Taroudant

Taroudant (Arabic: تارودانت, romanized: Tarudant, ar) is a city in the Sous in southwestern Morocco. It is situated east of Agadir on the road to Ouarzazate and south of Marrakesh. Today, it is a small market town and a tourist destination.[1][2]

## Contents

* 1 History
* 1.1 Ancient period
* 1.2 Medieval period
* 2 Climate
* 3 Economy
* 4 Landmarks
* 5 Notable people
* 6 References
* 7 External links

## History

The city walls of the historic medina

### Ancient period

It has been speculated that Taroudant is the same town known as Vala or Uala, which existed in ancient Mauretania.[3]

### Medieval period

The Almoravids occupied the town in 1056.[1] In the mid-15th century the Banu Zaydan, the family who later founded the Saadi dynasty, established themselves near Taroudant in a settlement called Tidsi, which served briefly as the base of the dynasty's first leader, al-Qa'im, until 1513.[4][5][6] According to Moroccan news media, the current layout of the city walls dates to the Saadi period in the 16th century.[2]

In the 17th century, Taroudant was the base of Sidi Yahya, a local chieftain who successfully aided the Saadi sultan Moulay Zaydan against Abu Mahalli, a rebel who had captured Marrakesh.[7]

The city underwent economic decline after the port of Agadir was closed to commerce in 1760.[7] In the late 19th century, Sultan Hassan I established more secure control of the city. At the beginning of the 20th century, it resisted government control again until qa'id Tayyeb al-Goundafi restored order in 1903.[7] When France began to impose its protectorate on Morocco in 1912, Ahmed al-Hiba used Taroudant as his capital to resist the French. The French only established control over it in 1917.[7]

Historically, there was a Jewish community in Taroudant, believed to have been established in the 11th century. Jews made up 10% of the city's population, and mainly engaged in the caravan trade.[8] Moses ben Maimon Albas was a prominent Jewish Kabbalist from Taroudant.[9]

## Climate

On 11 August 2023, a maximum temperature of 48.0 °C (118.4 °F) was registered.[10][relevant? - discuss]

## Economy

Today, Taroudant is a notable market town with a souk near each of its two main squares, Assarag and Talmoklate. There is also a weekly souk outside the city walls, near the future university district.[1]

## Landmarks

The medina (historic quarter) of Taroudant is classified as a national cultural heritage monument of Morocco.[11] Its historic city walls are around 6 kilometres (3.7 mi)[1] or 8 kilometres (5.0 mi)[2] long and are set with bastions and punctuated by nine gates that are still in use.[1]

## Notable people

* Sana Akroud (born 1980), actress, filmmaker, screenwriter, film producer
* Moses ben Maimon Albas (16th century), kabbalist
* Ahmed Soultan, singer

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Morocco. Eyewitness Travel Guides, Dorling Kindersley. 2006. p. 288.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Marrakech's Taroudant: A Small Town Full of History and Charm". 27 October 2018. https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2018/10/256253/marrakech-taroudant-small-town-history-charm/. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
3. ↑ Omar Boum; Thomas Park (2 June 2016) (in en). Historical Dictionary of Morocco. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 458.
4. ↑ Deverdun, Gaston (1959) (in fr). Marrakech: Des origines à 1912. Rabat: Éditions Techniques Nord-Africaines. pp. 350.
5. ↑ Abun-Nasr, Jamil (1987) (in en). A history of the Maghrib in the Islamic period. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 210. ISBN 0-521-33767-4.
6. ↑ Boum, Aomar; Park, Thomas K. (2016). "Sa'dian dynasty" (in en). Historical Dictionary of Morocco. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 432. ISBN 978-1-4422-6297-3. https://books.google.com/books?id=glgzDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA432.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Boum, Aomar; Park, Thomas K. (2016). "Taroudant" (in en). Historical Dictionary of Morocco. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 458. ISBN 978-1-4422-6297-3. https://books.google.com/books?id=glgzDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA432.
8. ↑ "Discover Morocco’s Berber Jewish Past". https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/discover-moroccos-berber-jewish-past/#:~:text=The Jewish presence in this,role in the city's economy..
9. ↑ "Albaz, Moses Ben Maimon". https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/albaz-moses-ben-maimon.
10. ↑ "60253: Taroudant (Morocco)". OGIMET. 11 August 2023. https://www.ogimet.com/cgi-bin/gsynres?ind=60253&ano=2023&mes=9&day=1&hora=18&min=0&ndays=30.
11. ↑ "Médina de Taroudannt" (in fr). http://idpc.ma/view/pc_architecture/sanae:280019.

## External links

| Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Taroudannt.

|

* Official web site of Taroudant Province

[ ⚑ ]  30°28′15.59″N 8°52′50.16″W﻿ / ﻿30.4709972°N 8.8806°W﻿ / 30.4709972; -8.8806 Template:Souss-Massa Template:Taroudant Province

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