Beni Mellal
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Beni Mellal
| other_name =
| native_name = {{lang|ar|بني ملال}}
| nickname =
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| image_skyline = {{Photomontage
| photo1a = Beni mellal hh.jpg
| photo2a = Ain asserdoun Béni Mellal.jpg
| size = 275
| spacing = 2
| color = transparent
| border = 0
}}
| imagesize = 300px
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| pushpin_map = Morocco#Africa
| pushpin_relief = yes
| pushpin_label_position = bottom
| pushpin_mapsize = 300
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Morocco
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flag|Morocco}}
| subdivision_type1 = Region
| subdivision_name1 = Béni Mellal-Khénifra
| subdivision_type2 = Province
| subdivision_name2 = Beni Mellal
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| population_as_of = 2020
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| population_total = 209,676
| population_rank = 17th in Morocco
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_density_sq_mi =
| population_metro = 447330
| population_density_metro_km2 = auto
| population_density_metro_sq_mi =
| population_blank1_title = Ethnicities
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| timezone = CET
| utc_offset = +1
| coordinates = {{coord|32|20|22|N|6|21|39|W|region:MA|display=inline,title}}
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m = 620
| elevation_ft =
| postal_code_type = Postal code
| postal_code = 23000
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| website = [http://www.communebenimellal.ma www.communebenimellal.ma]
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Beni Mellal ({{langx|ar|بني ملال|Banī Mallāl}}) is a city in north-central Morocco. It is the capital of the Béni Mellal-Khénifra Region and has a population of 192,676 (2014 census).{{cite web |url=http://rgph2014.hcp.ma/file/166326/ |title=POPULATION LÉGALE DES RÉGIONS, PROVINCES, PRÉFECTURES, MUNICIPALITÉS, ARRONDISSEMENTS ET COMMUNES DU ROYAUME D’APRÈS LES RÉSULTATS DU RGPH 2014 |language=ar, fr |publisher=High Commission for Planning, Morocco |date=8 April 2015 |access-date=29 September 2017}} It sits at the foot of Jbel Tassemit (2247 m), next to the plains of Beni Amir. The modern town dates back to 1688, when Moulay Isma'il founded a kasbah (fort).
History
Historical Arabic sources do not offer clear details about this site during the medieval period.{{Cite book |last=Boum |first=Aomar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=glgzDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA95 |title=Historical Dictionary of Morocco |last2=Park |first2=Thomas K. |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-4422-6297-3 |pages=95 |language=en |chapter=Béni Mellal}} {{Transliteration|ar|Hiṣn Daī}} ({{Langx|ar|حصن دائي|links=no}}), a town that was given to the Idrisid prince Yahya ibn Idris (son of Idris II) to rule during the 9th century, may correspond to the site of present Beni Mellal.{{Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition|article=Benī Mellāl|volume=12|title=Benī Mellāl|last=Deverdun|first=Gaston|page=132}}{{Cite book |last1=Garcia-Arenal |first1=Mercedes |title=Genèse de la ville islamique en al-Andalus et au Maghreb occidental |last2=Moreno |first2=Eduardo Manzano |publisher=Casa de Velázquez; Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) |year=1998 |isbn=978-84-00-07766-2 |editor-last=Cressier |editor-first=Patrice |pages=277 |language=fr |chapter=Légitimité et villes idrissides |editor-last2=Garcia-Arenal |editor-first2=Mercedes |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BwXpacrOE-YC&dq=Wazeqq%C5%ABr+morocco&pg=PA278}} It was later captured by the Almohads in 1141.
In 1688, the Alawi sultan Moulay Isma'il built a kasbah (fort) here and the current town developed around it. The kasbah was restored in the 19th century by Moulay Sliman and again in 1916 by the French Protectorate administration. In 1918, the town had a recorded population of approximately 3,000. During the Protectorate, authorities invested in the area's agricultural infrastructure, which helped the city grow into a major urban centre. Today it is also regional administrative center.
