JAFFA

courtesy TimeOut.com

Jaffa, a city famous for its oranges, is one of the major cities of Israel, lying about midway on Israel’s coast. Today, it is populated by both Jews and Arab settlers and is situated along the southern border of the illegal Zionist settlement of Tel Aviv, originally, the Palestinian village of  Sheikh Munis. But unlike Tel Aviv, Jaffa is historically very much a part of Israel with a Jewish history almost as long as the history of Israel itself.

According to tradition, the city was named for Yafet, one of the sons of Noah, who built it after the Flood. During the time of Joshua, the area in and around Jaffa was allotted to the tribe of Dan. Long considered the main port of entry to the Land of Israel for those coming from the west, in later Biblical history, it became associated with Solomon’s Temple, built by the cedars from Lebanon which arrived by way of Jaffa. The city remained in Israelite hands even after the split of the united Kingdom of Israel, becoming part of the northern Kingdom of Israel. It was from Jaffa, the prophet Jonah embarked for Tarshish (Jonah 1:3). In 701 BCE, in the days of King Hezekiah of Judah, Sennacherib of Assyria, invaded the region from Jaffa. Later, it became a port city of the Seleucid Empire until it was taken over by the Maccabees (1 Maccabees 10:74–76) and ruled by them for at least a century. According to the New Testament account, it was here that Saint Peter brought back to life the widow Dorcas (Acts of the Apostles 9:36–42 (Greek sources put her name as Tabitha)). During the First Jewish–Roman War, Jaffa was captured and burned by Cestius Gallus. It is said that some 8,400 inhabitants were massacred. Since then, several rabbinic sources attest to a number of Jewish scholars living in, or travelling through Jaffa - Jose ben Halafta, Rabi Akha bar Khanina, Rabi Pinchas ben Yair, Rav Adda Demin, Rav Nachman. Several streets and alleys of the Jaffa Flea Market area are named after these scholars.

Under Arab rule, Jewish and Christian pilgrims would usually pass through Jaffa. It was at this time that the Pesikta Rabbati (written in the 9th century) mentions a R. Tanchum of Jaffa, a prominent scholar of Israel. In the early tenth century R. Joseph, the father of Saadiah Gaon, died there. A Hebrew letter dated 1071, which was found in the Cairo *Genizah, reports the confiscation of merchandise in the port of Jaffa. A bill of divorce (get) written in 1077 proves that the city had a rabbinical court at the time. During the period of the Crusades, Benjamin of Tudela (1170) sojourned at Jaffa, and found there only one Jew, a dyer. During the Second Crusade, Jews were treated with more tolerance. The small community was comprised of craftsmen, potters, and glaziers (many of whom went to Europe). Their influence is noticeable in the contemporary pottery of southern France. In the 14^th century, Jewish immigration via Jaffa became very dangerous, and especially in the 15^th century, as a result of the decrees issued by the pope and the Venetian Republic against carrying Jews to the Holy Land. Only when the decree was revoked in c. 1488 did Jews openly arrive in Israel via Jaffa.

In the 18^th century, individual Jews, especially those from North Africa, were attracted to the town. The Libyan Synagogue, Bet Zunana, was built Rabbi Yaacov ben David Zunana, on behalf of the North African arrivals. It was later turned into a hotel and then a soap factory, and reopened as a synagogue for Libyan Jewish immigrants after 1948. Later in the century, the Jewish community would often become caught up in the numerous wars between Arabs and Turks suffering the consequences in the process such as the massacre by the Mamluk emir and warlord Muhammad Bey Abu Dhahab of Egypt (1775).

