Rabat was founded in the 12th century by theAlmohads. After a period of growth, the city fell into a long period of decline. In the 17th century, Rabat became a haven forBarbary pirates. When the French established aprotectorate over Morocco in 1912, Rabat became its administrative center. When Morocco achieved independence in 1955, Rabat became its capital.
The name Rabat comes from theArabic wordالرباط (a-Ribāṭ) meaningtheribat, an Islamic base or fortification. This name is short forرباط الفتح (Ribāṭu al-Fatḥ) meaningthe ribat ofconquest orstronghold of victory—a title given by theAlmohads when they established the city as anaval base in 1170.[7][8]
In the first millennium BC thePhoenicians founded several trading colonies along the Atlantic coast of what is now Morocco, but the existence of aPhoenician settlement in the area, calledSala orShallat, has been debated by archeologists.[9][10] By the first century BC the local inhabitants were still writing in theneo-Punic language, but the region came under the influence ofRome.[11] It was controlled by the ancientBerberMauretanian Kingdom until it was formally annexed by Rome in the first century BC.[12] On the site now known asChellah, just south of the walled city today, the Romans built a city namedSala Colonia. Excavations have revealed that older Mauretanian structures existed on the site before Roman structures were built over them.[12] Along withLixus, Sala Colonia was one of the two main naval outposts held by the Romans on the Atlantic coast of theMauretania Tingitana province. The port of Sala (now disappeared) was used by commercial Roman ships as a way station on their southwestward passages toAnfa and theInsula Purpuraria (Mogador island).[13]
Archaeological objects ofVisigothic andByzantine 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.[14] However, Sala began to be abandoned in the 5th century and was mostly in ruins when theMuslim Arabs arrived in the 7th century and established Islamic influence in the region.[15]
In the 10th century theUmayyads ofCordoba, or theirZenataBerber allies in the region, founded aribat or fortified monastery/outpost in this area, to defend against theBarghawata Berbers who had established aKharijite state to the south.[16] This ribat was most likely on the same site as the currentKasbah of the Udayas, but its location has not been confirmed by historians.[16] Around 1030, a new town called Salā (the presentSalé) was founded on the opposite side of the river (the north side) by theBanu 'Ashara family.[17][18]
One of the lastAlmoravid emirs,Tashfin ibn Ali (r. 1143–1145) built a newribat on the site of the current kasbah as part of his efforts to hold back theAlmohads.[16][19] Almohads nonetheless defeated the Almoravids and destroyed the ribat shortly after.[20] In 1150 or 1151 the Almohad caliphAbd al-Mu'min built a new kasbah (citadel) to replace the formerribat, within which he included a palace and a mosque.[20][21][19] This Almohad kasbah corresponds to the current Kasbah of the Udayas (which was expanded in later periods).[19] 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.[19] The site became a military staging ground for Almohad armies setting out on campaigns to Al-Andalus.[20]
The Almohad caliphAbu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur (r. 1184–1199) embarked on an ambitious project to construct a new fortified imperial capital, calledal-Mahdiyya orRibat al-Fath, on the site of what is now themedina (old city) of Rabat, with new walls extending over a vast area beyond the kasbah.[19][22] This project also included the construction of an enormous mosque (the remains of which include theHassan Tower) and of new grand gateways such asBab er-Rouah and the main gate of the kasbah, now known asBab Udaya orBab 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.[19] The new city was never fully inhabited and the site was practically abandoned.[23][20]
During theMarinid dynasty period (13th to 15th centuries), the town ofSalé across the river grew more important than the settlements of the south bank.[20][16][23] In 1515Leo Africanus reported that Rabat had declined so much that only 100 inhabited houses remained.[citation needed] The Marinids did build aGreat 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.[23]
In 1609,Philip III decreed theexpulsion of allMoriscos (people of Muslim orMoorish descent) fromSpain. About 2000 of these refugees, originally from the town ofHornachos nearBadajoz, Spain, settled around Salé and occupied the kasbah, attracting between 5000 and 14,000 other Moriscos to join them.[20] Rabat and neighboring Salé united to form theRepublic of Bou Regreg in 1627.[24] This autonomous republic became a base forcorsairs: pirates, also known as the "Salé Rovers", who preyed on merchant ships around the shores ofWestern Europe.[20][25]
TheAndalusian Wall today, added inside the Almohad walled enclosure during the 17th century
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.[23][20] 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.[23]
The pirates did not have to contend with any central authority untilal-Rashid, the founder of the'Alawi dynasty, conquered the area in 1666 and united most of Morocco under his rule.[23][20] Nonetheless, the 'Alawi sultans allowed the piracy to continue up until the reign ofMoulay Slimane in the early 19th century.[23] This led to the shelling of the city byAustria in 1829 after an Austrian ship had been lost to a pirate attack.[citation needed]
