Editing Rabat (section)

== History ==
{{For timeline}}

=== Ancient ''Sala'' ===
In the first millennium BC the [[Phoenicia]]ns founded several trading colonies along the Atlantic coast of what is now Morocco, but the existence of a [[Phoenician settlement of North Africa|Phoenician settlement]] in the area, called ''Sala'' or ''Shallat'', has been debated by archeologists.<ref name="Abu-Lughod2014">{{cite book |author=Janet L. Abu-Lughod |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NKP_AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA37 |title=Rabat: Urban Apartheid in Morocco |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1980 |isbn=978-1-4008-5303-8 |pages=35, 37–38 (note 2)}}</ref><ref name="Martin-2019">{{Cite book |last=Martín |first=Alfredo Mederos |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m6CgDwAAQBAJ&dq=chellah+punic&pg=PA630 |title=The Oxford Handbook of the Phoenician and Punic Mediterranean |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2019 |isbn=978-0-19-049934-1 |editor-last=Doak |editor-first=Brian R. |pages=630 |language=en |chapter=North Africa: from the Atlantic to Algeria |editor-last2=López-Ruiz |editor-first2=Carolina}}</ref> By the first century BC the local inhabitants were still writing in the [[Neo-Punic|neo-Punic language]], but the region came under the influence of [[Ancient Rome|Rome]].<ref name="ZeviTurchetti2004">{{cite book |author1=Anna Gallina Zevi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hMV2s_sAICMC&pg=PA224 |title=Méditerranée occidentale antique: les échanges. Atti del seminario (Marsiglia, 14–15 maggio 2004). Ediz. francese, italiana e spagnola |author2=Rita Turchetti |publisher=Rubbettino Editore |year=2004 |isbn=978-88-498-1116-2 |page=224}}</ref> It was controlled by the ancient [[Berbers|Berber]] [[Mauretania|Mauretanian Kingdom]] until it was formally annexed by Rome in the first century BC.<ref name="Mugnai-2016">{{Cite book |last=Mugnai |first=Niccolò |title=Architectural Decoration and Urban History in Mauretania Tingitana (Morocco) |publisher=School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester |year=2016 |pages=156–183 |language=en |type=PhD thesis}}</ref> On the site now known as [[Chellah]], just south of the walled city today, the Romans built a city named ''Sala Colonia''. Excavations have revealed that older Mauretanian structures existed on the site before Roman structures were built over them.<ref name="Mugnai-2016" /> Along with [[Lixus (ancient city)|Lixus]], Sala Colonia was one of the two main naval outposts held by the Romans on the Atlantic coast of the ''[[Mauretania Tingitana]]'' province. The port of Sala (now disappeared) was used by commercial Roman ships as a way station on their southwestward passages to [[Anfa]] and the ''Insula Purpuraria'' ([[Mogador island]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Le province romane d'Africa in "Il Mondo dell'Archeologia" |url=http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/le-province-romane-d-africa_(Il-Mondo-dell'Archeologia)/ |access-date=2018-02-24 |website=www.treccani.it |language=it-IT}}</ref>

Archaeological objects of [[Visigoths|Visigothic]] and [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] origin found in the area attest to the persistence of commercial or political contacts between Sala and Roman Europe, up to the establishment of a Byzantine presence in North Africa during the 7th century.<ref name="Boube-1983">Boube, J. "Éléments de ceinturon wisigothiques et byzantins trouvés au Maroc".Bulletin d'archéologie marocaine, volume=XV, 1983–84.pages=281–297</ref> However, Sala began to be abandoned in the 5th century and was mostly in ruins when the [[Muslim conquest of the Maghreb|Muslim Arabs]] arrived in the 7th century and established Islamic influence in the region.<ref name="Salmon-2021">{{Cite book |last=Salmon |first=Xavier |title=Fès mérinide: Une capitale pour les arts, 1276-1465 |publisher=Lienart |year=2021 |isbn=9782359063356 |pages=268–271}}</ref>

