Meknès

Timeline

1. 1672–1675Meknès · MeknèsAfter succeeding to the Alaouite sultanate in 1672, Moulay Ismail abandoned Fez or Marrakesh as his main residence and elevated Meknès to imperial capital. The choice was meant to escape the factions of the old capitals and also took advantage of the central plains, which made it easy to control the Atlantic coast and the Middle Atlas. The court, garrison, and administrative organs began to concentrate in Meknès.
2. 1675–1685Meknès palace city quarter · MeknèsIsmail conscripted tribal labor, the Black Guard, and European captives to build exceptionally long adobe-and-brick-and-stone walls, gates, and kasbah around Meknès, and to construct palace compounds such as Dar el-Kebira. The works turned the capital into a fortress-like court city capable of garrisoning troops and storing supplies, far exceeding earlier local towns in scale and laying down the spatial skeleton of the later "Imperial City."
3. 1685–1700Meknès granary and stable quarter · MeknèsIn the late seventeenth century, Meknès's giant granaries and stables went into service to supply the Black Guard and the court's horses, reflecting the sultan's control of logistics and cavalry. European states sent envoys into the city to ransom pirate captives, making Meknès a stage of Alaouite diplomacy. By this period the capital already had a "Moroccan Versailles"-style function of court display, and construction continued into the early eighteenth century.