevils
* Lixus, one of the sons of Aegyptus and Caliadne
Caliadne (; Ancient Greek: Καλιάδνης ) or Cali ...
, Sala Colonia was one of the two main naval outposts held by the Romans on the Atlantic coast of the ''
Mauretania Tingitana
Mauretania Tingitana ( Latin for "Tangerine Mauretania") was a Roman province, coinciding roughly with the northern part of present-day Morocco. The territory stretched from the northern peninsula opposite Gibraltar, to Sala Colonia (or Chel ...
'' province. The port of Sala (now disappeared) was used by commercial Roman ships as a way station on their southwestward passages to
Anfa
Anfa (Berber language: ''Anfa'' or ''Anaffa'', ⴰⵏⴼⴰ; ar, أنفا; es, Anafe; pt, Anafé) was the ancient toponym for Casablanca during the classical period. The city was founded by Berbers around the 10th century BC, with the Romans un ...
and the ''Insula Purpuraria'' (
Mogador island).
Archaeological objects of
Visigothic
The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...
and
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
origin found in the area attest to the persistence of commercial or political contacts between Sala and Roman Europe, up to the establishment of a Byzantine presence in North Africa during the 7th century.
[Boube, J. "Éléments de ceinturon wisigothiques et byzantins trouvés au Maroc".Bulletin d'archéologie marocaine, volume=XV, 1983–84.pages=281–297] However, Sala began to be abandoned in the 5th century and was mostly in ruins when the
Muslim Arabs
Arab Muslims ( ar, العرب المسلمون) are adherents of Islam who identify linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Arabs. Arab Muslims greatly outnumber other ethnoreligious groups in the Middle East and North Africa. Arab ...
arrived in the 7th century and established Islamic influence in the region.
Medieval Islamic period
![Palace gate](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Palace_gate.jpg)
In the 10th century the
Umayyads of
Cordoba, or their
Zenata
The Zenata ( Berber language: Iznaten) are a group of Amazigh (Berber) tribes, historically one of the largest Berber confederations along with the Sanhaja and Masmuda. Their lifestyle was either nomadic or semi-nomadic.
Etymology
''Iznaten ( ...
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 (1913–19 ...
allies in the region, founded a
ribat
A ribāṭ ( ar, رِبَـاط; hospice, hostel, base or retreat) is an Arabic term for a small fortification built along a frontier during the first years of the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb to house military volunteers, called ''murabitun'' ...
or fortified monastery/outpost in this area, to defend against the
Barghawata
The Barghawatas (also Barghwata or Berghouata) were a Berber tribal confederation on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, belonging to the Masmuda confederacy. After allying with the Sufri Kharijite rebellion in Morocco against the Umayyad Caliphate, t ...
Berbers who had established a
Kharijite
The Kharijites (, singular ), also called al-Shurat (), were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the ...
state to the south.
This ribat was most likely on the same site as the current
Kasbah of the Udayas
The Kasbah of the Udayas (; Berber: ⵇⵙⴱⴰ ⵏ ⵉⵡⴷⴰⵢⵏ ''Qasbat ‘n Iwdayn''), also spelled Kasbah of the Oudaias or of the Oudayas, is a kasbah (citadel) in Rabat, Morocco. It is located on a hill at the mouth of the Bou Regre ...
, but its location has not been confirmed by historians.
Around 1030, a new town called Salā (the present
Salé
Salé ( ar, سلا, salā, ; ber, ⵙⵍⴰ, sla) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the right bank of the Bou Regreg river, opposite the national capital Rabat, for which it serves as a commuter town. Founded in about 1030 by the Banu Ifran, ...
) was founded on the opposite side of the river (the north side) by the
Banu 'Ashara family.
One of the last
Almoravid
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 tha ...
emirs,
Tashfin ibn Ali
Tashfin ibn Ali (died 23 March 1145,
or 25 March 1145 CE; Arabic : تاشفين بن علي ) was the 6th Almoravid Emir, he reigned in 1143–1145.
Biography
Tashfin ibn Ali was appointed Governor of Granada and Almería in 1129, as well ...
(r. 1143-45) built a new ''ribat'' on the site of the current kasbah as part of his efforts to hold back the
Almohads
The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the unity of God) was a North African Berber Muslim empire ...
