Zemmouri is a town and
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
in the
Bordj Menaïel District of
Boumerdès Province
Boumerdès ( ar, ولاية بومرداس, Kabyle: Tanebḍit n Bumerdas) is a province ('' wilaya'') of northern Algeria, located in the Kabylia region, between Algiers and Tizi-Ouzou, with its capital at the coastal city of Boumerdès (form ...
,
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
. As of 2008, the population of the municipality is 26,408.
Villages
The villages of the commune of ''Zemmouri'' are:
History
The coastal site of Zemmouri El-Bahri was a Phoenician and later Roman settlement named
Rusubbicari. In the medieval period, it became a small port named Marsā al-Dajāj (literally "chicken port"). Archeological research there has uncovered medieval structures and pottery, as well as Roman coins.
By the 19th century the main village, slightly further inland, was known as Zemmouri (usually spelled Zamouri or Zemouri at the time). In 1872 the French government established a colonial settlement there using land confiscated from the
Isser el-Ouidan tribe and from private individuals in the wake of the
Mokrani Revolt
The Mokrani Revolt ( ar, مقاومة الشيخ المقراني, lit=Resistance of Cheikh El-Mokrani; ber, Unfaq urrumi, lit=French insurrection) was the most important local uprising against France in Algeria since the conquest in 1830.
The r ...
; in 1886 it was renamed Courbet, after Admiral
Amédée Courbet
Anatole-Amédée-Prosper Courbet (26 June 1827 – 11 June 1885) was a French admiral who won a series of important land and naval victories during the Tonkin Campaign (1883–86) and the Sino-French War (August 1884 – April 1885).
Early year ...
. Following Algeria's independence in 1962, the name Zemmouri was restored.
French conquest
*
Expedition of the Col des Beni Aïcha
The Expedition of the Col des Beni Aïcha in May 1837, during the French conquest of Algeria, pitted the troupes coloniales under Colonel Maximilien Joseph Schauenburg against the troops of ''Beni Aïcha'' of the ''Igawawen''.
Historical Conte ...
(1837)
*
First Battle of the Issers (1837)
Algerian Revolution
Salafist terrorism
*
2008 Zemmouri bombing
The 2008 Zemmouri bombing occurred on August 9, 2008 when a suicide bomber drove and detonated a vehicle laden with explosives into the headquarters of the Gendarmerie Nationale in the town of Zemmouri, Boumerdès Province, Algeria killing 8 ...
(9 August 2008)
Geology
The disastrous
2003 Boumerdès earthquake
The 2003 Boumerdès earthquake occurred on May 21 at in northern Algeria. The shock had a moment magnitude of 6.8 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). The epicentre of the earthquake was located near the town of Thénia in Boumer ...
led to the discovery of a thrust
fault; it was subsequently named after the town. The fault has since been incorporated into
seismic hazard
A seismic hazard is the probability that an earthquake will occur in a given geographic area, within a given window of time, and with ground motion intensity exceeding a given threshold. With a hazard thus estimated, risk can be assessed and incl ...
maps, which will serve as an important guideline for public safety.
Nature
To the northwest of the town, the Sahel Forest and the coastal dunes on which it grows are dominated by
Aleppo pine and other Mediterranean
maquis flora, and constitute a tourist attraction.
Programme d’Aménagement Côtier (PAC) "Zone côtière algéroise"
p. 9
Notable people
* Abdelhafid Benchabla, boxer
* Ali Rial, footballer
References
Communes of Boumerdès Province
Phoenician colonies in Algeria
{{Boumerdès-geo-stub