Page "Mazara del Vallo" Paragraph 2

Mazara was founded by the Phoenicians in the 9th century BC, with the name of Mazar ( the Rock ).

It then passed under the control of Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Ostrogoths, Byzantines, before being occupied by the Arabs in the year 827.

During the Arab period, Sicily was divided into three different administrative regions, Val di Noto, Val Demone and Val di Mazara, making the city an important commercial harbour and centre of learning.

Nowadays, the city centre, known as the Kasbah, is reminiscent of that period, probably the most prosperous in the history of Mazara.