.
Almohads nonetheless defeated the Almoravids and destroyed the ribat shortly after.
In 1150 or 1151 the Almohad caliph
Abd al-Mu'min
Abd al Mu'min (c. 1094–1163) ( ar, عبد المؤمن بن علي or عبد المومن الــكـومي; full name: ʿAbd al-Muʾmin ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAlwī ibn Yaʿlā al-Kūmī Abū Muḥammad) was a prominent member of the Almohad mov ...
built a new kasbah (citadel) to replace the former ''ribat'', within which he included a palace and a mosque.
This Almohad kasbah corresponds to the current Kasbah of the Udayas (which was expanded in later periods).
Abd al-Mu'min also had an underground canal dug to divert a water source to this location, allowing for future settlement and urbanization in the area.
The site became a military staging ground for Almohad armies setting out on campaigns to Al-Andalus.
The Almohad caliph
Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur
Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb ibn Yūsuf ibn Abd al-Muʾmin al-Manṣūr (; c. 1160 – 23 January 1199 Marrakesh), commonly known as Yaqub al-Mansur () or Moulay Yacoub (), was the third Almohad Caliph. Succeeding his father, al-Mansur reigned from 118 ...
(r. 1184–1199) embarked on an ambitious project to construct a new fortified imperial capital, called ''al-Mahdiyya'' or ''Ribat al-Fath'', on the site of what is now the
medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
(old city) of Rabat, with new walls extending over a vast area beyond the kasbah.
This project also included the construction of an enormous mosque (the remains of which include the
Hassan Tower
Hassan Tower or Tour Hassan ( ar, صومعة حسان; ) is the minaret of an incomplete mosque in Rabat, Morocco. It was commissioned by Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur, the third Caliph of the Almohad Caliphate, near the end of the 12th century. The ...
) and of new grand gateways such as ''
Bab er-Rouah
Bab er-Rouah (also spelled Bab er-Ruwah or Bab Rouah) is a monumental City gate, gate in the Almohad Caliphate, Almohad-era ramparts of Rabat, Morocco.
History
It was built by the Almohad Caliphate, caliph Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur, Ya'qub al- ...
'' and the main gate of the kasbah, now known as ''Bab Udaya'' or ''Bab al-Kbir''. After al-Mansur's death in 1199 the mosque and the capital remained unfinished and his successors lacked the resources or the will to finish it.
The new city was never fully inhabited and the site was practically abandoned.
During the
Marinid dynasty
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 ...
period (13th to 15th centuries), the town of
Salé
Salé ( ar, سلا, salā, ; ber, ⵙⵍⴰ, sla) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the right bank of the Bou Regreg river, opposite the national capital Rabat, for which it serves as a commuter town. Founded in about 1030 by the Banu Ifran, ...
across the river grew more important than the settlements of the south bank.
In 1515
Leo Africanus
Joannes Leo Africanus (born al-Hasan Muhammad al-Wazzan, ar, الحسن محمد الوزان ; c. 1494 – c. 1554) was an Andalusian diplomat and author who is best known for his 1526 book '' Cosmographia et geographia de Affrica'', later ...
reported that Rabat had declined so much that only 100 inhabited houses remained. The Marinids did build a
Great Mosque in what is now the medina of Rabat and on the nearby site of Chellah (ancient Sala) they built a royal necropolis for their dynasty.
Corsair republic
![Muraille des Andalous 2 - Rabat](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Muraille_des_Andalous_2_-_Rabat.JPG)
In 1609,
Philip III decreed the
expulsion
Expulsion or expelled may refer to:
General
* Deportation
* Ejection (sports)
* Eviction
* Exile
* Expeller pressing
* Expulsion (education)
* Expulsion from the United States Congress
* Extradition
* Forced migration
* Ostracism
* Persona non ...
of all
Morisco
Moriscos (, ; pt, mouriscos ; Spanish for "Moorish") were former Muslims and their descendants whom the Roman Catholic church and the Spanish Crown commanded to convert to Christianity or face compulsory exile after Spain outlawed the open ...
s (people of Muslim or
Moorish
The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages.
