It was during the reign of Yaghmorasan lbn Zayan (1236-1283), the founder of the Zayyanid dynasty, that this minaret was built. However, Yaghmorasan deliberately left no inscriptions bearing his name. Yahya Ibn Khaldun reported that to those who asked the sultan to write his name on the minaret, he replied in Berber language: "Issent Rebbi" (God knows). 

The minaret of the Great Mosque of Tlemcen is the highest in the medina with a height exceeding 29 meters.