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History of the Aurès

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The Aurès Mountains are located in northeastern Algeria. The mountains are part of the Saharan Atlas in Maghreb (Northwest Africa). The indigenous ethnic inhabitants of the Aurès, are the Chaoui people, part of the wider Berber (Amazigh) community. The history of the Aurès begins in prehistory.

Prehistory

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Aïn Hanech

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Aïn Hanech is a paleolithic archaeological site in the Aurès which has produced evidence of Hominin presence in North Africa as early as 1.7 million years ago (mya).[1] At this site, stone tools are found stratified archeological layers dating them to the Pleistocene epoch (2.5 mya - 11,700 years ago). Mohamed Sahnouni, archeologist, and his colleagues have found Oldowan chipped stone tools, such as simple faceted spherical stones, together with animal fossils from the epoch.[2][3]

Capsian civilisation

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The Capsian civilisation was widespread about the Mediterranean Sea in the period from 8000 to 2700 BCE. Evidence of Capsian settlements are found in their escargotières or grays. These are mounds of archeological evidence including ash, stone tools, bones of animals (including gazelle, aurochs and wilderbeest) and the shells of land snails. There is also evidence of rock art, sculpting and polishing, pottery and farming.[4][5] Mounds are found at Medjez Amar and Mechta Sidi El Arbi in Constantine.[6]

Antiquity

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During Antiquity, the Aurès region was inhabited by the Gaetulis(Zenata)[7] and the Sanhaja, along with a minority of Garamantes.[8] The mausoleum of Medracen (also known as Medghassen) in Boumia, north of the Aurès massif, dates back to 300 BCE. It is a Numidian monument and the oldest mausoleum in Algeria.[9][10] The Aurès region is believed to have been central to the Zenata people, including the Maghrawas, Banu Ifran, Djerawa, and Merinids. According to the contentious hypothesis of Ibn Khaldun, Medghassen may have been the patriarch of the Zenata.[11]

Massylii

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The Massylii were an ancient Berber tribal confederation, notably associated with the Numidian kingdom.[12] The Aurès region was crucial for the Massylii, serving not only as the majority of their territory but also as a cultural nexus, with their capital, Cirta, located in the region.[13]

Numidia

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Born around 238 BCE into the Massyliian tribe, Massinissa played a crucial role in unifying Numidia, including the Aurès region.[14] After his reign, several successors, including his grandson Jugurtha, sought refuge on the high plateau now named after him, near the present-day city of Kalaat es Senam in Tunisia, close to the massif's border, to resist Roman invasions.[15]

Roman Period

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The Aurès region was home to several Roman settlements. Some notable examples include Timgad (Thamugadi),[16] a well-preserved Roman city founded in the 1st century AD, and Cuicul (Djemila),[17] another ancient city known for its impressive Roman ruins. These settlements were important hubs for trade, administration, and cultural exchange in the Roman province of Numidia.

Kingdom of the Aurès

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King Masties founded the Kingdom of the Aurès in the 480s as a Christian Berber realm, emerging after Berber uprisings against the Vandal Kingdom, conquerors of the Roman province of Africa in 435 AD, and remained an autonomous state.[18]

The kingdom was also one of the primary defenders of North Africa during the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb, with their queen Dihya defeating the Ummayad Arabs in the Battle of Meskiana,[19] who then either committed suicide or was killed during the Battle of Tabarka.[20]

Arab rule

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By 709, all of North Africa was under the control of the Ummayad caliphate including the Aurès.[21] Following the Arab conquest the Aurès experienced notable transformations. The governance of the Arabs introduced Islam to the region, leaving an influence on its cultural and societal aspects.[22]

Tribes like the Banu Ifran, Maghrawa, and other Zenata tribes considered the Aurès home, before fleeing west to Western Algeria and Morocco because of the Abbasid Caliphate's conquest of North Africa.[23]

After the Abbasids conquered Ifriqiya, they put up the vassal Aghlabids, who most likely controlled the Aurès.[24]

Middle Ages

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Fatimid Rule

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In 902, a missionary named Abu Abdallah al-Shi'i took an army of Kutama Berbers, leading to the foundation of the Fatimid Caliphate[25][26] They took part in significant battles in the Aurès against the Aghlabids, Mila in 902, Constantine in 905, and Tubna in 906.[27]

The Fatimids also spread Shia Islam in the Aurès but was later reversed by the Zirids after they converted to Sunni Islam in 1048.[28]

