Rabat

Rabat , city (1994 pop. 787,745), capital of Morocco, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Bou Regreg estuary, opposite Salé. Silting problems have diminished the city's role as a port but it maintains important textile industries. There have been settlements on the site since ancient times. It became a Muslim fortress c.AD 700. Prior to independence (1956), it was capital of the French protectorate of Morocco. Points of interest in Rabat are the old walls and the ruins of a large, unfinished mosque with adjoining tower (similar to the Giralda ); these were built during the reign of Yakub (1184-99). Rabat was a stronghold of corsairs in the 17th and 18th cent. Muhammad V Univ. was founded in the city in 1957.

Rabat Capital of Morocco, on the Atlantic coast, n Morocco. Rabat dates from Phoenician times, but the fortified city was founded in the 12th century by the Almohad ruler, Abd al-Mumin. It later became a refuge for Moors expelled from Spain. Under French rule (from 1912), it was made the capital of the protectorate of Morocco. Notable sights include the 12th-century Hassan Tower. Industries: hand-woven rugs, textiles, food processing. Pop. (1999) 652,000; 2,227,000 (metropolitan).

Rabat, Malta, Morocco 1. Malta: in Roman times the present area of Mdina and Rabat was called Melita. When part of the city, now Mdina, was fortified by the Arabs the parts outside the walls was called rabat ‘suburb’.2. Morocco: locally Ribāṭ which is a fortified monastery. It was originally Phoenician and then Roman as a self‐governing city. The modern city was founded by 'Abd al‐Mu᾽min (d. 1163), the first Almohad ruler (1130–63), in 1150 as a ribāṭ in which to house his troops for a jihād ‘holy war’ against Spain. It was, however, Abū Yūsuf Ya'qūb al‐Manṣūr (c.1160–99), the third Almohad sultan (1184–99), who decided to make the camp into an imperial city. He named it Ribāṭ al‐Fath ‘Camp of Victory’, from which the present name comes, to commemorate his victory over the Spanish at Alarcos in 1195. In Europe it was known as New Salé during the 17th century since it lay across the Bou Regreg River from a pre‐Roman settlement called Sala. Although a conurbation, they remain separate cities.