Morocco / Rabat / History

Rabat became one of Morocco's four Imperial Cities. In the 12th century the great Almohad conqueror Yacoub Al Mansour made Rabat the symbol of his supremacy.

The city was developed in the 13th century by the Merinids who made it the site of the Chellah necropolis which was built upon the remains of the ancient Roman town of Sala. In the early 17th century it became a centre of anti-European piracy centred at the stronghold of the Kasbah des Oudaias.

Rabat was first made a modern capital in 1912 by Morocco's French overlords and remained the nation's capital after independence in 1956 and the residence of the royal family.

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