Meknès

Meknes مكناس / ⴰⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ / Meknès
Prefecture-level city
Bab Mansour Gate, the historical sign of Meknes.
Seal
Nickname(s): العاصمة الاسماعيلية مكناسة الزيتون The Ismaïlian Capital The médina of 100 minarets.
Meknes Location in Morocco
Coordinates: 33°53′42″N 5°33′17″W / 33.89500°N 5.55472°W / 33.89500; -5.55472Coordinates: 33°53′42″N 5°33′17″W / 33.89500°N 5.55472°W / 33.89500; -5.55472
Country	Morocco
Region	Fès-Meknès
Prefecture	Meknès Prefecture
Government
• Mayor	Abdellah Bouanou
• Prefect	Abdelghani Sebbar
Elevation	546 m (1,792 ft)
Population (September 2014)
• Prefecture-level city	835,695
• Rank	6th in Morocco
• Urban	656,635
• Metro	1,000,000
Time zone	GMT (UTC±00:00)
• Summer (DST)	WEST (UTC+01:00) (UTC)
Postal code	50000
Website	www.meknes.ma

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Historic City of Meknes
Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List
Location	Morocco
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iv
Reference	793
UNESCO region	North Africa / Arab States
Inscription history
Inscription	1996 (20th Session)

Meknes (Arabic: مكناس Mknas‎‎; Berber: ⴰⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ, Ameknas ; French: Meknès; Spanish: Mequinez) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th century by the Almoravids as a military settlement, Meknes became a capital under the reign of Sultan Moulay Ismaïl (1672–1727), the founder of the Alaouite dynasty. Using European slave labour Sultan Moulay Ismaïl turned it into an impressive city in Spanish-Moorish style, surrounded by high walls with great doors, where the harmonious blending of the Islamic and European styles of the 17th century Maghreb are still evident today. The urban population is estimated at more than 650,000 with the metropolitan population close to 1,000,000. It is the seat of Meknès Prefecture and an important economic pole in the region of Fès-Meknès.

Meknes is named after a Berber tribe which, was known as Miknasa (native Berber name: Imeknasen) in the medieval North African documents.

The Almoravids founded a fortress in Meknes during the 11th century. It resisted the Almohads rise, and was thus destroyed by them, only to be rebuilt in a larger size with mosques and large fortifications. Under the Merinids it received further madrasas, kasbahs and mosques in the early 14th century, and continued to thrive under the Wattasid dynasty. Meknes saw its golden age as the imperial capital of Moulay Ismail following his accession to the Sultanate of Morocco (1672–1727). He installed under the old city a large prison to house Christian sailors captured on the sea, and also constructed numerous edifices, gardens, monumental gates, mosques (whence the city's nickname of "City of a Hundred Minarets") and the large line of wall, having a length of 40 kilometres (25 miles). His many building projects were made possible by a large number of European slaves taken at sea. As much as 30 000 slaves were working on his palace every day.