Morocco’s Sultan Builds El Badi, the Incomparable Palace

In December 1578, only months after claiming power, Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur began constructing a grand reception complex in the southern kasbah of Marrakesh. The venture was titled El Badi, an Arabic name signifying the Incomparable and evoking one of the attributes of God. Funding for this ambitious building program flowed directly from al-Mansur's victory at the Battle of the Three Kings, where Portuguese forces suffered a catastrophic defeat that yielded substantial ransom payments for captured nobility. Flush with these resources and the profits of Morocco's lucrative sugar trade, the Saadian ruler sought to fashion a monumental architectural showcase of imperial authority and wealth.

The construction site operated as an immense hub of international labor and trade for well over a decade. Artisans and laborers converged from across Morocco, Europe, and sub-Saharan Africa, creating an encampment so extensive that a bustling market arose nearby to serve them. The sultan supervised the works closely, even instituting child care arrangements to keep workers focused on their duties. Materials arrived from across the known world, including refined lime and plaster from Timbuktu and finely carved marble columns from Italy, reportedly traded with Italian merchants for their exact weight in Moroccan sugar.