===Medieval Islamic period===
[[File:Palace gate.jpg|thumb|The [[Kasbah of the Udayas]], the citadel built by the [[Almohad Caliphate|Almohads]] on the site of earlier [[ribat]]s|left]]
In the 10th century the [[Caliphate of Córdoba|Umayyads]] of [[Córdoba, Spain|Cordoba]], or their [[Zenata]] [[Berbers|Berber]] allies in the region, founded a [[ribat]] or fortified monastery/outpost in this area, to defend against the [[Barghawata]] Berbers who had established a [[Khawarij|Kharijite]] state to the south.<ref name="Parker-1981">{{Cite book |last=Parker |first=Richard |title=A practical guide to Islamic Monuments in Morocco |publisher=The Baraka Press |year=1981 |location=Charlottesville, VA |pages=75–85}}</ref> This ribat was most likely on the same site as the current [[Kasbah of the Udayas]], but its location has not been confirmed by historians.<ref name="Parker-1981" /> Around 1030, a new town called Salā (the present [[Salé]]) was founded on the opposite side of the river (the north side) by the [[Banu 'Ashara]] family.<ref name="ElHour2000">{{cite journal |author1=Rachid El Hour |date=1 January 2000 |title=The Andalusian Qāḍī in the Almoravid Period: Political and Judicial Authority |url=https://www.academia.edu/1091061 |journal=Studia Islamica |publisher=Maisonneuve & Larose |issue=90 |page=80 |doi=10.2307/1596165 |jstor=1596165 |quote=With regard to the judicial administration in the Maghreb, the Almoravids gave the judicial functions to local families. For example in Sale, the Banu 'Ashara family, a very rich family...}}</ref><ref name="Grabar1990">{{cite book |author=Oleg Grabar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P4cXo_cMIDAC&pg=PA65 |title=Muqarnas: An Annual on Islamic Art and Architecture |publisher=Brill |year=1990 |isbn=90-04-09347-8 |page=65}}</ref>

One of the last [[Almoravid dynasty|Almoravid]] emirs, [[Tashfin ibn Ali]] (r. 1143–1145) built a new ''ribat'' on the site of the current kasbah as part of his efforts to hold back the [[Almohad Caliphate|Almohads]].<ref name="Parker-1981" /><ref name="Bennison-2016">{{Cite book |last=Bennison |first=Amira K. |title=The Almoravid and Almohad Empires |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=2016 |pages=309–10, 322–25}}</ref> Almohads nonetheless defeated the Almoravids and destroyed the ribat shortly after.<ref name="Touri-2010">{{Cite book |last1=Touri |first1=Abdelaziz |title=Le Maroc andalou : à la découverte d'un art de vivre |last2=Benaboud |first2=Mhammad |last3=Boujibar El-Khatib |first3=Naïma |last4=Lakhdar |first4=Kamal |last5=Mezzine |first5=Mohamed |publisher=Ministère des Affaires Culturelles du Royaume du Maroc & Museum With No Frontiers |year=2010 |isbn=978-3902782311 |edition=2 |chapter=VIII.1 Rabat}}</ref> In 1150 or 1151 the Almohad caliph [[Abd al-Mu'min]] built a new kasbah (citadel) to replace the former ''ribat'', within which he included a palace and a mosque.<ref name="Touri-2010" /><ref name="Lintz-2014">{{Cite book |last1=Lintz |first1=Yannick |title=Le Maroc médiéval: Un empire de l'Afrique à l'Espagne |last2=Déléry |first2=Claire |last3=Tuil Leonetti |first3=Bulle |publisher=Louvre éditions |year=2014 |isbn=9782350314907 |location=Paris |pages=306–308}}</ref><ref name="Bennison-2016" /> This Almohad kasbah corresponds to the current Kasbah of the Udayas (which was expanded in later periods).<ref name="Bennison-2016" /> Abd al-Mu'min also had an underground canal dug to divert a water source to this location, allowing for future settlement and urbanization in the area.<ref name="Bennison-2016" /> The site became a military staging ground for Almohad armies setting out on campaigns to Al-Andalus.<ref name="Touri-2010" />

