El Milia ( الميلية) is a town and commune in

Jijel Province Jijel () is a provinces of Algeria, province (''wilaya'') in Algeria, on the eastern Mediterranean coast. The capital is Jijel (Phoenician name : ''Igilgili''). Taza National Park is located in this province. History The province was created f ...

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 town of El Milia is located in the north-eastern Constantinois region. It lies between the cities of

Jijel Jijel (), the classical Igilgili, is the capital of Jijel Province in north-eastern Algeria. It is flanked by the Mediterranean Sea in the region of Corniche Jijelienne and had a population of 131,513 in 2008. Jijel is the administrative and trad ...

, Mila, Constantine and Skikda. The Mediterranean Sea is about twenty kilometers north of the town. The territory of the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of El Milia is located northeast of the province of

. It is the largest city area of the region.

Administration

The municipality of El Milia is composed of one hundred and one localities, villages and hamlets. El Milia is the eponymous capital of

El Milia District El Milia is a district in Jijel Province, Algeria. It was named after its capital, the town of El Milia. Municipalities The district is further divided into 2 municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having ...

Population

According to the 2009 census it has a population of 80,000. The term used to refer to the Arabic-speaking highlanders in the region of El Milia was ''Kabyle hadra''. The ethnic origin of these is that the first inhabitants of the region were the Kutama Berbers. In the 11th century, following the overthrow of the Fatimid empire and the fall of the Arab, a settlement was founded by various Berbers who came from other regions of Algeria, particularly the highlands, and from Morocco. They moved to El Milia and its surroundings, but never mixed with Hilali Arab tribes, and later Muslim refugees from

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

expelled from Spain. There was also more recently a small Ottoman influx. Among the tribes that are in the city of El Milia and the region: Ouled Aidoun, Fergane Beni, Beni Belaid, Beni meslim, Tileman, Feteh Beni, Beni Aicha, Beni Khettab, Ouled Ali, Ouled Aouat, Ouled Boufaha, Mechat El Achache, Beni Caid, Ouled Mbareek, Telilane Beni and Beni Sbih.

History

El Milia takes its name from the ancient city and Roman bishopric (see below) Mulia. Home to many battles against French colonists, the region is one of the pillars of the war of independence and the fight against French colonial army. Only small, isolated mechtas existed in the area until 1860 when a small town was built, under the direction of the department of Constantine, in order to subdue the tribe of Ouled Aidoun. Under the French occupation the area was part of Kabylia East. Together with the new town came a borj (fortress) to control the Ouled Aidoun. The tribe, humiliated and ruined by new taxes, held a meeting and decided to attack the next day at dawn and take control of the French military tower. This revolt of February 14, 1871 marked the beginning of a general armed uprising (the

Mokrani Revolt The Mokrani Revolt (; ) was the most important local uprising against France in Algeria since the French conquest of Algeria, conquest in 1830. The revolt broke out on March 16, 1871, with the uprising of more than 250 tribes, around a third of ...

) in eastern Kabylie. The uprising that took place in two phases lasting about 9 months, during which the French camp was destroyed, and the tower besieged for over a week. The French occupation forces then mobilized some 10,000 soldiers to try to quell the uprising, and their superiority in armaments gave them the upper hand. In retaliation against the population, the French imposed additional taxes, confiscated land and enacted arrests and deportations. During the War of Independence, the tribes of the region of El Milia, then part of the historic wilaya II of North Constantine, played a large role in the fight against the settlers, particularly in the attacks of 20 August 1955. On that day and the days that followed, the French colonial troops suffered huge losses. This impelled

Youcef Zighoud Youcef Zighoud ( February 18, 1921 – September 23, 1956), also known as Colonel Si Ahmed, was an Algerian FLN fighter during the Algerian War of Independence. On August 20, 1955, he planned an attack against the French in Philippeville (curr ...

to declare "If we lost militarily and won politically in north-eastern Constantine, that is to say in Skikda and its periphery, I can tell you that we won both militarily and politically in the northwest of Constantine, particularly in El Milia. "

Ecclesiastical history

Mulia was among the many towns 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 ...

Numidia Numidia was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunisia and Libya. The polity was originally divided between ...

, in the papal sway, that were important enough to become a

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandr ...

. It only historically documented bishop was Peregrinus, participant at the synod called at Carthage by king

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 ...

of the

Vandal Kingdom The Vandal Kingdom () or Kingdom of the Vandals and Alans () was a confederation of Vandals and Alans, which was a barbarian kingdoms, barbarian kingdom established under Gaiseric, a Vandals, Vandalic warlord. It ruled parts of North Africa and th ...

in 484, after which he was exiled like most Catholic bishops, unlike their heretical

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 ...

counterparts. Morcelli list a second Latin bishop (in 393), whom Mesnage and Jaubert assign to the diocese of Mutia.

