Rimini in Italy (outside the map) Rimini in Italy (outside the map) Oujda

Geographical Location

Title: Capital of Mosques

City of the Millenniumَّ

Administrative Division

Country: Morocco

Capital of the Oriental Region

Oujda-Angad Edit value of property (P1376) on Wikidata

Upper Division: Oujda-Angad Edit value of property (P131) on Wikidata

Officials

Mayor: Mohamed Azzawi (National Rally of Independents)

Geographical Characteristics

Coordinates: 34°41′12″N 1°54′41″W Edit value of property (P625) on Wikidata

Area: 350 km²

Elevation: 470 m Edit value of property (P2044) on Wikidata

Population

Census: 494,252 inhabitants (Census) (2014)

Population density: 357 inhabitants per square kilometer

• Number of households: 113,020 (2014)

Other information

Twin city

List...

Time zone: Greenwich Mean Time (GMT+0)

Daylight Saving Time: GMT+1

Official language: Arabic

Postal code: 60000

Telephone code: +212

ISO 3166-2 MA-OUJ

Official website: Official website (Arabic)

Geographic code: 2540483

Map

Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap

          Editing the source - Editing template documents

Oujda (in Berber: ⵓⵊⴷⴰ) is a Moroccan city located in the Oujda-Angad Prefecture. It is the capital and largest city of the Oriental Region and hosts its headquarters. Situated in the northeast of the Kingdom on the Moroccan-Algerian border, it is only about 14 km from the Zouj Bghal border crossing, making it a quintessential border city. It is 60 km from the Mediterranean coast. On January 1, 1994, Oujda celebrated its first millennium. It was chosen as the Arab Capital of Culture for 2018.


It lies on National Route 19 towards Figuig and National Route 6, which connects Casablanca, Fez, and Oujda towards the Algerian border. Oujda covers an area of ​​600 km².


The prefecture of Oujda-Angad comprises eight rural communes: Ahl Angad, Ain Sfa, Beni Khaled, Isly, Labssara, Mestferki, Sidi Boulenouar, and Sidi Moussa Lamhaya, and three urban communes: Oujda, Beni Drar, and Naima.

       

                                  Origin of the name 

There is disagreement regarding the origin of its name. Some researchers believe it derives from the word "Wajdat," meaning ambushes carried out by rebels, insurgents, and highwaymen against caravan traders. The more common explanation is that the name is linked to a historical event: the pursuit of Suleiman al-Shammakh, who assassinated Sultan Idris I on the orders of the Abbasids. They had sent him on a special mission to eliminate Moulay Idris I, who had established an independent emirate in Morocco, separate from Abbasid rule. He poisoned Moulay Idris and fled eastward, but the Moroccans tracked him down and found him not far from present-day Oujda, where they killed him. This is why it was named Oujda. Some researchers believe that a large portion of the inhabitants of the Oujda fortress originated from the land of Khaybar and migrated to North Africa.


                                          Establishment

The city of Oujda has been linked since ancient times to its neighbor, Tlemcen, which was considered the capital of the central Maghreb. Oujda was founded by the Maghrawi leader Ziri ibn Atiyya, who established a kingdom in the far Maghreb and was engaged in open conflict with Al-Mansur ibn Abi Aamir in Andalusia, and the Fatimids and their Sanhaja allies in the central Maghreb. In these difficult political circumstances, Ziri ibn Atiyya—according to most historical accounts—considered the necessity of expanding his kingdom eastward from his capital, Fez, and protecting his rear from all the dangers surrounding him from the east. Therefore, he decided to build the city of Oujda in the month of Rajab, 384 AH / 994 CE. He fortified the city by surrounding it with high walls and gates, the opening and closing of which was controlled by guards.


It was conquered by Yusuf ibn Tashfin with his Almoravid troops during his campaign in the central Maghreb in 1073.

                                          The Marinids

                                   Main article: Marinids

The Great Mosque, currently known as the Grand Mosque, early 20th century. It was built during the reign of Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Marinid in 1296 CE, covering an area of ​​1300 square meters. Its western side was restored in 1880 CE, and additional facilities were added following the Sultan's visit in 1934 CE.


Ibn Khaldun recounts the destruction that befell the city in 670 AH/1272 CE after Sultan Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Marinid entered Oujda.


Oujda: Sultan Abu Yusuf stayed in Oujda until he destroyed it, razing its walls to the ground and rubbling them to the ground.


The city attained its political and strategic importance during the reign of the Marinids, who were in constant conflict with the Zayyanid princes based in Tlemcen. While Abu Bakr ibn Abd al-Haqq, the founder of the Marinid dynasty, was preoccupied with the siege of Fez, Yaghmurasen ibn Zayyan took advantage of this and marched to seize Taza. However, Abu Bakr encountered him at Oujda and defeated him, forcing Yaghmurasen to retreat to Tlemcen. At this time, the central Maghreb was ablaze with conflict, as the Marinids attacked the strongholds of their enemies and rivals who had taken refuge in Tlemcen, protected by its rulers. Sultan Abu Sa'id al-Marinid descended upon Oujda and swept through the plains of Tlemcen.


                           Sharifian Guardianship

                     Main article: Sharifian Guardianship

Its location as a border city with the Ottomans in Algeria exposed it to fierce warfare, and its fortifications suffered damage during the Saadian dynasty's campaign to recapture it from the Ottomans. Moulay Ismail reclaimed it from the Ottomans in 1692, but the Ottomans regained it in the following century.


In 1664, on the outskirts of Oujda, the sons of Moulay Ali al-Sharif, Muhammad and al-Rashid, fought each other. The latter had arrived in Oujda and was joined by the Arab tribes of Angad and Shujaa. When his brother, Muhammad ibn al-Sharif, learned of this, he feared an advance and decided to fight him. He gathered his army and marched to the Angad region near Oujda, where a confrontation took place. He was defeated.