Gate of theDar al-Makhzen (Royal Palace) today; the palace was begun by the'Alawi sultans in the late 18th century
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.[23]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).[16][20] Moulay Isma'il was also responsible for settling a part of theUdayas (or Oudayas), aguich tribe (military tribe serving the sultan's army), in the kasbah to serve as a counterbalancing force against other unruly tribes in the region.[20][25]: 230 UnderSidi Muhammad ibn 'Abdallah (r. 1757–1790), a new royal palace, theDar al-Makhzen, was established in the southwest part of the Almohad walled area towards the end of the 18th century.[23] These additions began to give the city the character and function of a royal residence used by the ruling dynasty outside their main capitals.[23]
Moulay Slimane (r. 1792–1822) built another palace along the seaside calledDar al-Bahr and built new mosques such as theMoulay Slimane Mosque. He also ordered the creation of a Jewish quarter, theMellah, in the eastern part of the Andalusian medina, in a formerly occupied by orchards.[23] 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.[23] 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.[23] At the end of the 19th century or beginning of the 20th century, the city had some 20,000 to 25,000 inhabitants.[26]: 114
The French invasion of Morocco began in the east with GeneralHubert Lyautey's occupation ofOujda in March 1907 and in the west with theBombardment of Casablanca in August 1907.[28] TheTreaty of Fes established theprotectorate in March 1912.[29] Acting as French administrator of Morocco,Lyautey decided to relocate the country's capital fromFes to Rabat after theriots of 1912 following theTreaty of Fes.[30] Lyautey appears to have had a personal affinity for Rabat. He argued that its coastal location was more pleasant and more accessible, and that its proximity to Casablanca, which he estimated would become the major economic center, would be advantageous.[26]: 138–139 In 1913, Lyautey hiredHenri Prost to design theVille Nouvelle (Rabat's modern quarter) as an administrative sector, as he did in other major Moroccan cities.[26]: 145–146
The colonial period resulted in major economic changes as well as accelerated urbanization. Prior to this period, the major cities of Morocco had always beenFez andMarrakesh, while the coastal cities were relatively small. Census figures are not available for the early years of the Protectorate, but in 1912 Rabat and nearby Salé can be estimated to have had about 35,000 to 40,000 inhabitants at most, according toJanet Abu-Lughod.[26]: 152 One early French survey, based on the number of houses rather than a formal census, estimated the population of Rabat to be 25,642. A formal census in 1921 counted the population as 33,714.[26]: 152–153 Some of this growth was due to the immigration of foreigners. In 1921, 59% of the population were Moroccan Muslims and 10% were Moroccan Jews, while 21.4% were French nationals and another 10% were foreigners of other origin. Nearby Salé, however, remained more homogenously Moroccan.[26]: 154 Rabat's population grew to approximately 83,000 in 1936 and to approximately 156,000 in 1952.[26]: 248
When Morocco achieved independence in 1956,Mohammed V, the thenKing of Morocco, chose to have the capital remain at Rabat. Rabat's growth continued unabated. The most important demographic shift after independence was the exodus of foreign nationals and their replacement by Moroccans, who gradually took over the jobs and functions that the foreigners had occupied. In the census of 1971, the population of Rabat had grown to around 368,000, of which only 3.5% were foreigners.[26]: 152–153
FollowingWorld War II, the United States had established a military presence in Rabat at the former French air base. By the early 1950s,Rabat Salé Air Base was aU.S. Air Force installation hosting the17th Air Force and the5th Air Division, which oversaw forward basing forStrategic Air Command (SAC)B-47 Stratojet aircraft in the country. With the destabilization of French government in Morocco, and Moroccan independence in 1956, the government ofMohammed V wanted the U.S. Air Force to pull out of the SAC bases in Morocco, insisting on such action afterAmerican intervention in Lebanon in 1958.[31][verification needed] 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 theB-52 Stratofortresses that were replacing the B-47s and with the completion of the USAF installations in Spain in 1959.[citation needed] With the USAF withdrawal from Rabat-Salé in the 1960s, the facility became a primary facility for theRoyal Moroccan Air Force known as Air Base Nº 1, a status it continues to hold.
In 2015, the city became part of theRabat-Salé-Kénitra administrative region.[41] On 28 February 2024,Asmaa Rhlalou declared her resignation, months after she sparked a controversy that called into doubt her authority and validity within the City Council.[42][43]
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 theBou Regreg; and the Atlantic Ocean.[44][45]
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.[46] Hay el Fath, which ends this sequence, evolves into a middle-class neighbourhood.[47]
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 (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 (lavish villas, embassies, well-off 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.