Moors are not a distinct or s ...
descent) from
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
. About 2000 of these refugees, originally from the town of
Hornachos
Hornachos is a municipality located in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. According to the 2005 census ( INE), the municipality has a population of 3,840 inhabitants.
History
The first human settlements in the mountain range of Hornac ...
near
Badajoz
Badajoz (; formerly written ''Badajos'' in English) is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana. The populati ...
, Spain, settled around Salé and occupied the kasbah, attracting between 5000 and 14,000 other Moriscos to join them.
Rabat and neighboring Salé united to form the
Republic of Bou Regreg
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...
in 1627. This autonomous republic became a base for
corsairs: pirates, also known as the "
Salé Rovers The Salé Rovers, also Sale Rovers or Salle Rovers, were a dreaded band of Barbary corsairs in the 17th century. They formed the Republic of Salé
The Republic of Salé was a city state at Salé (modern Morocco), during the 17th century. Locat ...
", who preyed on merchant ships around the shores of
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
.
During this time, the area below the kasbah on the south bank became more heavily populated, thanks to the Morisco and Andalusi refugees. A new "
Andalusian Wall" was built to delimit this area in the northern part of the former Almohad walled city. What is now known as the Street of the Consuls became an important road artery even at this time.
The name "Rabat" was not yet in use; the city of the south bank was known as "New Salé" while the city of the north bank was known as "Old Salé". Corsair activities were based in New Salé, whereas the inhabitants of Old Salé generally did not participate in piracy.
'Alawi rule
The pirates did not have to contend with any central authority until
al-Rashid, the founder of the
'Alawi dynasty
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 ...
, conquered the area in 1666 and united most of Morocco under his rule.
Nonetheless, the 'Alawi sultans allowed the piracy to continue up until the reign of
Moulay Slimane in the early 19th century.
This led to the shelling of the city by
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
in 1829 after an Austrian ship had been lost to a pirate attack.
![Morocco CMS CC-BY (15126572904)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Morocco_CMS_CC-BY_%2815126572904%29.jpg)
During the early part of the 'Alawi period (17th-18th centuries) the sultans took some interest in the city of the south bank and carried out constructions and repairs to the kasbah.
Moulay Isma'il (r. 1672–1727) expanded the kasbah southward and built a royal residence within it towards the end of the 17th century (it serves as a museum today).
Moulay Isma'il was also responsible for settling a part of the Udayas (or Oudayas), a ''
guich
''Guich'' tribes, ''Gish'' tribes, or ''Jaysh'' tribes ( jaysh, literally "Army"), or sometimes ''Makhzen'' tribes, were tribes of Arab origin organized by the sultans of Moroccan dynasties to serve as troops and military garrisons, as well as to ...
'' tribe (military tribe serving the sultan's army), in the kasbah to serve as a counterbalancing force against other unruly tribes in the region.
Under
Sidi Muhammad ibn 'Abdallah (r. 1757–1790) a new royal palace, the
Dar al-Makhzen, was established in the southwest part of the Almohad walled area towards the end of the 18th century.
These additions began to give the city the character and function of a royal residence used by the ruling dynasty outside their main capitals.
Moulay Slimane (r. 1792–1822) built another palace along the seaside called ''Dar al-Bahr'' and built new mosques such as the
Moulay Slimane Mosque
The Moulay Slimane Mosque ( ar, مسجد مولاي سليمان) is a mosque in the medina of Rabat, Morocco. It was built in 1812 by the Alaouite sultan Moulay Slimane, after whom it is named. It is the second-largest mosque of the medina north ...
. He also ordered the creation of a Jewish quarter, the ''
Mellah
A ''mellah'' ( or 'saline area'; and he, מלאח) is a Jewish quarter of a city in Morocco. Starting in the 15th century and especially since the beginning of the 19th century, Jewish communities in Morocco were constrained to live in ''mellah' ...
'', in the eastern part of the Andalusian medina, in an formerly occupied by orchards.
It was also towards the beginning of the 19th century that the city walls, formerly limited to the Almohad-era perimeter, were extended significantly to the southwest, thus expanding the city to cover around 840 hectares.