The Almohad caliph [[Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur|Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur]] (r. 1184–1199) embarked on an ambitious project to construct a new fortified imperial capital, called ''al-Mahdiyya'' or ''Ribat al-Fath'', on the site of what is now the [[Medina quarter|medina]] (old city) of Rabat, with new walls extending over a vast area beyond the kasbah.<ref name="Bennison-2016" /><ref>''History of Morocco'', Henri Terrasse, 1952</ref> This project also included the construction of an enormous mosque (the remains of which include the [[Hassan Tower]]) and of new grand gateways such as ''[[Bab er-Rouah]]'' and the main gate of the kasbah, now known as ''Bab Udaya'' or ''Bab al-Kbir''. After al-Mansur's death in 1199 the mosque and the capital remained unfinished and his successors lacked the resources or the will to finish it.<ref name="Bennison-2016" /> The new city was never fully inhabited and the site was practically abandoned.<ref name="Mouline-2008">{{Cite book |last=Mouline |first=Saïd |title=The City in the Islamic World |publisher=Brill |year=2008 |isbn=9789047442653 |editor-last=Jayyusi |editor-first=Salma K. |pages=643–662 |chapter=Rabat, Salé – Holy Cities of the Two Banks |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tO55DwAAQBAJ&pg=PR7}}</ref><ref name="Touri-2010" />

During the [[Marinid Sultanate|Marinid dynasty]] period (13th to 15th centuries), the town of [[Salé]] across the river grew more important than the settlements of the south bank.<ref name="Touri-2010" /><ref name="Parker-1981" /><ref name="Mouline-2008" /> In 1515 [[Leo Africanus]] reported that Rabat had declined so much that only 100 inhabited houses remained.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} The Marinids did build a [[Great Mosque, Rabat|Great Mosque]] in what is now the medina of Rabat and on the nearby site of Chellah (ancient Sala) they built a royal necropolis for their dynasty.<ref name="Mouline-2008" />

===Corsair republic===
In 1609, [[Philip III of Spain|Philip III]] decreed the [[Expulsion of the Moriscos|expulsion]] of all [[Morisco]]s (people of Muslim or [[Moors|Moorish]] descent) from [[Spain]]. About 2000 of these refugees, originally from the town of [[Hornachos]] near [[Badajoz]], Spain, settled around Salé and occupied the kasbah, attracting between 5000 and 14,000 other Moriscos to join them.<ref name="Touri-2010" /> Rabat and neighboring Salé united to form the [[Republic of Bou Regreg]] in 1627.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Levant|first1=Yves|last2=Maziane|first2=Leïla|date=2017-01-02|title=The Republic of Salé (1627–1641/1666); an alternative pirate organization model?|journal=Management & Organizational History|volume=12|issue=1|pages=1–29|doi=10.1080/17449359.2017.1296773|s2cid=157363174|issn=1744-9359}}</ref> This autonomous republic became a base for [[Barbary pirates|corsairs]]: pirates, also known as the "[[Salé Rovers]]", who preyed on merchant ships around the shores of [[Western Europe]].<ref name="Touri-2010" /><ref name="Abun-Nasr-1987a">{{Cite book |last=Abun-Nasr |first=Jamil |title=A history of the Maghrib in the Islamic period |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1987 |isbn=0521337674 |location=Cambridge}}</ref> [[File:Muraille des Andalous 2 - Rabat.JPG|thumb|The [[Andalusian wall of Rabat|Andalusian Wall]] today, added inside the Almohad walled enclosure during the 17th century]]
During this time, the area below the kasbah on the south bank became more heavily populated, thanks to the Morisco and Andalusi refugees. A new "[[Andalusian wall of Rabat|Andalusian Wall]]" was built to delimit this area in the northern part of the former Almohad walled city. What is now known as the Street of the Consuls became an important road artery even at this time.<ref name="Mouline-2008" /><ref name="Touri-2010" /> The name "Rabat" was not yet in use; the city of the south bank was known as "New Salé" while the city of the north bank was known as "Old Salé". Corsair activities were based in New Salé, whereas the inhabitants of Old Salé generally did not participate in piracy.<ref name="Mouline-2008" />

