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The necropolis
A royal burial ground behind the Kasbah Mosque
The Saadian Tombs are a royal necropolis on the south side of the Kasbah Mosque. They date from the Saadian dynasty, and in particular the reign of Ahmad al-Mansur, from 1578 to 1603. Many art historians regard the complex as the high point of Moroccan architecture in the Saadian period, for its luxurious decoration and careful interior design.
Al-Ghalib
The first mausoleum was built for a father, after 1557
The eastern mausoleum was built first, as a simple square chamber against the Kasbah Mosque. It is believed to have been built by the second Saadian sultan, Moulay Abdallah al-Ghalib, between 1557 and 1574, to honor his father Muhammad al-Shaykh, the founder of the dynasty. Al-Ghalib himself was buried next to his father in 1574.
Al-Mansur
Ahmad al-Mansur built a new hall for himself, with twelve columns
Ahmad al-Mansur was the most powerful and wealthy of the Saadian sultans. When his mother, Lalla Mas'uda, died in 1591, he had her buried in his father's mausoleum and expanded it. Then he decided to build an entirely new building to the west, for his own burial. It has three chambers, the Chamber of the Mihrab, the Chamber of the Twelve Columns, where he lies, and the Chamber of the Three Niches.
A sultan in exile
A Marinid sultan was buried here for a few months in 1351
Long before the Saadians, in 1351 the Marinid Sultan Abu al-Hasan was buried here temporarily. He had died in exile in the High Atlas mountains, and Marrakesh was the closest city for a burial, which under Islamic tradition must be carried out quickly. A few months later his body was moved to the Marinid royal necropolis at Chellah, near Rabat.
1917
They were sealed off by a later sultan and rediscovered in 1917
The Alawi sultan Moulay Isma'il, who plundered the Saadian palaces, later restricted access to the necropolis by sealing it off from most of the surrounding buildings. In 1917 the tombs were rediscovered by the Service of Fine Arts, Antiquities and Historic Monuments of Morocco, an official body created in 1912 with the French Protectorate. They were in severe disrepair, and from 1917 the Service carried out a careful restoration.
Day 1, midday
It comes after Koutoubia Mosque. Then El Badi Palace.
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The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article Saadian Tombs, and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.