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Volubilis
Host Day Tour at
the ATA Symposium in FEZ, Morocco will include a
visit to Volubilis, the famed Roman archaeological
site and former capital of the Mauritanian Kingdom.
Photo: Karen B. Hoffman
The Roman city of Volubilis is
situated about 18 miles from Meknes, 36 miles from
Fez, and only a couple of miles from Moulay Idriss
Zerhoun. It sits at an altitude of 400 meters on a
triangular rich plain bordered on both sides by two
small rivers (Oued Fertassa and Oued Khomane).
Arabs call Volubilis "Oualili," "Oualila"and "Ksar
Pharoun" (Pharaoh's Palace); names that have been
attested to by Latin epigraphs, Arab written
sources, and excavated coins from the Idrissid
period and before.
Volubilis grew and prospered
from the third century B.C. to B.C. 40, under the
successive rule of independent Mooorish Kings
(Bocchus the Elder, Bogud I, Bogud II. From this
period several monuments have been uncovered and
identified; namely, temples in the Mauretanean
-punic tradition and a mysterious tumulus. After
the assassination of King Ptolemy in B.C. 40 by
Caligula and the crushing of a revolt by Ademon in
ancient Mauretania, Emperor Claudius annexed the
region, dividing it into two parts: one to the West
with Tingi (Tangier) as its capital, the other to
the East with Caesara (in Algeria) as capital.
Volubilis was then elevated to the rank of a
municipality.
From 40 to 285, Volubilis
expanded spectacularly. During the first century
came the major urban structures, such as the
spacious roads (Decumani and Cardines), and the
public monuments (temples, thermal baths). The next
century saw further developments in the urban
tissue; most importantly, the wall surrounding the
city was founded by Marcus Aurelius (168-169),
together with the eight major gates linking the
city to the outside world. The monument-filled
center (the Forum, the Basilica, the Capitol, the
Triumphal Arch) came about during the Severius
dynasty, between 193 and 235. Also dating back to
this period are the stately homes with perislyles
and pools, the great mosaics (Orpheus Mosaics, the
Works of Hercules, Diana's Bath, Neriedes are some
of the well-preserved, much visited in-situ
mosaics), numerous bakeries, and about one hundred
oil presses attesting to the thriving economy f
this roman outpost.
Toward the end of the third
century, an era of decline nearly officially began
with the order of Emperor Diocletes to the Roman
administration and the army to cacate Volubilis and
the southern region in favor of the northern
coastal posts of Mogador, Sale, and Loukos. From
then on, what remained of the population shifted to
the west of Caracala's Arch, proceeded to raise a
protective wall toward the sixth century and even
continued to erect public structures. Some Latin
inscriptions found in the city's necropolis from
the period 599-655 indicate some Christianization
of the population.
Arab sources, and in
particular some found pre-Idrisside coins, point to
an Islamic presence in Volubilis had to wait early
as the beginning of the eight century. However, a
centralized Islamic authority in Volubilis had to
wait for the arrival of Idriss I, founder with his
son of the first Arabo-Islamic dynasty in Morocco.
Idriss had fled from Baghdad of the Abbasids and
settled in Zedrhoun, after the Ouraba Berber tribes
(led by Ishak welcomed and made him their Islamic
leader. For a brief time, Volubilis (or Oualili
served as capital of the new Islamic
kingdom.
After the assassination of
Idriss, his son, Idriss II, abandoned the city in
favor of Fez, which he founded and made the first
Arabo-Musli, capital of the first ruling dynasty of
Morocco. Meantime, Volubilis continued as an urban
center, receiving in the year 818 settlers from
Andulusia (the Rabedis). According to early Arab
historian, Al Bakri, Volubilis was still a sizable
agglomeration as late as 1086. Thereafter, most
probably due the successive raids of the Almoravids
(the next ruling dynasty) the city's resistance
came to an end. After this date, Arab historians
referred to Volubilis only as an abandoned city in
ruin.
After 1915, date at which
archeological digs began at Volubilis at the
initiative of the French Protectorate, the world
has come to discover the long history, the unique
architecture, and the rich and variegated artistic
legacy of a city that harbored successive and
successful communities for centuries. In 1997, this
legacy won the city (most deservedly) the
classification "Word Heritage
Site"
Photo Credits: Moorocco National Tourist Office /
Karen Hoffman,
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