Batna (, ''Bātna'') is a former French ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'' in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

. The département of Batna existed between 1957 and 1974.

History

Considered as an integral piece of French territory, Algeria was departmentalised on 9 December 1848, and thereby was administratively structured in the same way as

metropolitan France Metropolitan France ( or ), also known as European France (), is the area of France which is geographically in Europe and chiefly comprises #Hexagon, the mainland, popularly known as "the Hexagon" ( or ), and Corsica. This collective name for the ...

. Three civil zones (

départements In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

) replaced the three

bey Bey, also spelled as Baig, Bayg, Beigh, Beig, Bek, Baeg, Begh, or Beg, is a Turkic title for a chieftain, and a royal, aristocratic title traditionally applied to people with special lineages to the leaders or rulers of variously sized areas in ...

liks into which the Ottoman former rulers had divided the territory. The easternmost of the three original Algerian

departments Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military * Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

was called Constantine. For over a century the town of Batna, was a

sub-prefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several districts, sometimes translated as subprefectures. ...

in the département of Constantine: this changed in 1957. On 20 May 1957 the Batna

was split off and became a separate département. This administrative reorganisation was undertaken in response to the rapid population increase experienced across the territory, especially during the preceding decade. The new département of Batna was located directly to the south of the newly created département of Sétif and the newly diminished département of Constantine. The département of Batna covered an area of : a population of 529,532 was recorded. The department comprised five sub-prefectures: these were

Arris In architecture, an arris is the sharp edge formed by the intersection of two surfaces, such as the corner of a masonry unit; the edge of a timber in timber framing; the junction between two planes of plaster or any intersection of divergent a ...

, Barika,

Biskra Biskra () is the capital city of Biskra Province, Algeria. In 2007, its population was recorded as 307,987. Biskra is located in northeastern Algeria, about from Algiers, southwest of Batna, Algeria, Batna and north of Touggourt. It is nickna ...

, Corneille and

Khenchela Khenchela (; ; anciently Mascula) is the capital city of the administrative Khenchela Province ('' Wilaya''), in the north east of Algeria. Situated in the Aures Mountains, 1200 m above sea level. The city is mainly populated by Berber Cha ...

. The 1957 departmental reorganisation was marked by a change in the "suffix" number appearing on automobile license plates and in other places that used the same code. Until 1957, as part of the département of Constantine, Batna was identified by the department number "93": after 1957 the département of Batna became department number "9B". (In 1968, under a law enacted in 1964, the number "93" would be reallocated to a new département comprising the northern suburbs of Paris.) After independence the department continued to exist until 1974 when it was split into

Batna Province Batna Province (, Latn, ar, Wilāyat Bātnah) is a provinces of Algeria, province of Algeria, in the region of Aurès. The capital is Batna (city), Batna. Localities in this province include N'Gaous, Merouana and Timgad. Belezma National Park i ...

Biskra Province Biskra (, Berber: ⴱⴻⵙⴽⵔⴰ) is a province (''wilaya'') of Algeria. Its capital is Biskra. It is located on the northern edge of the Algerian Sahara, south of the Atlas Mountains. Geographically, Biskra Province is arid, but oases and ...

Djelfa Province Djelfa () is a province (''wilaya'') of Algeria. Its capital is Djelfa. It was first established by the administrative reorganization of 1974, and is home to over 1,595,794 inhabitants. Localities in this province include Tadmit, El Khemis, a ...

M'Sila Province M'sila ( ) is a province () of northern Algeria. It has a population of 958361 people and an area of , with a density of 74/square kilometers while its capital, also called M'sila, home to M'sila University, has a population of about 100,000. Lo ...

and

Tébessa Province Tébessa () is a provinces of Algeria, province (''wilayah'') of Algeria. Tébessa is also the name of the capital, which in ancient times it was known as ''Theveste''. Another important city is El Ouenza. Tébessa is located only 20 kilometers w ...

. Former departments of France in Algeria States and territories established in 1957 Batna Province 1957 establishments in Algeria 1974 disestablishments in Algeria {{Batna-geo-stub