In 1780 the grand rabbinate of Constantinople officially requested a Christian official, one Hanna Domia, to protect Jews who pass through Jaffa on their way to Jerusalem from abuses from the local Arabs as well as from the ruling officials. However, the abuses continued and in response, Isaiah Ajiman, banker of the Janizaries at Constantinople, purchased there a piece of real estate (1820) which he legally transferred to the Sephardic community of Jerusalem. That community set about to divide the property, one part, as a free hotel for Jewish travelers on their way to the holy cities, and the other part, a synagogue. This area became known as Dar al-Yehud (Arabic for "the house of the Jews") and eventually became the basis of the present Jewish community in Jaffa. A prospective Jewish community in Jaffa sparked much opposition from the rabbis in Jerusalem, and a herem (ban) was issued against the settlement of Jews there, the object of which was to attract all immigrants to Jerusalem. But some Jews settled there anyway. Initially, the first residents were mostly North Africans, and were merchants and artisans who preferred living from their own handiwork instead of being dependent on ḥalukkah in Jerusalem. But since they were still too poor to buy land for a cemetery, they instead buried their dead at Jerusalem. In 1838, due to the generosity of a certain Baron Menashe of Alexandria, a Sephardic educational institution Or Torah, was established. By 1839, at least 153 Sephardi Jews were living in Jaffa. Later, more North Africans arrived, survivors of a shipwreck off the coast of Haifa. They were soon joined by a body of Ashkenazim from Europe. Eventually, the old herem was lifted and in 1841 the chief rabbi of Jerusalem assigned to Jaffa, one Judah Halevy of Dubrovnik as its chief rabbi. He served the community for 50 years. Among the tasks he was given was that of receiving Jewish pilgrims in Jaffa port and of aiding them on their way to Jerusalem. At the same time, Jews, even from Jerusalem, went to Jaffa and established themselves there for commercial purposes. Among these may be cited Haim Amzaleg, who also acted as British consul in the city. The pioneers of modern agriculture in Jaffa were American Christians who would buy land near the city for the “benefit” of the Jews. In the early 1850s, Rabbi Halevy leased a nearby orchard to Clorinda S. Minor of Philadelphia, who founded a Christian messianic community that established on the site, Mount Hope, with herself as manager. This farming initiative was meant to encourage local Jews to learn manual trades in order to pave the wave for the Second Coming of Jesus. But the enterprise was unsuccessful and in 1855, the British Jewish philanthropist Sir Moses Montefiore bought the land, with Minor continuing as manager. Another unsuccessful attempt was the founding of a "model farm," by a certain A. Isaacs, a Jewish convert to Christianity, who intended to do missionary work. In 1859, an Austrian Jewish writer, Ludwig August Frankl, found sixty-five Jewish families living in Jaffa, 'about 400 souls in all.' Of these four were shoemakers, three were tailors, one silversmith and one watchmaker. There were also merchants and shopkeepers and 'many live by manual labor, porters, sailors, messengers, etc.'   

Under the auspices of the Alliance Israelite Universelle of Paris, Charles Netter established the Mikve Yisrael Agricultural School in 1870. The institution also entertained close ties with the Jaffa community. The size of the Jaffa community increased considerably with these enterprises and during the period of the First Aliyah, Jaffa became the center of the "new yishuv" and a communal framework was organized which comprised both Ashkenazim and Sephardim. The construction of the road to Jerusalem and the wealth which came to the city with Jewish immigration and settlement and the planting of citrus groves in the vicinity all enlivened the city's maritime commerce and contributed to its progress. Institutions were established: (1884) an Ashkenazi yeshiva Sha'are Torah, a welfare society Bene Tzion, a mutual aid society Ezrat Yisrael, and (1885) a public library containing several thousands of books in different languages. In 1887, the first Jewish neighborhood of the city was established – Neve Tzedek – on land acquired from a merchant Aharon Chelouche, one of the local notables. It was soon dubbed, "the Parisian houses," although with its narrow lanes, tightly packed houses, and absence of sanitary facilities, it differed little from Jaffa's other quarters. In 1891, Jaffa's second Jewish quarter, Neveh Shalom, was founded on land acquired from Arabs. The homes put up for sale in this neighborhood remained empty until the rabbi of the Jaffa, Naphtali Herz Halevi, bought the first house. The Jewish market, consisting of shops and workrooms, was partly on the quay and partly on the main street traversing the city. That same year, the hospital Sha'arei Ẓiyyon was founded and sustained by the gifts of the Jewish philanthropists of Europe. Two local schools were founded in 1894 by the Alliance Israélite Universelle, and were sustained by various Zionist societies of Russia and Vienna. In addition, there were three Ashkenazic and one Sephardic synagogues, some private midrashim, and five Jewish benevolent societies, among them a B'nai B'rith lodge. In 1896, an Ashkenazi Talmud Torah, Sha'arei Torah, was opened. In 1898 Jaffa had for chief rabbi Joseph ben Nuss (d. 1901). He was succeeded by Rabbi Malka. Later, the Anglo-Palestine Bank was established. Its name was later changed to Bank Leumi.