=== 'Alawi rule ===
The pirates did not have to contend with any central authority until [[Al-Rashid of Morocco|al-Rashid]], the founder of the [['Alawi dynasty]], conquered the area in 1666 and united most of Morocco under his rule.<ref name="Mouline-2008" /><ref name="Touri-2010" /> Nonetheless, the 'Alawi sultans allowed the piracy to continue up until the reign of [[Slimane of Morocco|Moulay Slimane]] in the early 19th century.<ref name="Mouline-2008" /> This led to the shelling of the city by [[Austrian Empire|Austria]] in 1829 after an Austrian ship had been lost to a pirate attack.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}
[[File:Morocco CMS CC-BY (15126572904).jpg|thumb|Gate of the ''[[Dar al-Makhzen (Rabat)|Dar al-Makhzen]]'' (Royal Palace) today; the palace was begun by the [['Alawi dynasty|'Alawi]] sultans in the late 18th century]]
During the early part of the 'Alawi period (17th–18th centuries), the sultans took some interest in the city of the south bank and carried out constructions and repairs to the kasbah.<ref name="Mouline-2008" /> [[Ismail Ibn Sharif|Moulay Isma'il]] (r. 1672–1727) expanded the kasbah southward and built a royal residence within it towards the end of the 17th century (it serves as a museum today).<ref name="Parker-1981" /><ref name="Touri-2010" /> Moulay Isma'il was also responsible for settling a part of the [[Oudaya|Udayas]] (or Oudayas), a ''[[guich]]'' tribe (military tribe serving the sultan's army), in the kasbah to serve as a counterbalancing force against other unruly tribes in the region.<ref name="Touri-2010" /><ref name="Abun-Nasr-1987a"/>{{Rp|230}} Under [[Mohammed ben Abdallah|Sidi Muhammad ibn 'Abdallah]] (r. 1757–1790), a new royal palace, the [[Dar al-Makhzen (Rabat)|Dar al-Makhzen]], was established in the southwest part of the Almohad walled area towards the end of the 18th century.<ref name="Mouline-2008" /> These additions began to give the city the character and function of a royal residence used by the ruling dynasty outside their main capitals.<ref name="Mouline-2008" />

Moulay Slimane (r. 1792–1822) built another palace along the seaside called ''Dar al-Bahr'' and built new mosques such as the [[Moulay Slimane Mosque]]. He also ordered the creation of a Jewish quarter, the ''[[Mellah]]'', in the eastern part of the Andalusian medina, in a formerly occupied by orchards.<ref name="Mouline-2008" /> It was also towards the beginning of the 19th century that the city walls, formerly limited to the Almohad-era perimeter, were extended significantly to the southwest, thus expanding the city to cover around 840 hectares.<ref name="Mouline-2008" /> The old Almohad walls and gates were still retained and the Almohad-era enclosure remained a more privileged district containing the city's major monuments and its imperial residence. Most of the population remained concentrated in the medina behind the Andalusian Wall in the northern section. In the 1850s, [[Abd al-Rahman of Morocco|Moulay Abd ar-Rahman]] (r. 1822–1859) further developed and completed the Dar al-Makhzen palace in the southwest corner of this enclosure.<ref name="Mouline-2008" /> At the end of the 19th century or beginning of the 20th century, the city had some 20,000 to 25,000 inhabitants.<ref name="Abu-Lughod20142">{{cite book |author=Janet L. Abu-Lughod |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NKP_AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA37 |title=Rabat: Urban Apartheid in Morocco |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1980 |isbn=978-1-4008-5303-8 |pages=}}</ref>{{Rp|page=114}}

