The Aures Mountains... the cradle of the Algerian liberation revolution

The Aures Mountains, the cradle of the Algerian revolution, the incubator of the "Berber Chaouia" in the country.

One of the largest mountain ranges in North Africa.

Its area includes the wilayats of Batna, Khenchela, Oum El Bouaghi, all the way to Tebessa on the border with Tunisia.

In its history, there are prominent stations, which may start with the "Kingdom of Aures" in the Numidian era, and not end with "The Epic of Aures" in the modern era.

Location

The Aures mountain range is located in the south of the province of Constantine in the east of Algeria, and its borders are drawn with Mount “Baziz” towards “Al-Qantara” and then the “Chchar” and “Ahmar Khado” mountains until Mount “Ich Aziza” (Berber means “the green mountain”).

North of the chain, the great green plains extend to the east, where the Tunisian mountains appear.

Mount Shelia stands in the middle of the chain, crowned with the highest peak, with a height of 2328 meters, above the summits of "Ishmoul" and "Ares" and the "Nammash" mountains with a varied cover of oak trees, Aleppo pine, Numidian fir, green oak, mountain Sidr, Atlantic cedar, and many fruit trees. .

A view of the city of Oum El Bouaghi in Algeria from one of the peaks of the Aures Mountains (Shutterstock)

the society

The "Uras Chaouia" community consists of two large enclaves, the "Hawara" and from its tribes the "Ath Daoud", the Nammash and the Harakata, and the "Zanata" and from its tribes the "Ait Saadeh" and "Ait Abdi".

The people of Aures speak Chaoui, which is one of the Zenati Berber dialects, in addition to colloquial Arabic.

The people of the region were known for their grazing and their association with their livestock, as their first source of food, in addition to the agricultural resources.

Among the forms of life that distinguished the Eurasian society, and its manifestations are still present, are the "Castle of the Eurasian" and are known in the region as "Iqlein", including "Kabash's Castle", "Balul Castle" and "Eglin Castle".

Castles served as fortresses for the people, in the face of external aggressions, and for storing foodstuffs such as dates, wheat, barley and olive oil.

Date

Historians begin to record the history of the incubator of Aures from the beginning of the sixth century AD, with the establishment of the "kingdom" during the reign of "Mastius", the title holder of the emperor, during his reign starting from 516 AD, then the period of the rule of King "Pidas" between 530 and 546 AD, who fought a war With Byzantine garrisons.

It is not known who ruled the Kingdom of Aures after him, until the appearance of the priestess “Dehya” in the Jarawa tribe, at the end of the seventh century AD, after the killing of the king of Altava “Axel” or “Kusila” in 690 AD.

Al-Kahina is considered the last ruler of the Berber Berbers, after her pledge of allegiance from the Aures tribes, her reputation rose because of the severity with which she faced the armies of the Islamic conquest led by Hassan bin Numan, before she was defeated by him in the year 78 AH, in a final battle.

After her death, the Berbers of Aures submitted to the conquerors, and 12,000 of them announced their conversion to Islam.

With the beginning of the French invasion of Algeria, in the year 1830, the armed popular resistance flourished in various regions of the country, and the Aures region was among the most important incubators of the resistance and its mountain fortresses.

Sheikh Muhannad Al-Saleh bin Abdul Rahman, the leader of the Rahmaniyya Order in the region, led, in 1879, a popular resistance against the French, known as the "Aures Revolution".

The resistance began, by attacking the Algerian collaborators with the French administration, who are called "Al-Qayd" (plural of a leader). The French army resorted to killing and a "scorched earth" policy and was able to arrest many of the resistance fighters, which prompted them to emigrate towards Tunisia.

In June 1880, Mohand Saleh Ben Abderrahmane and his companions were tried in a military court in the Sétif region in eastern Algeria, after the Tunisian authorities at that time handed them over to the French, and the death sentence was issued, and dozens of his followers were exiled, and their families were deported to the desert.

A scene from the ruins near the city of Batna in the Aures Mountains (Getty Images)

revolution icon

Before the Algerian liberation revolution that erupted in early November 1954, the Aures Mountains witnessed a new chapter in the resistance led by individuals from the region who were considered by the French authorities as "outlaws" and considered by the people of Aures to be unique heroes.

Historians mention them as "thieves of honor" and that they took up arms individually, took refuge in the mountains, and took them as a launching pad for their offensive operations against the interests of the French authorities and their collaborators.

Among the names of the group are Hussein Barhayel, Sadiq Shabchoub, Ali Dernouni, Masoud bin Zalmat, Issa al-Makki, Qarin Belkacem, and others.

With the outbreak of the revolution, the Aures Mountains formed a real den for the men of the National Liberation Front, from which the first bullet was fired in the revolution on the night of October 31, 1954, and in it the first nucleus of the front gathered under the leadership of the son of the region, Mustafa bin Boulaid (1917-1956).

The Aures Mountains were also a regular space for what was known as the first military region during the revolution, and thanks to its terrain and geographical location, it was an outlet for the eastern borders of the country, which contributed to collecting weapons and financing to supply the mujahideen stationed in the mountains.

One of the most important battles that the Aures Mountains witnessed during the war of liberation was the battle of "Umm Lakmakam", the first major battle that took place in the Nammasha mountains on July 23, 1955, led by the Mujahid Bashir Shehani.

The Great Battle of Jabal al-Jarf on September 22, 1955, which is called the "mother of all battles", remains among the major confrontations during which members of the National Liberation Army imposed an effective military strategy against the French army, costing it 700 soldiers, and contributing significantly to the internationalization of The Algerian case at the United Nations.

The colonial authorities, led by General Charrier, appointed 100,000 French soldiers to comb the Aures Mountains and try to eliminate the resistance and burn its incubator with thousands of "napalm" shells, but the revolution continued burning in the Aures Mountains until the country's independence on July 5, 1954.