The old Almohad walls and gates were still retained and the Almohad-era enclosure remained a more privileged district containing the city's major monuments and its imperial residence. Most of the population remained concentrated in the medina behind the Andalusian Wall in the northern section. In the 1850s
Moulay Abd ar-Rahman (r. 1822–1859) further developed and completed the Dar al-Makhzen palace in the southwest corner of this enclosure.
At the end of the 19th century or beginning of the 20th century, the city had some 20,000 to 25,000 inhabitants.
20th century
French invasion
![Rabat,_Bank_al-Maghrib](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Rabat%2C_Bank_al-Maghrib.jpg)
The French invasion of Morocco began in the east with 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. Early in ...
's occupation of
Oujda
Oujda ( ar, وجدة; ber, ⵡⵓⵊⴷⴰ, Wujda) is a major Moroccan city in its northeast near the border with Algeria. Oujda is the capital city of the Oriental region of northeastern Morocco and has a population of about 558,000 people. It ...
March 1907 and in the west with the
Bombardment of Casablanca August 1907. The
Treaty of Fes established the
protectorate
A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its in ...
March 1912. Acting as French administrator of Morocco,
Lyautey, decided to relocate the country's capital from
Fes to Rabat after the
riots of 1912 following the
Treaty of Fes. In 1913, Lyautey hired
Henri Prost
Henri Prost (February 25, 1874 – July 16, 1959) was a French architect and urban planner. He was noted in particularly for his work in Morocco and Turkey, where he created a number of comprehensive city plans for Casablanca, Fes, Marrakes ...
who designed the ''Ville Nouvelle'' (Rabat's modern quarter) as an administrative sector. When Morocco achieved independence in 1956,
Mohammed V, the then
King of Morocco
This is the list of rulers of Morocco, since the establishment of the state in 789. The common and formal titles of these rulers has varied, depending on the time period. Since 1957, the designation King has been used.
The present King of Mor ...
, chose to have the capital remain at Rabat.
Post World War II
Following
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, the United States established a military presence in Rabat at the former French air base. By the early 1950s,
Rabat Salé Air Base was a
U.S. Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...
installation hosting the
17th Air Force
The Seventeenth Expeditionary Air Force (17 EAF) was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force located at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The command served the United States Air Forces in Europe during (1953–1996) and United States Air ...
and the
5th Air Division
The 5th Air Division (5th AD) is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Strategic Air Command, based at Sidi Slimane Air Base, Morocco. It was inactivated on 15 July 1958.
The unit's origins begin with its predec ...
, which oversaw forward basing for
Strategic Air Command (SAC)
B-47 Stratojet
The Boeing B-47 Stratojet (Boeing company designation Model 450) is a retired American long-range, six-engined, turbojet-powered strategic bomber designed to fly at high subsonic speed and at high altitude to avoid enemy interceptor aircraft. ...
aircraft in the country. With the destabilization of French government in Morocco, and Moroccan independence in 1956, the government of
Mohammed V wanted the U.S. Air Force to pull out of the SAC bases in Morocco, insisting on such action after
American intervention in Lebanon in 1958. The United States agreed to leave as of December 1959, and was fully out of Morocco by 1963. SAC felt the Moroccan bases were much less critical with the long range capability of the
B-52 Stratofortresses that were replacing the B-47s and with the completion of the USAF installations in Spain in 1959.
With the USAF withdrawal from Rabat-Salé in the 1960s, the facility became a primary facility for the
Royal Moroccan Air Force
The Royal Moroccan Air Force ( ar, القوات الجوية الملكية; ber, Adwas ujenna ageldan; french: Forces Royales Air) is the air force of the Moroccan Armed Forces.
History
The Moroccan air force was formed on 14 May 1956 as the ...
known as Air Base Nº 1, a status it continues to hold.
Geography
Neighbourhoods of Rabat
Rabat is an administrative city. It has many shopping districts and residential neighbourhoods. The geographically spread out neighbourhoods are as follows:
The heart of the city consists of three parts: the Medina (old town); the Oudayas and Hassan both located to meet the
Bou Regreg
The Bou Regreg ( ar, أبو رقراق) is a river located in western Morocco which discharges to 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 t ...
; and the Atlantic Ocean.
To the west, and along the waterfront, there is a succession of neighbourhoods.
