Rabat is considered to be an ancient city which has accompanied history since its early ages. It has prospered in the Phoenician and the Roman epochs, then in the Islamic ages, as show "Chellah" and the "Oudayas Kasbah", before being renovated and expanded in the sixth century of the Hegira (twelfth century AD) by Yacoub El Mansour. He built within the city walls and gates together with the Hassan Mosque, making Rabat a starting point for the jihad (holy war), and called it for this reason "Ribat Al Fath".
Rabat gathers architectural, military, agricultural, and industrial facilities. This is due on one hand to its location and to its numerous orchards, gardens, and fertile lands, and on the other hand to its fish abundance coming from its rich Atlantic coast and from the Bou Regreg river which separates it from its neighboring city Salè. Moreover, Rabat has become renowned for its refined handicrafts be they leather, ceramics, wood or woven fabrics. These areas have in fact been developed by its skillful inhabitants that an Andalusian community joined in Rabat upon the end of the Islamic reign in the Iberian peninsula.
The port of Rabat, closed since the French protectorate, has greatly contributed to the development of a wide trading activity, both local and international, together with a diplomatic activity concentrated in the "Consuls Quarter", and a cultural activity from which emerged a great number of scholars, writers, and artists.
The prestigious position of Rabat has led the Kings of the Alaouite Dynasty to build within the city palaces for transit or for temporary residency, and to proclaim it after the Protectorate Treaty in 1912 Capital of the Moroccan Kingdom.
Rabat has also played a leadership role in the nationalist struggle and the colonialism resistance. During independence, it has become the best evidence of what Morocco has achieved in a variety of development sectors.