To the Sun, Tlemcen extended her hand
and touched, and this was the beautiful sound of her call
She lifted the garment from her, and it
fell upon her, and the freshness of her dew made her heart cold
And if he tames her cheeks, her light will emerge,
so she will not be satisfied with anyone other than her bright cheeks.[1]
The poet here is none other than the hero of the resistance battles that the Algerians fought at the beginning of the 19th century AD, in the face of French colonial encroachment, namely Emir Abdelkader.
What is meant by flirtatious verses is nothing but a means of holding the Maghreb metropolis together, the least linked to political centralization and the most combining the beauty of nature and the richness of history. It is a historical metropolis of Algeria and one of the three historical capitals of the Maghreb countries, along with Fez in Morocco and Kairouan in Tunisia.
Its cultural depth is deeply rooted in history, and it was the most important period of Islamic prosperity in the region, which left it with a great cultural legacy that exceeds the age of the French state that occupied Algeria, and its current president, “Emmanuel Macron,” returned to reduce the value of Algerian history and civilization.[2]
The city of Al-Khidr and Moses...traces of ancient man in caves
Tlemcen is currently considered the second most important city in western Algeria, after Oran.
It is located specifically in the northwest of the Republic of Algeria, approximately 600 kilometers west of Algiers, and is surrounded to the south by the foothills of the Atlas Mountains, while in the middle is a plateau that rises approximately 800 meters above sea level, and is surrounded by olive trees and vines.[3]
Some of the people of the city trace its origins back to the era of Al-Khidr and the Prophet Moses, peace be upon him. Some believe that they passed through the city during their historical journey. Whether this is true or not, what is proven scientifically and through the traces carried by the caves of the city is that ancient man lived in Tlemcen.
An old photo of the city of Tlemcen taken in 1854
Some historians date the founding of Tlemcen to the fourth century AD, at the hands of the Romans, before it was invaded by the Vandals coming from Europe. It then became one of the most important Islamic cities after the Islamic conquest in the eighth century AD.
The first nucleus of the city, before the arrival of the Romans, was the Amazigh Agadir in times when the region was known as Mauritania, and subject to the rule of Amazigh kings such as Masinissa and Jugurtha, but the star of the city did not shine until the Roman era, when the military castle of Pomaria was built on top of the plateau.[4]
The city of dry spring, land and sea... Amazigh roots
The word Tlemcen - according to the Arab Organization for Culture, Education and Science - means “dry spring,” relative to the Amazigh root that includes two words: “tli” and “imsan.”[5]
While other sources explain this name with another Amazigh root that includes the words “salm” and “san,” which makes it mean “land” and “sea,” which is a possible meaning given that the city is not far from the Mediterranean coast[6].
As for the Roman name of the city, Pomaria, it means orchards or gardens, which indicates the charming character of the city in terms of its natural landscapes since ancient times.
Historians find it difficult to determine the date of the founding of the city of Tlemcen, as the traveler Sharif Al-Idrisi used the phrase “eternal city” to indicate its antiquity without specifying the time.[7]
The city of Tlemcen...the pearl of the Maghreb
As for the modern era, the name of the city has been linked to the Masalli of Hajj Abi, the national movement that emerged in the 1920s, when it began the political struggle to obtain the rights of Algerians at the same level of rights that Europeans residing in colonial Algeria enjoyed, before it developed. The demands of the National Movement eventually reached the demand for complete independence from France.[8]
The era of the ancient Berbers... layers of successive civilizations
Tlemcen witnessed the arrival of the Islamic conquest in the second half of the first century AH, at the hands of Abu al-Muhajir Dinar, who is credited with the conquest of the Central Maghreb in general.[9]
Most of the countries that controlled the region of the Islamic West came under the rule of Tlemcen, from the ancient Berbers through the Romans, Vandals, and Carthaginians, then various Islamic countries, including the Idrisids, Fatimids, Hammadids, Waziris, Almohads, Almoravids, and Ottomans... Even the Spaniards came to it during the period of their pursuit of the Andalusians fleeing the oppression of the Christian Inquisition. .[10]
After the Islamic conquest, Tlemcen remained subject to the central rule of the Islamic Caliphate during the Umayyad era, before the city of Agadir chose the Kharijite doctrine at the beginning of the Abbasid era and coinciding with the emergence of the Kharijite movement in the Arab Levant[11], before Mawla Idris I, founder of the Idrisid state in Morocco, settled there. Al-Aqsa, and built a mosque there, the ruins of which the city still retains, and appointed his brother Suleiman as its governor. He is the custodian of the Ain al-Hout area near Tlemcen.[12]
The limits of the influence of the Almoravid state that ruled Tlemcen, the Maghreb, and Spain
Since its founding, the city has played important political and military roles, as historical documents document close trade ties between the city and both southern Africa and northern Europe.
