Google Cloud Speech-to-Text API (Chirp) + Gemini 2.5 Flash Non-Thinking. Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a quotation record.
00:00:01What is
00:00:02is considered one So there are many in this the appearance of the state, and that is the existence of
00:00:06that are considered a reference in emirates, meaning the existence of what fragmentation.
00:00:09Almoravid architecture. In This entire area was divided
00:00:13among
00:00:14the Almoravids' contribution to different emirates. This political fragmentation was exploited by these powers,
00:00:18and this is what explains that
00:00:21in less than 10
00:00:25two important examples in this of the state, and years, the influence of this state will reach, mostly ended with before the state becomes just a movement, its influence will extend from
00:00:27the River Senegal to Sijilmasa
00:00:31When in less than 10
00:00:32years.
00:00:36During the 15th and 11th centuries,
00:00:39the features of the southern part of the map of influence
00:00:43became clear, from Aoudaghoust in the south to
00:00:47Tamdoult
00:00:47and Sijilmasa.
00:00:52Indicators of the project's achievement
00:00:55with clear political
00:00:56its discovery in the components gradually began to emerge,
00:01:01including temporal authority,
00:01:04the army, and allegiance,
00:01:08the emirates, and this and the obedience and obligations that result
00:01:13It is the largest fortress in from it. It seems that the approach to the expansion's
00:01:16path maintained its pace that
00:01:20it started with, by adopting
00:01:22will not appear in a map of trade routes and oases, in addition to agricultural
00:01:28existed in this lands.
00:01:32Thus, around
00:01:35the Almohads intensified against the year 450 AH,
00:01:36the emirate or against corresponding to 1058
00:01:39AD, the extreme Sous,
00:01:44ibn Yusuf ibn Tashfin decided to build this the High Atlas,
00:01:44fortress in and the Tensift Plain became part of the domain. And in the year
00:01:48462 AH, corresponding to
00:01:511070 AD,
00:01:53and possible movements of the Almohads from the construction of the capital was started, which
00:01:58Youssef Mosque. These completed its symbols and insignia.
00:02:01are made of But this region also did not have
00:02:05any power that could confront it if
00:02:08the movement reached, if these Almoravids reached Sijilmassa. In Sijilmassa, it became clear
00:02:12that the matter was indeed
00:02:15about establishing
00:02:16a state.
00:02:24Sijilmassa, its location
00:02:27came from
00:02:30two rivers, which are Wadi
00:02:34Ghris and Wadi Ziz. We can say, as it has been said,
00:02:37that Sijilmassa is a gift of Ghris and Ziz,
00:02:41just as it is said that Egypt is a gift of the Nile.
00:02:44However, it is known that Sijilmassa played
00:02:48historical roles for the region
00:02:51as a whole. Indeed, some consider it
00:02:54to be one of the first oases that played a role
00:02:57in trade mediation and was the beating heart of the Far
00:03:00Maghreb, and the beating heart
00:03:03of caravan trade between
00:03:08would line up around this East and West, and North and South. Its name was largely
00:03:12associated with this
00:03:14are stones, as we said, that come from comes the second element in mediation between all parts of the world
00:03:16towards Western Sudan,
00:03:18a historical from which came, firstly, the sources of slaves and gold, the profitable
00:03:22trade at that time. After
00:03:25Sijilmassa, in less than five
00:03:27state. This years, this influence will
00:03:30reach the Hawz plain. We will notice
00:03:34of Morocco. This that
00:03:35region, this Aghmat will settle there for more than 10 years.
00:03:43Koutoubia Mosque. On the contrary, in the Koutoubia Mosque,
00:03:50Aghmat is a historical city that has been known as Aghmat
00:03:54since the beginning of the early eras of the existence of Islam in
00:03:57Moroccan history. This is indicated
00:04:00by the fact that the city of Aghmat is a city whose builder is unknown. It is
00:04:03a city that was built collectively because it was a commercial
00:04:06station. It is known for commercial stations
00:04:10that merchants reach them from all places, meaning for
00:04:13Morocco, from the north, from the south, through trade routes from
00:04:16Aoudaghoust to Aghmat, from Sijilmassa to Aghmat, from Fez to
00:04:20Aghmat. The capital was ready
00:04:23for the Almoravids. They settled there for the following elements or for the following
00:04:26components, for the following considerations: Firstly, it was an economic
00:04:30city par excellence, as it was,
00:04:32from a social point of view, they worked, meaning they were not idle, meaning
00:04:36they were not afflicted with impotence or
00:04:39laziness. The third matter is that
00:04:41the tank. And here the water flows down from the natural environment contributes and here is the other basin. This and assists
00:04:44in providing everything a military needs if it wishes to move
00:04:48outside this
00:04:49city.