First, around the ramparts, there is the old neighbourhoods, Quartier l'Océan and Quartier les Orangers. Beyond that, a succession of mostly working-class districts: Diour Jamaa, Akkari, Yacoub El Mansour, Massira and Hay el Fath are the main parts of this axis. Hay el Fath, which ends this sequence, evolves into a middle-class neighbourhood.
To the east, along the Bouregreg, the Youssoufia region (working and middle class) : Mabella; Taqaddoum; Hay Nahda (mostly middle class); Aviation (middle and upper middle class); and Rommani.
Between the two axes, from north to south, there are three main neighbourhoods (middle class to affluent):
Agdal
Agdal is a historical concept in Morocco, referring to gardens or farmland owned by the Makhzen or the community, and forbidden to the public, whether permanently or during certain periods. Nowadays, the name is used for areas in some Moroccan citi ...
(Ward Building; a lively mix of residential and commercial buildings. The residents are predominantly upper middle class); Hay Riad (affluent villas; this neighbourhood has experienced a surge of momentum since the 2000s); and Souissi (residential neighborhood).
On the outskirts of Souissi, are a number of less-dense regions mainly comprising large private houses to areas that seem out of the city.
File:Riad District.jpg, Riad District
File:Pietri Square.jpg, Pietri Square
File:Boulevard Rabat.JPG, Rabat Hassan
File:Mohamed V.jpg, Avenue Mohammed V
Subdivisions
The prefecture is divided administratively into the following:
Climate
Rabat features a Mediterranean climate (''Csa'') with warm to hot dry summers and mild damp winters. Located along the Atlantic Ocean, Rabat has a mild, temperate climate, shifting from cool in winter to warm days in the summer months. The nights are always cool (or cold in winter, it can reach sub sometimes), with daytime temperatures generally rising about . The winter highs typically reach only in December–February. Summer daytime highs usually hover around , but may occasionally exceed , especially during heat waves. Summer nights are usually pleasant and cool, ranging between and and rarely exceeding . Rabat belongs to the sub-humid bioclimatic zone with an average annual precipitation of .
Culture
The biggest place for theatre is the Mohammed V Theatre in the centre of the town, which was opened in 1962. Construction on a new performing arts center, the Grand Theatre of Rabat, began in 2014. Designed by architect Zaha Hadid, it will reportedly be the largest theater in the Arab world and in Africa. It was scheduled to open in 2021.
Many organizations are active in cultural and social issues. Orient-Occident Foundation and ONA Foundation are the biggest of these. An independent art scene is active in the city. L'appartement 22, which is the first independent space for visual arts created by Abdellah Karroum, opened in 2002 and introduced international and local artists. Other independent spaces opened few years after, such as Le Cube, also set up in a private space.
Mawazine
Mawazine is a music festival in Rabat organized under the auspices of King Mohammed VI of Morocco, Mohammed VI of Morocco, that started in 2001 where music groups, fans and spectators come together in a week-long celebration of culture and music both locally and internationally. Musicians such as Scorpions (band), Scorpions, Rihanna, Elton John, Stromae and many others have performed at the festival.
Mawazine was host to more than 2,500,000 in 2013. Workshops are available for teaching dances and other arts. The festival is free. However, while most areas are free, there are those that require payment, specifically the smaller stages being the historical site of Chellah, the Mohammed V National Theater, and the Renaissance Cultural Center.
Places of worship
The places of worship are predominantly Islam, Muslim mosques. The oldest mosque in the city is the "Kasbah of the Udayas#The Old Mosque (Mosque of the Kasbah), Old Mosque" (''Jama' al-'Atiqa'') in the Kasbah of the Udayas. It was originally founded during Abd al-Mu'min's construction of the kasbah in 1150, though its current form mostly dates from an 18th-century restoration.
Other important mosques include the
Great Mosque in the old medina, also known as the el-Kharrazin Mosque, and the As-Sunna Mosque in central Rabat, originally completed in 1785 by Sultan Muhammad ibn Abdallah.
The last remaining Moroccan Jews, synagogues in Rabat are the Rabbi Shalom Zawi Synagogue and the Talmud Torah Synagogue. There are also Christianity, Christian churches and temples, including an Evangelical Church in Morocco, Evangelical church and St. Peter's Cathedral, Rabat, St. Peter's Cathedral (''Cathédrale de Saint-Pierre''), which hosts the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rabat.
