History of Taroudant    

Taroudannt holds an important place in the history of Morocco because it was the first capital of Saâdiens and is one of the oldest cities of Morocco.

Advanced station of the Roman army in the name of Vala, the first establishments of a stable habitat with Taroudannt seem to go up between IXème and Xème century, at the moment when the Berber tribes start to sedentarise. Taroudannt was in XIème century the capital d' a small Shiite kingdom (kingdom of Bajjalis) independent, then annexed by Almoravides in 1056, again independent under Almohades, to be finally destroyed in 1306 by Mérinides.

 Saadiens dynasty (1511 - 1659)

Saadiens are arab origin some. They claim under Sherifs as a descendant of the Mahomet prophet and of his grandson Hassan Ben Ali, oldest son d' Ali and Zahra, but this allowed prestigious relationship by all with time, was blamed at the XVIIème century; it could be they go down not from the prophet but from its Halima nurse of the  Banî Sa`d tribe. From there would come the name Saadiens given to the dynasty.

At the beginning of XVIe century, Saadiens direct tribes come from the valley of Draâ exasperated by the Christian offensives (one of the chiefs Abou Abdallah, disappeared in 1517, had rejoined behind him under fighting against the Portuguese); they revolt against Berber Wattassides and drive out them capacity. In 1524, the saadienne family takes Marrakech, and Fès in 1550.

 In 1541, Saadiens tear off Agadir with the Portuguese and seem the defenders of l' Islam; the reign of Ahmed Al-Mansour (1578 - 1603) corresponds to one period of peace which sees the Ottoman Empire to give up its ambitions in direction of west (principal threat for the Moroccan independence), which also contributes to strengthen the saadien independence.

At the end of XVIème century, the sultan is worrying about the decline of the gold deliveries in Morocco and wishing to adapt its trade like that, very important, of the salt of the Sahara, asserts the saltworks of Teghaza, in full desert, which belong to Songhai. In 1589, it sends towards Niger a powerful forwarding which crushes the army of Askia Ishaq II in the battle of Tondibi and occupies the area. By the intermediary of a pasha, the sultan saadien imposes from now on his domination on all the southernmost frange of the Sahara, “Sudan” and Tombouctou falls under the cut of the afro-Morrocan families.

The growing role of Saadiens goes hand in hand with the rise of the zaouias or brotherhoods, many under the growing spiritual authority of the marabouts.

It should be noted also that the Souss valley accomodates many holy tombs for the Jews.

Taroudannt will become a center important caravaneer then, celebrates for the abundance and the quality of its goods: sweeten, cotton, rice, olive and argan oil, etc... Its importance will grow blurred with the following dynasties, but it remains forever the Berber traditional capital of the Souss.