Prehistory and ancient history Around ~1.8-million-year-old stone artifacts from Ain Hanech (Algeria) were considered to represent the oldest archaeological materials in
North Africa. Stone artifacts and cut-marked bones that were excavated from two nearby deposits at Ain Boucherit are estimated to be ~1.9 million years old, and even older stone artifacts to be as old as ~2.4 million years. Algeria was the site of the highest state of development of
Middle Paleolithic Flake tool techniques. Tools of this era, starting about 30,000 BC, are called
Aterian (after the archaeological site of
Bir el Ater, south of
Tebessa). The earliest blade industries in North Africa are called
Iberomaurusian (located mainly in the
Oran region). This industry appears to have spread throughout the coastal regions of the
Maghreb between 15,000 and 10,000 BC.
Neolithic civilisation (animal domestication and agriculture) developed in the Saharan and Mediterranean Maghreb perhaps as early as 11,000 BC or as late as between 6000 and 2000 BC. This life, richly depicted in the
Tassili n'Ajjer paintings, predominated in Algeria until the classical period. The mixture of peoples of North Africa coalesced eventually into a distinct native population that came to be called
Berbers, who are the indigenous peoples of northern Africa. in the
Roman ruins of
Timgad From their principal center of power at
Carthage, the
Carthaginians expanded and established small settlements along the North African coast; by 600 BC, a
Phoenician presence existed at
Tipasa, east of
Cherchell,
Hippo Regius (modern
Annaba) and
Rusicade (modern
Skikda). These settlements served as market towns as well as anchorages. As Carthaginian power grew, its impact on the indigenous population increased dramatically. Berber civilisation was already at a stage in which agriculture, manufacturing, trade, and political organisation supported several states. Trade links between Carthage and the Berbers in the interior grew, but territorial expansion also resulted in the enslavement or military recruitment of some Berbers and in the extraction of tribute from others. ( 238–148 BC), first king of Numidia By the early 4th century BC, the north was divided into the
Masaesyli kingdom in the west led by
Syphax and the
Massylii kingdom in the east. Berbers formed the single largest element of the Carthaginian army. In the
Revolt of the Mercenaries, Berber soldiers rebelled from 241 to 238 BC after being unpaid following the defeat of Carthage in the
First Punic War. They succeeded in obtaining control of much of Carthage's North African territory, and they minted coins bearing the name Libyan, used in Greek to describe natives of North Africa. The Carthaginian state declined because of successive defeats by the Romans in the
Punic Wars. In 146 BC, the city of
Carthage was destroyed. As Carthaginian power waned, the influence of Berber leaders in the hinterland grew. By the 2nd century BC, several large but loosely administered Berber kingdoms had emerged. Two of them were established in
Numidia, behind the coastal areas controlled by Carthage. West of Numidia lay
Mauretania, which extended across the
Moulouya River in modern-day
Morocco to the Atlantic Ocean. The high point of Berber civilisation, unequalled until the coming of the
Almohads and
Almoravids more than a millennium later, was reached during the reign of
Masinissa in the 2nd century BC. . Image shows the empire in 555 under
Justinian the Great, at its greatest extent since the fall of the
Western Roman Empire (
vassals in pink). After Masinissa's death in 148 BC, the Berber kingdoms were divided and reunited several times. Masinissa's line survived until 24 AD, when the remaining Berber territory was annexed to the
Roman Empire. For several centuries Algeria was ruled by the Romans, who founded many colonies in the region. Algeria is home to the second-largest number of Roman sites and remains after Italy. Rome, after getting rid of its powerful rival Carthage in the year 146 BC, decided a century later to include Numidia to become the new master of North Africa. They built more than 500 cities. Like the rest of North Africa, Algeria was one of the breadbaskets of the empire, exporting cereals and other agricultural products.
