Mostaganem () is a port city in and capital of Mostaganem province, in the northwest of

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 city, founded in the 11th century lies on the Gulf of Arzew,

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

and is 72 km ENE of

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 ...

. It is considered as the second-largest city in the country's northwest, after Oran, and as Algeria's fourth-largest port city with its 406.190 inhabitants as of the 2019 census.http://www.ons.dz/IMG/armature2008-%20FINAL%281%29.pdf The city was founded in the 11th century as ''Murustage'' but has origins going back to

Punic The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), were a Semitic people who migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' ...

and

Roman 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

times. In 1516, it was captured by the Ottoman admiral

Barbarossa Barbarossa, a name meaning "red beard" in Italian, primarily refers to: * Frederick Barbarossa (1122–1190), Holy Roman Emperor * Hayreddin Barbarossa (c. 1478–1546), Ottoman admiral * Operation Barbarossa, the Axis invasion of the Soviet Uni ...

and became a centre for Mediterranean sea corsairs, as well as a commercial port. By 1700, it had come under Ottoman rule. In 1833, the city was taken by France and a garrison established.

became independent in 1962.

History

Mostaganem corresponds to the ancient

port of Murustaga. After becoming part of 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 ...

, it was, according to some sources, officially renamed Cartennae under the emperor

Gallienus Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (; – September 268) was Roman emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260 and alone from 260 to 268. He ruled during the Crisis of the Third Century that nearly caused the collapse of the empire. He ...

(253–268).Murustaga-Mostaganem
However, according to more weighty sources, Cartennae (or Cartenna or Cartennas) corresponds instead to modern

Ténès Ténès (; from Berber TNS 'camping') is a town in Algeria located around 200 kilometers west of the capital Algiers. , it has a population of 65,000 people. History Ténès was founded as a Phoenician port in or before the 8th centuryBC. As ...

, 50 km to the east. In any case, Murustaga is the name by which the town was known when it became a Christian bishopric, and by which it is referred to in the

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 ...

's list of

episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...

s.''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013, ), p. 935 It also underlies the modern name of Mostaganem. The town was ruled by the

Zirid dynasty The Zirid dynasty (), Banu Ziri (), was a Sanhaja Berber dynasty from what is now Algeria which ruled the central Maghreb from 972 to 1014 and Ifriqiya (eastern Maghreb) from 972 to 1148. Descendants of Ziri ibn Manad, a military leader of t ...

between 973 and 1146. Then, it was conquered by the

Almoravid dynasty The Almoravid dynasty () was a Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire that stretched over the western Maghreb and Al-Andalus, starting in the 1050s and lasting until its fall to the Almo ...

, and reached its high point of power under Yusuf ibn Tashfin (c. 1061–1106). Mostaganem was later ruled by the

Zayyanid dynasty The Zayyanid dynasty or Ziyanids (, ''Ziyāniyyūn'') or Abd al-Wadids (, ''Bānu ʿAbd āl-Wād'') was a Berber Zenata dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of Tlemcen, mainly in modern Algeria centered on the town of Tlemcen in northwest Algeria. Th ...

Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran and is the capital of Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the port of Rachgoun. It had a population of ...

and it was conquered again by the

Marinid dynasty The Marinid dynasty ( ) was a Berbers, Berber Muslim dynasty that controlled present-day Morocco from the mid-13th to the 15th century and intermittently controlled other parts of North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia) and of the southern Iberian P ...

of Fes. After that the

took control of the city again. In the 16th century, the town resisted a Spanish invasion and came under the power of the Ottoman

Hayreddin Barbarossa Hayreddin Barbarossa (, original name: Khiḍr; ), also known as Hayreddin Pasha, Hızır Hayrettin Pasha, and simply Hızır Reis (c. 1466/1483 – 4 July 1546), was an Ottoman corsair and later admiral of the Ottoman Navy. Barbarossa's ...

Geography

Climate

Mostaganem has a mild Mediterranean climates (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Csa''). In winter there is more rainfall than in summer. The average annual temperature in Mostaganem is . About of precipitation falls annually.

