Settat ( ar, سطات, siṭṭāt, ber, ⵥⴻⵟⵟⴰⵜ, ẓeṭṭat) is a city in
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 t ...
between the national capital
Rabat and
Marrakesh. Settat is located by road south of the centre of
Casablanca, roughly an hour's drive.
It is the capital of
Settat Province
Settat is a province of Morocco in the Casablanca-Settat Region. The province had a population of 956,904 people in 2004.
The Wali (governor) of the region is Bouchaib El Moutawakkil. The major cities and towns are:
#Ben Ahmed
# El Borouj
# Gui ...
and is its largest city in both size and population. According to the
2014 Moroccan census
The 2014 Moroccan census The moroccan census of the population, officially named general census of the population and the habitat (RGPH), is a census taking place every ten years in the kingdom. It is established under the responsibility of the Hig ...
, it had a population of 142,250 people,
[ up from 116,570 people in the 2004 census. Settat is above sea level, built on a plateau surrounded by foothills in all directions. The antiquities of Settat include the very old Ismailiya ]Kasbah
A kasbah (, also ; ar, قَـصَـبَـة, qaṣaba, lit=fortress, , Maghrebi Arabic: ), also spelled qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress, most commonly the citadel or fortified quarter of a city. It is also equivalent to the term ''alca ...
distinguished by the statue of a steed which lies at the center of the city.
Etymology
The name Settat comes from "Ayt Settat" a Senhaja
The Sanhaja ( ber, Aẓnag, pl. Iẓnagen, and also Aẓnaj, pl. Iẓnajen; ar, صنهاجة, ''Ṣanhaja'' or زناگة ''Znaga'') were once one of the largest Berber tribal confederations, along with the Zanata and Masmuda confederations. Many ...
- Berber clan of the Houara
Hawwara (Berber: ''Ihuwwaren'', ), also spelled Huwwara, Howwara, Hewwara or Houara, is a large tribal confederation of Berbers and Arabized Berbers spread widely in the Maghreb, with descendants in Upper Egypt and Sudan. Hawwara are amongst the ...
tribe.[Kitab al-Ansab fi Marifat al-Ashab (The book of Genealogy for the knowledge of the companions), al-Baydaq, reviewed by Abdelwahab Benmansour, pp53, 1971] They belonged to the Masmuda
The Masmuda ( ar, المصمودة, Berber: ⵉⵎⵙⵎⵓⴷⵏ) is a Berber tribal confederation of Morocco and one of the largest in the Maghreb, along with the Zanata and the Sanhaja. They were composed of several sub-tribes: Berghouat ...
-led Almohad
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 fou ...
alliance according to al-Baydaq, Ibn Hazm
Abū Muḥammad ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn Saʿīd ibn Ḥazm ( ar, أبو محمد علي بن احمد بن سعيد بن حزم; also sometimes known as al-Andalusī aẓ-Ẓāhirī; 7 November 994 – 15 August 1064Ibn Hazm. ' (Preface). Tr ...
and Ibn Khaldun.[ Their origin is south-east of the High-Atlas and they seemingly settled in the Chaouia region as a result of the Almohad advance to the north.][
]
History
By choosing to build the Kasbah
A kasbah (, also ; ar, قَـصَـبَـة, qaṣaba, lit=fortress, , Maghrebi Arabic: ), also spelled qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress, most commonly the citadel or fortified quarter of a city. It is also equivalent to the term ''alca ...
on the hilly site of Settat, 18th century Moroccan ruler Moulay Ismail
Moulay Ismail Ibn Sharif ( ar, مولاي إسماعيل بن الشريف), born around 1645 in Sijilmassa and died on 22 March 1727 at Meknes, was a Sultan of Morocco from 1672–1727, as the second ruler of the Alaouite dynasty. He was the se ...
would trigger the process of urbanization. Indeed, the building of the Kasbah
A kasbah (, also ; ar, قَـصَـبَـة, qaṣaba, lit=fortress, , Maghrebi Arabic: ), also spelled qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress, most commonly the citadel or fortified quarter of a city. It is also equivalent to the term ''alca ...
brought order and security for travelers and residents supported the settlements near it. Moreover, by installing the first Caïd in the region which previously depended Caïd Doukkali and Rahmani, Moulay Ismail
Moulay Ismail Ibn Sharif ( ar, مولاي إسماعيل بن الشريف), born around 1645 in Sijilmassa and died on 22 March 1727 at Meknes, was a Sultan of Morocco from 1672–1727, as the second ruler of the Alaouite dynasty. He was the se ...
formalized Settat status as capital of this region.
Settat became an administrative center in the early 18th century, due to its strategic position as an unavoidable passage between North and South. Thanks to the richness of the soil, it also prospered during the 18th and 19th centuries as an important trading center for agricultural products, attracting entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...
s. This was the case for Moroccan Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
s who settled here en masse in the 19th century, building their own neighborhood, 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' ...
, near the Kasbah
A kasbah (, also ; ar, قَـصَـبَـة, qaṣaba, lit=fortress, , Maghrebi Arabic: ), also spelled qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress, most commonly the citadel or fortified quarter of a city. It is also equivalent to the term ''alca ...
