Kasbah of the Udayas 4.08

The Kasbah of the Udayas is a kasbah in Rabat, Morocco. It is located at the mouth of the Bou Regreg river opposite Salé. The edifice was built in the 12th century during the reign of the Almohad Caliphate (AD 1121-1269). When the Almohads had captured Rabat and destroyed the kasbah of the Almoravid dynasty in the town, they began reconstructing it in AH 544 / AD 1150. They added a palace and a mosque and named it al-Mahdiyya, after their ancestor al-Mahdi Ibn Tumart. After the death of Yaqub al-Mansur (AH 595 / AD 1199), the kasbah was deserted.Reign of the AlmohadsThe Almohads brought significant changes to the Rabat area, including the destruction and rebuilding of the Kasbah of the Udayas and turning Chellah into a royal necropolis.World heritage statusRabat was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on July 20, 2006 in the Cultural category. It was granted World Heritage Status in 2012.