Present situation

The city is divided in two by a ravine of the river Aïn Sefra, with the modern town to southwest, and the old Muslim city, Tidgit, to the northeast. In 2010 a tunnel under the city and towards the city centre is expected to change traffic flow significantly. Also, new buildings, some modern and some in colonial style, are being added to this growing city. The new autoroute from the capital Algiers towards Oran will make it easier also to access Mostaganem by road from the capital, as Mostaganem has no public airport. The road connecting

(around 80 km from Mostaganem to the west) will remain the same, a crowded 2 lane in each direction highway. The port of Mostaganem is being used for unloading of all sorts of cargo, ranging from provisions to cars and pipelines. As in most ports of Algeria, it is not allowed to sailors to exit the port and visit the city. The port is being shared by large transport vessels and fishing boats alike. A new, smaller port for fishing boats has been constructed, but is currently not used. El Arsa

Notable people

Mostaganem has given birth to illustrious figures such as playwright Ould Abderrahmane Abdelkader AKA Kaki, cinema director Mohamed Chouikh, historians such as Moulay Belhamissi, and lyricists such as Kadda Medjeded. A major centre of popular and amateur theater, it is home to important specialists of Andalusian classical music ( Moulay Benkrizi), Chaabi ( Maazouz Bouadjadj, Habib Bettahar), masters of traditional

Bedouin music Bedouin music () is the music of nomadic Bedouin Arabs, Arab tribes in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, Mesopotamia and the Levant. It is closely linked to its text and poem, poems. Songs are based on poetry and are sung either unaccompanied, ...

( Sheikh Hamada, Sheikh Djilali Ain Tedeles) and poets such as Sheikh Abdelkader Bentobdji and Sidi Lakhdar Benkhelouf who are authors of well-known

qasida The qaṣīda (also spelled ''qaṣīdah''; plural ''qaṣā’id'') is an ancient Arabic word and form of poetry, often translated as ode. The qasida originated in pre-Islamic Arabic poetry and passed into non-Arabic cultures after the Arab Mus ...

of Malhun poetry bequeathed as much to the Chaabi legacy as to Bedouins such as Emir `Abd al-Qādir al-Jazā'irī. The poet Ahlam Mostaghanemi Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi was originally from near Mostaganem. Furthermore, one of the most notable religious figures of the 20th century was also born and later buried in Mostaganem, the Great Sufi Master, Ahmad al-Alawi, who played a major role in spreading the

Shadhili The Shadhili Order () is a tariqah or Sufi order. The Shadhili order was founded by Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili in the 13th century and is followed by millions of people around the world. Many followers (Arabic ''murids'', "seekers") of the Shadhil ...

Darqawi The Darqawiyya or Darqawi Sufi order is a revivalist branch of the Shadhiliyah brotherhood which originated in Morocco. The Darqawa comprised the followers of Sheikh Muhammad al-Arabi al-Darqawi (1760–1823) of Morocco. The movement, which becam ...

tariqa (spiritual order) across the globe, such that this order is now considered one of the world's largest and most influential Sufi paths. Many modern Muslims consider al-Alawi to be one of the "revivers" of Islam in the 20th century due to his role in spreading the religion, and even influencing the West, including opening the first mosque in Paris. Al-Alawi's tomb is now a popular visitation sight in Mostaganem. *

Louis Franchet d'Espèrey Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...

, French general, was born in Mostaganem in 1856. * Alain-Julien Rudefoucauld, French writer and playwright was born in Mostaganem in 1950. * Ishak Belfodil, (born 12 January 1992) is an Algerian professional football player * Abdelkader Ouali (born 1952), politician

References

External links

Mostaganem dz by Mohammed Abbassa

History and old postcards of Algeria

Annals of Heritage (Journal of the University)

Mostaganem pictures and many things by S. Benhenda

Mostaganem Its History, Photograph, Current events, Culture, Geography
{{Authority control Populated places in Mostaganem Province Coastal cities in Algeria Cities in Algeria Province seats of Algeria