In 1904, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook was Chief Rabbi of Jaffa. During his tenure, there was the Second Aliyah from which, several communities were established in the Jaffa area. This Aliyah also swelled the Jaffa community's numbers to 7,000, again making dwellings scarce in both the Arab and Jewish sectors and apartment rents excessive. More Jewish quarters were added to Jaffa at this time: Maḥaneh Yosef, Kerem ha-Teimanim, and Ohel Moshe. The lands for this purpose had been secured by the founding families of the Jaffa Jewry – Matalon, Moyal, and others. In 1906, the Herzliyya Gymnasium was established. It became the most prestigious high school in Israel for many decades. Two years later, the E.L. Lewinsky Seminary for women teachers opened. That same year, the Palestine Office, the local representative of the World Zionist Organization, opened in Jaffa under the leadership of Arthur Ruppin, a sociologist from Germany. In 1917, during World War I, the Jaffa deportations resulted in the Ottomans expelling the entire civilian population. While Muslim evacuees were allowed to return before long, the Jewish evacuees remained in camps, mainly in Egypt, until after the British conquest.

During the British Mandate after the war, more Jewish suburbs were established within its municipal boundaries. But relations with the Arab settlers grew tense. The Jaffa riots in 1921, (known in Hebrew as Meoraot Tarpa) began with a May Day parade that turned violent. Arab rioters attacked Jewish residents and buildings killing 47 Jews and wounding 146. The Hebrew author Yosef Haim Brenner was one of those killed in the riots. During this and the 1929 riots, the inner parts of Jaffa were gradually ethnically cleansed of Jews. Still, during the 1920s, most Jewish businesses were located in Jaffa (as opposed to Tel Aviv), some Jewish neighborhoods paid taxes to the municipality of Jaffa, many young Jews who could not afford the housing costs of Tel Aviv resided there, and the big neighborhood of Menashiya was by and large fully mixed. The first electric company in the British Mandate of Palestine, owned by Jewish shareholders, had been named the Jaffa Electric Company. The 1936–39 Arab revolt in British Palestine further ethnically cleansed the town of Jews and inflicted great economic and infrastructural damage. It began on April 19, 1936 with a riot remembered as "the Bloody Day in Jaffa", which ended with 9 Jews killed and scores injured. The Arab leadership declared a general strike, which began in the Jaffa Port, a place that had already become a symbol of Arab “resistance”.

In 1947, the partition plan of the UN Special Commission on Palestine recommended that Jaffa be included in the planned Jewish state. Due to the large Arab majority, however, the UN instead designated it as part of the Arab state. Following the inter-communal violence which broke out after the passing of the UN resolution, the remaining Jews fled for their lives. The mayors of Jaffa and Tel Aviv tried to calm their communities.  British authorities protected the city and prevented Jewish forces from occupying parts of it. But the riots brought large units of "volunteers" from other Arab countries to Jaffa. They were organized by the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization that sympathized with the Nazis during World War II. On 4 January 1948 the Lehi detonated a truck bomb outside the 3-storey 'Serrani', Jaffa's Ottoman built town hall, killing 26 and injuring hundreds. In February Jaffa's Mayor, Yussuf Haykal, contacted David Ben-Gurion through a British intermediary trying to secure a peace agreement with Tel Aviv, but the commander of the Arab militia in Jaffa opposed it. On April 25, the Irgun launched an offensive on Jaffa. During the course of the war, thousands of Arabs fled the fighting. When Jaffa surrendered to the Haganah on May 14, the day Israel declared its independence, around 4,000 people were left. At the same time, thousands of Jewish refugees settled there. On December 10, Jaffa was forced to be annexed to Tel Aviv. Official annexation was delayed until April 24, 1950 due to concerted opposition from Tel Aviv's mayor Israel Rokach.

Today, Jaffa has a heterogeneous population of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Among the earliest cultural institutions since independence is the Farkash Gallery founded in 1948. In 1995, the old Libyan synagogue, Bet Zunana became a museum. There were also extensive archaeological excavations in the area. The majority of these excavations are salvage in nature and are conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority since the 1990s. Excavations on Rabbi Pinchas Street, for example, in the flea market have revealed walls and water conduits dating to the Iron Age, Hellenistic, Early Islamic, Crusader and Ottoman periods. A limestone slab engraved with a menorah discovered on Tanchum Street is believed to be the door of a tomb. Additional efforts to conduct research excavations at that site included those of B. J. Isserlin (1950), Ze'ev Herzog of Tel Aviv University (1997–1999), and most recently the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project (since 2007), directed by Aaron A. Burke (UCLA) and Martin Peilstocker (Johannes Gutenberg University).