Saint Augustine was the bishop of
Hippo Regius (modern-day Annaba, Algeria), located in the Roman province of
Africa. The Germanic
Vandals of
Geiseric moved into North Africa in 429, and by 435 controlled coastal Numidia. When the Byzantines arrived,
Leptis Magna was abandoned and the Msellata region was occupied by the indigenous
Laguatan who facilitated an
Amazigh political, military and cultural revival. During the rule of the Romans, Byzantines, Vandals, Carthaginians, and Ottomans the Berber people were one of the few in North Africa who remained independent. The Berber people were so resistant that even during the Muslim conquest of North Africa they still had control and possession over their mountains. The collapse of the
Western Roman Empire led to the establishment of a native Kingdom based in
Altava (modern-day Algeria) known as the
Mauro-Roman Kingdom. It was succeeded by another Kingdom based in Altava, the
Kingdom of Altava. During the reign of
Kusaila its territory extended from the region of modern-day
Fez in the west to the western
Aurès and later
Kairaouan and the interior of Ifriqiya in the east.
Middle Ages During
Early Muslim conquests Muslim Arabs of the
Umayyad Caliphate conquered Algeria in the early 8th century. Large numbers of the indigenous Berber people converted to Islam. Christians, Berber and Latin speakers remained in the great majority in Tunisia until the end of the 9th century and Muslims only became a vast majority some time in the 10th. After the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate, numerous local dynasties emerged, including the
Rustamids,
Aghlabids,
Fatimids,
Zirids,
Hammadids,
Almoravids,
Almohads and the
Zayyanids. The Christians left in three waves: after the initial conquest, in the 10th century and the 11th. The last were evacuated to
Sicily by the
Normans and the few remaining died out in the 14th century. Caliphates from Northern Africa traded with the other empires of their time, as well as forming part of a confederated support and trade network with other Islamic states during the Islamic Era. The
Berber people historically consisted of several tribes. The two main branches were the Botr and Barnès tribes, who were divided into tribes, and again into sub-tribes. Each region of the Maghreb contained several tribes (for example,
Sanhadja,
Houara,
Zenata,
Masmouda,
Kutama, Awarba, and
Berghwata). All these tribes made independent territorial decisions. Several
Amazigh dynasties emerged during the Middle Ages in the Maghreb and other nearby lands.
Ibn Khaldun provides a table summarising the Amazigh dynasties of the Maghreb region, the
Zirid,
Ifranid,
Maghrawa,
Almoravid,
Hammadid,
Almohad,
Merinid,
Abdalwadid,
Wattasid,
Meknassa and
Hafsid dynasties. Both of the
Hammadid and
Zirid empires as well as the
Fatimids established their rule in all of the Maghreb countries. The
Zirids ruled land in what is now Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, Spain, Malta and Italy. The
Hammadids captured and held important regions such as Ouargla, Constantine, Sfax, Susa, Algiers, Tripoli and Fez establishing their rule in every country in the Maghreb region. The
Fatimids which was created and established by the Kutama Berbers conquered all of North Africa as well as Sicily and parts of the Middle East. Following the Berber revolt numerous independent states emerged across the Maghreb. In Algeria the
Rustamid Kingdom was established. The Rustamid realm stretched from Tafilalt in Morocco to the Nafusa mountains in Libya including south, central and western Tunisia therefore including territory in all of the modern day Maghreb countries, in the south the Rustamid realm expanded to the modern borders of
Mali and included territory in
Mauritania. Once extending their control over all of the Maghreb, part of Spain and briefly over Sicily, originating from modern Algeria, the
Zirids only controlled modern
Ifriqiya by the 11th century. The Zirids recognised nominal suzerainty of the Fatimid caliphs of Cairo.
