Batna (city)
Algeria · Africa
About Batna (city)
Batna (Arabic: باتنة) is the main city and commune of Batna Province, Algeria. With a population of 290,645 (2008 census) it is the fifth largest city in Algeria. It is also one of the principal cities of the Chaoui area and is considered the capital of Aurès.
Batna was inhabited by Chaoui tribes and there were previous settlements in the area but they were in ruins by the 18th century. The first solid foundations (a military encampment) of the city were erected by a French garrison in 1844, with a strategic mission to create a permanently guarded access point for the main Sahara road.
Batna's geographical location offers a natural break through the Atlas Mountains. The ancient cities of Timgad and Lambese, built around the first century CE, are living examples of the importance that the Romans gave to commercial control over the region.
=== Signature and proclamation of the Algerian revolution ===
The inhabitants of the city revolted against the French authorities at the beginning of colonization. Thereafter they organized the Algerian revolution against French colonialism.
The first Batneens adhered to Messali Hadj (PPP), as did the Ulemas Abdelhamid Ben Badis and the...
Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.