File:Sunna Mosque, Rabat (4316777665).jpg, As-Sunna Mosque (Rabat), Sunnah Mosque, built in 1785 under Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah, Muhammad III
File:Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Rabat.JPG, St. Peter's Cathedral, Rabat, Saint-Pierre Cathedral
File:Synagogue Rabbi Chalom Zaoui Rabat 08112020 015.jpg, Rabbi Shalom Zawi Synagogue
Museums and parks
![Lion and lioness at the zoo of Rabat, Morocco](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Lion_and_lioness_at_the_zoo_of_Rabat%2C_Morocco.jpg)
The Oudayas Museum (also formerly known as the National Museum of Jewellery) is housed in a pavilion residence built by Sultan Moulay Isma'il (r. 1672–1727) inside the Kasbah of the Udayas. It was first opened in 1915, making it one of the oldest public museums in Morocco. Its collections, augmented by private donations, feature diverse objects from throughout Morocco, mostly from the 18th to 20th centuries.
In 2006 it became the National Museum of Jewellery, with exhibits focusing on the history of Moroccan jewellery.
As of 2019 it was under renovations to be transformed into a new museum to be called ''Musée du caftan et de la parure'' ('Museum of the Kaftan, caftan and adornment').
The Museum of History and Civilizations (formerly the National Archeological Museum) showcases the history of Morocco through a collection of archeological artifacts from the Punic, Mauretanian, Roman, and Islamic periods. This includes a collection of ancient Roman bronze and marble statuary from sites such as Lixus, Volubilis, and Chellah, as well as coins, ceramics, and architectural fragments from the Islamic period.
The Rabat Zoo (officially called the Zoological Garden of Rabat) was opened in 1973, in part to house the lions that were previously kept at the Royal Palace. The lions are descended from the now-extinct Barbary lions.
Since then the zoo has expanded to house some 1800 animals and has engaged in conservation efforts.
The Bank al-Maghrib Museum was inaugurated in 2002 and is housed at the Bank al-Maghrib building downtown. Its main exhibits include a collection of coins and currency from ancient times to the modern era, as well as a gallery of Orientialist art. The Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art was inaugurated in 2014.
Historic monuments
![Hassan Tower](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Hassan_Tower.jpg)
The Kasbah of the Udayas (also spelled "Kasbah of the Oudaias") is the oldest part of the present-day city, built by the Almohads in the 12th century. It was later refortified and expanded by the corsairs and the 'Alawi dynasty in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The kasbah is now a residential district with traditional houses painted white and blue on the outside. Its southern section includes the "Andalusian Garden", landscaped in the 20th century.
The city's historic walls were first built by the Almohad caliph Ya'qub al-Mansur and completed in 1197, with later additions in the 17th and 19th centuries.
A number of monumental gates are found along the walls, the most notable being
Bab er-Rouah
Bab er-Rouah (also spelled Bab er-Ruwah or Bab Rouah) is a monumental City gate, gate in the Almohad Caliphate, Almohad-era ramparts of Rabat, Morocco.
History
It was built by the Almohad Caliphate, caliph Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur, Ya'qub al- ...
. The other Almohad-era gates are Bab el-Had, Bab al-Alou, Bab Zaers, and Bab al-Hadid, though many of them were modified in more recent periods.
The old medina, located below the kasbah and above the line of the Andalusian Wall, contains many historic mosques and traditional houses. The rest of the area within the Almohad walls but south of the Andalusian Wall was largely built up in the 20th century when Rabat became the capital during the French Protectorate.
These districts contain numerous public buildings and apartment blocs built in contemporary styles of that period, such as Moorish Revival architecture, neo-Moorish (known as ''néo-Mauresque'' or ''arabisant'' in French), Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and modern architecture.
Examples of these include the Bank Al-Maghrib, Bank al-Maghrib building (built in the 1920s), the Central Post Office building (circa 1921, expanded in 1930s), the Parliament of Morocco, Parliament building (built in the 1920s), St.-Peter's Cathedral (inaugurated in 1921, with later additions), the Rabat-Ville train station (early 1920s), and some of the apartment blocs on ''Rue Gaza'' (built or begun in the 1930s), among others.
