Aïn El Hammam is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and commune in

Tizi Ouzou Province Tizi Ouzou ( Kabyle: Tawilayt n Tizi Wezzu, ) is a province (''wilayah'') of Algeria in the Kabylia region. Its capital is Tizi Ouzou, with a popoluation of 1.198.561 inhabitants in 2019, with a density of 405/square kilometers. History In 1 ...

in northern

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 ...

Description

Ain El Hammam was called Michelet during the colonial period, so called in homage to the French historian

Jules Michelet Jules Michelet (; 21 August 1798 – 9 February 1874) was a French historian and writer. He is best known for his multivolume work ''Histoire de France'' (History of France). Michelet was influenced by Giambattista Vico; he admired Vico's emphas ...

. It is today an Algerian commune of the

, in

Kabylia Kabylia or Kabylie (; in Kabyle: Tamurt n leqbayel; in Tifinagh: ⵜⴰⵎⵓⵔⵜ ⵏ ⵍⴻⵇⴱⴰⵢⴻⵍ; ), meaning "Land of the Tribes" is a mountainous coastal region in northern Algeria and the homeland of the Kabyle people. It is ...

, located 45 km southeast of

Tizi Ouzou Tizi Ouzou or Thizi Wezzu (, Kabyle: Tizi Wezzu) is a city in north central Algeria, and capital of Tizi Ouzou Province and Tizi Ouzou District. It is among the largest cities in Algeria. It is the second most populous city in the Kabylia reg ...

and 95 km northeast of

Bouïra Bouïra is the capital of Bouïra Province, 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; ...

. Some call it the hammam locally because being a cold thermal spring well recognized in time, it was also Soq ne Ts'latha; or "market of Tuesday", surrounded by markets known in the region like Sevt nath yahya, Souq el Djemaa, Larvaa nath Iratehen, etc. The city is located on the north slope of Djurdjura, at 1080 meters above sea level. The villages of the commune of Aïn El Hammam are built on the side of mountain, up to an altitude of 1800 meters The commune is famous for carpet weaving in bright colors. "Ain El Hammam" is a composite toponym, derived from the basis of the word "ain", from classical Arabic ayn and from Algerian Arabic ain, meaning "source" and corresponds for the Arabic component "el hammam" to the word "Thermal baths". The full name of the commune therefore means "source of the thermal baths". Michyi et At Menguellat

The commune was created by the French under the name of "Michelet" in tribute to the French historian

. After the independence of

, the commune was called Aïn El Hammam within the framework of the arabization of the names of place. However, the town (now the capital of the commune) continues to be locally named Michelet, or Michli, Michyi, which are eroded or Kabylian forms of Michelet. Asqif n-Ṭmana is only the name of a part of this urban center with sprawling ramifications. Indeed Asqif n Tmana is the old northern entrance of the town corresponding to the ancient hamlet of Ait-Sidi-Said comprising the cemetery where is buried the bard Kabyle Si Muhand U M'hand . Other information, refer to another former name of the region before the French colonization, which was Tala BUDHI (literary translation: the fountain of butter).

History

During the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

the town was called Trisipa and was a

civitas In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (; plural ), according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the , or citizens, united by Roman law, law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilitie ...

. Trisipa was the seat of an ancient

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

, which survives today as a

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

ric of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Two bishops of the town are known. Victor, attendee at the

Council of Carthage (411) The Councils of Carthage were church synods held during the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries in the city of Carthage in Africa. The most important of these are described below. Synod of 251 In May 251 a synod, assembled under the presidency of Cyprian ...

and Felix, who signed a group letter to

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

, the

Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople () is the archbishop of Constantinople and (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox Church. The ecumenical patriarch is regarded as ...

regarding

Monothelites Monothelitism, or monotheletism was a theological doctrine in Christianity that was proposed in the 7th century, but was ultimately rejected by the sixth ecumenical council. It held Christ as having only one will and was thus contrary to dyoth ...

. Joseph-Anatole Toulotte, ''Geography of Christian Africa: Proconsular''. Author: (Rennes, 1892) p312.

The Ottoman period

Aourir did Mengelet should not be confused with the village not far from Aourir in the town of Ifigha, of the tribe of the Ait Ghobri, which was that of Sidi Ahmed el Kadhi or the founder of the kingdom Koukou.

The colonial period

The locality of Michelet, founded in 1881, was located where stood the weekly market Aït Menguellat, formerly known Thalatha Aït Menguellat ("At the Tuesday Menguellat"), between the hamlet of Asqif-n-Ṭmana and the village of At-Sidi-Sɛid. Subsequently, Michelet also hosted the Ait Yahya market that was previously in Sabt (therefore on Saturdays) to three kilometers away, on the outskirts of Ait Hichem, just at the current capital of the commune of Aït Yahia. Michelet is an administrative center established as the capital of the mixed commune of Djurdjura 5, placed (like all mixed municipalities) under the direction of a deputy head of the prefectural administration and its deputies; The mixed commune is divided into a number of douars, each under the direction of an "indigenous deputy" (caid from 1919).

References

{{Authority control Communes of Tizi Ouzou Province Catholic titular sees in Africa