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| 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 3rd 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:
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 7th 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:
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 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.
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