Author
The general plan suggests that the building's designer was Andalusian, possibly a Granadian or Morsican refugee.
Author Original
يوحي المخطط العام أن مصممَ البناية أندلسيٌ، ومن المحتمل أن يكون لاجئا غرناطيا أو مورسيكيا
Publication Date
955 - 1027 AH / 1548 - 1618 AD
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;ma;Mon01;13;ar
Library Location
Marrakesh, Morocco
Date
955 - 1027 AH / 1548 - 1618 AD
Notes
On the third of the month of Shaban in the year 986 AH / the fourth of October 1578 AD, Ahmed Al-Mansur defeated the Portuguese in the Battle of Wadi Al-Makhzen (called the Battle of the Great Palace or the Battle of the Three Kings), and after this clear victory he was pledged as Sultan, and was given the title Al-Mansur. Surrounded by a halo and international fame, Ahmed Al-Mansour decided to build inside the Kasbah of Marrakesh a luxurious palace for receptions. Work on it lasted 16 years, and he named the palace “Al-Badi’”, which is one of the ninety-nine names of God (on the other hand, the name “Qasr Al-Badi’” in colloquial Moroccan Arabic means “Palace of Ceramics”, which may be due to the rich ceramic wall coverings that decorated the edifice in abundance). In his book A Journey in Italy, Montaigne says that near the city of Pisa, Italian workers were carving “for the King of Fez from the Maghreb” fifty very tall marble columns, which were exchanged weight for weight in exchange for sugar. The Ifrani historian states that workers from various countries, including Europeans, were employed to carry out the work. During three quarters of a century, the Badi Palace received all the important celebrations and holidays held by the Saadian sultans, and it enjoyed a wide fame based somewhat on excess and extravagance. These reasons prompted the Alawite Sultan, Mawla Ismail, to take the decision to demolish the building, of which today only a portion of the wall wall remains, two meters thick, a square with traces of two water cisterns and gardens, and a wing of the wings with its columns and some decorative elements (gypsum, marble, and tile). Excavations conducted in the twentieth century allowed the discovery of two designs for the palace (one Portuguese and one English), as well as descriptions by contemporary historians and visitors. Foreigners were able to provide a somewhat accurate view of what the Badi Palace was like during the era of its splendor. The palace was built around a very wide courtyard, rectangular in shape, its dimensions reaching 135 meters in length and 110 meters in width, and it included a central rectangular water tank, 90 meters long and 20 meters wide, and containing a huge fountain, in addition to a low ground, each side of which was planted with trees and flowers, and was surrounded Its edges are four small rectangular water tanks, whose tiles inlaid with ceramic tiles are still clearly visible. The eastern side of the palace also overlooked a large garden called the “Crystal” Garden. Two wings, 15 meters wide and 16 meters long, stood in the middle of the small sides of the courtyard, and two other wings, 23 meters long and 15 meters wide, in the middle of the large sides of them, while the corners of the courtyard were surrounded by pyramid-shaped towers. The wings were topped with domes, their ceilings studded with gold or elaborate stalactites, and carried on columns. Marble, its capitals are covered with gold leaf. The floors and walls were covered with tile mosaics, the doors were made of carved wood, and everywhere there were fountains with water flowing from the mouths of lions and leopards, or from snakes carved from solid silver.
Sample Text
Kamal Lakhdar “Badi Palace” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;ma;Mon01;13;ar