Titular see

The Diocese of Mulia was nominally restored in 1925 as Latin

titular bishopric 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 archbish ...

of Mulia (Latin = Curiate Italian) / Mulien(sis) (Latin adjective) Mulia
at GCatholic.org. It has had the following incumbents, so far of the fitting Episcopal (lowest) rank : * Odilon Fages, Oblate Missionaries of Saint Francis de Sales (O.S.F.S.) (born France) (15 June 1928 - 14 Oct 1939) as

Coadjutor The term "coadjutor" (literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadjutor bishop ...

Vicar Apostolic of Orange River (South Africa) (1928.06.15 – 1932.11.21); next succeeded as last

Apostolic Vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...

Orange River The Orange River (from Afrikaans/Dutch language, Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibi ...

(later

Diocese of Keimoes In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

) (1932.11.21 – death 1939.10.14) * István Fiedler (15 Dec 1939 - death 25 Oct 1957) as emeritate; formerly Bishop of Oradea Mare (

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

) (1930.10.16 – 1939.12.15) and Bishop of

Satu Mare Satu Mare (; ; ; or ) is a city with a population of 102,400 (2011). It is the capital of Satu Mare County, Romania, as well as the centre of the Satu Mare metropolitan area. It lies in the region of Maramureș, broadly part of Transylvania ...

(Romania) (1930.10.16 – 1939.12.15) * Theodorus van den Tillaart,

Divine Word Missionaries The Society of the Divine Word (), abbreviated SVD and popularly called the Verbites or the Divine Word Missionaries, and sometimes the Steyler Missionaries, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men. As of 2020, i ...

(S.V.D.) (14 Nov 1957 - 3 Jan 1961) as last Apostolic Vicar of

Atambua Atambua is the regency seat of Belu Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. The town stretches 8.5 km from north to south and 5 km from east to west, and is in the north of the western half of Timor Island. The town is located at an alt ...

(

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

) (1957.11.14 – 1961.01.03), next (see) promoted first Bishop of

(1961.01.03 – retired 1984.02.03), died 1991 * Guy-Marie-Joseph Riobé (22 July 1961 - 23 May 1963) as

Coadjutor Bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Waldyr Calheiros Novaes Waldyr Calheiros Novaes, (July 29, 1923 – November 30, 2013) was a Brazilian prelate of the Catholic Church. Waldyr Calheiros Novaes was born in Murici, Alagoas Alagoas () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the ...

(25 Feb 1964 - 20 Oct 1966) as

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. ...

Archdiocese of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

(

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

) (1964.02.25 – 1966.10.20); next Bishop of Barra do Piraí–Volta Redonda (Brazil) (1966.10.20 – retired 1999.11.17), died 2013 * Oswald Thomas Colman Gomis (9 April 1968 - 2 Nov 1995) as Auxiliary Bishop of

Archdiocese of Colombo The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Colombo () is a Latin metropolitan archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church, whose ecclesiastical province covers all Sri Lanka plus the Maldives (which are within the archbishopric). It depends on th ...

(

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

) (1968.04.09 – 1995.11.02); next Bishop of

Anuradhapura Anuradhapura (, ; , ) is a major city located in the north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central Province, Sri Lanka, North Central Province and the capital of Anuradhapura District. The city lies north of the cur ...

(Sri Lanka) (1995.11.02 – 2002.07.06), President of Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka (1998 – 2004), President of Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (2000 – 2005), Metropolitan Archbishop of above Colombo (2002.07.06 – retired 2009.06.16) *

John Raymond Manz John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

(23 Jan 1996 - ...) as Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Chicago (Illinois, USA) (1996.01.23 – ...)

Geography

The region of El Milia is characterized by a very rugged mountainous terrain, mountains occupy 82% of the total area, they peak at 1200 m. Characterized by a pristine coastline and small mountains covered by dense enough vegetation and water sources. * The lowland areas, located in the valleys of Oued el Kebir Oued Boussiaba and small plains of Oued Z'hour. * Areas of mountains, located around the city. These are characterized by abundant vegetation cover and a network of rivers.

Climate

The El Milia region has a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

characterized by warm summers and mild winters but is very humid. The temperature varies from 0c° in winter to 40c° in summer.

References

Sources and external links

GCatholic - (titular) bishopric
; Bibliography - ecclesiastical history * Pius Bonifacius Gams, ''Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae'', Leipzig 1931, p. 467 * Stefano Antonio Morcelli, ''Africa christiana'', Volume I, Brescia 1816, p. 233 * J. Mesnage,'' L'Afrique chrétienne'', Paris 1912, pp. 423–424 * H. Jaubert, ''Anciens évêchés et ruines chrétiennes de la Numidie et de la Sitifienne'', in ''Recueil des Notices et Mémoires de la Société archéologique de Constantine'', vol. 46, 1913, p. 64 {{Jijel Province El Milia District Communes of Jijel Province Jijel Province