.
This development was disrupted in the early 20th century during the early chaos of the French colonization when the Chaouia tribes rallied to Moulay Hafid. However, under the French protectorate, the city of Settat had unprecedented urban development, as evidenced by the population boom it experienced from 1913 to 1925. This prosperity lasted until the early fifties when, as a result of the development of Casablanca, communications, and transportation, the city of Settat and other towns in the region have entered a period of semi-lethargy.
In the early 1990s, Settat was endowed with a university L’Université Hassan 1er de Settat, an international golf course, and a racetrack. Settat has undergone large-scale urban planning from the 1970s to become an important regional center. Settat is linked to Casablanca ( to the north) since 2001 by the A7 highway, and Marrakech ( to the south) since 2007.
Cities and Towns of Settat's region
0.Ben Ahmed
Ben Ahmed (Moroccan Arabic: بن أحمد) is a town in Settat Province, Casablanca-Settat, Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the ...
#Berrechid
Berrechid ( ar, برشيد, ber, ⴱⴰⵔⵛⵉⴷ, baršid) is a town and municipality in Berrechid Province of the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco. It recorded a population of 136,634 inhabitants in the 2014 Moroccan census
The 2014 Moroc ...
#Deroua
Deroua ( ar, الدروة, ad-darwa) is a town in Berrechid Province, Casablanca-Settat, Morocco. It lies to the south of Casablanca, just to the northeast of Mohamed V International Airport. According to the 2014 Moroccan census it recorded a pop ...
# El Borouj
# El Gara
# Guisser
#Loulad
Loulad ( ar, لولاد ) is a town in Morocco. It is situated in the region of Casablanca-Settat
Casablanca-Settat ( ar, الدار البيضاء - سطات, ad-dār al-bayḍāʾ - siṭṭāt; ber, ⴰⵏⴼⴰ - ⵙⵟⵟⴰⵜ, anfa - ...
# Oulad Abbou
# Oulad H Riz Sahel
#Oulad M'Rah
Oulad M'Rah is a town in Settat Province, Casablanca-Settat, 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 ...
# Oulad Said
#Ras El Ain
Ras al-Ayn ( ar, رَأْس ٱلْعَيْن, Raʾs al-ʿAyn, ku, سەرێ کانیێ, Serê Kaniyê, syc, ܪܝܫ ܥܝܢܐ, Rēš Aynā), also spelled Ras al-Ain, is a city in al-Hasakah Governorate in northeastern Syria, on the Syria–Turkey ...
#Settat
# Sidi Rahhal Chatai
# Soualem
Notable people
* David Amar (1920-2000), Moroccan Jewish businessman
* Jo Amar (1930-2009), Moroccan-Jewish singer
* Driss Basri
Driss Basri ( ar, إدريس البصري ', 8 November 1938 in Settat – 27 August 2007) was a Moroccan politician who served as interior minister from 1979 to 1999. After General Oufkir's death in 1972, and then Ahmed Dlimi's death in 1983, D ...
(1938-2007), Minister of the Interior under Hassan II Hassan, Hasan, Hassane, Haasana, Hassaan, Asan, Hassun, Hasun, Hassen, Hasson or Hasani may refer to:
People
* Hassan (given name), Arabic given name and a list of people with that given name
*Hassan (surname), Arabic, Jewish, Irish, and Scotti ...
* Bouchaib Benlabsir (1931-1991), deputy mayor of settat city
* Abdellah Bendhaiba (1950-), Former Wali of Doukkala-Abda
Doukkala-Abda ( (Ǧihâtu Dukkālâ - ʿAbdâ)) was formerly one of the sixteen regions of Morocco from 1997 to 2015. It is situated in west-central Morocco. It covered an area of 13,285 km² and had a population of 2,173,090 (2014 census). The ...
, Governor (Khouribga, Nador, Taroudant) and Parliamentarian (Settat)
* Habib Mazini
Habib Mazini (born 1954) is a Moroccan academic and writer.
Early life
He was born in Setat, and studied at the University of Montpellier, obtaining a PhD in economics. He teaches at the Hassan II University in Casablanca
Casablanca, also k ...
, novelist
* Mohamed Moâtassim (1956-), adviser to King Mohammed VI
* Ahmed Nejmeddine (1962-), President of the Hassan 1st University of Settat.
* Abdel Abqar, footballer
* Yahya Jabrane
Yahya Jabrane ( ar, يحيى جبران; born 18 June 1991) is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Wydad AC and the Morocco national team.
Career
On 30 June 2022, Jabrane was nominated for the 2022 CAF ...
, footballer
Sister cities
* Burgos
Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos.
Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of ...
, Castile and León, 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")
, i ...
.
* Tours
Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...
, France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
.
* La Celle Saint Cloud, France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
Gallery
File:Settat square downtown - MOROCCO.jpg
File:Settat.jpg
File:Settat 2.jpg
File:Settat city.jpg
References
{{Coord, 33, 00, N, 7, 37, W, region:MA_type:city, display=title
Populated places in Settat Province
Municipalities of Morocco
Cities in Morocco
Provincial capitals in Morocco