Whatever the reasons, Ismail made Meknes the center of Morocco in his time and construction on a new monumental palace-city continued throughout the 55 years of his reign.[1][2][17] Work on the vast palace complex began as soon as his accession to the throne in 1672.[18][8] Existing structures dating from the earlier medieval kasbah of the city were demolished to make way; the name of the large public square in front of the Kasbah today, el-Hedim (or Place el-Hedim), means "the rubble" and came from the masses of rubble and debris which were piled here during the demolition.[19][6][8] This clearing of space also allowed for the sultan to leave an empty buffer zone between the kasbah's walls and the city, making them more defensible.[19] It was also in Moulay Ismail's reign that the Jewish inhabitants of the city were moved to a new Mellah or Jewish district to the west, near the kasbah, not unlike the Mellah of Fes or that of Marrakesh.[7]:234 Moulay Isma'il also undertook works throughout the old city too by renovating mosques, refortifying the walls, and building new city gates (e.g. Bab Berda'in and Bab Khemis).[20][9]