Dellys
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Dellys (,
Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...
: Delles) is a small Mediterranean town 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 ...
's coastal
Boumerdès Province Boumerdès (, Kabyle language, Kabyle: Tanebḍit n Bumerdas) is a provinces of Algeria, province (''wilaya'') of northern Algeria, located in the Kabylia region, between Algiers and Tizi-Ouzou, with its capital at the coastal city of Boumerdès ...
, almost due north of Tizi-Ouzou and just east of the Sebaou River. It is the district seat of the
daïra A daïra or daerah ( ''circle''; plural ''dawaïr'') is an administrative division in Algeria and Western Sahara in West Africa, as well as Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia in Southeast Asia. It is commonly translated in English as "district". Wes ...
of Dellys. The town is 45 km from Tizi Ouzou, 50 km from Boumerdès (the provincial capital), and about 100 km from the capital Algiers. It is notable for its Ottoman-era
Casbah A kasbah (, also ; , , Maghrebi Arabic: ), also spelled qasbah, qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress, most commonly the citadel or fortified quarter of a city. It is also equivalent to the term in Spanish (), which is derived from the same ...
, two colonial-era lighthouses (marking Cape Bengut), and some beaches; the principal activities of the area are fishing and farming. As of 2008, the population of the municipality is 32,954.


Geography

The Dellys area presents a natural harbour in the form of a small bay sheltered on the west and northwest by the peninsula of Sidi Abdelkader (largely occupied by the town cemetery, along with a small lighthouse). This peninsula is the seaward extension of the mountain of Assouaf, looming over the town. Around this harbour grew the Casbah of Dellys. During the colonial period the town grew southwards, as the port was expanded; a technical school, the ''École des arts et métiers'', was also built to the north, near the cemetery. Expansion further up the mountain was prevented by the preservation of the Bou-Arbi forest; instead, the town's growth after independence in 1962 was mainly concentrated in two "wings" on each side of it. To the south, former agricultural areas on the mountain slopes were built up with apartment buildings to form the new suburb Nouvelle-Ville, still surrounded by farmland on both sides. To the west, the relatively level Ladjenna (or "Les Jardins") area, with rocky coasts, consisted mainly of family gardens and small farms until the mid-twentieth century, but is now largely built up. It includes the tiny fishing port of El-Kouss; Cape Bengut, the northernmost land in the region, marked by a larger lighthouse; and the rock promontory of Sid El-Medjni. Further west, the village of Takdempt, at the mouth of the Sebaou river, remains marginally separated from Dellys proper. The municipality has a total of 678 hectares of forest, most of it accounted for by Bou-Arbi above the old town (74 hectares,
Aleppo pine ''Pinus halepensis'', commonly known as the Aleppo pine, also known as the Jerusalem pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. It was officially named by the botanist Philip Miller in his 1768 book ''The Gardener's Dictionary''; he pro ...
), Assouaf above the Ladjennna suburb (50 hectares,
thuya Thuya (sometimes transliterated as Touiyou, Thuiu, Tuya, Tjuyu or Thuyu) was an Egyptian noblewoman and the mother of queen Tiye, and the wife of Yuya. She is the grandmother of Akhenaten, and great grandmother of Tutankhamun. Biography T ...
and degraded maquis), Achtoub (290 hectares, brush), and an area around Takdempt (250 hectares, brush).


Locations, districts and hamlets

In addition to its seat, Dellys proper, the Dellys District is composed of the following localities: Ain Salem, Takdempt, Sidi El Medjni, Ladjenna, Bordj Fnar, Beni Azeroual, L'Assouaf, Lemchachka, Thouabet, Boukmach, Bouafia, Brarat, Dar El Melh (Les Salines), Boumedas, Ouled Mahdjoub, Béni Amara, Tizeghouine, Dar Rabah, Ouled Sabeur, Chegga, Mezoudj, Houasna, Azrou, Afir, Amadhi, Thissira, Ifri Tamarth, Ivehlal (Bhalil), Thala Ayache, Thala Arousse, El Marssa Tofaha. These are divided among three municipalities: Dellys itself, Aafir to the east, and Ben Choud to the south.


Demographics


Postcode

From independence in 1962 to 1984, Dellys was part of the Wilaya of Tizi Ouzou, and each wilaya had a single postcode, in this case 15000. After the administrative division of Algeria in 1984, Dellys was attached to the newly created wilaya of Boumerdès, whose postcodes started with 35; the Daïra of Dellys was indicated by a following 1 (351xx), its chief town (Dellys) with the number 0 (3510x), and its town centre with a further 0, giving the town centre of Dellys the complete postal code 35100. In 2008, Dellys was given the new postcode 350043 as part of the restructuring undertaken by
Algérie Poste Algérie Poste ("Algerian Post"; ) is the state-owned company responsible for postal service in Algeria. It is headquartered in Bab Ezzouar, Algiers. History Algérie Poste was created in 2002 following the reorganization of the Postal, Telegra ...
.


