Historical and Archaeological Study of Tlemcen Al-Ziyaniya a Brief Presentation on the Restoration of Some of its Archaeological Monuments- the Royal Palace “Al-Mashwar is a Model” –

Abstract

The status of nations is gauged by the extent to which they have contributed to progress and civilization. Under Islam, which extended its conquests from India in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west, this contribution became more comprehensive and profound. Open countries had already possessed a scientific and artistic civilization, yet Islamic civilization enriched it with inspiration in its arts, dominated by Islamic spirit. The successive Islamic states left behind a material civilization and enduring relics that unequivocally indicate their greatness, magnified by the greatness of Islam that unified them. Historians of civilization rely on their knowledge of the conditions and customs of nations, their advancements, sophistication, daily lives, as well as their architectural, industrial, and artistic skills, all based on the artifacts and remains left by those nations. Islamic civilization, in this regard, possesses from its architectural and artistic heritage, solid facts that constitute a rich record of the progress and prosperity of Islamic society. Muslims bequeathed to us various religious, civil, military, and social structures, in addition to numerous artifacts and arts mastered by Muslims, attaining levels of refinement and perfection, such as sculpture, painting, metalworking, textiles, woodworking, glassmaking, and so forth. This is indeed what came to us from the Zayyanids in Tlemcen and the entire Maghreb region, through one particular example we have chosen, a model of creativity and the spirit of Islamic palaces, exemplified by the Almoravid palace "Qal'at al-Mashur".