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From Idriss II to Hassan II
Once Sultan Idriss II had finally made up his mind to found a capital city for his dynasty, he made a lengthy search for a suitable place. The decision was finally made in favor of a valley to the south of the Jebel Zelagh. He purchased the region from two Berber tribes for 5,000 dirham. It is said that on February 3, 808, he personally determined the course of the walls and position of the city gates.
The newly established city of Fes attracted Berbers and Arabs, Christians and Jews alike. The Berbers settled on the right-hand bank of the Oued Fes, the Arabs on the left bank. In the year 814 about 300 families who had fled from Cordoba in Andalusia, joined the Berbers; since then the eastern part of the city has always been referred to as the Andalusian Quarter. A similarly large number of refugees from Kairawine, a holy city in northeastern Tunisia, arrived in the city in 825. They settled in a quarter on the left bank of the river which was then named Kairawine after their place of origin. Years later, the grandson of Idriss II had mosques for Friday prayer constructed in both quarters - the Andalusian and Kairawine mosques.
The city's history was very turbulent during the first centuries of its existence. The two city districts were separated by a wall, due to the constant differences and never-ending rivalries between its inhabitants, both of whom then formed their own independent cities. Despite all of the internal unrest and a number of external threats, Fes developed very rapidly into a relatively prosperous and indeed affluent city. Mosques, baths and fondouk,s (caravanserais) were built, as well as new and longer ramparts.
In the 11th century the Almoravids conquered the city and had the wall between its two main sectors immediately torn down. In addition, they enlarged the Kairawine Mosque. The obvious economic upswing, which had begun under the Almoravids in connection with the flourishing trade with Spain, also continued during the 12th century under the Almohad dynasty.
The Merinids captured Fes in 1248, and the city regained its former status of a capital which it had lost under the Almohads and Almoravids in favor of Marrakech. The era of the Merinids, which meant three centuries of peace and order, was a true blossoming period for Fes. The Merinid sultan Abu Youssef had a new city, Fes el Jedid, erected next to the old city, Fes el Bali. In the 14th and 15th centuries, with more than 100,000 inhabitants, Fes was not only a significant city for trading and craftsmanship, but also evolved into the intellectual and scholarly center of North Africa. As heir to the Spanish-Moorish culture following the Christian reconquest of Andalusia, Fes in the course of time simply became the metropolis of western Islam.
Around the middle of the 16th century the city began to decline with the advent of the Saadian dynasty. Only Ahmed el Mansour, the most famous of the Saadian sultans, showed any interest in Fes at all. Indeed, he had the already remarkable collection of the library at the Kairawine Mosque further expanded; on the other hand, he had two fortresses (Borj Sud and Borj Nord) constructed outside of the city walls - not for the defense of the city, but rather to maintain his control over its residents.
Under the Alawite ruler Moulay Rashid, Fes became capital city once again, albeit for six years only. He ordered the construction of the Cherarda kasbah, a barracks-like installation for his Berber troops. He also arranged for the restoration of the Madrasah Cherratine, the largest of the city's Koranic schools. During the brief period of Moulay Rashid's rule the tomb of Idriss I was also enlarged, the city walls considerably strengthened and a new bridge constructed over the Oued Sebou to ease access to the city for the caravans from Taza.
During the 18th and 19th centuries the city experienced riots, famines, epidemics, sieges, plundering and various other symptoms of bellicose times. The gates were demolished and then reconstructed. After the death of Sultan Moulay Hassan in 1894, the life of the royal court became increasingly decadent and European influence over Morocco grew ever stronger. Moulay Abd el Aziz, a mere spoiled child, acceded to the throne. Dubious advisors of questionable loyalty caused the state ever greater debt, and led the sultan to distance himself from the city's religious leaders. These ultimately withdrew their support for him, and in 1908 named his elder brother Hafiz as the new sultan. This in turn displeased the Berber tribes in the vicinity, with the result that they laid siege to the city once again. The only thing left for the sultan to do at this point was to enlist the aid of French troops. In May, 1911, Christian troops entered Fes for the first time. The French Protectorate chose to move the capital to the more controllable Rabat and Fes, once the uncontested center of the country, has played little more than a bit part on the political stage ever since.
Although Allal el Fassi, the leader of the Moroccan independence movement during the Protectorate, came from Fes, the majority of the city's residents could hardly be mobilized during the struggle for liberation. Nowadays, Hassan I pays a visit to the city of his ancestors once a year on his tour of Morocco. |