The city of Tlemcen flourished more during the days of the Almoravids, and was famous at that time for its religious centers, and it had a large number of wonderful historical mosques, such as the Great Mosque, the Mosque of Sidi Bel Hassan, and the shrine of the good saint Sidi Boumediene.
The jewel of the Almoravid and the Almohads...the UAE’s struggles around the city
In the late 11th century AD, specifically in the year 1079, another sultan arrived in the city of Tlemcen, and he was Youssef bin Tashfin, the maker of the glories of the Almoravid state. He built a new city in the region and called it “Taqrat” or “Tagarart” (military campaign), according to some sources. It is the edifice that was completed by his son, Ali bin Yusuf bin Tashfin, where he resided in the Grand Palace and built a mosque during his period of stability in the region in 1136.[13]
Abd al-Mu'min ibn Ali, the grandson of Youssef ibn Tashfin, continued what his grandfather had begun, but he was subjected to siege by the Almohads while he was in the city of Tlemcen. After great resistance and steadfastness, the city came under Almohad control in the middle of the 12th century AD.
Control lasted for less than one century, so the Berber king, Yaghmurasen bin Zayan, quickly established an independent rule that lasted for three centuries, until the era of the Marinids, who controlled the city for a few years before the Zayans regained it.[14]
One of the curiosities of history is that Abd al-Mu’min ibn Ali, who led the establishment of the Almohad state under the command of his sheikh, Muhammad ibn Tumart, is of Tlemcen origin, but the city did not witness prosperity during the era of the Almohad state, which was established on the ruins of the Almoravid state. Rather, it was struck by a degree of harshness and simplicity that the Almohads approached. At the beginning of their rule, before it returned in the second half of their reign to taste some sophistication, after Bani Abd al-Wad assumed the task of ruling the region on behalf of the Almohads.[15]
Banu Abdel-Wad: a historical breakthrough that changes the face of Central Morocco
The moment of boom witnessed in the history of this city was when the rule of the Almohads who united the Maghreb, the Near, Middle and Far, fell, and three states would emerge: the Hafsid state in Africa (current Tunisia), the Marinid state in the Far Maghreb, and the Banu Abd al-Wad state in Morocco. The Middle East (present-day Algeria).[16]
But the most important and influential political period in the memory of Tlemcen is the period of rule of the Zaians, who extended their control over the city between 1235-1556 AD, and from there they controlled - during their periods of prosperity - the largest part of present-day Algeria.[17]
The origins of Beni Abdel-Wad go back to the Berber tribe of Zenata, which historical writings suggest were the Arab Crescent tribes that marched from the East, forcing them to move to the Far Maghreb, before the Almohads (Berber dynasty) returned them to the region between Tlemcen and Oran, as a reward for their loyalty to them. .
With the fall of the Almohad state at the beginning of the 13th century AD, the Banu Abd al-Wad found an opportunity to establish their independent entity that would rule the Central Maghreb for nearly three centuries.[18]
The Beni Abdel-Wad state ruled Tlemcen and the Central Maghreb for nearly three centuries
After establishing the rule of the independent political entity, and repelling the attacks of the Almohads in the west and the Hafsids in the east, Yaghmarasn ibn Zayan ibn Thabit ibn Muhammad, founder of the new state, expanded his territorial influence to include the present-day west of Algeria, and entered into skirmishes with the Marinids over control of the Silgmasa region, vital for trade activities. However, the internal cohesion of the Zayani state remains fragile due to internal tribal contradictions on the one hand, and the pressures on it from eastern and western neighbors.[19]
Despite all the unrest and turmoil witnessed during the three centuries during which the Beni Abd al-Wad state lived, and the fall of the city under the control of the Marinids between 1337-1359, Tlemcen lived its golden era, as it was a political and military capital. Its largest mosques were built, the fortifications of its walls were strengthened, and its palace was built.
