Merouana (

Tamazight The Berber languages, also known as the Amazigh languages or Tamazight,, ber, label=Tuareg Tifinagh, ⵜⵎⵣⵗⵜ, ) are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They comprise a group of closely related languages spoken by Berber communi ...

: Tamerwant) is a city 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 ...

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

. It is situated around 40 km from

Batna City Batna ( ar, باتنة, Latn, ar, Bātnah) 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 ...

, and is inhabited by the

Chaoui The Chaoui people or ''Shawia'' ( arq, الشاوية, shy, Išawiyen) are an Amazigh (Berber) ethnic group to the Aurès region in northeastern Algeria which spans Batna and Khenchla, Oum El Bouaghi provinces located in and surrounded by the ...

Berbers. Merouana is one of the oldest local daïras (districts). It is the capital of the Belzma Plain and Belzma National Park.

Origin and history

The city's founding date back to the era of the

Romans 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 lette ...

in 127 when it was called Lamasba. It was a fortress which was damaged by

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 ...

. It was rebuilt by Byzantines and become a military area for Byzantine's military retirees. However, this fortress was destroyed in the

Islamic conquest The spread of Islam spans about 1,400 years. Muslim conquests following Muhammad's death led to the creation of the caliphates, occupying a vast geographical area; conversion to Islam was boosted by Arab Muslim forces conquering vast territories ...

in the era of

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, then it was re-established as a military base. It was entrusted with the task of collecting taxes in the

French colonial French colonial architecture includes several styles of architecture used by the French during colonization. Many former French colonies, especially those in Southeast Asia, have previously been reluctant to promote their colonial architectur ...

era. It attained city status in 1909, and the

daïra A daïra or daerah ( ''circle''; plural ''dawaïr'') is an administrative division in Algeria and Western Sahara in West Africa, as well as Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia in Southeast Asia. It is commonly translated in English as "district". West ...

was founded in 1912 as the Corneille. The region has seen many revolutions, the latest is Ali Musa revolution in 1916 in M'stawa mountains. It also saw first operations in the light of November approximately 30 attack in various parts of the region. The heroes and martyrs of the region include Ali N'meur, Ziza Massika and Salah Indochine.

Location and terrain

Merouana is located at 35.6286 degree north latitude and 5.9117 degree east longitude. Geographically, merouana is located in the northern part of Batna Province, bounded to the north by Awlad Sallam and L'msil, to the north-east by Ain Jasser, to the West by RAs Layoun and

N'Gaous N'Gaous ( la, Nicives, link=no) is an ancient town in northeastern Algeria, The city of N'Gaous is a city located southwest of the state of Batna, an area of 80.45 km, rising 770 meters above sea level, in a beautiful place among the str ...

, to the east by

Seriana Seriana (;) is a town in Batna Province, Algeria, at . In the colonial period, it was called Pasteur. It has been identified as the ancient Roman Catholic Diocese of Lamiggiga. An arms factory, the ''Entreprise des Réalisations Industrielles d ...

, to the south-east by

, and to the south by Ain Touta. The daïra of Merouana consists of four municipalities:

Hidoussa Hidoussa is a town in north-eastern Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = ...

Ksar Bellezma Ksar Bellezma is a town in north-eastern Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates ...

Oued El Ma Oued El Ma is a small town in the Aures region, and administratively is a municipality (French: commune) in the province of Batna. The name Oud El Ma is derived from the Berber name ″Ighzer n'Alma″, with 'Oud' means river that come from the ...

and Merouana. Merouana city is dominated by the mountains which surround it and which are snow-capped in winter. The most famous mountains are Sh'lalaa, M'stawa and Erefaa; others include Bughioul, Fakhra, Tikelt, Mothen and Tisras. However, this did not prevent the existence of broad Belzma plain, which is one of the largest plains in Algeria. Merouana region is a seismically active zone which has necessitated the establishment of an earthquake monitoring center which is the only one in Batna state.

City Features

* Martyr Monument, to the memory of martyrs' souls in the midst of a large pine forest, rising to a height of more than 15 meters. * The old mosque, is the oldest mosque built in Merouana. * Museum of Revolution 1954, was founded recently to include the secrets of revolution in the region. * The stadium with green grass land, which had been renovated in 2006. * Telephone mast, which was established in order to install telephone and television antennas, rises more than 60 metres in the sky. * Plant for manufacturing aluminum utensils and another factory to make biscuits. * And there are large-scale projects under way, like the transport station and passengers as well as the mental hospital, in addition to the gym the proposed new road link between Merouana and Batna, which will include a 3 kilometer tunnel.

Notable tribes

{{Batna Province Communes of Batna Province