In addition, Jaffa is home to the following: the Bat Yam & Jaffa border beach, the Givat Aliya Beach, Yitzhak Sadeh House, B’nai Brith, haHaganah Square, Avigal School, the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, Branco Weiss Garden, Davidov Park, Midron Yaffo Park, Cherner House, Jaffa Port, Ilana Goor Museum, WeWork, Etzel Museum, Israel Defense Forces History Museum, Charles Clore Beach.

NAZARETH

"Synagogue-Church", Nazareth, courtesy Expedia

Today, Nazareth is a largely peaceful Arab town in the Lower Galilee, two thirds of whom are Muslim and one third Christian. Historically associated with the life of Christ, a Jew born in the Jewish city of Bethlehem, until the 7^th century, Nazareth was a wholly or largely Jewish town.

According to some medieval Jewish scholars, the area was settled by Jews during the time of the prophet Jeremiah who wrote of the watchmen (netzarim) of Ephraim whence the town may have gotten its name. Centuries later, it became the boyhood home of Jesus Christ. According to the New Testament account, when Jesus tried to preach to the people of the town, he was attacked and almost thrown off a cliff, identified by tradition as the nearby Jebel Qafza. After the end of the Bar Kochba revolt in 135, Nazareth became the home of, and ruled by, the Hafitzatz family of Cohanim, descendants from the House of Levi son of Jacob. They remained the priestly rulers of Nazareth for the next few centuries.

During the early Byzantine period, many massacres and expulsions of Jews took place throughout the Land of Israel, including Nazareth. Forced conversion attempts were commonplace. In the 4^th century, Epiphanius, an anti-Jewish Jewish convert to Christianity, was given permission by the authorities to build a church in Nazareth in an attempt to convert the Jews. According to tradition, it was built on the site of the synagogue where Jesus worshipped and thus became known as the “synagogue church”. This conversion attempt was unsuccessful but a small body of Jewish Christians grew up around it. The “church” exists to this day and is one of many focal points for Christian pilgrims. By the 6^th century, another church was built, apparently converted from a synagogue.

In reaction to centuries of ceaseless persecutions under the Christians, Jews would actively support anyone who came to relieve their plight. The answer came in 614 when the Persians invaded the Land of Israel aided by some 20,000 Jews who served in the Persian army. Those in and around Nazareth, especially the mountain areas, also actively aided the Persians and contributed much to the Persian takeover, massacring many Christians in the process. The Jews finally got their revenge but this victory however, was short-lived. By 630, the Byzantines finally expelled the Persians. All Jews were expelled from Nazareth which was, then, settled by Christians from throughout the Empire. Nazareth became a Christian town. So much so that the Hebrew word for Christian, “Notzri”, derives from the name Nazareth. Much later, a small number of Jews did return and remained there for centuries. After the Arab conquest in 636, Arab Muslims also began to settle there. The “synagogue church” was later purchased by the Franciscans in 1741. Today, the site belongs to the Melkite Greek Catholic Church.

Christian prejudice against Jews had never ceased during the centuries of Christian and Muslim rule. In 1849 upon the visit to Nazareth of British philanthropist Sir Moses Montefiore, someone had accused him of killing a child and using his blood for making Passover Matza – an old anti-Semitic trope from Europe, centuries in the making. Fortunately, the ruling Ottoman Turks found the accusation baseless and Montefiore was then able to go on his way.

After the British conquest of the Land of Israel in World War I and the subsequent increase in Jewish immigration spurred on by the Zionist movement, representatives of Nazareth who opposed Zionism, sent a delegation to the First Palestine Arab Congress and issued a letter of protest in 1920 that condemned the movement while also proclaiming solidarity with the Jews of Palestine as one of many religions in the country. In 1922, Nazareth had a remaining Jewish population of 53 that had survived over the centuries. They were ethnically cleansed from there, as were other places in the Land of Israel during the bloody Arab riots in the ‘20s and ‘30s.

In the 1936–1939 Arab Revolt, Nazareth played a minor role, contributing two rebel commanders to the Arab militias – the Christian Fu'ad Nassar and Tawfiq al-Ibrahim. The leaders of the revolt sought to use Nazareth as a staging ground to protest the British proposal to include the Galilee into a future Jewish state. To give expression to that opposition, on September 26, 1937, the British district commissioner of the Galilee, Lewis Yelland Andrews, was assassinated in Nazareth by local rebels.