Yaghmurasan bin Zayan...the founder’s inclination towards civilization and science
The Zayaniyya period witnessed great architectural activity in the city of Tlemcen, and witnessed the construction of many mosques, schools, and buildings that symbolize the authority of the “makhzen” of Beni Abdel-Wad, similar to the Moroccan “makhzen.”
This stage also witnessed the growth of a local bourgeois class that combined wealth, education, and prestige, which turned it into a source of civilizational and cultural radiation in the Islamic West.
In that era, the city also developed local industries for products that were exported to other neighboring cities, and some to southern Africa.[20]
The Mansoura minaret is considered all that remains of a major religious and historical landmark, and the origin of its construction goes back to the attempt of the Banu Abd al-Wad to build a fortified castle that would prevent their opponents from eliminating them. However, the Sultans of the Banu Marin, who were ruling Morocco, were able to control Mansoura and settled there for some time, which is what It was enough for them to leave their cultural mark there, most notably the minaret of the Great Mosque, which resembles the minaret of the Hassan Mosque in Rabat.[21]
Throughout its history, Tlemcen has witnessed a prosperous commercial and civil movement
During his forces' siege of the city of Tlemcen and his attempt to control it, the Marinid Sultan Abu Yaqoub al-Marini ordered in 1303 the building of a mosque and a minaret in Mansoura, within the parts of their city that they built near Tlemcen, including palaces, schools, and walls that rose 12 meters high.[22]
The tendency that characterized Yaghmurasen bin Zayan, the founder of the Zayanid state, and his clear inclination towards culture and science, was reflected in the city that he made the capital of his state. Tlemcen was distinguished by attracting the greatest scholars and intellectuals in the eras that witnessed its prosperity. The city also witnessed the graduation of many scholars and intellectuals who moved to other countries. Others to spread science and knowledge.
The geographical location of the city also made it an inevitable corridor for various scholars seeking to exchange knowledge, whether those coming from the East or the West, from the North or the South.[23]
The Khalduniya School... commemorating the shrine of Ibn Khaldun in the city
Lisan al-Din Ibn al-Khatib described it, according to the Algerian historian Ahmed Ibn Muhammad al-Maqri, known by the nickname al-Tilmisani, by saying: A city that combined the desert and the countryside, and was placed in an honorable position, as if it were a king with a crown on his head, and around him were palaces of modesty and honor. Its hand was worshiped, its cave was its palm, its adornment was its adornment, its eyes were its notables. .
Its limited air is unique, its extended air is true and eternal, and its water is cold and crystal clear.[24]
The Khaldoun School, which was built in memory of the three years that Ibn Khaldoun spent in Tlemcen
In Tlemcen, the historian Ibn Khaldun spent part of his life, and from there he was inspired by some of his writings, which to this day are considered a reference in the social sciences.
Tlemcen maintains the Khaldoun School in memory of the three years that Ibn Khaldoun spent in the city before moving to the city of Tiaret, where he retreated to write his famous introduction.[25]
Tlemcen played an effective role in building the edifice of civilization in the Islamic Maghreb region, and this was evident in several fields, such as fine arts such as music, especially after the Andalusians came with their arts, such as architectural art, in which the Zayan sultans showed great interest through the construction of palaces, mosques, schools, and walls.
The most prominent architectural monument preserved by Tlemcen is Al-Mashwar, the palace of government during the Zayani era.[26]
A kiss of invaders and merchants...a piece of lost Andalusia
The city of Tlemcen was one of the main destinations for the Andalusians after their expulsion by the Christians in the late 15th century AD. A number of Granadian and Cordoban families settled there.
Tlemcen has gained many cultural advantages brought by immigrants from Andalusia, as the city of Tlemcen is considered the capital of Andalusian music, and is distinguished by the Hawzi style, which is close to poetry, but in its words it is open to the colloquial language.
Al-Hawzi’s collections are full of poems of love and longing for loved ones, as well as religious praise, and other poems that sing of the homeland and longing for it.[27]
Despite its demographic diversity, the popular class often resided in the old city (Agadir).