Hammadids

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The Hammadids did not contribute much to the region, because the region was constantly under attack by the Hilaians, but they did construct the Great Mosque of Constantine, which was later revamped by the Algerians in the 18th century.[29]

The Hammadids also liberated Hodna from the Hilalians in the 12th century.[30]

Hafsids Of Béjaïa

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The Aurès was an important region during the Hafsid occupation, as they first captured it in 1229, when Abu Zakariya Yahya first declared independence, while the Almohads were too preoccupied with their internal struggle.[31]

The Hafsids consolidated their rule on the city of Batna and The Aurès Mountains,[32] but in the 15th century Constantine was fully independent from the Hafsids,[33] Until the Spanish invasion came, and the Hafsids fell.[34]

Regency of Algiers

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After the Spanish invasion, the Regency of Algiers succeeded in reconquering eastern Algeria, excluding the Aurès, who was under a bunch of tribes, until Hasan Pasha came in 1542 and successfully subdued the tribes into paying tribute to Algiers.[35]

At the same time, a lot of expeditions happened against the Aurès in the late 17th century,[36] 1710,[37] 1755,[38] 1771,[38] and 1797.[37]

The Aurès population refused to fight with Ahmed Bey ben Mohamed Chérif during the Capture Of Algiers in 1830.[37]

Modern Period

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French occupation

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In 1954, the Aurès region took center stage in the Algerian conflict. Mostefa Ben Boulaïd, born in Arris and affiliated with the extensive Touabas coalition, was among the six initiators of the FLN that sparked the revolution in Algeria. It is worth noting that Mohamed Boudiaf, Rabah Bitat, and Larbi Ben M'hidi, all from eastern Algeria, share Chaoui Berber heritage, and the region was known for having many major battles during the Algerian War.[39]

Post-Independence

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After Algeria gained independence in 1962, the Chaouis, like other Algerian communities, rebuilt and shaped post-colonial society and participated in the political, economic, and social spheres.[40]

