Tazoult is commune town in north-eastern

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 ...

Location

Tazoulte formerly known as Lambèse is in the

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 ...

of Batna east of Batna, west of

Timgad Timgad (, known as Marciana Traiana Thamugadi) was a Roman city in the Aurès Mountains of Algeria. It was founded by the Roman Emperor Trajan around 100 AD. The full name of the city was ''Colonia Marciana Ulpia Traiana Thamugadi''. Emperor ...

and at west of

Khenchela Khenchela (; ; anciently Mascula) is the capital city of the administrative Khenchela Province ('' Wilaya''), in the north east of Algeria. Situated in the Aures Mountains, 1200 m above sea level. The city is mainly populated by Berber Cha ...

, and centrally located in the wilaya of Batna. It is above sea level, and surrounded by Jebel Doufana and Oustili Mountains to the west and Jebel Tafrent to the south . Average temperature ranges from in Winter to in Summer though temperatures as high as have been recorded. Since 1984 the commune of Tazoult consists of the following areas : * Boukha * Bouzène * Chaabet El Ghoul * Chenatif * Draa Ben Sebbah *Steward *Latrèche * Markouna * Merfeg Sidi Belkeir * Oued Bouhayoun * Oustilli * Tazoult * Tifiracine * Touafez

History

The Roman

civitas In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (; plural ), according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the , or citizens, united by Roman law, law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilitie ...

of Lambèse was a city garrison, founded in the year 81 by the Third Roman Legion, under

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September AD 81) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, becoming the first Roman emperor ever to succeed h ...

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

built the city and under

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through cursus honorum, the ...

North African North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

) an imperial residence of the legate of

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 ...

. Lambaesis, was for a time capital of

, with a population of more than 1862 civilians. The city grew but when the

legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Aviazione Legionaria, Italian air force during the Spanish Civil War * A legion is the regional unit of the Italian carabinieri * Spanish Legion, ...

was dissolved in 238, the city was deprived of its major economic support. In the

5th century The 5th century is the time period from AD 401 (represented by the Roman numerals CDI) through AD 500 (D) in accordance with the Julian calendar. The 5th century is noted for being a period of migration and political instability throughout Eurasia. ...

, the city was destroyed by the

Berbers Berbers, or the Berber peoples, also known as Amazigh or Imazighen, are a diverse grouping of distinct ethnic groups indigenous to North Africa who predate the arrival of Arab migrations to the Maghreb, Arabs in the Maghreb. Their main connec ...

and disappearing almost completely under the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

s. In modern times

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

sent their political prisoners to the town and, the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

established a penal colony there in January 1850. It was guarded by a detachment of the 3rd Zouave regiments . The ruins which covered more than were used to build the prison, and town. A village populated by laborers, artisans and merchants formed around the prison. In 1862, an agricultural colony of was created for a hundred settlers. The settlement will create a full-function joint in 1869. Public buildings included a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

and

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

The prison of Lambaesis was known for its harsh conditions and hosted

n nationalists during the

Algerian war of independence The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

. After

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

, Lambèse was renamed and became known as Tazoult. The prison is still used and has attracted criticism for ''conditions contrary to

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

'' and is used to hold political opposition members. The current

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

is Cherif Guedouar who replaced long term mayor Moussa Fellah in 2012. GM Lambese Algeria01

Archaeology

Archaeological Heritage includes: * Garrison Lambèse * the Praetorian *The

triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road, and usually standing alone, unconnected to other buildings. In its simplest form, a triumphal ...

of Lambèse * The Roman Areana * the Capitol * The temple of Aesculapius Lambèse, * The

Roman amphitheater Roman amphitheatres are theatres — large, circular or oval open-air venues with tiered seating — built by the ancient Romans. They were used for events such as gladiator combats, ''venationes'' (animal slayings) and executions. About 230 Roma ...

* Museum of Lambèse

Toponymy

The name of Tazoult is a Berber word for khol in Tuareg or antimony in other Algerian or Moroccan languages.Dalila Ouitis, Concise of place names and place names of Algeria, Ed. Djoussour,(Algiers 2009)

Population

* 1880 = 4,732 * 1966 = 64,813 * 1977 = 9,314 * 1984 = 11,000 * 1998 = 22,114 * 2008 = 27,493

Infrastructure

The town has two schools: the school Emir Abdelkader and Mohamed Slimane Technicum, three middle schools (CEM), thirteen

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

s and a vocational training center. There are health facilities as well. The town has a museum and a library of culture and

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

. The town also boasts a stadium, three playgrounds, a sports hall and a

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ain Djasser Communes of Batna Province