![Ouled Tebben vu des montagnes](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Ouled_Tebben_vu_des_montagnes.jpg)
The Hodna Mountains ( ar, جبال حضنة, french: Monts du Hodna) are a mountain
massif
In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...
in northeastern
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
. It rises on the northern side of the
Hodna
The Hodna (french: Le Hodna) is a natural region of Algeria located between the Tell and Saharan Atlas ranges at the eastern end of the ''Hautes Plaines''. It is a vast depression lying in the northeastern section of M'Sila Province and the weste ...
natural region
A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate.
From the ecology, ecological point of view, the naturally occurring fl ...
in the
M'Sila Province
ber, ⵎⵙⵉⵍⴰ ') is a province (''wilaya'') of northern Algeria. It has a population of 1 million people and an area of 18,718 km², while its capital, also called M'sila, home to M'Sila University, has a population of about 100,00 ...
, near the town of
Maadid around 200 km southeast 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 ...
. These mountains are one of the ranges of the
Saharan Atlas Saharan may refer to:
* Someone or something from the Sahara desert
* Sahrawi people (also spelled Saharawi), the indigenous people of Western Sahara
* Saharan languages
The Saharan languages are a small family of languages across parts of the ea ...
, part of the
Atlas Mountain System
The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. It separates the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range. It stretches around through Moroc ...
.
Geography and vegetation
The Hodna Mountain ridge is located south of
Kabylie
Kabylia ('' Kabyle: Tamurt n Leqbayel'' or ''Iqbayliyen'', meaning "Land of Kabyles", '','' meaning "Land of the Tribes") is a cultural, natural and historical region in northern Algeria and the homeland of the Kabyle people. It is part of the ...
. It sits at a parallel latitude in a roughly east–west direction between the
Bibans
The Bibans or Biban Range ( ar, البيبان, Kabylian: ''Tiggoura'', french: Chaîne des Bibans or ''Les Bibans'') are a chain of mountains in northern Algeria, bordering the south of Kabylie.
Geography
The highest summits are 1862 m high Man ...
in the northwest and the
Belezma Range
The Belezma Range, also transliterated as Belzma ( ar, بلزمة), is a prolongation of the Aurès Mountains, at the confluence of the Tell Atlas and the Saharan Atlas in northeastern Algeria. It is separated from the main Aurès Range by the Ba ...
in the east. The highest peak, at 1,902 meters, is the
Djebel Tachrirt; another important summit is 1,659 m high. This mountain is a part of an important religious pilgrimage of some native tribes of Algerians.
Djebel Guetiane, both located in the easternmost range of the Hodna chain already in
Batna Province
Batna Province ( ar, ولاية باتنة, Latn, ar, Wilāyat Bātnah) is a province of Algeria, in the region of Aurès. The capital is Batna. Localities in this province include N'Gaous, Merouana and Timgad. Belezma National Park is in th ...
, towards the transition zone with the
Aurès Mountains
The Aures Mountains ( ar, جبال الأوراس) are an eastern prolongation of the Atlas Mountain System that lies to the east of the Saharan Atlas in northeastern Algeria and northwestern Tunisia, North Africa. The mountain range gives its nam ...
. The Maadid Range, the Kiyāna Range and the 'Aqqār Range are other subranges of the Hodna Mountains.
The Hodna Range has a zone of about 8,000 ha of natural
cedar
Cedar may refer to:
Trees and plants
*''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae
*Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar
Places United States
* Cedar, Arizona
* ...
forest near
Boutaleb growing in relatively
xerophile
A xerophile () is an extremophilic organism that can grow and reproduce in conditions with a low availability of water, also known as water activity. Water activity (aw) is measured as the humidity above a substance relative to the humidity above p ...
conditions.
Water management
The former inhabitants of the Hodna Mountains built a complex system of water retention walls named ''jessour''. They were built parallel to the level curves forming steps in the
talweg
In geography and fluvial geomorphology, a thalweg or talweg () is the line of lowest elevation within a valley or watercourse.
