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Mechouar ormeshwar (Arabic:مشور,romanized: mashwar, meshwar;Spanish:mexuar;French:méchouar) is a type of location, typically acourtyard within a palace or apublic square at the entrance of a palace, in theMaghreb (westernNorth Africa) or in historical-Andalus (MuslimSpain andPortugal). It can serve various functions such as a place of assembly or consultation (Arabic:michawara), an administrative area where the government's affairs are managed. It was the place where the sultan historically held audiences, receptions and ceremonies.[1][2][3] The name is sometimes also given to a larger area encompassing the palace, such as thecitadel or royal district of a city.[4][5]
An official public square or ceremonial space often existed in front of the main entrance or gate of early royal palaces in al-Andalus and North Africa, though the termmeshwar was not necessarily used to designate them in historical sources. Notable examples include the square in front of theBab al-Sudda gate of theUmayyad Palaces (8th-10th centuries) ofCordoba,Spain, wherepublic executions took place and where thecaliph would stand or sit on a viewing platform built above the palace gate,[6][7][2] as well as the ceremonialBayn al-Qasrayn square in front of the Golden Gate (Bab al-Dhahab) of theFatimid Palaces inCairo,Egypt, where the Fatimid caliph also had a balcony above the gate from which to watch ceremonies below.[8][9] A similar square or open space also existed at the entrance of the palace-city ofMadinat al-Zahra (10th century), at the end of the road that led to it from nearby Cordoba.[2]: 76 A couple of centuries later a main public square, known as theasaraq, was also included within theKasbah of Marrakesh built by theAlmohads at the end of the 12th century. It was situated within the administrative and service section of the citadel but it also gave access to the entrance of the sultan's private palaces.[10]
The termmeshwar is later used to refer to reception areas or council chambers in the palaces of the region during the 13th-14th centuries and later. Ameshwar was part of the citadel ofal-Mansourah built by theMarinids in the 14th century just outsideTlemcen,Algeria, for example.[4] Before this, also in Tlemcen, theZayyanids created a royal citadel known as theQal'at al-Mashwar ("Citadel of the Mechouar"), still known today as theEl Mechouar Palace. It was located on an earlier Almohad fortress and acted as the royal residence and center of power in the city in many periods.[2]: 223
Ameshwar section (known as theMexuar in Spanish) was also part of theNasrid Palaces in theAlhambra ofGranada,Spain. It was composed of a main external entrance gate followed by two consecutive courtyards leading to a council chamber at its eastern end, all of which was separate from theemir's palaces (theComares Palace theCourt of the Lions) further east. A number of other chambers were arranged around the courtyards, with the first courtyard likely being used by the secretaries and officials of the state administration, including thechancery ordiwan, while the second courtyard was used by the emir for official audiences. The first courtyard even had its ownmosque.[2]: 269–272
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Mechouars are later found as a standard feature of most royal palaces (usually known as thedar al-makhzen) inMorocco, many now dating from the laterAlaouite period (17th-20th centuries). These were generally large open squares located just outside the gates of the palace or occupying a space between the palace's main external entrance and the inner palaces of the sultan's private residence. They were used as reception areas, public squares formilitary parades, and places where the sultan or theqa'id (main judicial official of the city) would receivepetitions.[11][10][2][12] Some inner mechouars, located within the palace enclosures, were used as the administrative section of the palace where various state officials worked or received their own audiences.[12][13] Examples of such mechouars include the multiple mechouars of theDar al-Makhzen inFez,[13] the mechouars along the south side of the Dar al-Makhzen and Kasbah ofMarrakesh,[10] the Lalla Aouda Square of theKasbah of Moulay Ismail (and also to an extent the nearby El-Hedim Square) inMeknes,[14][15] and the Mechouar of theKasbah of Tangier, among others.[16] The modernRoyal Palace of Rabat also includes a vast esplanade called the Mechouar, and the name is sometimes applied to the whole palace district in general.[17][18]
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