00:04:55and they take water from this Here we will find that one of the problems that
00:04:58were behind the long period of stability was
00:05:02the inhabitants of the High Atlas.
00:05:05Westerners because there was a hostile relationship between them.
00:05:08climatic conditions that prevail in Firstly, the inhabitants of the High Atlas did not submit
00:05:11to any rule at all, except the rule of their
00:05:14tribes. Now they will be under
00:05:17the rule of a state. And this state is not
00:05:21from them, it is from outside their lands
00:05:24and outside their tribes. They are Sanhaja,
00:05:28and the state is from Sanhaja. The second issue
00:05:31is that these inhabitants
00:05:34of the mountain had
00:05:37the Hawz, especially the Middle Hawz, as
00:05:41their vital area.
00:05:44they grazed, they would bring their
00:05:46livestock there during the
00:05:50winter and summer,
00:05:53they would go back up to the mountain, so it was an important source of livelihood for them,
00:05:57which they used to boost their pastoral economy. And that's why we
00:06:00will find this pastoral activity specific to this
00:06:03region.
00:06:07Perhaps what was achieved in the field of urban development during
00:06:11the reign of Emir Abu Bakr ibn Umar was
00:06:14the initiation of preparing the Central Hawz plain to transform from
00:06:18a grazing land and wilderness into agricultural land
00:06:21and a place of settlement and urban
00:06:24and rural development. The founding of the capital of the Almoravid
00:06:27experience, Marrakech,
00:06:30was a center of attraction.
00:06:35Its name is composed of two words:
00:06:39"mur" alone, which is the place, and "kush".
00:06:43This is the name of a deity called
00:06:46"the Ram". This place was
00:06:49before the advent of Islam. This was a sign.
00:06:52It
00:06:56had natural
00:06:59fortifications. We mean natural
00:07:02fortifications.
00:07:08Or from proximity to the sea.
00:07:13Or a mountain
00:07:14peak.
00:07:18The second protection is artificial protection, which is
00:07:21that those who are loyal to the capital surround it
00:07:24with walls. Here we will notice that the wall is not formed by these sources.
00:07:28It will be a third for the capital,
00:07:31which is that another fortification is added to it,
00:07:35which is human fortification. So from here we will understand some
00:07:39of the reasons that led to the establishment
00:07:47located in the center of the Tensift basin, bordered
00:07:51to the south by the High Atlas Mountains,
00:07:54and to the north by the Tensift
00:07:57River. This site has natural geographical
00:08:00advantages that contributed to the establishment of the city.
00:08:03Thus, the easy topography
00:08:06facilitated communication, transport,
00:08:09urban development, and the establishment and expansion of agricultural
00:08:12lands.
00:08:15Proximity to the High Atlas Mountains
00:08:19helped ensure the supply of many building
00:08:21materials and secure the necessary water resources,
00:08:25both underground and surface, and their mobilization
00:08:28through the technique of khettaras and irrigation canals for urban
00:08:31and agricultural purposes.
00:08:33والفلاحيه.
00:08:45And to meet the needs of the population and various
00:08:48demands of human activity.
00:09:01The location also contributed, after its establishment, to the involvement
00:09:05of the city's economy in the dynamism of local
00:09:08and regional trade and in the map of
00:09:10Mediterranean- African trade.
00:09:13Thus, Marrakech was chosen
00:09:17as the capital of the
00:09:18Almoravid state.