While the special class, consisting of men of science, jurisprudence, administration, politics, and war, resided in the upper city of Tlemcen (Taqqart), where the headquarters of the Sultan, the princes, and their entourage were located. The Jewish Quarter (the Jewish Quarter) constitutes the heart of the city, where the goldsmiths’ markets are located.
This neighborhood was historically the most densely populated[28], as it included about five hundred homes for Jews, almost all of whom belonged to the wealthy class.[29]
Tlemcen is a diverse city with building styles and red bricks
The city also received most of human civilizations, as commercial caravans would arrive in Tlemcen coming from the south, carrying products such as ivory, ostrich feathers, incense, gold, and slaves, and they would return from them loaded with grains, clothes, copper, and some types of drugs and perfumes.
While the trade movement was active in the direction of northern Europe as well, in parallel with intense diplomatic activity with the principalities and kingdoms of Spain and France.[30]
After it fell into the hands of the Spaniards who were pursuing the Andalusians, the Ottomans were able to liberate it in 1553, and it became affiliated with the Ottoman Empire while enjoying a kind of autonomy.
Like the rest of Algerian territory, Tlemcen fell under the French occupation, which settled on the country’s coast in 1830, and quickly managed to subject the city of Tlemcen to its authority in 1844, regaining its freedom with Algeria’s independence in 1962.[31]
The legacy of nature, history and civilization... tourist attraction sites
Tlemcen inherited its historical characteristic of distinction and uniqueness, as those who know the cities of Algeria acknowledge its steadfastness in the face of the onslaught of concrete buildings, and its preservation of a diverse natural wealth, including the mulberry, grape, pomegranate, and cherry trees that adorn it.[32]
It is one of the most attractive Algerian cities for tourists, thanks to its historical heritage and natural wealth, which gives it exceptional beauty. In the vicinity of Tlemcen - specifically in Mansoura - there is one of the largest ancient mosques in Algeria, which is the Mansoura Mosque, which the historian Abdel Rahman Ibn Khaldoun said about, It is among the largest mosques in the Islamic world at the time of its construction, that is, the beginning of the 14th century during the reign of the Marinid Sultan Abu Yaqub.[33]
Sidi Boumediene Mosque and Mausoleum
The city of Tlemcen counts dozens of tourist sites, distributed between natural and historical areas, including the Mausoleum of Sidi Boumediene, the Al-Abbad School, the Sidi Belhassan Mosque, Al-Mashour (the palace of the rulers of Beni Abdel-Wad), the ruins of the city of Mansoura (built by the Marinids), the Ain Fezza Caves, and the Agadir Minaret. , and the Lalla Seti plateau.[34]
Sidi Boumediene Tilmisani is considered one of the righteous people who marked the Islamic West, as he traveled throughout the region of Andalusia and the Far and Middle Maghreb, and he was known for his work in preaching, righteousness, and asceticism.
The buildings surrounding the Sidi Boumediene Mausoleum are considered among the most historic areas of the city. It is the site that was built around the burial place of one of the most famous Sufi figures in the region. On the site there are traces of a mosque built by the Marinid Sultan Abu Al-Hassan during his period of control over the city in the 14th century AD. In addition to the remains of the Royal Palace, which was built in the same era.
Sources
[1] https://www.sasapost.com/city-of-tlemcen/
[2] https://www.bbc.com/arabic/middleeast-58832538
[3] https://www.aljazeera.net/ encyclopedia/citiesandregions/2014/10/28/%D8%AA%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86[4] https://www.el-massa.com/dz /%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AB%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%A9/%D8%AA%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A7 %D9%86-%D9%88%D9%87%D8%AC-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B7%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%B9%D8%A9-%D9% 88%D8%B9%D8%A8%D9%82-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AE-4 [5] https:
/ /www.maghrebvoices.com/2018/04/14/%D8%A5%D8%B1%D8%AB-%D9%85%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%8A-%D9% 81%D9%8A-%D8%A8%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%86%D9% 8A%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%AD%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%86%D8% B5%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A8%D8%AA%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86
[6] Abdul Rahman bin Khaldun, Diwan al-Mubtada wa al-Khabar in the History of the Arabs and Berbers and Those Who Contemporarily Have Great Sultanship, Dar Al-Fikr for Printing, Publishing and Distribution, Part 1, Beirut, Lebanon, 2000.
