The Chella Necropolis, located in Rabat’s Cité Khalifa district, is approximately 2.5 km southeast of the medina and 750 meters west of the Bou Regreg estuary. Established by Marinid ruler Abu Sa’id (r. 1310–1331) in 1310 and completed by Abu ‘l-Hasan (r. 1331–1348) in 1339, the site houses several generations of Marinid royals. It was built over a cemetery in use since 1248, which itself lay on the ruins of Sala Colonia, a Roman city founded in 40 CE on an older Phoenician or Carthaginian settlement from the 3rd century BCE.

Sala Colonia was abandoned by 250 CE but intermittently inhabited by Berber tribes. The site remained largely undeveloped until the 12th century when Almohads established a military camp there. Later, Almohad ruler Ya’qub al-Mansur (r. 1184–1199) founded Rabat, intending to make it the empire’s capital. However, after his death, the city was mostly abandoned until the 17th century. The Marinids chose Rabat as a necropolis due to its historical and religious significance in their campaigns against Christian Spain.

During the Marinid period the site of ancient Sala was re-appropriated and turned into a royal necropolis for the ruling dynasty, now known as Chellah (Arabic: شالة, romanized: Shāllah). Because of its ruined condition today, the exact chronology of its development is not well known. The first Marinid constructions and the first royal burial were in 1284–85, when sultan Abu Yusuf Ya’qub chose the site to bury his wife, Umm al-‘Izz. He built a small mosque (still extant) next to her tomb. The tomb itself was a qubba, a small mausoleum chamber covered by a dome or pyramidal roof. The sultan himself was buried next to her after his death in Algeciras in 1286.His son and successor, Abu Ya’qub Yusuf, was buried at the site after his death in 1307, and his successor, Abu Thabit ‘Amir, was buried near Abu Ya’qub Yusuf in 1308.

The mosque is a hypostyle hall that is situated in the complex’s southwest corner. Two rows of horseshoe arches split it into three naves. A central aisle that runs towards the mihrab on the southeast wall is defined by two additional rows of arches that are parallel to the others. A modest, partially-destroyed minaret with a square base and polylobed-arch windows is located at the southwest corner of the mosque. A tiny water basin or well used for ablutions is located outside the mosque, next to the minaret, and is supplied by a nearby spring.

The most important Marinid constructions appear to have occurred during the reigns of Abu Sa’id Uthman II (r. 1310–1331) and his son, Abu al-Hasan (r. 1331–1348; also known as the Black Sultan). Abu Sa’id enclosed the area with a set of walls and began construction of the main gate. According to some sources he was buried in this necropolis too after his death in 1331, though Ibn Khaldun wrote that he was buried in Fez. Construction of the main gate was finished by Abu al-Hasan, as evidenced by an inscription on it which dates its completion to July 1339 (Dhu al-Qadah 739 AH) and refers to the complex as a “ribat”. During Abu al-Hasan’s lifetime one of his wives, Shams al-Ḍuḥa (the mother of Abu Inan), was buried here in 1349. One of his sons, Abu Malik, may have also been buried in the necropolis in 1339. After his death in exile in 1351, Abu al-Hasan’s body was buried in a mausoleum here as well, near his wife. This mausoleum may have been finished by his son and successor, Abu Inan (r. 1348–1358). Abu Inan may have also been responsible for building or completing the madrasa (Islamic college) and the prominent minaret that adjoin the mosque and mausoleums. He set up a charitable endowment (waqf) to fund the operations of the religious complex. Remains at the site today also show that the necropolis was accompanied by a residential quarter to the north, complete with a water supply system. A preserved hammam (bathhouse) from this period also stands near the far eastern corner of the walled enclosure.

Today, Chella is a UNESCO World Heritage site, attracting visitors with its blend of Marinid architecture, ancient ruins, and natural beauty. Excavations in the 20th century revealed remnants of the Roman town, and the necropolis remains one of Morocco’s most significant medieval heritage sites