Tafilalt or Tafilet is a region and the most important oasis of the Moroccan Sahara; it is also considered one of the largest oases in the world. Entirely located along the Ziz River, the oasis is ten days' journey south of Fez, across the Atlas Mountains. It is celebrated for its large and luscious dates. Al Hassan Addakhil, ancestor of the reigning Alaouite Dynasty of Morocco, cultivated these with such success around 1250 that he could fund the dynasty's rise to power.
The inhabitants of the oasis and region occupy fortified villages (Ksar). In Ifli, the central portion, formerly existed the town of Sijilmasa, founded by Miknasa Berbers in 757. It was on the direct caravan route from the Niger to Tangier, and attained a considerable degree of prosperity. Medieval traveler Ibn Batuta wrote about visiting Sijilmasa (near Tafilalt) in the fourteenth century on his journey from Fez to "the country of the blacks". It was later destroyed, but even its ruins extend five miles along the river bank.
