In the archaeological site of Ksar Sghir, human traces dating back to the first century D.C. have been found, as well as a Roman salting factory. The first fortress, from the Irissid period, dates back to the years 708-709, and for a long time was highly valued, either as a port of transit to Al Andalus, or as a place of reception for the Moorish expelled from the peninsula a few centuries later. During the Merinid period, the Berber dynasty of the Beni Merin had the only circular medina built that has survived.