Set more or less in the middle of Morocco's Atlantic coastline on the left bank of the mouth of Bou Regreg River, Rabat is Morocco's political and administrative capital and the official residence of the King. All ministries and embassies are located in Rabat. Apart from its governmental activities, Rabat is one of the country's main industrial
centers where, among other things, textiles, processed food, and building materials are manufactured.
The city contains several of Morocco's major educational institutions, including Mohammed V University, the National Conservatory of Music, Dance, and Dramatic Arts and institutes of agricultural, public administration and applied economics studies. Rabat is also one of Morocco's many outstanding tourist attractions. Theatre Mohamed V is located in the centre of the town with a few galleries and an archeological museum. Rabat has a very active art scene for independant artists, with the addition of a visual arts space in 2002.
Rabat was founded as an Arab army outpost in the 12th century and given the generic name for military encampment, Ribat, which is still in use today.
For centuries Rabat and Salé were rival principalities but eventually Rabat began to dominate the area and Salé's power was ultimately eclipsed altogether by its larger neighbor.
In the early 17th century it became a center of anti-European piracy centered at the stronghold of the Kasbah des Oudaias.
Rabat was first made a modern capital in 1912 by Morocco's French overlords and remained the nation's capital after independence in 1956 and is the residence of the royal family.
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