===20th century===

====French colonial rule====
[[File:Rabat,_Bank_al-Maghrib.jpg|thumb|The [[Bank Al-Maghrib|Bank al-Maghrib]] building in central Rabat, completed in 1930 under [[French Protectorate in Morocco|French colonial rule]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bank al-Maghrib, Agence Centrale |url=https://archnet.org/sites/18013 |access-date=2020-06-09 |website=Archnet}}</ref>]]
The French invasion of Morocco began in the east with General [[Hubert Lyautey]]'s occupation of [[Oujda]] in March 1907 and in the west with the [[Bombardment of Casablanca (1907)|Bombardment of Casablanca]] in August 1907.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A history of modern Morocco|last=Miller, Susan Gilson.|date=2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781139624695|location=New York|pages=75|oclc=855022840}}</ref> The [[Treaty of Fez|Treaty of Fes]] established the [[French protectorate in Morocco|protectorate]] in March 1912.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Morocco|title=History of Morocco|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2017-12-22|language=en}}</ref> Acting as French administrator of Morocco, [[Hubert Lyautey|Lyautey]] decided to relocate the country's capital from [[Fez, Morocco|Fes]] to Rabat after the [[1912 Fez riots|riots of 1912]] following the [[Treaty of Fes]].<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Fez Riots (1912)|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1878-9781_ejiw_sim_0007730|access-date=2021-10-28|website=Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World|doi=10.1163/1878-9781_ejiw_sim_0007730}}</ref> Lyautey appears to have had a personal affinity for Rabat. He argued that its coastal location was more pleasant and more accessible, and that its proximity to Casablanca, which he estimated would become the major economic center, would be advantageous.<ref name="Abu-Lughod20142" />{{Rp|pages=138–139}} In 1913, Lyautey hired [[Henri Prost]] to design the ''Ville Nouvelle'' (Rabat's modern quarter) as an administrative sector, as he did in other major Moroccan cities.<ref name="Abu-Lughod20142" />{{Rp|pages=145–146}}

The colonial period resulted in major economic changes as well as accelerated urbanization. Prior to this period, the major cities of Morocco had always been [[Fez, Morocco|Fez]] and [[Marrakesh]], while the coastal cities were relatively small. Census figures are not available for the early years of the Protectorate, but in 1912 Rabat and nearby Salé can be estimated to have had about 35,000 to 40,000 inhabitants at most, according to [[Janet Abu-Lughod]].<ref name="Abu-Lughod20142" />{{Rp|page=152}} One early French survey, based on the number of houses rather than a formal census, estimated the population of Rabat to be 25,642. A formal census in 1921 counted the population as 33,714.<ref name="Abu-Lughod20142" />{{Rp|page=|pages=152–153}} Some of this growth was due to the immigration of foreigners. In 1921, 59% of the population were Moroccan Muslims and 10% were Moroccan Jews, while 21.4% were French nationals and another 10% were foreigners of other origin. Nearby Salé, however, remained more homogenously Moroccan.<ref name="Abu-Lughod20142" />{{Rp|page=154}} Rabat's population grew to approximately 83,000 in 1936 and to approximately 156,000 in 1952.<ref name="Abu-Lughod20142" />{{Rp|page=248}}

====Post World War II and independence====
When Morocco achieved independence in 1956, [[Mohammed V of Morocco|Mohammed V]], the then [[King of Morocco]], chose to have the capital remain at Rabat. Rabat's growth continued unabated. The most important demographic shift after independence was the exodus of foreign nationals and their replacement by Moroccans, who gradually took over the jobs and functions that the foreigners had occupied. In the census of 1971, the population of Rabat had grown to around 368,000, of which only 3.5% were foreigners.<ref name="Abu-Lughod20142" />{{Rp|page=|pages=152–153}}

Following [[World War II]], the United States had established a military presence in Rabat at the former French air base. By the early 1950s, [[Rabat Salé Air Base]] was a [[U.S. Air Force]] installation hosting the [[17th Air Force]] and the [[5th Air Division]], which oversaw forward basing for [[Strategic Air Command]] (SAC) [[B-47 Stratojet]] aircraft in the country. With the destabilization of French government in Morocco, and Moroccan independence in 1956, the government of [[Mohammed V of Morocco|Mohammed V]] wanted the U.S. Air Force to pull out of the SAC bases in Morocco, insisting on such action after [[1958 Lebanon crisis|American intervention in Lebanon in 1958]].<ref>Roman Adrian Cybriwsky, ''Capital Cities around the World: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture'', ABC-CLIO, USA, 2013, p. 253</ref>{{Verify source|date=April 2023|reason=It's not clear that the preceding information is actually contained in this cited source.}} The United States agreed to leave as of December 1959, and was fully out of Morocco by 1963. SAC felt the Moroccan bases were much less critical with the long range capability of the [[B-52 Stratofortress]]es that were replacing the B-47s and with the completion of the USAF installations in Spain in 1959.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}} With the USAF withdrawal from Rabat-Salé in the 1960s, the facility became a primary facility for the [[Royal Moroccan Air Force]] known as Air Base Nº 1, a status it continues to hold.