History


Prehistoric

The Dellys area has been inhabited since prehistoric times; archeological finds in the area include Iberomaurusian remains, a
Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
polished axe, and (at Takdempt) some
dolmen A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...
s and covered alleys.


Antiquity

Dellys first entered written history as the Phoenician
colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...
of Rusucurru or Rusuccuru, known to the
Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...
as ''Rhousoukkórrou'' ().. (A few authorities instead identify the ancient Rusucurru with Tigzirt.) Rusuccuru became part of the Roman Empire about 42 CE with Claudius' annexation of the Kingdom of
Mauretania Mauretania (; ) is the Latin name for a region in the ancient Maghreb. It extended from central present-day Algeria to the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, encompassing northern present-day Morocco, and from the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean in the ...
, and was subsequently promoted to the rank of ''
municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (: ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ('duty holders'), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privileges ...
'' after the suppression of
Aedemon Aedemon () was a freedman of North African origins from Mauretania who lived in the 1st century AD. Aedemon was a loyal former household slave to the client King Ptolemy of Mauretania, who was the son of King Juba II and the Ptolemaic Princess Cle ...
's revolt. The town's regional importance in the
Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...
of
Mauretania Caesariensis Mauretania Caesariensis (Latin for "Caesarea, Numidia, Caesarean Mauretania") was a Roman province located in present-day Algeria. The full name refers to its capital Caesarea, Numidia, Caesarea Mauretaniae (modern Cherchell). The province had ...
was sufficient that inscriptions in the nearest towns, Iomnium to the east (modern Tigzirt) and Cissi to the west (modern
Djinet Djinet (Arabic: جنّات ''Jannāt''), the classical Cissi, is a port town and commune in the Bordj Menaïel District of Boumerdès Province, Algeria, east of the mouth of the Isser River and around Cape Djinet. As of 2008, the population of ...
), were dedicated to Rusucurru's ''
genius loci In classical Roman religion, a ''genius loci'' (: ''genii locorum'') was the protective spirit of a place. It was often depicted in religious iconography as a figure holding attributes such as a cornucopia, patera (libation bowl), or snake. Man ...
''. With the advent of Christianity, Rusucurru became a
suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...
bishopric, variously known as Rusucurium, Rusucurrum, and Rhusuncorae; it was the birthplace of the Christian martyr
Marciana Marciana is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Livorno, Tuscany (Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsu ...
(d. 303). The town survived
Firmus According to the ''Historia Augusta'', Firmus (died 273) was a usurper of Syrian origin during the reign of Aurelian. The apparently contradictory accounts of his life and the man himself are considered by some historians to be a complete fabrica ...
' revolt in 373–375, as witnessed by attestations of the names of its later bishops: * Fortunatus (mentioned in 411) * Optatus (a
Donatist Donatism was a schism from the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Carthage from the fourth to the sixth centuries. Donatists argued that Christian clergy must be faultless for their ministry to be effective and their prayers and sacraments to ...
mentioned in 411) * Ninellus (mentioned in 419) * Metcum (mentioned in 484, exiled by
Huneric Huneric, Hunneric or Honeric (died December 23, 484) was King of the (North African) Vandal Kingdom (477–484) and the oldest son of Gaiseric. He abandoned the imperial politics of his father and concentrated mainly on internal affairs. He was ma ...
) However, it disappears from written sources during later centuries.


Medieval

Under the name of Tedelles, the town reappears in the 12th century as the final refuge of the last Banu Sumadih emir of
Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of Almería, province of the same name. It lies in southeastern Iberian Peninsula, Iberia on the Mediterranean S ...
in Spain, Mu'izz ud-Dawla ibn Sumadih, who was granted land there by the
Hammadid dynasty The Hammadid dynasty (), also known as the Hammadid Emirate or the Kingdom of Bejaia, was a medieval Islamic kingdom in the central Maghreb, encompassing what is now Algeria. It was established at the beginning of the 11th century when Hammad ...
after fleeing the advance of the
Almoravids 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 ...
. After a period of prosperity, it was hard hit by the wars of the 14th century between the
Hafsid The Hafsid dynasty ( ) was a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Berber descentC. Magbaily Fyle, ''Introduction to the History of African Civilization: Precolonial Africa'', (University Press of America, 1999), 84. that ruled Ifriqiya (modern day Tunisia, w ...
,
Merinid The Marinid dynasty ( ) was a 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 Peninsula ...
, and Zayyanid kingdoms, changing hands no less than 12 times between 1285 and 1373. The town (then in Zayyanid hands) was also sacked by a Valencian and Majorcan fleet in 1398, following a raid on Torreblanca. After 1438, Dellys came under the rule of the
Thaaliba The Thaaliba () were a sub-tribe of the Maqil Arabs, descended from Tha`lab ibn `Ali ibn Bakr ibn Saghir ibn Maqil. They settled the Mitidja plain in the medieval period, and came to rule Algiers and the towns around it from 1204 to 1516. The T ...
family of Algiers.


