Agadir (in chleuh: ⴰⴳⴰⴷⵉⵔ Agadir; in Arabic: أݣادير or اگادير or أكادير or أغادير), also called Agadir Irir (in chleuh: ⴰⴳⴰⴷⵉⵔ ⵉⵖⵉⵔ Agadir Iɣir) is a city in southwestern Morocco, located on the Atlantic coast, in the Souss region, 508 km south of Casablanca, 173 km from Essaouira and 235 km west of Marrakech5. Nicknamed "the capital of Souss6", Agadir is the capital of the Souss-Massa administrative region and of the Agadir Ida-Outanane prefecture. According to the 2014 census, Agadir had 421,844 inhabitants that year7, and the population of the prefecture of Agadir Ida-Outanane was 600,599 inhabitants7. The local population of the city considers themselves Chleuhs and is predominantly Chleuhophone. Darija, the most common foreign language in the city, is used as a lingua franca by non-Berber speaking Moroccans residing in the city. Agadir (in chleuh: ⴰⴳⴰⴷⵉⵔ Agadir; in Arabic: أݣادير or اگادير or أكادير or أغادير), also called Agadir Irir (in chleuh: ⴰⴳⴰⴷⵉⵔ ⵉⵖⵉⵔ Agadir Iɣir) is a city in southwestern Morocco, located on the Atlantic coast, in the Souss region, 508 km south of Casablanca, 173 km from Essaouira and 235 km west of Marrakech5. Nicknamed "the capital of Souss6", Agadir is the capital of the Souss-Massa administrative region and of the Agadir Ida-Outanane prefecture. According to the 2014 census, Agadir had 421,844 inhabitants that year7, and the population of the prefecture of Agadir Ida-Outanane was 600,599 inhabitants7. The local population of the city considers themselves Chleuhs and is predominantly Chleuhophone. Darija, the most common foreign language in the city, is used as a lingua franca by non-Berber speaking Moroccans residing in the city. Ravaged by an earthquake in 1960, the city was completely rebuilt according to mandatory earthquake standards. It is now the largest seaside resort in Morocco with an exceptionally mild climate throughout the year. Since 2010, well served by low cost flights and the motorway to Tangier, the city attracts from all walks of life and has seen an annual growth of more than 6% per year in demand for housing.
L’histoire est pratiquement muette sur Agadir avant le xiie siècle.
Au iie siècle av. J.-C., l’historien Polybe évoque au nord de l’Afrique, sur l’Atlantique, un cap Rhysaddir, qui pourrait avoir été situé non loin d’Agadir, sa localisation est encore en débat.
La plus ancienne attestation cartographique que l’on trouve à propos d’Agadir apparaît sur une carte de 1325 : à l’emplacement approximatif de la ville actuelle, l’indication d’un lieu nommé Porto Mesegina, d’après le nom d’une tribu berbère déjà citée au xiie siècle, les Mesguina, c’est-à-dire les Ksima15.
À la fin de l’époque médiévale, Agadir est un bourg de peu de notoriété ; le nom même, Agadir el-arba, est attesté pour la première fois en 1510
