Hesperis-Tamuda (Nov 2023)
The Road Network in the Northeastern Morocco during the Xth and XIth Centuries: Historical and Archaeological Approach
Abstract
The article deals with the dense road network that crossed the northeastern part of Morocco, between the IVth and the Vth century of the hegira/ Xth and XIth century AD, under the Maknasian emirate of the Banū Abī al-ʿĀfiya. It sheds light on the map of these roads, their stages and the stations that marked them. The focus will be at the beginning, on the Fès-Tlemcen route crossing the corridor of Taza and along the Innāwn valley, which has always been the main route through which people, merchants, armies and pilgrims transited. Subsequently, the secondary routes will be discussed: they provided communication, trade and security within the territory of the principality and that connected the cities of the corridor to the ports of the Mediterranean and the commercial centers south of the Atlas. The strategy of defense and organization of the territory of the Principality was articulated around several axes, including the desire to secure the cities. This implies the necessity of ensuring the connection between these cities, fortresses and rural agglomerations through a network of roads, and the economic duty of controlling the commercial routes that constitute an economic manna. Added to this is the interest of keeping the links both with the stronghold of the Maknāsa in the Malwiya valley and with the coast and the ports of the Mediterranean.
