Djendel (formerly ''Lavigerie'' during the period of

French colonization The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that exist ...

) is a

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 ...

in the Aïn Defla wilaya in northern

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

, located 110 km southwest of

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

, 40 km east of

Aïn Defla Aïn Defla ( ar, عين الدفلى, lit. ''oleander spring'') is the capital city of Aïn Defla Province, Algeria. It is also a commune. History In Roman times the city was called Oppidum Novum. The vestiges of the Oppidum Novum are still visib ...

, and 30 km southwest of

Médéa Médéa ( ber, Lemdiyyet, ar, المدية ''al-Madiya''), population 123,535 (1998 census) is the capital city of Médéa Province, Algeria. It is located roughly 68 km south of Algiers. The present-day city is situated on the site of ...

History

Formerly a mixed commune ('' commune mixte''^{r/sup> - an area where Europeans were present though in very small numbers) in the Algiers ''département'' of French Algeria, created on 25 August 1880, Djendel incorporated the '' douars'' (tribal territories) of Djendel, Ghribs, and Oued-Telbenet.

On 16 December 1905 Djendel absorbed some of the dissolved mixed commune of Hammam Righa. In 1956, it was promoted by decree from a mixed commune to a commune according to the Law of 1884 and was absorbed into the ''département'' of Orléansville. The commune maintained its municipal status during the restructuring of 1963, absorbing the former communes of Aïn Lechiekh and Oued Djemaâ (October 1963 for the latter).

In 1893, during the colonization period, the city was named Lavigerie in honor of Charles Martial Allemand Lavigerie. After independence

Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
, the commune was renamed Djendel by decree no. 65-246^{r/sup> of 30 September 1965.

Demographics

* Area: 251 km²
* Population: 30,170 (2008)
* Evolution of the population:
** 16,361 in 1876
** 18,884 in 1881
** 26,851 in 1901
** 34,170 (including 1,154 Europeans) in 1906
** 6,368 in 1958
** 8,773 in 1960
** 24,924 in 1966
** 26,849 in 1998

Economy

The region is agricultural, and includes the .

References

Communes of Aïn Defla Province
Algeria geography articles needing translation from French Wikipedia

{{AïnDefla-geo-stub}}