00:09:23We know it because when we say we founded a city, it means that
00:09:26we have now entered a stable region. The city
00:09:28does not have water sources, its water sources are limited at a certain
00:09:32time. The climate does not allow for providing water as much
00:09:35as it allows for its loss. The problem of
00:09:38water will be solved for Marrakech through the khettara system.
00:09:45The khettara technique, and this is a well-known technique in various
00:09:48parts of the world, or various parts of the Islamic world, especially
00:09:52the countries or Islamic regions with
00:09:55a semi-arid climate. And I would like to mention
00:09:59Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and
00:10:03Iran, and other countries. And we find the same technique in other countries
00:10:06outside what was called at that time in the ancient world, i.e., outside
00:10:10the African and Asian continents. We find the American
00:10:13continent, specifically in countries such as Peru and Mexico,
00:10:17due to their similar
00:10:20North Africa and in other regions of the Middle East.
00:10:26regard, and it confirms that the khettara technique may have
00:10:29been innovated at the same time or at later
00:10:32times by the inhabitants of North Africa.
00:10:35The khettara
00:10:41is a technique for transporting underground water to the earth's
00:10:44surface through a channel several
00:10:48kilometers long due to the vast distance between
00:10:51the source and the outlet.
00:10:55Various writings that have addressed
00:10:58the history of the introduction of the khettara technique into
00:11:01the geography of the Hawz agree on the period of the reign of Prince Ali ibn
00:11:05Youssef as the date of this
00:11:07structured
00:11:09hydro-engineering achievement.
00:11:16So, if the minbar was established during the
00:11:19emergence of the state, and this type of
00:11:22state is a centralized state. What is a centralized
00:11:26state here? A centralized state is what we mean by a state that
00:11:29completely abolished
00:11:33vast area that we call the Islamic West
00:11:36came under the control, influence, and sovereignty of one
00:11:40ruler, which is the state. And from here, the concept of the Makhzen
00:11:43will emerge, of course. The word
00:11:47Moroccan documents until the Almohads, but
00:11:51its meaning Almoravid
00:11:59period. In the custom of the people of Morocco,
00:12:01it is called the Makhzen. And Bab Al-Makhzen, which is one of
00:12:05the gates from the Almoravid period, is located in the south
00:12:08of the western facade of the Marrakech walls, opposite
00:12:11the Qasr al-Hajar. And it is a historical
00:12:14source that confirms this political and administrative
00:12:17meaning of the word.
00:12:20This gate was exclusive to the rulers of the state
00:12:23residing in Qasr al-Hajar.
00:12:26And it was the access point for the latter to the outside of the city.
00:12:29Therefore, its proximity to
00:12:33the palace was reflected in its function, so it bore the name by which it is known.
00:12:47The era of the Almoravids is
00:12:49a period of the conceptualization of the political concept of the Makhzen,
00:12:52which refers to the state with a centralized
00:12:55form of government.
00:12:58And a moment that marks the end of the era of the rule of
00:13:01the emirates and the beginning of the steps towards political and doctrinal
00:13:05unity of the Islamic West,
00:13:07and the establishment
00:13:10of the distinct identity of the Moroccan state.
00:13:13So,
00:13:15I said the founding of the city means the emergence of a life
00:13:19of stability, and the emergence of a life of stability means
00:13:22the practice of various types of human activity:
00:13:25agriculture, industry, trade, services,
00:13:29and so on, especially since the matter is
00:13:32not about an ordinary city, but about a capital city. And here
00:13:37the historical value of Qasr
00:13:40al-Hajar, which is the palace,
00:13:43as what? As the center
00:13:46of the existence of state authority. And here we
00:13:49are facing a centralized
00:13:52site will undertake the political management
00:13:55of a region that has not been repeated in the history
00:14:00geographical area of state sovereignty, will extend.
00:14:04It was known as the Islamic West to its farthest north,
00:14:08it
00:14:11included Andalusia, and when we say Andalusia
00:14:14today, it refers to southern Spain
00:14:17and Portugal. Then it extends south
00:14:19to Wadi Draa,
00:14:23then it extends east with the Almohads to Algeria, then
00:14:27it extends with the Almohads until it reaches the borders of Egypt
00:14:30and Libya. This entire area was
00:14:34centrally governed from Qasr al-Hajar
00:14:37for how long? For more than 40
00:14:40years.
