The Saadi Dynasty of Morocco began with the reign of Sultan Mohammed ash-Sheikh in 1554. From 1509 to 1554 they had ruled only in the south of Morocco. The Saadian rule ended in 1659 with the end of the reign of Sultan Ahmad II. The Saadī family claimed descent from Muhammad through the line of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Fatima Zahra (Muhammad's daughter). The Saadi came from Tagmadert in the valley of the Draa River. They claimed sharifian origins and rendered Sufism respectable in Morocco. The name Saadi or Saadian was given to the Bani Zaydan (shurafa of Tagmadert) by later generations and rivals for power, who tried to deny their Hassanid descent by claiming that they came from the family of Halimah Saadiyya, Muhammad's wet nurse.[1] The most famous sultan of the Saadi was Ahmad I al-Mansur (1578–1603), builder of the El Badi Palace in Marrakech and contemporary of Elizabeth I. One of their most important achievements was ousting the Portuguese from Morocco and defending the country against the Ottomans. Before they conquered Marrakech, they had Taroudant as their capital city.

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Medersa Ben Youssef, Marrakech, Morocco

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Bin Yousuf Madrassa was an Islamic college in Marrakech and was named after the amoravid sultan Ali ibn Yusuf (reigned 1106–1142), who expanded the city and its influence considerably. The college was founded during the period of the Merinid (14th century) by the Merinid sultan Abu al-Hassan and allied to the neighbouring Bin Yousuf Mosque. The building of the madrassa, as it is now, was (re-)constructed by the Saadian Sultan Abdallah al-Ghalib (1557–1574). It is the largest Medrassa in all of morocco. In 1565 the works ordered by Abdallah al-Ghalib were finished, as confirmed by the inscription in the prayer room. Its 130 student dormitory cells cluster around a courtyard richly carved in cedar, marble and stucco. The carvings contain no representation of humans or animals as required by Islam, and consist entirely of inscriptions and geometric patterns. This madrassa was one of the largest theological colleges in North Africa and may have housed as many as 900 students. One of its best known teachers was Mohammed El Ifrani (1670-1745). Closed down in 1960, the building was refurbished and reopened to the public as an historical site in 1982.

Over the Miḥrāb

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courtesy DarkFrame (http://www.flickr.com/photos/darkframe/)

Artistic pattern under an arch in the Medersa courtyard.

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courtesy DarkFrame (http://www.flickr.com/photos/darkframe/)

Going into the Medersa

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courtesy DarkFrame (http://www.flickr.com/photos/darkframe/)

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http://www.martinharvey.co.za

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courtesy DarkFrame (http://www.flickr.com/photos/darkframe/)

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courtesy DarkFrame (http://www.flickr.com/photos/darkframe/)

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cortesy hadley coull (http://www.flickr.com/photos/hadleycoull/)

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Saadian Tombs | Marrakech (Morocco)

The Saadian tombs in Marrakech date back from the time of the great sultan Ahmad I al-Mansur (1578-1603). The tombs were only recently discovered (in 1917) and were restored by the Beaux-arts service. The tombs have, because of the beauty of their decoration, been a major attraction for visitors of Marrakech.

The mausoleum comprises the corpses of about sixty members of the Saadi Dynasty that originated in the valley of the Draa River. Among the tombs are those of Ahmad I al-Mansur and his family. The building is composed of three rooms. The most famous is the room with the twelve columns. This room contains the tomb of the son of the sultan's son Ahmed El Mansour. The stele is in finely worked cedar wood and stucco work. The graves are made of Italian Carrara marble.

Outside the building is a garden and the graves of soldiers and servants.

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Saadian Walls | TAROUDANT (Morocco)

Taroudant (Called the "Grandmother of Marrakech") is a Moroccan city located in the Sous Valley in the southern part of the country. It is situated east from Agadir on the road to Ouarzazate and south from Marrakech. It can be easily visited as a day trip from Agadir en route to the Sahara Desert. It has the feel of a small market town on some caravan route. It is also known by its local crafts like jewelry and carpets.

It is called the "Grandmother of Marrakech" because it is a scaled down, slowed down town that resembles Marrakech with its surrounding ramparts. Unlike Marrakech, Taroudant contains almost the whole city within its walls.

Under the Saadi Dynasty Taroudant has known its golden age, especially under the reign of Mohammed ash-Sheikh, who constructed the city walls and built the great mosque and its beautiful minaret in 935. A sad event in the history of Taroudant was the massacre of its population by mulay Ismael in 1687.

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hi everyone!
even in my flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/destino2003/sets/72157624187170554/) there are a lot of my marrakech shots, focused on saadian architecture... have a look on these if you like!
greetings from italy and peace to everyone.