History of Algeria

Algeria's history has been shaped by its position between , the Maghreb, and the Sahara. While much of its political life developed along the northern coastal plains, the region's deeper foundations lie in indigenous Amazigh societies, including the Numidians, who formed one of the earliest known states in the area. Over time, Algeria came into contact with Phoenician, Roman, Vandal, and Byzantine powers, each leaving traces on its historical landscape. The spread of Islam from the 7th century, followed by Arab migrations, gradually reshaped the region's culture, language, and religious identity, producing an Algerian identity rooted in both Arab-Islamic and Amazigh heritage. After the weakening of Umayyad authority following the Berber Revolt of 740, Algeria was ruled by several local Islamic dynasties, including the Rustamids, Fatimids, Zirids, Hammadids, Almohads, and Zayyanids. In the Ottoman era, the Regency of Algiers rose as a powerful and largely self-governing state in the western Mediterranean, maintaining only nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire. France invaded Algeria in 1830, annexed it in 1848, and extended control over the territory only after decades of resistance. In modern times, Algeria's history has been especially marked by the War of Independence and the Civil War of the 1990s.