Ksar el-Kebir

It came under Roman control with the name Oppidum Novum. In 1578, King Sebastian of Portugal suffered a crushing defeat in the Battle of Alcácer Quibir at the hands of the King Abd al-Malik of Morocco, which ended Portugal's ambitions to invade and Christianize the Maghreb. Both kings died during the battle, as did Abdallah Mohammed, who was allied with Sebastian. • 1578: The Battle of Alcácer Quibir, or Battle of the Three Kings, is fought here. • 17th century: Sultan Moulay Ismail destroyed the city walls of Ksar el-Kebir after being angered by a local chief. • 1912: Establishment of the spanish Protectorate in northern Morocco including the city of Ksar El Kebir On 12 February 2026, severe flooding hit Ksar El Kebir after heavy rains caused the Loukkos River to overflow, submerging neighborhoods and forcing thousands to flee. The army and emergency forces helped evacuate residents, leaving large parts of the city nearly deserted as cleanup operations began. ==Culture==

El-Ksar el-Kebir is reputed for the leading artists, writers, poets, and sportsmen on the national plane. • In sports, football player Abdeslam Laghrissi still keeps his record as the best marksman in the Moroccan championship with 26 goals in 1986. • In music, Abdessalam Amer (died 1979), who is well known in the Arab world as a unique music composer. He left such eternal songs as: Red Moon, Beach, Leaving, The Last Oh!. • In poetry, Mohamed El Khammar El Guennouni (died 1991) was a pioneer in modern Moroccan poetry and is regarded as master of free poetry in Morocco. There is also poet Ouafae El Amrani in the new poetic generation. • In novel-writing, there are such novelists as Mohamed Aslim, Mohamed Harradi, Mohamed Tetouani, Mohamed Sibari and Moustafa Jebari. • In short-story writing, there is Mohamed Said Raihani, who is a trilingual writer (he writes in Arabic, French and English) and who has finished his fortieth manuscript before reaching the age of forty. == Notable people ==

• Achraf Hakimi, professional footballer • Ilias Bulaid, kickboxer and mixed martial artist • Abdeslam Laghrissi, professional footballer • Mohamed Katir, professional runner • Yehuda Benasouli, former Chief Rabbi of Madrid, Spain • Hamid El Kasri, Gnawa music singer ==Twin towns==

• Lagos, Portugal ==References==