Overlooking the shores of the river is the Hassan Tower, a monumental unfinished minaret constructed by Ya'qub al-Mansur in the late 12th century. It was built for an enormous mosque planned as part of the larger city al-Mansur was constructing. Across from the tower today, at the southern end of the mosque's remains, is the Mausoleum of Mohammed V (d. 1961), which houses the remains of King Mohammed V and Hassan II of Morocco, King Hassan II. The mausoleum, completed in 1971, was designed in a neo-Moorish or Moroccan revivalist style by Vietnamese architect Cong Vo Toan.
A short distance south of the historic city walls is the archeological site of Chellah, a walled enclosure containing a 13th to 14th-century Marinid funerary and religious complex as well as the ruins of the Roman city of Sala Colonia.
Across the river is the city of Salé, which also preserves a historic medina. The medina of Salé includes monuments from the Marinid period such as Bab el-Mrissa, Bab Mrissa and the Madrasa of Abu al-Hasan as well as landmarks from later periods.
File:Marrocos-Kasbah-Oudaya-Rabat-Luis-Filipe-Gaspar.jpg, The Kasbah of the Udayas, seen from the river
File:Une ruelle de la Kasbah des Oudayas.jpg, Typical street and houses inside the Kasbah
File:Rue des consuls Rabat 2020.jpg, ''Rue des Consuls'', one of the main streets of the medina
File:Morocco - Rabat (31387809034).jpg, City walls, including Bab al-Had (left)
File:باب الرواح.jpg, Bab er-Rouah, Bab ar-Rouah
File:Rabat - building of parlament.JPG, Parliament of Morocco
File:Rabat, Telegraphe Poste Telephone.jpg, Central Post Office
File:30578-Rabat (28177595906).jpg, Chellah
Education
The Mohammed V University was founded in 1957.
Transport
Air
Rabat's main airport is
Rabat–Salé Airport
Salé Airport or Rabat–Salé Airport is an international airport located in the city of Salé, also serving Rabat, the capital city of Morocco and of the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region. It is a joint use public and military airport, also hostin ...
.
Trains
![Train of Morocco](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Train_of_Morocco.jpg)
Rabat is served by two principal railway stations run by the national rail service
ONCF
ONCF (from French: ''Office National des Chemins de Fer''; ar, المكتب الوطني للسكك الحديدية ''Al-Maktab al-Waṭaniy lil-Sikak al-Ḥadīdiyyah''; ''Moroccan National Railways Office'') is Morocco's national railway op ...
.
Rabat-Ville and Rabat Agdal are the two main inter-city stations, from which trains run south to Casablanca, Marrakech and El Jadida, north to Tangier, or east to Meknes, Fez, Morocco, Fez, Taza and
Oujda
Oujda ( ar, وجدة; ber, ⵡⵓⵊⴷⴰ, Wujda) is a major Moroccan city in its northeast near the border with Algeria. Oujda is the capital city of the Oriental region of northeastern Morocco and has a population of about 558,000 people. It ...
.
ONCF operates the Le Bouregreg urban rail for Rabat-Salé agglomeration. Rabat is well served by train and you can get frequent connections to most places. Marrakesh is a pleasant 4 hr journey, Fez 2 hr (if you take one of the new express trains, and 3 hr on other trains) and Casablanca 1 hr.
Tram
![Tramway de Rabat-Salé](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Tramway_de_Rabat-Sal%C3%A9.jpg)
The Rabat-Salé tramway is a tram system which was put into service on May 23, 2011 in the Moroccan cities of Rabat and Salé. The network has two lines for a total length of and 31 stops. It is operated by Veolia Transdev with Alstom Citadis trams.
Public transport
After some years of neglect as investment was directed at the tramway, the existing operator, STAREO, was displaced in 2019. A contract was awarded to Alsa-City Bus, a joint venture between Moroccan company City Bus and Spanish company ALSA (bus company), Alsa s.a, a subsidiary of the UK's National Express Group. The new operator took over in July 2019 with a commitment to three hundred and fifty new buses. These will comprise 102 Mercedes-Benz and 248 Scania- vehicles. The contract covers a 15-year period, renewable for seven years, and promises approximately 10 billion MAD investment into the bus transport system in the region.