Nazareth was in the territory allotted to the Arab state under the 1947 UN Partition Plan. In the months leading up to the 1948 War of Independence, the town became a refuge for Arabs fleeing the urban centers of Tiberias, Haifa and Baysan before and during the Haganah's capture of those cities in April and May.

During the War, Nazareth was conquered by Arab forces under the direction of the Nazi-trained Fawzi al Kaukji from Syria but was taken by Israeli forces in July. The town surrendered and after the War, was incorporated into the State of Israel.

In 1957, the adjacent Jewish town of Nazrat Illit (Upper Nazareth) was established. It became populated by native born Israelis and European immigrants and in 1974, it achieved city status.

ALGIERS

courtesy NationsOnline.org

Algiers is the capital and largest city of Algeria located midway on the coast, and, along with its metropolitan area, has a population of over 3.5 million. Founded as the Phoenician commercial port city of Ikosim, it later became the Roman city of Icosium. Even though Algiers is today considered an “Arab” city, in fact, it is under Arab occupation as with all other cities in North Africa. As such, the indigenous people of Algiers are Berbers of varying tribes. And in fact, approximately 44% of the population are Berber-speakers. But it is important to note that on present-day maps, Algiers is not shown to belong to any specific indigenous tribal territory. However, it did belong to various medieval Berber kingdoms in past centuries. During the Ottoman period, Algiers was divided into an upper and a lower city consisting of 50 neighborhoods. The Berbers, mainly Kabyle, were one of the main population groups residing in the upper city. For centuries, Europeans would often refer to the North African populations, be they Berber or Arab, as "Moors" and the "Moorish" style of architecture was often imitated throughout the European continent.

The present city was founded in 944 by Bologhine ibn Ziri, the founder of the Sanhaja Berber 

Zirid dynasty. Although the Zirid dynasty was overthrown by Roger II of Sicily in 1148, the Zirids had already lost control of Algiers to their Sanhaja cousins the Hammadids in 1014. The city was wrested from the Hammadids by the Almohads in 1159, and in the 13th century came under the dominion of the Ziyanid sultans of Tlemcen. Nominally part of the sultanate of Tlemcen, Algiers had a large measure of independence under amirs of its own due to Oran being the chief seaport of the Ziyanids.

ALGERIA

courtesy w-dog.net

                         


Algeria is located in North Africa (otherwise known as the Maghreb), and covers a substantial part of the Sahara. It is bounded on the east by Tunisia and Libya, on the south by Niger and Mali, on the west by Mauritania, Morocco, and Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara, and on the north by the Mediterranean Sea. Algeria is presently defined, as with all North African lands, as an Arab country. But in fact, it is not. The indigenous people of Algeria, as with all of North Africa, are Berbers, or more properly, Amazighs, of varying tribes. However, most of the population are of mixed Arab and Berber ancestry with a substantial minority that is wholly Berber. Most of those who are of mixed ancestry tend to identify with their Arab side and would usually refer to North Africa as the “Arab Maghreb”.

The ancient and ancestral Berber lands in Algeria include:

