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Tiaret تيارت | |
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  Tiaret Location of Tiaret withinAlgeria | |
| Coordinates:35°22′N1°19′E / 35.367°N 1.317°E /35.367; 1.317 | |
| Country |  Algeria |
| Province | Tiaret Province |
| District | Tiaret District |
| Founded | 778 |
| Area | |
• Total | 111.45 km2 (43.03 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 978 m (3,209 ft) |
| Population (2008 census) | |
• Total | 178,915 |
| • Density | 1,600/km2 (4,200/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| Postal code | 14000 |
| Climate | Csa |
Tiaret (Arabic:تيارت) orTahert (Arabic:تاهرت) is a major city in northwesternAlgeria that gives its name to the wider farming region ofTiaret Province. Both the town and region lie south-west of the capital ofAlgiers in the western region of theHautes Plaines, in theTell Atlas, and about 150 km (93 mi) from the Mediterranean coast. It is served byAbdelhafid Boussouf Bou Chekif Airport.
The name means "Lioness" in the Berber language, a reference to theBarbary lions that lived in this region.Maghrebianplace names likeOran (Wahran) which means "lion", andSouk Ahras which means "Market of Lions" have the same etymological source.[citation needed]
The town had a population of 178,915 in 2008.[1] The town covered around 20.086.62 km2.
A 1992 study by theUniversity of Nice Sophia Antipolis reported significant areas contaminated by industrial pollution, and growing squatter settlements on the periphery.
The region is predominantly one of agriculture. There is a large airfield with a tower and terminal atAbdelhafid Boussouf.
Tiaret has also been home toIbn Khaldun University since 1980.[2]
The Institute of National Studies of Tiaret holds 25,000 volumes in its library.[3]
The province suffered massacres (the largest being theSid El-Antri massacre in 1997), killings, and bombings during theAlgerian Civil War, though less so than areas closer toAlgiers. The Africa Institute reported in a May 2004 monograph[4] that Tiaret's more "arid and mountainous landscape has facilitated terrorist activities". TheMIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base reports that Tiaret "is a frequent site of attacks by the Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC)" (now known asAl-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb). The GSPC was "believed to have close ties toOsama bin Laden" (Paris AFX News Agency, 13 July 2005)[full citation needed] andAbu Musab al-Zarqawi (Asharq Al-Awsat 3 July 2005),[full citation needed] and is reported to be active inItaly (Deutsche Welle, 15 July 2005).[full citation needed]
The province has been inhabited since antiquity, and there are numerous megalithic monuments. It served as aRoman station and fort,Tingartia.[5] Near Tiaret are thejedars, which are ancientmausoleums. The edifices demonstrate that the area was inhabited during theLate Antiquity byBerber tribes that could build in stone.
Tiaret grew up as a site under the domination of small Berber tribal kingdoms; the first of these being theRustamid dynasty between 761 and 909 when Tiaret served as the capital of the area. However, this capital may have been 10 km (6.2 mi) west of the present-day Tiaret. It was first founded byAbd al-Rahman ibn Rustam, anIbadi theologian fromGreater Iran. Tiaret was said to be relatively free-thinking and democratic, being a centre for scholarship that permitted a wide range of sects and movements, notably theMu'tazila. There were manyJews living in the area until at least the 10th century, including the scholar and doctorJudah ibn Kuraish who became the doctor to theEmir ofFes. Tiaret wascaptured by the Fatimids in 909.
Tiaret occupies a strategic mountain pass at 3,552 feet (1,083 m), and was thus a key to dominating the centralMaghreb. Later, from the start of the 8th century, it was the key northern terminus of theWest African branch of theslave trade. As such, it offered a lucrative income from taxes on the trade, and was a desirable prize.