Early Modern

With the arrival of Oruç and
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 ...
in the 16th century, Dellys became part of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
; they initially made the town their eastern headquarters. The Casbah of Dellys in its current form dates back in large part to this period, while also reflecting earlier periods with its urbanistic styles.


French colonization

In 1830, France decided to invade. On 15 May that year, as their fleet prepared to attack, one French brig was shipwrecked near Dellys (main article: Shipwreck of Dellys). Within a couple of months France had occupied
Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...
, beginning the process of French colonization of Algeria. Dellys, however, would remain independent for a few years longer. The first French attack on the town came in 1837, in the wake of the
First Battle of the Issers The First Battle of the Issers in May 1837, during the French conquest of Algeria, pitted the troupes coloniales under General Alexandre Charles Perrégaux, Perrégaux and Colonel Maximilien Joseph Schauenburg, Schauenburg against the troops of K ...
. In the same year, French expansion was temporarily put on hold by the Treaty of Tafna, in which France recognized
Emir Abdelkader Abd al-Qadir ibn Muhyi al-Din (6 September 1808 – 26 May 1883; '), known as the Emir Abdelkader or Abd al-Qadir al-Hassani al-Jaza'iri, was an Algerian religious and military leader who led a struggle against the French colonial invasion of ...
's authority over most of western Algeria. Areas east of Algiers, including Dellys, soon swore allegiance to
Emir Abdelkader Abd al-Qadir ibn Muhyi al-Din (6 September 1808 – 26 May 1883; '), known as the Emir Abdelkader or Abd al-Qadir al-Hassani al-Jaza'iri, was an Algerian religious and military leader who led a struggle against the French colonial invasion of ...
, who appointed Ahmed bin Salem to lead the district. In 1839 Emir Abdelkader visited Dellys in person as part of a tour of his eastern frontiers, urging the inhabitants to prepare themselves for war rather than to place their trust in saints' tombs. The war did indeed resume that very year, following a French violation of the treaty further south at the
Iron Gates The Iron Gates (; ; ; Hungarian: ''Vaskapu-szoros'') is a gorge on the river Danube. It forms part of the boundary between Serbia (to the south) and Romania (north). In the broad sense it encompasses a route of ; in the narrow sense it only ...
. On 12 May 1844, French troops under the command of Bugeaud made a second assault on Dellys, finally occupying the town. A European quarter was then built immediately south of the Casbah. The town was bisected by the road which would eventually become the RN24. The troops turned the town's principal mosque into a military hospital on arrival, replacing it with a new one nearby which they completed in 1847. In 1871, Cheikh Mokrani led much of eastern Algeria in an attempt to end French rule. The tribes surrounding the town of Dellys, the Beni-Thour and Beni-Slyem, joined in this revolt. On 22 April they laid siege to Dellys proper, where the French garrison managed to retain control with help from passing warships. On 18 May, a column led by Lallemand arrived from the west and broke the siege. In the wake of the revolt's failure, much of the agricultural land surrounding Dellys was confiscated and given to French settlers, notably at
Sidi Daoud Sidi Daoud () is a farming town in north-central Algeria, on the west bank of the ''Sebaou River'', a few kilometers downstream from its river delta, mouth. It is the capital of a municipality dominated by the mountain of Bouberak, including the ...
and Baghlia. Mokrani's defeat, and the hardships that followed it, marked the end of organized military resistance to French rule in the region for almost three generations. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Dellys hosted a wireless communication training school for the
French air force The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...
, where female volunteers were trained in radio operation and maintenance.


Algerian Revolution

Like the rest of Algeria, Dellys was engulfed in the Algerian War of Independence from 1954 to 1962. This commune saw the creation of several clandestine torture centers during the Algerian revolution: * Camp Gualota in the commune of Dellys.


Independence

Algeria became independent in 1962; during the following decades, the town grew substantially. The
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 Boum ...
caused significant damage, notably to the Casbah and Nouvelle-Ville. On 8 September 2007, a suicide car bomb attack on the naval barracks in the port, claimed by
AQIM Al-Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (, ), or AQIM, is an Islamist militant organization (of al-Qaeda) that aims to overthrow the Algerian government and institute an Islamic state. To that end, it was then engaged in an insurgency c ...
, took at least 30 lives.


