Salé (Berber: Sla / , Arabic: سلا; from the Berber word asla, meaning "rock") is a city in north-western Morocco, on the right bank of the Bou Regreg river, opposite the national capital Rabat, for which it serves as a commuter town. Founded in antiquity as a Phoenician colony, it became a haven for pirates as an independent republic before being incorporated into Alaouite Morocco.