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Meknes
MEKNES
Meknes is situated 40 miles (60 km) west of Fez and 90 miles (140 km) east of Rabat and is surrounded by Arab and Berber tribes. Its population was estimated in 1994 as 460,000 inhabitants. Close to the fertile plain of Sais, Meknes benefits from its rich agriculture. Meknes (or Miknas al-Zaytun) is one of the oldest Moroccan cities. The gathering of one faction of the Miknasa tribes (tenth century) seems to be the beginning of the founding of the city, which flourished later under different dynasties that ruled the Maghrib. Meknes gained prestige in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries when it became a makhzaniya city. Sultan Mulay Ismaʿil built palaces and made this city the capital of his kingdom. Numerous religious groups—such as the Hama-dish Brotherhood and the Isawiyya Brotherhood—consider Meknes to be sacred and hold celebrations there. The most important occurs in the month of Mulud and honors Shaykh al-Kamil. rahma bourqia |
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Bourqia, Rahma. "Meknes." Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. Bourqia, Rahma. "Meknes." Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3424601809.html Bourqia, Rahma. "Meknes." Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. 2004. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3424601809.html |
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Meknès
Meknès, Morocco Meknessa ez‐Zeitoun Originating as a hill‐top kasbah, by the 10th century it had developed into an important market town of a tribe of the Meknessa Berbers. They named it after themselves, Meknessa ez‐Zeitoun ‘Meknès of the Olives’. Their name comes from the Arabic miknās from kanasa ‘to sweep’. Moulay Ismaïl (c.1645–1727) made Meknès the capital of Morocco in 1673, a year after he had succeeded to the throne. After his death in 1727 the city declined and, although the French rejuvenated it when they occupied it in 1911, the capital was transferred to Rabat.
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JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Meknès." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Meknès." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Mekns.html JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Meknès." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Mekns.html |
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Meknès
Meknès , city (1994 pop. 443,214), N central Morocco. It has a noted carpet-weaving industry. There are also woolen mills, cement and metal works, oil distilleries, and food-processing plants. Meknès became (c.1672) the capital of Morocco under Sultan Ismail , who undertook such palatial building operations that the city was called the Versailles of Morocco. Little of his construction has survived. |
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Cite this article
"Meknès." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Meknès." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Meknes.html "Meknès." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Meknes.html |
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