complexes designed to serve local residents, similar to contemporary Ottoman külliyes and the earlier Mamluk architecture in Egypt. These complexes included various institutions and amenities such as a madrasa, a library, a primary school, a hammam (public bathhouse), an ablutions house (mida'a) with latrines, a water trough for animals, and a public fountain for distributing water to locals. The Saadians also contributed to founding, building, or expanding the zawiyas (religious complexes centered around a tomb) of major Sufi shrines in Marrakesh, including the Zawiya of Sidi Ben Sliman al-Jazuli and the Zawiya of Sidi Bel Abbes. In the 16th century and in subsequent centuries the usage of zellij, which became standard during the previous Marinid period, became even more widespread and ubiquitous as architectural decoration, usually along the lower walls of chambers. Under the Saadians the complexity of geometric patterns increased in part through the use of even finer (thinner) mosaic pieces for certain compositions, though in some cases this came at the expense of more colours. The zellij compositions in the Saadian Tombs are considered one of the best examples of this type. A panel constituting another fine example of this style, originating from the Badi Palace, is also preserved today in the collection of the Dar Batha Museum in Fes. Starting with the Saadians, and continuing with the Alaouites (their successors and the reigning monarchy today), Moroccan art and architecture is presented by modern scholars as having remained essentially "conservative"; meaning that it continued to reproduce the existing style with high fidelity but did not introduce major new innovations. Ornate architectural elements from Saadian buildings, most famously from the El Badi Palace, were also stripped and reused in buildings elsewhere during the reign of the Alaouite sultan Moulay Isma'il (1672–1727). Saadian carved marble, in the form of columns, panels, and window frames, was especially prized and is found in multiple Alaouite-era monuments in Meknes and Fes. The Saadian Tombs continued to be used as a necropolis for a time but were eventually abandoned, before being "rediscovered" by French authorities in 1917. Manuscripts and calligraphy Relatively little is known of Saadian-period art beyond architecture, with the relative exception of decorated manuscripts. Western Maghrebi books, including Qur'ans, had by this point established a calligraphic tradition of writing in the Maghrebi script, which continued well after the medieval (pre-16th century) era. The Saadian sultans were also responsible for compiling large libraries,