[7] Abdullah Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Idris Al-Hamoudi Al-Hassani Al-Sharif, Nuzhat Al-Mushtaq fi Penetrating Horizons, Library of Religious Culture, Egypt
[8] https://www.wilaya-tlemcen.dz/W13-Ar/Presentation/Histoire .php
[9] “Tlemcen Cultural Center from Agadir Al-Idrisiya to Almoravid Takrart,” Historian’s Yearbook, Algeria 2005
[10] https://www.el-massa.com/dz/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8 %AB%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%A9/%D8%AA%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%88%D9 %87%D8%AC-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B7%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%B9%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%B9%D8%A8%D9 %82-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AE-4
[11] https://www.edarabia.com/ar/6- %D9%85%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%88%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%B9%D9%86-%D9%88%D8%B5%D9%81 -%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8% A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A9/
[12] https://www.ahewar.org/debat/show.art.asp ?aid=543914
[13] https://www.ahewar.org/debat/show.art.asp?aid=543914
[14] https://www.ahewar.org/debat/show.art.asp?aid =543914
[15] https://www.sasapost.com/city-of-tlemcen/
[16] https://www.persee.fr/doc/remmm_0035-1474_1975_num_20_1_1329
[17] https://www.lorientlejour. com/article/809064/tlemcen-la-belle-ancienne-capitale-du-maghreb-central.html
[18] https://www.persee.fr/doc/remmm_0035-1474_1975_num_20_1_1329
[19] https://www. persee.fr/doc/remmm_0035-1474_1975_num_20_1_1329
[20] https://www.persee.fr/doc/remmm_0035-1474_1975_num_20_1_1329
[21] https://www.djazairess.com/elhayat/3388
[22] https:// www.maghrebvoices.com/2018/04/14/%D8%A5%D8%B1%D8%AB-%D9%85%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%8A-%D9%81 %D9%8A-%D8%A8%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A %D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%AD%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%86%D8%B5 %D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A8%D8%AA%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86
[23] “From the cities of Central Morocco: “The City of Tlemcen,” by Tayeb Boudjemaa Naima, Al-Qartas Magazine, Issue Seven, January 2018
[24], Nafah al-Tayeb from the Fresh Branch of Andalusia, edited by Ihsan Abbas, vol. 7, Dar Sader, Beirut, 1968.
[25] https://www.el-massa.com/dz/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AB%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%A9/%D8%AA %D9%84%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%88%D9%87%D8%AC-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B7%D8%A8 %D9%8A%D8%B9%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%B9%D8%A8%D9%82-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1 %D9%8A%D8%AE-4
[26] “From the metropolis of central Morocco: the city of Tlemcen,” Tayeb Boudjemaa Naima, Al-Qurtas magazine, issue seven, January 2018
[27] https://www.wilaya-tlemcen .dz/W13-Ar/Presentation/Histoire.php
[28] Marmol Karbakhal, Ifriqiya, translated by: Muhammad Hajji et al., Rabat: Knowledge Publishing House, 1988-1989, vol. 2
[29] Al-Hasan Al-Wazzan, Description of Africa, translated by: Muhammad Hajji and Muhammad Al-Akhdar, Beirut: Dar Al-Gharb Al-Islami, 1983, 2nd ed., vol. 1.[30]
https://www.persee.fr/doc/remmm_0035-1474_1975_num_20_1_1329
[31] https://www.aljazeera.net/encyclopedia/citiesandregions/2014/10/28/%D8%AA%D9%84%D9%85 %D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86
[32] https://www.el-massa.com/dz/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AB%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%A9/%D8%AA %D9%84%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%88%D9%87%D8%AC-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B7%D8%A8 %D9%8A%D8%B9%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%B9%D8%A8%D9%82-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1 %D9%8A%D8%AE-4
[33] https://www.lorientlejour.com/article/809064/tlemcen-la-belle-ancienne-capitale-du-maghreb-central.html
[34] https:/ /www.edarabia.com/ar/6-%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%88%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%B9%D9%86-% D9%88%D8%B5%D9%81-%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B3% D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A9/