Historical Landmarks

1062 The Almoravids, a Berber fundamentalist dynasty founded by Youssef ben Tachfine, establish Marra Kouch (Marrakech) as their new capital.

1126–7 The first city walls are built.

1147 The Almohads destroy most of the Almoravid monuments, replacing them with their own, including the impressive Koutoubia Mosque.

1184 The city’s golden age under Yacoub el-Mansour sees a flourishing of arts and science.

1269 The city goes into decline when the ruling Merenids chose Fez as their capital.

1551 The Saadians re-establish Marrakech as the capital of an empire that stretches from the Niger river to the Mediterranean.

1668 The Alaouite dynasty, from whom the current King Mohammed VI is a descendant, comes to power.

1672 The Alaouite ruler Moulay Ismail moves the capital to Meknes, and the city once again falls into decline for several centuries.

1912 Treaty of Fez makes Morocco a French Protectorate. The French start building a new city (Ville Nouvelle) outside the medina walls. The French appoint T’hami el-Glaoui as Pasha of Marrakech and ruler of the south. He and his brother Madani were known as ‘Lords of the Atlas’ and were notoriously cruel.

1956 Morocco becomes independent under Mohammed V. El-Glaoui dies two months before independence.

1980s Massive rural exodus towards the cities makes Marrakech Morocco’s second largest city.

1999 Mohammed VI becomes king on the death of his father, Hassan II.

2001 First International Film Festival in Marrakech.

2009 Fatima Zahar Mansouri becomes Marrakech’s first female mayor.

2011 After a series of peaceful protests held across Morocco demanding constitutional reform, a new constitution is adopted. A nail bomb detonated in Marrakech’s Jemaa el-Fna kills 17 people.

2013 New government appointed by Mohammed VI following a crisis in the ruling coalition.

2016 Parliamentary elections; COP22 climate conference in Marrakech.