Sports
Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium (Arabic: استاد الأمير مولاي عبد لله) is a multi-purpose stadium in Rabat, Morocco. It is named after Prince Moulay Abdellah. It was built in 1983 and is the home ground of ASFAR (football club). It is used mostly for football matches, and it can also stage athletics. The stadium holds 52,000. Since 2008 it is host of the Meeting International Mohammed VI d'Athlétisme de Rabat.
Rabat hosted the 2019 African Games after Malabo, Equatorial Guinea was stripped of hosting due to economic matters. It was the first time the African Games were hosted by Morocco.
Football
The local football teams are:
*ASFAR (football club)
*AS FAR (women), ASFAR (women)
*FUS de Rabat
*Stade Marocain
*Hilal de Rabat
*Union de Touarga
*Youssoufia Club de Rabat
Handball
* ASFAR (football club), ASFAR
* FUS de Rabat
* Le Stade Marocain
Basketball
The local basketball teams are:
*ASFAR (football club), ASFAR
*FUS de Rabat
*Moghreb de Rabat
*FAR
Volleyball
*ASFAR (football club), ASFAR
*FUS de Rabat
*Crédit agricole Rabat
Notable people
Politicians:
*Reuven Abergel, Israelis, Israeli social and political activist
*Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, French judge and diplomat
*Dominique de Villepin, former Prime Minister of France
*Richard Dell'Agnola, French politician
*Omar El Bahraoui, former mayor of Rabat
*David Levy (Israeli politician), David Levy, Israeli politician
*Maxim Levy, Israeli politician
*Bernard Squarcini, French counter-terrorism director
*Asmaa Rhlalou, mayor of Rabat
Scientists, writers and philosophers:
*Abdellah Taïa, writer
*Mehdi El Manjra, Mehdi Elmanjra, scholar
*Robert Assaraf, historian
*Alain Badiou, French philosopher
*Mohammed Suerte Bennani, Moroccan novelist
*Mohammed Berrada, Moroccan novelist, literary critic, and translator
*Helene Hagan, Franco-American writer Anthropology, anthropologist
*Abdelfattah Kilito, Moroccan writer
*Bahaa Trabelsi, Moroccan novelist
*Mohammad Naciri, Regional Director for the Arab States and Asia Pacific for the UN Women
Artists:
*Samira Said, Moroccan singer
*Saad Lamjarred, Moroccan singer
* Hajib, Moroccan Chaabi singer
*Shlomo Bar, Israeli musician
*Fabienne Égal, French announcer and television host
*Roland Giraud, French actor
*Macha Méril, French actress and writer
*Daniel Siboni, French photographer
*French Montana, American Hip-Hop Artist
*Bryce Hudson, American painter and photographer
Sports:
*Saïd Aït-Bahi, Moroccan Football (soccer), footballer
*Rachid Benmahmoud, Former footballer
*Bouabid Bouden, Moroccan footballer
*Custodio Dos Reis, French road bicycle racer
*Younes El Aynaoui, Moroccan tennis player
*Adam Ennafati, footballer
*Younes Khattabi, Moroccan rugby league player
*Ait Hammi Miloud, Moroccan Olympic Boxing, boxer
*Jean Patrick Lesobre, French Rugby Union player
*Younès Moudrik, Moroccan long jumper
*Youssef Rabeh, Former footballer
*Brahim Taleb, Moroccan long-distance runner
Royal descendants:
*Mohammed VI of Morocco, List of rulers of Morocco, King of Morocco
*Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco
*Princess Lalla Aicha of Morocco
Twin towns – sister cities
Rabat is Sister city, twinned with:
* Cairo, Egypt
* Guangzhou, China
* Honolulu, United States
* Istanbul, Turkey
* Lisbon, Portugal
* Lyon, France
* Madrid, Spain
* Nablus, Palestine
* Tunis, Tunisia
References
Bibliography
External links
Rabat Tourist Portal
*
*
{{Authority control
Rabat,
Prefecturial capitals in Morocco
Capitals in Africa
Regional capitals in Morocco
Populated places established in the 3rd century BC
3rd-century BC establishments