The zawiya complex presents a mix of Saadian and later Alaouite architecture.[1][2] The mausoleum first took shape under the Saadians in the early 16th-century.[3]:274 However, according to Gaston Deverdun (French scholar whose work on Marrakesh is heavily cited), the current building dates largely from the time of Moulay Muhammad ibn Abdallah (governor of Marrakesh after 1746 and sultan from 1757-1790), who is responsible for building and restoring many monuments in the city.[4]:509