Souk Ahras () is a

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

(''

wilaya A wilayah ( or ''wilāya'', plural ; Urdu, Pashto and ; ) is an administrative division, usually translated as "state", "province" or occasionally as "governorate". The word comes from the Arabic root "''w-l-y''", "to govern": a ''wāli''—"g ...

'') in the Aures region in

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 ...

, named after its capital,

Souk Ahras Souk Ahras () is a municipality in Algeria. It is the capital of Souk Ahras Province. The Numidian city of Thagaste (or Tagaste), on whose ruins Souk Ahras was built, was the birthplace of Augustine of Hippo and a center of Berber culture. Etym ...

. It stands on the border between Algeria and

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

. In 2008, Souk Ahras had a population of 440,299 people.

Geography

Souk Ahras is situated in the extreme north east of

. Its area is 4360 km². Its border to the north is the province of El Taref; in the east is

; westward is the province of

Guelma Guelma ( ''Qālima''; ; Algerian pronunciation: ) is the capital of Guelma Province and Guelma District, located in north-eastern Algeria, about 65 kilometers from the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. Its location corresponds to that o ...

and the province of

Oum el Bouaghi Oum El Bouaghi () is a municipality in 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 A ...

; in the south the province of Tebessa. Its geography is composed of three distinct areas, with a mountainous north, the central region being lowlands, and the south being fertile.

Climate

The city of Souk Ahras has a semi continental and humid climate, heavy rains in the north in winter and very hot and dry in the south during summer. The rains are 350–750 mm/year and the temperatures vary from 1 °C to 14 °C in winter and from 25 °C to 38 °C in summer. The fauna is very rich in Souk Ahras, where species such as the hare, partridge, fox, sparrow, ferret, porcupine and barbarian hart can be found. The flora as well is very rich, with species such as: *

Cork oak ''Quercus suber'', commonly called the cork oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section Quercus sect. Cerris, ''Quercus'' sect. ''Cerris''. It is the primary source of cork (material), cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, ...

: 12,000 hectares * Zeen oak: 4,600 hectares * Ash-tree * Flowering ash * Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis) *

Cypress tree Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs from the ''Cupressus'' genus of the '' Cupressaceae'' family, typically found in temperate climates and subtropical regions of Asia, Europe, and North America. The word ''cypress'' ...

* Mastic-tree * Lavender * Heather

Trading activities

Trading activities are widespread in Sedrata and Zaarouria were many public and private companies have been set up: * National company of painting * National company of textile * Brick-making company * Sedrata metallic company * Mansouri paper factory * Hamada dairy * ALKALAM factory

Agriculture

The most important activities in this region are: agriculture, breeding and com cultivation. The total area is about 436,000 hectares. 235,000 hectares are consecrated to agriculture.

Infrastructure

Basic under structures and the railway system: Main roads: 600 km Secondary roads: 1600 km. The railway from Souk Ahras to Annaba is 138.8 km, among which 100 km are electrified.

History

The province was created from

Guelma Province Guelma Province () is a province (''wilaya'') in eastern Algeria. Its namesake is its seat and most populous municipality: Guelma. History Its civilians suffered heavy casualties during the 1945 Sétif massacre by the French Army. The province i ...

in 1984.

Administrative divisions

The province is divided into 10

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

s (''

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 ...

s''), which are further divided into 26 ''communes'' or municipalities.

Districts

Bir Bouhouche Bir Bouhouche is a town and Communes of Algeria, commune in Souk Ahras Province in north-eastern Algeria. References

Communes of Souk Ahras Province {{SoukAhras-geo-stub ...

# Haddada #

M'Daourouch M'daourouch is a communes of Algeria, commune in Souk Ahras Province, Algeria, occupying the site of the Berber-Roman town of Madauros in Numidia. Demographics As of the 2008 census, M'daourouch has 36,351 inhabitants, which gives it 11 seats i ...

# Mechroha # Merahna # Ouled Driss # Oum El Adhaïm #

Sedrata Sedrata (Berber: Isedraten, ) is a municipality and large city in Souk Ahras Province, Algeria, capital of Sedrata District. It has a population of 110.213 as of the 2019 census, which gives it 11 seats in the PMA. Its municipal code is ''4102'' ...

Taoura Taoura, known in antiquity as Thagora, is a town and commune in Souk Ahras Province in north-eastern Algeria. History Thagora was a Carthaginian and Roman town in the African interior. It minted its own bronze Bronze is an alloy consist ...