There are numerous accounts about the establishment of Demnate. Some historians speculate that it was built in the 8th century by Musa bin Nusair, the military commander appointed by the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik bin Marwan (65/86/646 / AD 705 CE). And called on Africa to eradicate the successive revolutions of the North African Amazigh to get out of the rule of the Umayyads It is said that the Arab conquerors came to rest in Demnate Dam on their way to the Haskoura area where they set up their tents. After leaving, they left the tent poles made of the olive branches they brought with them from Kairouan, Tunisia, which was planted in the land. Other stories suggest that the village of Almadin, located four miles west of Madina, formed the first nucleus of the city of Demnate. It was mostly built before Islam. Some accounts confirm that the presence of Demnate was earlier than the existence of the city of Marrakesh. By building the Kasbah and building the “Jewish Quarter”. And that “navigator Demnate” had been preceded “navigator Marrakesh” with four hundred years, Other stories have led to the fact that the presence of Demnate at the crossroads of large tribes and important commercial corridors contributed to its development from a small village to a prosperous commercial city and then to a center for commercial transactions with the major cities of Kfas and Marrakech, the tribes of the Commonwealth of Bhutan and the neighboring tribes and merchants of the tribes of the South Atlas and the sub-Saharan.
Demnate” was mentioned in several references and historical books, including the book “Description of Africa” by the traveler El Hassan al-Wazzan known as the “African Leon”, which he visited in 919 AH / 1514 AD, noting that “Demnate” was known as “Medina” , Described by the Spanish traveler “Marmol Karpakhl” and described the solid walls and towers built high surrounded by, and described the Amazigh population, and attributed its founding to the ancient Africans. It is likely that Karbala is referring to “ancient Africans” as fetouaks.
As mentioned by Damnat and her relic in the memoirs of the French traveler Charles Dufuko when he passed (1883 – 1884) after a plague and a great famine, her architecture left her impression of prosperity. The city witnessed a number of historical facts, characterized by turmoil and sedition, especially after the death of the First sir Hassan. Forcing a group of ancient families to move to the cities of Marrakech, Fez, Meknes and Sela. “Damnat” was of great political importance so the sultans of the Moroccan state were interested in it. It was at the beginning of the Almohad state from the first areas that were invaded by Prince Abdul-Mumin, and was followed by Sultan Al-Mansur Al-Saadi, one of his senior states, namely Abu Ishaq Ibrahim Al-Sufayani, It was visited by Sultan Moulay Ismail when he returned from Tafilalat to the city of Meknes. It was visited by Sultan Moulay Abdullah bin Ismail. It was also visited by Sultan Muhammad bin Abdullah, Sultan Moulay Sulaiman bin Mohammed bin Abdullah, Sultan Moulay Hassan I and Sultan Moulay. Yousef bin al-Hasan, and then Sultan Muhammad al-Hassan For the fifth. And his grandson, Sultan Mohammed VI, and the residence of Molly Hisham brother Moulay Suleiman, one of the sons of Moulay Ismail, and the ruins of his palace still exist today.
Written by: ELBOUAICHI NASRALLAH
Translated by: iminifri.com
