Théodore Cornut was of French mathematician and military architect of the 18th century, born in Avignon. He was commissioned by Sidi Mohamed ben Abdallah, an Alaouite Sultan, to build the city of Mogador (modern Essaouira) in 1766.

Cornut is thought to have been a prisoner, taken during a failed assault on Larache, together with hundreds of other Christian prisoners. He designed the city, and built it with the help of the prisoners, and ultimately obtained his freedom. He built the surrounding walls similar to those of St Malo, and organized the streets of the medina according to a grid system.

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