 Even though they were only separated by a relatively small river the cities developed separately and became two individual cities until they were unified in the 11th century by the Almoravids.There were many refugees who decided to settle in the new city this time too, however this time they fled from an uprising in Kairouan (in modern Tunisia).One good example of how the refugees contributed to making Fez flourish during the early years is the University of Al-Karaouine (or al-Qarawiyyin) that was built by a Tunisian refugee in 859 CE.