The Rustamid empire, which during the reign ofAbdurrahman (766–784) and his sonAbdul Wahab (784–823) extended over the greater part of the modern Algeria, was known as the Ibadite Empire fromAbdallah ibn Ibad, the founder of the sect to which Abdurrahman belonged. Seven princes of the Rustamite house succeeded Abdul Wahab until they were overthrown by theFatimid generalAbu Abdallah al-Shi'i in 909.[5]
From the year 911 Tiaret was fought over by a number of tribes, being first captured by Massala ibn Habbus of theMiknasas in the year 911, in alliance with theFatimid Caliphate. Finally, in 933, it was in the hands of the Fatimids. After 933 Tiaret ceased to be the capital of a separate state. Most of the population was banished toOuargla and then escaped to the inhospitableM'zab.[5][6]
From 933 it was administered as part of theKingdom of Tlemcen, and in the 16th century fell to theOttoman Empire.[5] In 1843 it fell to theFrench after they defeated EmirAbdelkader El Djezairi.
The modern town of Tiaret is built around a French redoubt of 1845. The new town attracted manysettlers from France and the area flourished. A 200 km (120 mi)narrow gauge railway arrived in 1889, connecting the town toMostaganem; today, this rail line is defunct.
Thirty kilometres (19 mi) south-southwest of Tiaret are the sepulchral monuments known as the Jedars.[5] The name is given to a number of sepulchral monuments placed on hill-tops. A rectangular or square podium is in each case surmounted by a pyramid. The tombs date from the 5th to the 7th century, and lie in two distinct groups between Tiaret andFrenda.[7]
AtMechra-Sfa ("ford of the flat stones"), a peninsula in the valley of the riverMina not far from Tiaret, are said to be "vast numbers" of megalithic monuments.[7]
In Tiaret, there is a Mediterranean climate. In winter there is more rainfall than in summer. The Köppen-Geiger climate classification is Csa. The average annual temperature in Tiaret is 15.2 °C (59.4 °F). About 380 mm (14.96 in) of precipitation falls annually.
| Climate data for Tiaret (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 24.5 (76.1) | 25.8 (78.4) | 30.0 (86.0) | 31.3 (88.3) | 40.0 (104.0) | 41.6 (106.9) | 43.0 (109.4) | 42.2 (108.0) | 40.1 (104.2) | 36.3 (97.3) | 28.1 (82.6) | 25.0 (77.0) | 43.0 (109.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 11.6 (52.9) | 12.7 (54.9) | 16.0 (60.8) | 19.1 (66.4) | 24.5 (76.1) | 30.8 (87.4) | 35.4 (95.7) | 34.7 (94.5) | 28.8 (83.8) | 23.2 (73.8) | 16.0 (60.8) | 12.4 (54.3) | 22.1 (71.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 6.2 (43.2) | 6.9 (44.4) | 9.7 (49.5) | 12.2 (54.0) | 16.7 (62.1) | 22.2 (72.0) | 26.5 (79.7) | 26.1 (79.0) | 21.3 (70.3) | 16.5 (61.7) | 10.5 (50.9) | 7.3 (45.1) | 15.2 (59.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 0.8 (33.4) | 1.2 (34.2) | 3.4 (38.1) | 5.3 (41.5) | 9.0 (48.2) | 13.6 (56.5) | 17.6 (63.7) | 17.6 (63.7) | 13.8 (56.8) | 9.9 (49.8) | 5.1 (41.2) | 2.2 (36.0) | 8.3 (46.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −11.4 (11.5) | −12.0 (10.4) | −6.2 (20.8) | −3.5 (25.7) | −3.1 (26.4) | 3.1 (37.6) | 7.7 (45.9) | 5.1 (41.2) | 5.0 (41.0) | −2.0 (28.4) | −6.8 (19.8) | −7.6 (18.3) | −12.0 (10.4) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 44.4 (1.75) | 42.4 (1.67) | 43.1 (1.70) | 43.6 (1.72) | 29.9 (1.18) | 11.0 (0.43) | 3.8 (0.15) | 10.5 (0.41) | 31.5 (1.24) | 35.8 (1.41) | 41.5 (1.63) | 40.5 (1.59) | 378.0 (14.88) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 8.1 | 7.6 | 6.9 | 6.3 | 4.7 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 4.4 | 5.5 | 7.1 | 7.4 | 63.1 |
| Source:NOAA[8] | |||||||||||||
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Tiaret".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 912. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Algeria § Archaeology".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 646.| International | |
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