Tlemcen, capital of the Province of Tlemcen lying slightly inland from the coast: The province and city are the homeland of the Tlemcen Berbers. The city was founded by the Romans in the 2nd century as a military outpost named Pomaria. During the early Arab period, this outpost became the settlement of Agadir. In 1082 the Berber Almoravid leader Yusuf ibn Tashfin founded the nearby city of Tagrart. The two eventually merged and thus, Tlemcen was formed; the Great Mosque, completed in 1136 and is said to be the most remarkable remaining example of Almoravid architecture;
Ain Temouchent, city and province to the east of Tlemcen, the city of which, is also slightly inland;
Oran, second largest city in Algeria, where many prehistoric sites were discovered;
Chlef, ancient Carthaginian/Phoenician/Roman city and capital of the province of the same name; contains the equally ancient city of Tenes;
Tipaza, capital of the Province of Tipaza, the city and province of which, are the traditional homeland of the Chenoui Berbers;
Information on Algiers, the capital of Algeria, is in a separate posting.
The towns and provinces of Boumerdes, Tizi Ouzu and Bejaia are the homeland of the Kabyle Berbers. The rough mountainous terrain of the provinces served as a refuge for the Kabyle in times of conflict;   
Jijel founded by the ancient Carthaginians and later settled by Phoenicians;
Skikda founded by the ancient Carthaginians and later settled by Phoenicians;
Annaba founded by the ancient Phoenicians as Hipponensus Sinus. In Roman times, it was renamed Hippo Regius and became a bishopric in the early Christian period. The ruins of Hippo Regius can still be seen today;
The cities and provinces of Batna and Souk Ahras located in the Aures, make up the ancestral homeland of the Shawia Berbers. In the early Christian period, Souk Ahras was known as Tagaste, birthplace of Saint Augustine of Hippo, an early church father. Going back even further, in the 3^rd century BCE, both provinces formed the bulk of the Kingdom of Numidia. The site of Madghacen near Batna City, about 115 miles south of the coast, was the ancient burial site of the Numidian kings; Mdaourouch, in Souk Ahras Province, birthplace of Apuleius, Latin author; about 20 miles east of Batna is the ancient town of Timgad where there are many ruins from ancient Rome including the local Arch of Trajan; the city of Tebessa, south of which, is the archeological site of Bir el Ater;
The ancient Greco-Roman city of Constantine
The northwestern region of Ain Hanech in Saida Province, between Oran in the north and Chott Chergui Lake in the south, where prehistoric “human” remains dating to around 200,000 BCE were recently discovered by archaeologists;
The ancient Berber town of Tiaret, east of Saida Province, once the center of a large and important Berber kingdom until it was overthrown by the Arab Fatimid dynasty;
The ruined city of Al Qal’a in M’Sila Province, about 235 southeast of Algiers, first capital of the Hammadid empire;  

The ancient Roman theatre in Djémila lies about 115 miles to the northeast;

The M’Zab Valley in Ghardaia Province is the homeland of the Mozabite Berbers. The Mozabites live in five oases – Ghardaia, a large urbanized oasis, capital of Ghardaia Province and containing a market on the main square; Beni Isguen, is the chief commercial center; the town of Ouargla and the deserts further to the east served as a place of refuge in the Middle Ages after the Arab Fatimid overthrow of Tiaret; the town of Laghouat was the site of a major French victory over the Berbers in their conquest of Algeria prompting their surrender;
The vast Sahara Desert, much of its western portion is the ancestral homeland of the Tuareg. The town of Djanet is a major Tuareg site and home of the Sbeiba Festival celebrating an ancient peace treaty; the Ahaggar Mountains to the southwest, also a National Park, the highest point of which is Mount Tahat at over 9500 feet. It was the location of Kel Ahaggar, an important Berber Chiefdom; the town of Abalessa is the location of the Tomb of Tin Hinan, a Tuareg queen.

Berber tribes have been living here for thousands of years before the invasion of the Arabs. Archaeologists believe they came to the Maghreb around 10,000 BCE. Local cave paintings, which have been dated to twelve millennia before the present, have been found in the Tassili n'Ajjer region of southern Algeria.

The first patriarch of the Berbers is believed to be Madghacen, common ancestor of the Zenata and of the Botri as well. The first independent Berber kingdom was that of Numidia, centered, mainly in what is today, Algeria. Originally divided into east and west, the rulers of this kingdom are as follows:

Zelalsen (E) (344BCE–274BCE)

Gala (E) (275–207), Syphax (W) (bef. 215–202)

Ozalces (E) (207–206)

Capussa (E) (206–206)

Lacumazes (E) (206–206)

Masinissa (E) (206–202?), he unified the kingdom in 202BCE and became its first king (202–148) with its capital at Cirta, today Constantine. After his death, the kingdom was ruled jointly by his three sons Micipsa (who survived the longest), Gulussa, and Mastanabal. Micipsa was followed in 118BCE, by two of his sons who also ruled jointly – Hiempsal I and Adherbal, along with Jugurtha, son of Mastanabal (who survived the longest). In 105BCE, Jugurtha was succeeded by the son of Mastanabal, Gauda, and then by Hiarbas. After 81BCE, the eastern half of the kingdom became the main kingdom under Hiempsal II who ruled until 60BCE followed by Juba I. After his death in 46BCE, Numidia was annexed to Rome and renamed Africa Nova. In 29BCE, Juba II was its ruler, a position he held until 25BCE. Afterwards, Numidia remained a province of Rome and administered in varying ways.

The ancient Kingdom of Altava arose in 578 and dominated the northern part of Algeria for many generations. Their capital was at Altava. Unfortunately, there is no recording of the first few rulers of this kingdom until the 670’s when Sekerdid ascended the throne. He was succeeded by Caecilius in 680. Altava was destroyed by the Arab invasion ten years later.