Formerly, the city was known as Kasbah Beni Mellal and it was also called Kasbah Bel Kush or Bel Kush ({{langx|ar|بلكوش|Bal Kūsh}}) with Kush being a Berber word for black. The name Beni Mellal could be a corruption of the Berber word imaloul meaning white or it is taken from the tribe living around the city. The Beni Mellal tribe is an Arab tribe of Jusham origin and its eponymous ancestor is said to be Muhammad al-Mallal.{{Cite book |last=مصطفى |first=عربوش، |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/%D9%85%D9%86_%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AE_%D9%85%D9%86%D8%B7%D9%82%D8%A9_%D8%A5%D9%82%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%85_%D8%AA/Y2UhAAAAMAAJ?hl=en |title=من تاريخ منطقة إقليم تادلة وبني ملال |last2=ʻArbūsh |first2=Muṣṭafá |date=1989 |publisher=يطلب من مكتبة الطالب، |pages=79-88 |language=ar}}
Climate
Beni Mellal has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh) with very hot summers and cool winters. As the city lies quite far inland and is shielded by the Middle Atlas mountains, the climate is highly continental.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}} Because of these factors the overall climate can be considered in a fluctuative state generally moderating between two larger extremes in temperature and climate. Rainfall can reach up to {{convert|500|mm|0|abbr=on}} per year, snow can also fall in winter.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}
{{Weather box
|location = Beni Mellal (1991-2020)
|metric first = yes
|single line = yes
|Jan record high C = 27.6
|Feb record high C = 32.0
|Mar record high C = 35.8
|Apr record high C = 37.5
|May record high C = 42.4
|Jun record high C = 45.5
|Jul record high C = 46.1
|Aug record high C = 46.0
|Sep record high C = 42.4
|Oct record high C = 39.2
|Nov record high C = 33.5
|Dec record high C = 29.5
|year record high C =
|Jan high C = 18.1
|Feb high C = 19.5
|Mar high C = 22.6
|Apr high C = 25.2
|May high C = 29.1
|Jun high C = 34.0
|Jul high C = 37.8
|Aug high C = 37.5
|Sep high C = 31.9
|Oct high C = 28.0
|Nov high C = 22.4
|Dec high C = 19.1
|year high C = 27.1
|Jan mean C = 10.5
|Feb mean C = 12.0
|Mar mean C = 14.9
|Apr mean C = 17.5
|May mean C = 21.2
|Jun mean C = 25.5
|Jul mean C = 28.9
|Aug mean C = 28.8
|Sep mean C = 24.6
|Oct mean C = 20.5
|Nov mean C = 15.1
|Dec mean C = 11.8
|year mean C = 19.3
|Jan low C = 2.9
|Feb low C = 4.4
|Mar low C = 7.3
|Apr low C = 9.9
|May low C = 13.3
|Jun low C = 17.0
|Jul low C = 19.8
|Aug low C = 20.1
|Sep low C = 17.2
|Oct low C = 13.0
|Nov low C = 7.7
|Dec low C = 4.5
|year low C = 11.4
|Jan record low C = -6.0
|Feb record low C = -3.7
|Mar record low C = -2.6
|Apr record low C = 1.7
|May record low C = 3.4
|Jun record low C = 8.5
|Jul record low C = 12.5
|Aug record low C = 13.8
|Sep record low C = 7.5
|Oct record low C = 4.3
|Nov record low C = -2.2
|Dec record low C = -3.0
|year record low C =
|rain colour = green
|Jan rain mm = 33.9
|Feb rain mm = 34.2
|Mar rain mm = 43.0
|Apr rain mm = 36.7
|May rain mm = 20.0
|Jun rain mm = 3.5
|Jul rain mm = 1.6
|Aug rain mm = 1.2
|Sep rain mm = 7.2
|Oct rain mm = 35.6
|Nov rain mm = 53.4
|Dec rain mm = 40.0
|year rain mm =
|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
|Jan precipitation days = 5.2
|Feb precipitation days = 5.3
|Mar precipitation days = 5.5
|Apr precipitation days = 4.0
|May precipitation days = 3.0
|Jun precipitation days = 1.3
|Jul precipitation days = 0.3
|Aug precipitation days = 0.8
|Sep precipitation days = 1.5
|Oct precipitation days = 3.3
|Nov precipitation days = 5.0
|Dec precipitation days = 5.8
|year precipitation days = 41.0
|source 1 = NOAA{{cite web
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231005212325/https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/4.4/data/0-data/Region-1-WMO-Normals-9120/Morocco/CSV/BENIMELLAL_60191.csv
| archive-date = October 5, 2023
| url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/4.4/data/0-data/Region-1-WMO-Normals-9120/Morocco/CSV/BENIMELLAL_60191.csv
| title = Beni Mellal Climate Normals 1991–2020
| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
| access-date = October 5, 2023}}
|source 2 = BBC Weather (rainfall){{cite web
| url =http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/city_guides/results.shtml?tt=TT000420 | title =Average Conditions tetoaun, Morocco| access-date =August 17, 2009 | publisher =BBC Weather |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090121175723/https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/city_guides/results.shtml?tt=TT000420 |archive-date=2009-01-21}}
|date=August 2010
}}
Transport
Beni Mellal is served by Beni Mellal Airport.
Education
In Beni Mellal is located Sultan Moulay Slimane University.
Notable people
- Abde Ezzalzouli - Professional footballer
- Hicham Sigueni - Long-distance runner
- Mohamed El Badraoui - Former footballer
Gallery
File:Beni mellal castle.jpg|
File:Fortress Beni Mellal.jpg|El Kasbah Ain Asserdoun Beni Mellal
File:BeniMellal,AinAsserdoun.jpg|
File:Beni Mellal - University Sultan Moulay Slimane.JPG|Sultan Moulay Slimane University
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://lexicorient.com/morocco/beni_mellal.htm Lexicorient] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303194515/http://lexicorient.com/morocco/beni_mellal.htm |date=2016-03-03 }}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110812082731/http://beni-mellal.info/modules/tinycontent/index.php?id=15 Monographie de la Ville de Beni Mellal] {{in lang|fr}}
{{Béni Mellal Province}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Populated places in Béni Mellal Province