Hostile Urbanism: Three Case Studies from the Medieval Maghrib

This paper takes three case studies from the medieval Maghrib -Sijilmasa, Marrakesh, and Rabat - as examples of the way control of the extramural landscape significantly influenced expressions of dynastic identity at the urban level. These identities, whether they were in sync with or dissonant to the local communities, were reflective of shifting attitudes towards urban settlement over the course of the twelfth century. They blurred the traditional dichotomy between urban and rural, a dynamic enacted through the hydraulic efforts of the Almoravids and Almohads as they developed their imperial personas.