References

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  1. ^ Parés, J. M.; Sahnouni, M.; Van der Made, J.; Pérez-González, A.; Harichane, Z.; Derradji, A.; Medig, M. (2014-09-01). "Early human settlements in Northern Africa: paleomagnetic evidence from the Ain Hanech Formation (northeastern Algeria)". Quaternary Science Reviews. 99: 203–209. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.06.020. ISSN 0277-3791.
  2. ^ "Ain Hanech, Algeria". www.stoneageinstitute.org. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  3. ^ Johanson, Donald C.; Edgar, Blake (1996). From Lucy to Language. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-684-81023-2.
  4. ^ "Capsian Civilization". Algeria - Glorious History. 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  5. ^ Lubell, David; Hassan, Fekri A.; Gautier, Achilles; Ballais, Jean-Louis (1976). "The Capsian Escargotières". Science. 191: 910–920.
  6. ^ "Marie Delorme - L'attraction atlantique en Afrique saharienne et mediterraneenne" [The Atlantic attraction in the Africa of the Sahara and the Mediterranean]. archive.wikiwix.com. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  7. ^ Recueil des notices et mémoires de la Société archélologique de la province de Constantine [Notices and memoirs of the archaeological society of the province of Constantine] (in French). Alessi et Arnolet. 1874.
  8. ^ Bodereau, Pierre (1907). La Capsa ancienne: la Gafsa moderne [Ancient Capsa: Modern Gafsa] (in French). A. Challamel.
  9. ^ Ibn Khaldun and Yassine Bouharrou, History of the Berbers.
  10. ^ Société archéologique, historique et géographique du Département de Constantine (1878). Recueil des notices et mémoires de la Société archéologique du département de Constantine [Noticed and memoirs of the archaeological society of the department of Constantine] (in French).
  11. ^ Ibn Khaldoun, Histoire des Berbères [History of the Berbers].
  12. ^ Abun-Nasr, Jamil M. (1987-08-20). A History of the Maghrib in the Islamic Period. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-316-58334-0.
  13. ^ The Punic Wars. Nigel Bagnall. p. 270.
  14. ^ Fage, John Donnelly, ed. (1999). From c. 500 BC to AD 1050. The Cambridge history of Africa (Reprinted ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-21592-3.
  15. ^ Salluste (86-35 BCE); Charpentier, Jean-Pierre (1797-1878) Auteur du texte (1865). Oeuvres complètes de Salluste. [Précédée d'une] Nouvelle étude sur Salluste (Nouvelle édition...) / avec la traduction française de la collection Panckoucke, par Charles Durozoir; par M. Charpentier,...{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ Hitchner, R. Bruce (2022-03-29). A Companion to North Africa in Antiquity. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-4443-5001-2.
  17. ^ "Site - Djemila". zamaniproject.org. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
  18. ^ Markus, R. A. (2002). From Augustine to Gregory the Great: history and Christianity in late antiquity. Collected studies series. Aldershot: Ashgate Variorum. ISBN 978-0-86078-117-2.
  19. ^ Zemmouri, Mohammed-Saâd (2000). Présence berbère et nostalgie païenne: dans la littérature maghrébine de langue française (in French). Le Club du Livre. ISBN 978-9981-61-009-5.
  20. ^ Moderan, Y. (2005-08-01). "Kahena". Encyclopédie berbère (in French) (27): 4102–4111. doi:10.4000/encyclopedieberbere.1306. ISSN 1015-7344.
  21. ^ Diehl, Charles (1896). L'Afrique Byzantine, histoire de la domination Byzantine en Afrique (533-709). Robarts - University of Toronto. Paris, Leroux.
  22. ^ Khaldūn, Ibn (1852). Histoire des berbères et des dynasties musulmanes de l'Afrique septentrionale (in French). Imprimerie du gouvernement.
  23. ^ Niebuhr, Barthold Georg (1836). Corpus scriptorum historiae byzantinae (in Latin). impensis E. Weberi.
    • Abun-Nasr, Jamil M. (1990). A history of the Maghrib in the Islamic period. Cambridge New York Melbourne: Cambridge university press. ISBN 978-0-521-33767-0.
  24. ^ Arthur Goldschmidt (2002). A concise history of the Middle East. Internet Archive. Westview Press. ISBN 978-0-8133-3885-9.
  25. ^ Nanjira, Daniel Don (2010-10-21). African Foreign Policy and Diplomacy from Antiquity to the 21st Century: [2 Volumes]. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-0-313-37982-6.
  26. ^ Fage, J. D. (1958). An Atlas of African History. E. Arnold.
  27. ^ Halm, Heinz; Bonner, Michael (1996). The empire of the Mahdi: the rise of the Fatimids. Handbuch der Orientalistik. Leiden New York Köln: E. J. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-10056-5.
  28. ^ Nef, Annliese; Cressier, Patrice (2016-06-01). "Les Fatimides et la Méditerranée centrale (xe et xiie siècle)". Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée (in French) (139): 13–28. doi:10.4000/remmm.9410. ISSN 0997-1327.
  29. ^ "Great Mosque of Constantine | Archiqoo". archiqoo.com. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
  30. ^ Ring, Trudy; Salkin, Robert M.; Boda, Sharon La (1995). International Dictionary of Historic Places: Middle East and Africa. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-884964-03-9.
  31. ^ Garcin, Jean-Claude (1995). Etats, sociétés et cultures du monde musulman médiéval: L'évolution politique et sociale (in French). Presses universitaires de France. ISBN 978-2-13-046696-3.
  32. ^ Brunschwig Robert (1940). LÀ BERBÉ RIE ORIENTALE Sous Les Hafsides T. 1.
  33. ^ baron), Jean-Jacques Baude (Le (1841). L'ALGÉRIE.: TOME PREMIER (in French). Arthus Bertrand, Libraire, Rue Hautefeuille, 23.
  34. ^ Valérian, Dominique (2013-05-03). Bougie, port maghrébin, 1067-1510. Bibliothèque des Écoles françaises d’Athènes et de Rome (in French). Rome: Publications de l’École française de Rome. ISBN 978-2-7283-1000-5.
  35. ^ Grammont, H. D. de (1887). Histoire d'Alger sous la domination turque (1515-1830) (in French). E. Leroux.
  36. ^ Recueil des notices et mémoires de la Société archéologique de la province de Constantine (in French). Alessi et Arnolet. 1867.
  37. ^ a b c Recueil des notices et mémoires de la Société archéologique de la province de Constantine (in French). Alessi et Arnolet. 1869.
  38. ^ a b algérienne, Société historique (1873). Revue africaine (in French). Société historique algérienne.
  39. ^ TAMURT (2016-07-08). "La guerre d'Algérie a eu lieu principalement en Kabylie" [The Algerian War primarily took place in Kabiliya]. Tamurt | Votre lien avec la kabylie (in French). Retrieved 2024-01-01.
  40. ^ Abd al-Raḥman b. Muḥammad Ibn Khaldûn (1856). Histoire des Berbères et des dynasties musulmanes de l'Afrique, tr. par le baron de Slane (in French). Oxford University.
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