Health

The Dellys hospital is the main health structure in the municipality of Dellys. This public hospital establishment (E.P.H.) of Dellys has a technical capacity of 150 beds as well as an organized capacity of 162 beds distributed as follows: * Internal medicine (male/female): 67 beds. * Maternity/gynecology: 32 beds. * Pediatrics: 32 beds. * General surgery: 31 beds.


Transport and roads

Dellys is connected to the rest of the country through two main roads: * RN 24, a coastal road leading to
Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...
in the west (via
Djinet Djinet (Arabic: جنّات ''Jannāt''), the classical Cissi, is a port town and commune in the Bordj Menaïel District of Boumerdès Province, Algeria, east of the mouth of the Isser River and around Cape Djinet. As of 2008, the population of ...
) and
Béjaïa Béjaïa ( ; , , ), formerly known as Bougie and Bugia, is a Mediterranean seaport, port city and communes of Algeria, commune on the Gulf of Béjaïa in Algeria; it is the capital of Béjaïa Province. Geography Location Béjaïa owes its ...
in the east (via Aafir and Tigzirt) * RN 25, providing a southward connection via Baghlia to Tizi-Ouzou. From 1894 to ca. 1935, a railway line connected Dellys to Mirabeau (modern
Draâ Ben Khedda Draâ Ben Khedda (in Berber ⴷⵔⴰ ⴱⴻⵏ ⵅⴻⴷⴷⴰ, in French ''Mirabeau'') is a town and Communes of Algeria, commune in Tizi Ouzou Province in northern Algeria. The territory of the commune is bordered to the north by the Oued Seba ...
). At present there are three long-distance bus destinations: Dellys-Algiers; Dellys-Boumerdès; and Dellys-Tizi Ouzou.


Economy

Dellys has an agricultural land and mixed port (fisheries and trade). The port of Dellys, built in 1925, is now almost completely saturated with ships docking at its level. To remedy this situation, those in charge of the sector have decided to redevelop it. In fact, in addition to the reinforcement work carried out after the 2003 earthquake, a dredging operation to correct its water level has been launched. Its fleet is made up of 11 trawlers, 32 sardine boats and 150 small crafts.


Sports

As elsewhere in Algeria,
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) is popular; Dellys-born footballers include Abderrahman Ibrir, former manager of the Algerian national team, and Rachid Nadji, a striker for
MC Oran (), known as , commonly referred to as MC Oran for short, is an Algerian professional Association football, football club based in Oran. Founded on 1 January 1917, the club was known as Mouloudia Chaâbia Ouahrania from 1971 to 1977, Mouloudia P ...
. The local team is the ''Union sportive de Dellys'' (USD); before independence, it was called the ''Association sportive de Dellys'' (ASD), founded in 1921. The town is equipped with a stadium capable of holding up to 7,000 people.


Ecclesiastical titles

Although no bishop has resided in Dellys for well over a millennium, and no church currently exists in the town, 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 ...
nevertheless added the bishopric of Rusuccuru (the town's Latin name) to its list of
titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...
s in 1933. In
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
the titular bishopric is known as ''Rusuccurrensis''. The Ancient diocese has had the following incumbents, all
Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...
and of the lowest episcopal rank: * Dennis Walter Hickey (1968.01.05 – 1999.10.06) * Kevin Joseph Farrell (2001.12.28 – 2007.03.06) * Marek Mendyk,
Auxiliary Bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...
of
Legnica Legnica (; , ; ; ) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River and the Czarna Woda. As well as being the seat of the county, since 1992 the city has been the seat of the Diocese of Legnica. Le ...
(2008.12.24 – ...)


Notable people

* Habib Ayyoub, writer * Abderrahmane Benhamida, former Minister of Education *
Abderrahmane Hammad Abderrahmane Hammad Zaheer (, born May 27, 1977) is the Algerian Minister of Youth and Sports and a former track and field athlete who competed in the high jump. He represented his country at the Summer Olympics in 2000, taking the bronze medal a ...
, athlete * Mokhtar Hasbellaoui, doctor * Abderrahman Ibrir, footballer * Marciana of Mauretania, Christian martyr * Rachid Nadji, footballer * Sidi Yahya al-Tadallisi al-Thaalibi, imam * Jean Raoux, general * Mu'izz ud-Dawla ibn Sumadih, ruler * Georges-Fernand Widal, physician * , Algerian footballer.


See also

* List of lighthouses in Algeria


Notes


References

* * * * *


Dellys during the Algerian Revolution

* * * * {{Authority control , additional=Q23013082,Q106245825,Q106245915 Phoenician colonies in Algeria Populated places in Boumerdès Province Lighthouses in Algeria