In the late 7^th century, Abu al-Muhajir Dinar, a North African, possibly Berber, amir under Arab rule, pushed westward into Algeria and eventually worked out a modus vivendi with Kusaila, the ruler of an extensive confederation of Christian Berbers. Kusaila, who had been based in Tlemcen, became a Muslim and moved his headquarters to Takirwan, near Al Qayrawan. This harmony was short-lived; Arab and Berber forces controlled the region in turn until 697. By 711, Arab Umayyad forces helped by Berber converts to Islam had conquered all of North Africa.

The Banu Ifran, Zenata Berbers, were known since ancient times as fierce fighters against foreign occupation be they Romans, Byzantines, Vandals, or Arabs. In 736, they established an independent kingdom and their rulers were as follows:

Abu Qurra 736-790, made Tlemcen the capital of the kingdom
Abu Yazid 873-947
Abdallah ibn Bekkar
Yeddou 958-993
Habbous 993-1029
Tamim ibn Ziri 1029-1035
Abu Kamal 1036-1054
Youcef 1055-1056
Hammad 1056-1066
Mohamed 1066, during his reign, the kingdom was overrun by the Almoravids, another Berber dynasty based in Morocco

The Zirid dynasty had arisen in 973 and had its capital at Achir before moving east to what is today, Tunisia, in 1014. The Zirid rulers who held court at Achir were:

Ziri ibn Manad Ziri ibn Manad (971 CE)

Abul-Futuh Sayf ad-Dawla Buluggin ibn Ziri (972-984 CE)

Abul-Fat'h al-Mansur ibn Buluggin (984-996 CE)

Abu Qatada Nasir ad-Dawla Badis ibn Mansur (996-1016 CE)

The Hammadid dynasty ruled northern Algeria and had its capital at Beni Hammad. The rulers of this dyasty were as follows:

Hammad ibn Buluggin, 1014–1028

Qaid ibn Hammad, 1028–1045

Muhsin ibn Qaid, 1045–1046

Buluggin ibn Muhammad, 1046–1062

An-Nasir ibn Alnas, 1062–1088

Al-Mansur ibn Nasir, 1088–1104, he moved the capital to Bejaia in 1090

Badis ibn Mansur, 1104

Abd al-Aziz ibn Mansur, 1104–1121

Yahya ibn Abd al-Aziz, 1121–1152

On the collapse of Morocco’s Almohad rule around 1236, the kingdom of Tlemcen became independent under the rule of the Zayyanids:

Yghomracen Ibn Zyan (1236–1283) or Abu Yahya I bin Zayyan (1236–1283)

Abu Said Uthman I (1283–1303) (son of the previous) or Othmane Ibn Yaghmoracen (1283–1304)

Abu Zayyan I (1303–1308) (son of the previous)

Abu Hammu I (1308–1318) (brother of the previous)

Abu Tashufin I (1318–1337) (son of the previous)

First Zenata Berber Marinid conquest (1337–1348) (Marinid ruler was Abu al-Hasan Ali)

Abu Said Uthman II (1348–1352) (son of Abu Tashufin I)

Abu Thabid I (associate) (1348–1352) (brother of Abu Said Uthman II)

Second Marinid conquest (1352–1359) (Marinid ruler was Abu Inan)

Abu Hammu II Musa (brother of Abu Said Uthman II) ruled in 1359–1360

Abu Zayyan Muhammad II ibn Uthman, ruled in 1360

Abu Hammu II Musa, 1360–1370

Abu Zayyan Muhammad II ibn Uthman, 1370–1372

Abu Hammu II Musa, 1372–1383

Abu Zayyan Muhammad II ibn Uthman, 1383–1384

Abu Hammu II Musa, 1384–1387

Abu Zayyan Muhammad II ibn Uthman, 1387

Abu Hammu II Musa, 1387–1389

Abu Tashufin II (1389–1393) (son of Abu Hammu I)

Abu Thabid II (1393) (son of Abu Tashufin I)

Abul Hadjdjadj I (1393–1394) (brother of the previous)

Abu Zayyan II (1394–1399) (brother of the previous)

Abu Muh I (1399–1401) (brother of the previous)

Abu Abdallah I (1401–1411) (brother of the previous)

Abd er Rahman I bin Abu Muh (1411) (son of Abu Muh I)