00:14:46Throughout the 6th Hijri century / 12th
00:14:50Gregorian century of Almoravid
00:14:53rule, Andalusia was the most
00:14:56disruptive point in the northern territorial domain of this
00:15:00state, thereby
00:15:02posing a drain on its human
00:15:06and material resources.
00:15:24The Almoravids ensured the areas under their
00:15:27influence in Andalusia, and guaranteed
00:15:29security and stability there,
00:15:32and provided the conditions for work and production there,
00:15:35and collected
00:15:48So, regarding
00:15:52construction and development, we can
00:15:55briefly say that their contribution began with the establishment
00:16:02the second emir, Ali ibn
00:16:04Youssef.
00:16:16The legacy of the Almoravids in the field of urban development
00:16:20and construction is distributed among
00:16:23sites,
00:16:25ruins, and archaeological remains.
00:16:33and foundations.
00:16:40It is noted that there are places that preserve material
00:16:43evidence, such as Qasr
00:16:45al-Hajar.
00:16:49As for the monuments, some of them are still standing today,
00:16:52such as Bab Debbaghine
00:16:55in Marrakech, and some of them are
00:16:58still partially extant, like the
00:17:00walls of Marrakech and the Almoravid
00:17:03Dome.
00:17:24Now, the Ben Youssef Mosque, which is located in
00:17:27the city of Marrakech. Here we see the remains
00:17:30of the minaret of the Almoravid
00:17:33mosque, which is the Ben remains
00:17:38mountain stones, as we can see, large
00:17:42stones that are approximately
00:17:4650-60 to 80 cm
00:17:49and form the base of the minaret. The sides
00:17:53of this minaret, as we can see, are 12.40 meters by
00:17:5612.40 meters because it is square. The
00:18:00stones, as we said, are metamorphic
00:18:03stones that
00:18:06come from the
00:18:37in different sizes.
00:18:40We can see that the stones are not well- like
00:18:44the stones we see in other minarets in the city of Marrakech, like the Koutoubia minarets.
00:18:48These
00:18:51the mountains, strong stones that
00:18:54are hard. And as we notice
00:18:57here, the stones are not arranged in an organized
00:19:01manner. Different types of shapes. If we look at this type
00:19:04of construction with this method, stones
00:19:08that are not cut regularly,
00:19:11we see it in the site next to us here, next to this mosque,
00:19:14which is the Almoravid Dome, and we see it in Qasr al-Hajar in
00:19:17our knowledge. This is the
00:19:21we see stones that are well-
00:19:24organized
00:19:27and all of similar size almost. It is possible
00:19:30that the mosque, whose size is large, could
00:19:34have been the center of the city, although
00:19:38the original center was next to Qasr
00:19:40al-Hajar.
00:19:43Perhaps the location of the
00:19:44area of sovereignty
00:19:48and its environmental and human components,
00:19:52and what it permitted or prohibited from the perspective of the people
00:19:55of the doctrine, all together
00:19:59had a profound impact on determining the identity of the architectural
00:20:03product and its character.
00:20:05And if there is an echo of some forms and building materials in Qala'at
00:20:09Bani Hammad, then the Andalusian presence,
00:20:12especially Cordoba, was more
00:20:16prominent than others. And without a doubt, the Almoravid
00:20:20Dome, the minbar of the Koutoubia Mosque, and the minbar
00:20:24of the Qarawiyyin Mosque in Fez
00:20:26are considered among the finest artistic masterpieces
00:20:30created by the skilled craftsmen of this era
00:20:34and their mastery.
00:20:41Fez is surrounded by walls,
00:20:44and the restoration of the Qarawiyyin Mosque is still ongoing.
00:20:48The mihrab dome
00:20:52of the models
00:20:56the art of
00:20:59Andalusia, they don't have much of it.
00:21:03The foundation they had was Marrakech. So if we tour the city
00:21:06of Marrakech, we will not find a large number of these
00:21:10Almoravid structures, but we were fortunate to find at least
00:21:15regard. The first is
00:21:18the Almoravid Dome.
