Oujda

Oujda (Berber: Wejda, ⵡⴻⵊⴷⴰ; Arabic: وجدة‎) is a city located in the northeastern Rif area of Morocco, with an estimated population of 450,000. It is located about 15 kilometres (9 miles) west of Algeria. Oujda is about 55 km (34 miles) south of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the capital city of the Oriental administrative region of Morocco.

History

There is some evidence of a settlement during the Roman occupation, which seems to have been under the control of Berbers rather than Romans.

Uqba ibn Nafi began the Umayyad-Arab conquest of the region, during the reign of the Umayyad Caliphate, a conquest which was completed in AD 705 by Musa bin Nusayr. The city was founded in 994 by Ziri ibn Atiyya, Berber king of the Zenata tribes. Further additions were made in 1048.

In the mid-11th century, Oujda acquired prominence through its strategic position on the road east from Sijilmasa. Throughout the history of the dynasties of the Muslim West, Oujda played an important strategic role among the Merinids, settled in Fes, in this case as a rear base in their conflict with the Abdalwadids of the Kingdom of Tlemcen.