Said I bin Abu Tashufin (1411) (brother of Abu Muh I)

Abu Malek I (1411–1423) (brother of Said I)

Abu Abdallah II (1423–1427) (son of Abd er Rahman I)

Civil War (1427–1429)

Abu Abdallah II (second time) (1429–1430)

Abu Abbas Ahmad I (1430–1461) (son of Abu Thabit II)

Abu Abdallah III (1461–1468) (son of the previous)

Abu Tashufin III (1468) (son of the previous)

Abu Abdallah IV (1468–1504) (brother of the previous)

Abu Abdallah V (1504–1517) (son of the previous)

Abu Hammu III (1517–1527) (son of Abu Abbas Ahmad)

Abu Muh II (1527–1540) (brother of the previous)

Abu Abdallah VI (1540) (son of the previous)

Abu Zayyan III (1540–1543) (brother of the previous)

The Arab Saadi conquest (1543–1544)

Abu Zayyan III (second time) (1544–1550)

Al Hassan ben Abu Muh (1550–1556) (brother of the previous)

The Kingdom of Ait Abbas was founded in 1510 with its capital at Kalaa. Its rulers were:

Abdel Aziz Labes 1510-1559
Ahmed Amokrane 1559-1600
Sidi Naceur Mokrani 1600-1620
Betka Mokrani, his son 1620-1680
Bouzid Mokrani, his son 1680-1735
El Hadj Bouzid Mokrani, his son 1735-1783
Abdessalam Mokrani, his brother
civil war
Mohamed el Mokrani 1871
Boumezrag Mokrani 1871-1872

The Kingdom of Kuku ruled over Kabyle territory from 1515 to 1638 and was centered in the town of Kuku. Its first king was Sidi Ahmed ou el Kadhi.

The area of Algeria was gradually taken over by the French in 1830. After the capture of Laghouat by France, the Mozabites concluded a convention with them in 1853, whereby they accepted to pay an annual contribution of 1,800 francs in return for their independence. Since the establishment of French control, Beni Isguen became a depot for the sale of European goods. 

In southern Algeria, the French met some of the strongest resistance from the Tuareg of Kel Ahaggar in the Ahaggar Mountains. Their Amenokal, traditional chief, Moussa ag Amastan, fought numerous battles in defense of the region. Finally, Tuareg territories were taken under French governance, and their confederations were largely dismantled and reorganized.

During this time, the Kabyles would occasionally fight against French rule under such leaders as Lalla Fatma n Soumer. But in spite of this, they tended to also be the most Franco-ized of all the Berber tribes in the region. Through working with the French, the Kabyles achieved high positions in government and education.  On the other hand, due to French colonization, many Kabyle emigrated, including to France itself.

In the 1920s, Algerian Berber immigrant workers in France organized the first party promoting independence. Messali Hadj, Imache Amar, Si Djilani, and Belkacem Radjef rapidly built a strong following throughout France and Algeria in the 1930s. They developed militants who became vital to the fighting for an independent Algeria. This became widespread after World War II.

Since Algeria gained independence in 1962, tensions had arisen between the Kabyle and the Arab central government on several occasions. In 1963 the FFS party under Hocine Aït Ahmed contested the authority of the FLN, which was the only legal party in the country. Soon after, the Arabs exiled Ahmed to Switzerland. Meanwhile, the countries of North Africa had established a process of Arabization at the expense of the Berbers. For instance, Arabic was made the official language of the region, replacing not only Tamazight, the indigenous Amazigh language, but also French, Spanish and Italian. Since then, the indigenous Algerians had been subjected from time to time, by Arab terrorism: in 2004, the city of Ghardaia was witness to several anti-Berber murders by Arab terrorists – one was stabbed to death in his own home, one was assaulted and murdered because the Arabs didn’t like his mosque, and 2 were murdered because of their ethnicity; in 2007, Arab terrorists shot two to death in the town of Ait Mahmoud.

But after many years of fighting for equal rights culminating in the march led by Berber activist Salim Yezza in 2004, Tamazight is now taught in the Aures region. Today, Berber is a "national" language in Algeria and is taught in some Berber-speaking areas as a noncompulsory language. Berbers have also reached high positions in the social hierarchy across the Maghreb; some good examples are the former president of Algeria, Liamine Zeroual and the feminist Khalida Toumi, an outspoken Berberist who was nominated as head of the Ministry of Communications.