Mascara (), also spelled Maskara, is the capital city of

Mascara Province Mascara ( ', ') is a province (''wilaya'') in Algeria. It was named after its capital, whose name is Arabic for "military garrison". It is unsure whether the place is related to "mascara", the cosmetic. Another important locality is the town o ...

. It has 150,000 inhabitants (2008 estimate). It was founded in the 10th century by the

Banu Ifran The Banu Ifran (, ''Banu Yafran'') or Ifranids, were a Zenata Berber people, Berber tribe prominent in the history of pre-Islamic and early Islamic North Africa. In the 8th century, they established a Emirate of Tlemcen, kingdom in the central Ma ...

, a Berber tribe, and was the capital city of Emir Abd al-Qadir, a leader of the Algerian resistance to early French colonial rule in the 19th century. Mascara is an administrative, commercial and a market centre. Its trade is mostly centered on leather goods, grains, and olive oil, but it is especially famous for its good wine. It has good road and rail connections with other urban centres of Algeria. Relizane is northeast, Sidi Bel Abbes southwest,

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

105 kkm northwest and Saïda south. Mascara has two parts, a newer French area, and an older

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

one. Large parts of the town lie inside the ruins of its ancient

rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * LAPD Rampart Division, a division of the Los Angeles Police Department ** Rampart scandal, a blanket ter ...

s. The city is the home of Lakhdar Belloumi, a former Algerian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

(soccer) star.

Etymology

The word ''mascara'' is a

Francisation Francization (in American English, Canadian English, and Oxford English) or Francisation (in other British English), also known as Frenchification, is the expansion of French language use—either through willful adoption or coercion—by more a ...

of the Arabic word ''معسكر'' (mu'askar), meaning 'camp'. French colonization caused the city's name to be adopted in the French version as an official name. The name "

mascara Mascara (, ) is a Cosmetics, cosmetic commonly used to enhance the upper and lower eyelashes. It is used to darken, thicken, lengthen, and/or define the eyelashes. Normally in one of three forms—liquid, powder, or cream—the modern mascara p ...

" was likely given in reference to the city that bears the same name, since in the mid-19th century the French discovered antimony powder during their conquest in the old town of Mascara 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

nomadic Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

tribes The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

used the cosmetic as a beauty product but also to protect themselves from various

trachoma Trachoma is an infectious disease caused by bacterium '' Chlamydia trachomatis''. The infection causes a roughening of the inner surface of the eyelids. This roughening can lead to pain in the eyes, breakdown of the outer surface or cornea ...

s and

eye diseases This is a partial list of human eye diseases and disorders. The World Health Organization (WHO) publishes a classification of known diseases and injuries, the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, or ...

History

Regency of Algiers

* 1701: During the Regency of Algiers, Algerian built a military garrison in the town. Many Muslims with Andalucian origins were settled there by the Ottomans and Algerians. *1708: The Muslim tribes of Mascara led by the bey Mustapha Ben Youcef captured the city of

and expelled the

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern a ...

while they were busy in the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

. *1732: Spain regains control of Oran. *1790: Famine and sickness had begun to aggravate the situation in Oran when the bey of Mascara appeared before the town with 30,000 men. The Spanish commander held out till August 1791, when the Spanish government, having made terms with the bey of Algiers, was allowed to set sail for Spain with their guns and ammunition. The bey Mohammed took possession of Oran in March 1792, and made it his residence instead of Mascara.

French invasion and early French rule

* 1832: Abd al-Qadir makes Mascara his headquarters. * 1835: Mascara is destroyed by the French. * 1841: The French establish full control over Mascara.

Algeria (sovereign state)

* August 18, 1994: An earthquake measuring 5.7 on the

moment magnitude scale The moment magnitude scale (MMS; denoted explicitly with or Mwg, and generally implied with use of a single M for magnitude) is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude ("size" or strength) based on its seismic moment. was defined in a 1979 paper ...

and having a maximum MSK intensity of VIII (''Damaging'') leaves 171 people dead in Mascara.

Twin towns/sister cities

Mascara is twinned with: *

Bursa Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...

, Turkey * Elkader, Iowa,

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Tifariti Tifariti () is an oasis town and the temporary capital of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, located in north-eastern Western Sahara, east of the Moroccan Berm, from Smara and north of the border with Mauritania. It is part of what Polisario ...

, Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic

References

{{Authority control Communes of Mascara Province Province seats of Algeria Populated places established in 1701 Cities in Algeria