00:21:40And this name given to the Almoravid Dome is a modern name
00:21:44given to it by archaeologists after
00:21:4620th century, but its name is unknown.
00:21:50Except for a reference in a Habous document or a waqf
00:21:54deed, or the water fountain. The
00:21:57mosque adjacent to this Almoravid Dome was referred to in that waqf
00:22:00deed as the Water Fountain Mosque. And it is known from the waqf deed that
00:22:04the mentioned mosque is the Ben Youssef Mosque and the Almoravid Dome.
00:22:24Therefore, it is assumed that the Almoravid
00:22:27Dome at that time carried the popular name of Al-Saqaya
00:22:30during the Almohad rule. Thus, the Almoravid Dome
00:22:34is not just a dome, but it is a water complex consisting
00:22:38firstly of three
00:22:40fountains.
00:22:44And these fountains were used for people to drink
00:22:47and for animals to drink as well, but in an orderly manner. And with a specific system.
00:22:51Then we have behind these
00:22:53three fountains a water tank that
00:22:57was responsible for supplying the three fountains with water.
00:22:59And next to these two structures,
00:23:03a very beautiful dome was found, resembling
00:23:06in its internal decorations the decorations of the Great Mosque of Cordoba.
00:23:41And in the middle of this dome on the ground
00:23:44level, there is a small rectangular basin
00:23:47surrounded by a double channel. The
00:23:50Muslims who wished to perform ablution before prayer
00:23:53at the Grand Mosque, these people
00:23:58to perform
00:24:00ablution. Now, in Ben Youssef Square, specifically this archaeological
00:24:04site that constitutes
00:24:08monument of great importance for the city of
00:24:11Marrakech, this monument, which is
00:24:14the Almoravid Dome, consists of a license
00:24:18or a basin. Which contains water,
00:24:21people, the worshippers, come
00:24:24and take water from it and go
00:24:27to perform ablution for prayer because there is only one mosque here, which is the Ben Youssef Mosque.
00:24:31This monument, apart from this fountain it has, it has toilets.
00:24:35Here we see the toilets I spoke
00:24:38about, whose walls are mostly gone, with only some remains
00:24:41like this, as we see them. We see that almost
00:24:45one meter to 1.5 meters, up to 1.6
00:24:47meters, of these walls remain. The way the water tank
00:25:16because this tank is what provides water for the latrine.
00:25:20And we can add to it, we can see it now
00:25:23here in the fountain, which consists of three basins. Here is one basin, here is one basin,
00:25:28is the tank and the wall of
00:25:31the tank to the fountain. And the people, the residents of
00:25:35the area who come to take water, it is clear that the water here was used,
00:25:39the water here was also used by the neighboring
00:25:42residents. People come from here, people from here,
00:25:45cistern.
00:25:47If we want to see the quality of the materials used in the construction here,
00:25:51we see that there is one stone here, and here again, one
00:25:54stone. We see that there are stones from Jebel, stones from
00:25:57Jebel, and we see also bricks at
00:26:01the top. We see them.
00:26:38The Almoravids built a series of fortresses in the mountain
00:26:41passes, in places surrounded by mountains
00:26:44from all
00:26:46sides,
00:26:52to monitor the movements of hostile tribes
00:26:56and prevent their infiltration into
00:26:57the plain.
00:27:05So, the fortress of Tizmout is an Almoravid fortress
00:27:08located about 55 km
00:27:11southeast of the city of Marrakech.
00:27:15the testimony of researchers in archaeology
00:27:19who compared its area with the area of the rest of the discovered
00:27:22fortresses in Morocco and Central Maghreb (Algeria)
00:27:25and in Andalusia. Its area exceeds 70
00:27:29hectares, and its establishment dates back to the Almoravid era.
00:27:33Specifically, when the threat of
00:27:39the Almoravid state, especially against its capital, the city of Marrakech.
00:27:43For this reason, Prince Ali
00:27:47the mountains at the exit of Ouirgane Valley,
00:27:51to monitor all future
00:27:56the mountains, where their call spread towards
00:27:59the city of Marrakech and before that towards the city of Aghmat.
00:28:26The construction of this fortress is surrounded by
00:28:29a group of