The fifth [[Arab League]] summit took place in Rabat in 1969 to discuss the arson of [[Al-Aqsa Mosque]] by [[Australia]]n citizen [[Denis Michael Rohan]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Akhtar |first=Shameem |date=1969 |title=The Rabat Summit Conference |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41394681 |journal=Pakistan Horizon |volume=22 |issue=4 |pages=336–340 |jstor=41394681 |issn=0030-980X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Arab League Summit Conferences, 1964–2000 |url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/arab-league-summit-conferences-1964-2000 |access-date=2023-04-19 |website=The Washington Institute |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Human Right Centre - Università di Padova {{!}} Pins :: The League of Arab States, not to be confounded with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation |url=https://unipd-centrodirittiumani.it/en/spilli/The-League-of-Arab-States-not-to-be-confounded-with-the-Organization-of-Islamic-Cooperation/148 |access-date=2023-04-19 |website=unipd-centrodirittiumani.it}}</ref> In the same year, the [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]], an organization that aims to protect the interests of the Muslim world, was founded at a summit in Rabat.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://www.oic-oci.org/page/?p_id=52&p_ref=26&lan=en |access-date=2023-04-19 |website=www.oic-oci.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Organization of Islamic Cooperation |url=https://www.mofa.gov.bh/Default.aspx?tabid=120&language=en-US |access-date=2023-04-19 |website=www.mofa.gov.bh |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Johansson-Nogués |first=Elisabeth |url=https://brill.com/display/book/edcoll/9789004384446/BP000017.xml |title=The Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League |date=2020-03-26 |publisher=Brill Nijhoff |isbn=978-90-04-38444-6 |language=en}}</ref> The [[1974 Arab League summit]] was also held in Rabat. The summit recognized the [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1974-10-30 |title=Text of Arab Resolution at Rabat |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/10/30/archives/text-of-arab-resolution-at-rabat.html |access-date=2023-04-19 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Jordan - THE RABAT SUMMIT CONFERENCE |url=https://countrystudies.us/jordan/16.htm |access-date=2023-04-19 |website=countrystudies.us}}</ref> In 1985, the sixth edition of the [[1985 Pan Arab Games|Pan Arab Games]] was held in Rabat.<ref>{{Cite web |title=6th Pan Arab Games, 1985 (Morocco) |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesa/arabgam85.html |access-date=2023-04-19 |website=www.rsssf.org}}</ref>

In 2015, the city became part of the [[Rabat-Salé-Kénitra]] administrative region.<ref name="reg2">{{cite web |title=Décret fixant le nom des régions |url=http://www.pncl.gov.ma/fr/EspaceJuridique/DocLib/d%C3%A9cret%20fixant%20le%20nombre%20des%20r%C3%A9gions.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518083233/http://www.pncl.gov.ma/fr/EspaceJuridique/DocLib/d%C3%A9cret%20fixant%20le%20nombre%20des%20r%C3%A9gions.pdf |archive-date=18 May 2015 |access-date=2015-07-11 |work=Portail National des Collectivités Territoriales |language=fr |df=dmy-all}}</ref> On 28 February 2024, [[Asmaa Rhlalou]] declared her resignation, months after she sparked a controversy that called into doubt her authority and validity within the City Council.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-02-28 |title=Rabat mayor steps down amidst accusations and mounting pressure |url=https://en.hespress.com/80591-rabat-mayor-steps-down-amidst-accusations-and-mounting-pressure.html |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=HESPRESS English - Morocco News |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kasraoui |first=Safaa |title=Asmaa Rhlalou Resigns as Mayor of Rabat |url=https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2024/02/361106/asmaa-rhlalou-resigns-as-mayor-of-rabat |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=Morocco World News |language=en}}</ref>