Under international law, a thalweg is the middle of the primary navigable channel of a waterway that defines the boun ...
s. On the northern slopes of the Djebel Tachrirt the walls were constructed above the ground level, allowing the snow to accumulate and to melt slowly in order to distribute the available water resulting from the snow melting period. Most of these traditional water management works are now in ruins.
History
The Beni Hammad Fort or Al Qal'a of Beni Hammad (french: Kalâa des Béni Hammad) is the ruin of a fortified Muslim city belonging to the
Hammadid
The Hammadid dynasty () was a branch of the Sanhaja Berber dynasty that ruled an area roughly corresponding to north-eastern modern Algeria between 1008 and 1152. The state reached its peak under Nasir ibn Alnas during which it was briefly the ...
dynasty that was built and settled in 1007 and abandoned in 1090. It is located on the southern slopes of the range and includes a 7 km-long line of walls. Inside the walls are four residential complexes, and the largest mosque built in Algeria after that of
Mansoura
Mansoura (' , rural: ) is a city in Egypt, with a population of 960,423. It is the capital of the Dakahlia Governorate.
Etymology
''Mansoura'' in Arabic means "victorious". The city is named after the El Mansoura Battle against Louis IX of Fr ...
h, similar to the
Grand Mosque of Kairouan
The Great Mosque of Kairouan ( ar, جامع القيروان الأكبر), also known as the Mosque of Uqba (), is a mosque situated in the UNESCO World Heritage town of Kairouan, Tunisia and is one of the most impressive and largest Islamic mo ...
, with a tall minaret (20 m). The remains of the emir's palace, known as Dal al-Bahr, include three separate residences separated by gardens and pavilions.
Excavations of the area have brought to light numerous terracotta items, jewels, coins and ceramics, including a number of decorative fountains using the lion as a motif.
In 1980 the Beni Hammad Fort was inscribed as a
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
by
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
.
Al Qal'a of Beni Hammad UNESCO Site
/ref>
In 945, as Abu Yazid
Abu Yazid Makhlad ibn Kaydad (; – 19 August 947), known as the Man on the Donkey (), was an Ibadi Berber of the Banu Ifran tribe who led a rebellion against the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia and eastern Algeria) starting i ...
besieged Sousse
Sousse or Soussa ( ar, سوسة, ; Berber:''Susa'') is a city in Tunisia, capital of the Sousse Governorate. Located south of the capital Tunis, the city has 271,428 inhabitants (2014). Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf ...
, Caliph al-Qa'im Bi-Amrillah died and was succeeded by his son al-Mansur
Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr (; ar, أبو جعفر عبد الله بن محمد المنصور; 95 AH – 158 AH/714 CE – 6 October 775 CE) usually known simply as by his laqab Al-Manṣūr (المنصور) w ...
. Under al-Mansur's leadership, the Fatimid forces recovered their position, first breaking the siege of Sousse and then driving Abū Yazīd's forces out of Kairouan back into the Aurès Mountains
The Aures Mountains ( ar, جبال الأوراس) are an eastern prolongation of the Atlas Mountain System that lies to the east of the Saharan Atlas in northeastern Algeria and northwestern Tunisia, North Africa. The mountain range gives its nam ...
. In 947, the Fatimids finally defeated them in the Kiyana Mountains of this massif near what later became the Beni Hammad Fort.
Features
See also
*Geography of Algeria
Algeria comprises square kilometers of land, more than 80% of which is desert, in North Africa, between Morocco and Tunisia. It is the largest country in Africa. Its Arabic name, Al Jazair (the islands), is believed to derive from the rocky ...
*Abu Yazid
Abu Yazid Makhlad ibn Kaydad (; – 19 August 947), known as the Man on the Donkey (), was an Ibadi Berber of the Banu Ifran tribe who led a rebellion against the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia and eastern Algeria) starting i ...
References
External links
Recueil des Notices et Memoires de la Societe Archeologique du Departement de Constantine
Commune mixte des Maâdid puis sous-préfecture de Bordj Bou Arreridj (1861–1960)
Histoire Et Archeologie de l'Afrique du Nord – Colloque 1983
{{Mountains of Algeria , state=collapsed
Mountain ranges of the Atlas Mountains
Mountain ranges of Algeria