Rabat features aMediterranean 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 0 °C (32 °F) sometimes), with daytime temperatures generally rising about 7–8 °C (13–14 °F). The winter highs typically reach only 17.2 °C (63.0 °F) in December–February. Summer daytime highs usually hover around 27 °C (80.6 °F), but may occasionally exceed 40 °C (104.0 °F) during heat waves. Summer nights are usually pleasant and cool, ranging between 11 and 19 °C (51.8 and 66.2 °F) and rarely exceeding 20 °C (68.0 °F). Rabat belongs to the sub-humid bioclimatic zone with an average annual precipitation of 560 mm (22 in). The airport station is located about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the coastline, which will somewhat warm afternoons and cool nights down compared to a seaside location.
Climate data for Rabat (Rabat–Salé Airport) 1991–2020, extremes 1943–present
The biggest place for theatre is the Mohammed V Theatre in the centre of the town, which was opened in 1962.[53][54] Construction on a new performing arts center, theGrand Theatre of Rabat, began in 2014.[55] Designed byZaha Hadid, it will reportedly be the largest theater in theArab world and in Africa. It was scheduled to open in 2021.[56][57]
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 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 ofChellah, the Mohammed V National Theater, and the Renaissance Cultural Center.[66]
Theplaces of worship are predominantlyMuslim mosques.[67] The oldest mosque in the city is the "Old Mosque" (Jama' al-'Atiqa) in theKasbah 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.[20][16][68] Other important mosques include theGreat 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.[69][70][20]
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.[74][75] In 2006 it became the National Museum of Jewellery, with exhibits focusing on the history of Moroccan jewellery.[74] As of 2019 it was under renovations to be transformed into a new museum to be calledMusée du caftan et de la parure ('Museum of thecaftan and adornment').[76]
TheMuseum 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.[77][78][79]
TheRabat 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.[80] The lions are descended from the now-extinctBarbary lions.[81][82] Since then the zoo has expanded to house some 1800 animals and has engaged in conservation efforts.[83]
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.[84][85] TheMohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art was inaugurated in 2014.[86]
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.[20][16][19][87]: 171 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.[20][88][89]
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.[23][20] A number of monumental gates are found along the walls, the most notable beingBab er-Rouah. 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.[20] The 17th-century Andalusian Wall, which divides the zone inside the Almohad walls, has five more gates: Bab Jdid (formerly Bab Teben, mostly demolished), Bab al-Bouiba, Bab Chellah, Bab Mellah, and Bab Diouana.[20]
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.[26] These districts contain numerous public buildings and apartment blocs built in contemporary styles of that period, such asneo-Moorish (known asnéo-Mauresque orarabisant in French),Art Nouveau,Art Deco, andmodern architecture.[87]: 38–42 Examples of these include theBank al-Maghrib building (built in the 1920s), the Central Post Office building (circa 1921, expanded in 1930s), theParliament 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 onRue Gaza (built or begun in the 1930s), among others.[87]: 44–55 [90][91][26]: 199 [92]
Overlooking the shores of the river is theHassan Tower, a monumental unfinishedminaret 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 theMausoleum of Mohammed V (d. 1961), which houses the remains of King Mohammed V andKing Hassan II. The mausoleum, completed in 1971, was designed in a neo-Moorish or Moroccan revivalist style byVietnamese architect Cong Vo Toan.[93][94]
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.[20] 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 asBab Mrissa and theMadrasa of Abu al-Hasan as well as landmarks from later periods.[95]
ONCF operates theLe Bouregreg urban rail for Rabat-Salé agglomeration. Marrakesh is a 4 hr journey, Fez 21⁄2 hr on an express train and 31⁄2 hr on other trains and Casablanca 1 hr.[99]
TheRabat–Salé tramway was the first tramway network in Morocco and connects Rabat with Salé across the river. It was opened on 11 May 2011 after a construction cost of 3.6 billionMAD.[100][101] The network was constructed byAlstom Citadis and is operated byTransdev.[102][103] As of February 2022, the network had two lines with a total length of 26.9 km (17 miles) and 43 stations.[101][104] In 2023, an extension of the network was being planned and is due to be completed by 2028.[100]
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 companyAlsa, a subsidiary of theMobico Group. The new operator took over in July 2019 with a commitment to three hundred and fifty new buses. These will comprise 102Mercedes-Benz and 248Scania 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.[105]
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 ofASFAR (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 the2019 African Games afterMalabo,Equatorial Guinea was stripped of hosting due to economic matters. It was the first time the African Games were hosted by Morocco. It is one of the potential host cities for the2030 FIFA World Cup.
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^abcdefgBennison, Amira K. (2016).The Almoravid and Almohad Empires. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 309–10,322–25.
^abcdefghijklmnopqrsTouri, Abdelaziz; Benaboud, Mhammad; Boujibar El-Khatib, Naïma; Lakhdar, Kamal; Mezzine, Mohamed (2010). "VIII.1 Rabat".Le Maroc andalou : à la découverte d'un art de vivre (2 ed.). Ministère des Affaires Culturelles du Royaume du Maroc & Museum With No Frontiers.ISBN978-3902782311.
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