Arzew or Arzeu ( ar, أرزيو Berber; ) is a

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

city in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, 25 miles (40 km) from Oran. It is the capital of

Arzew District Arzew is a district in Oran Province, Algeria, on the Mediterranean Sea. It was named after its capital, Arzew. Municipalities The district is further divided into 2 municipalities: *Arzew Arzew or Arzeu ( ar, أرزيو Berber; ) is a por ...

Oran Province Oran Province ( ar, ولاية وهران, ) is a province (''wilayah'') in Algeria whose seat is the city of the same name. Geography It is located in the northwestern part of the country. Its population is 1,584,607 and it covers a total area ...

History

Antiquity

Like the rest of North Africa, the site of modern-day Arzew was originally inhabited by the Berbers. Arzew's original Berber population came mainly from the nearby town of

Bethioua Bethioua (Berber language: Ibeṭṭiwen, ar, بطيوة, formerly ''Arzew'', under French rule, called ''Vieil Arzew'' then ''Saint Leu'') is a town and region in the wilaya of Oran in the west of Algeria. It has a gas port, petrochemical facili ...

, families from nearby Mostaganem, Kabyles that were deported there. It was named ''Arsenaria'', or '' Portus Magnus'' (Great Harbour) under the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

(the latter name is the one that can be seen in its former

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

). It has several Roman remains, mosaics, and artworks, which were removed to the museum of nearby Oran. During Roman times, Arzew's exports used to be grain and

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

. The

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The Vandals migrated to the area betw ...

destroyed ''Portus Magnus'' in 429/430. Since the

Muslim conquests The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He estab ...

, it regained some importance, as it was noted by the geographer ''El Bekri'', during his description of

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

(1068) where he described the Roman ruins as ''Arzao'', an abandoned Roman port. The

Almohads The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the unity of God) was a North African Berber Muslim empire f ...

refounded the port in 1162. Under the

Ziyanid The Zayyanid dynasty ( ar, زيانيون, ''Ziyānyūn'') or Abd al-Wadids ( ar, بنو عبد الواد, ''Bānu ʿabd āl-Wād'') was a Berber Zenata dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of Tlemcen, mainly in modern Algeria centered on the town of ...

s, the port, located near the Ziyanid

Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ar, تلمسان, translit=Tilimsān) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran, and capital of the Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the p ...

was renamed to Marsa Ben Zian (i.e. ''the port of the Zian tribe'').

French Algeria

On 10 July 1833, the French forces coming from Oran went further east and occupied the locality, which was then simply called ''Marsa'' (i.e. ''port''). After years of war (ended by the

Treaty of Desmichels The Treaty of Desmichels, also known as the Desmichels Treaty, was signed on 26 February 1834 by Abd el-Kader and French military officials, led by General Louis Alexis Desmichels. As a result of the agreement, France acknowledged Abd-el-Kader as ...

) Arzew became a legal possession of France, with its name transliterated in Arabic as ''Arziou'' (Arziw) and in French as ''Arzowe''. King

Louis-Philippe Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary Wa ...

ordered the creation of the

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building * Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

of ''Arzew Le Port'' on 12 August 1845, which encouraged people from Europe to settle the area. It became a fully functional

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

on 31 December 1856. It was an important war site during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

(see Operation Torch). During the Algerian War the city hosted one of the two SDECE French intelligence service CIPCGs ("counter-guerrilla and pacification instruction centre").Frédéric Guelton: The French Army 'Centre for Training and Preparation in Counter-Guerrilla Warfare' (CIPCG) at Arzew, Journal of Strategic Studies, vol. 22:2 (2002), pp.35-55.

Algerian republic

After the independence of Algeria in 1962, Arzew became an important port and industrial area, home to a

refinery A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value. Types of refineries Different types of refineries ...

exporting

LNG Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled down to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volu ...

(liquified natural gas), as well as a fleet of small

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

s to work the local waters.

Demography

Culture

During the French colonial era, the settlers introduced a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

celebration on August 15 -

Assumption of Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution '' Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by ...

day- known as the "

Procession A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner. History Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...

of the

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

" (''la Procession de la Vierge'').

Notes

References

* * *

External links

111th Observation Squadron World War II Narrative History, Part VI: The Battle Of Arzew
- John C.L. Scribner
Map of 1932
{{Authority control Communes of Oran Province Berber words and phrases