El Mu'izz the Zirid ruler decided to end this recognition and declared his independence. The Zirids also fought against other Zenata Kingdoms, for example the
Maghrawa, a Berber dynasty originating from Algeria and which at one point was a dominant power in the Maghreb ruling over much of Morocco and western Algeria including Fez,
Sijilmasa,
Aghmat,
Oujda, most of the Sous and Draa and reaching as far as M'sila and the Zab in Algeria. As the Fatimid state was at the time too weak to attempt a direct invasion, they found another means of revenge. Between the
Nile and the
Red Sea were living
Bedouin nomad tribes expelled from
Arabia for their disruption and turbulency. The
Banu Hilal and the
Banu Sulaym for example, who regularly disrupted farmers in the
Nile Valley since the nomads would often loot their farms. The then
Fatimid vizier decided to destroy what he could not control, and broke a deal with the chiefs of these Bedouin tribes. The Fatimids even gave them money to leave. Whole tribes set off with women, children, elders, animals and camping equipment. Some stopped on the way, especially in
Cyrenaica, where they are still one of the essential elements of the settlement but most arrived in
Ifriqiya by the
Gabes region, arriving 1051. The
Zirid ruler tried to stop this rising tide, but with each encounter, the last under the walls of
Kairouan, his troops were defeated and the Arabs remained masters of the battlefield. The Arabs usually did not take control over the cities, instead looting them and destroying them.
Ibn Khaldun noted that the lands ravaged by the
Banu Hilal tribes had become completely arid desert. The
Almohads originating from modern day Morocco, although founded by a man originating from modern day Algeria known as
Abd al-Mu'min would soon take control over the Maghreb. During the time of the Almohad Dynasty
Abd al-Mu'min's tribe, the Koumïa, were the main supporters of the throne and the most important body of the empire. Defeating the weakening
Almoravid Empire and taking control over Morocco in 1147, they pushed into Algeria in 1152, taking control over Tlemcen, Oran, and Algiers, wrestling control from the Hilian Arabs, and by the same year they defeated Hammadids who controlled Eastern Algeria. of Tlemcen in the fifteenth century and its neighbours The Zayyanids retained control over much of Algeria for the next three centuries. While eastern Algeria largely fell under the
Hafsid dynasty, the
Emirate of Bejaia, which encompassed the Hafsid territories in Algeria, was at times independent from central Tunisian authority. At their peak, the Zayyanids held Morocco as a western vassal expanded eastward as far as
Tunis, which was captured during the reign of Abu Tashfin. Following several conflicts with local
Barbary pirates sponsored by the Zayyanid sultans, Spain launched a campaign to invade Algeria and defeat the Kingdom of Tlemcen. In 1505, Spanish forces
invaded and captured Mers el Kébir, and in 1509, they
conquered Oran after a deadly siege. Following their decisive victories over the Algerians in the western-coastal areas of Algeria, the Spanish expanded their campaign across the western Algerian coast. In 1510, they captured Bejaia after
a major siege, launched an assault on Algiers, and besieged Tlemcen. In 1511, they seized
Cherchell and
Jijel, and attacked
Mostaganem, which they failed to conquer but succeeded in forcing into tribute.
Early modern era In 1516, the Turkish privateer brothers
Aruj and
Hayreddin Barbarossa, who operated successfully under the
Hafsids, moved their base of operations to Algiers. They succeeded in conquering Jijel and Algiers from the
Spaniards with help from the locals who saw them as liberators from the Christians, but the brothers eventually assassinated the local noble Salim al-Tumi and took control over the city and the surrounding regions. Their state is known as the
Regency of Algiers. When Aruj was killed in 1518 during his
invasion of Tlemcen,
Hayreddin succeeded him as military commander of Algiers. The
Ottoman sultan gave him the title of
beylerbey and a contingent of some 2,000
janissaries. With the aid of this force and native Algerians, Hayreddin conquered the whole area between Constantine and Oran (although the city of Oran remained in Spanish hands until 1792). Until 1587 Beylerbeylik of Algiers was governed by Beylerbeys who served terms with no fixed limits. Subsequently, with the institution of a regular administration, governors with the title of pasha ruled for three-year terms. The pasha was assisted by an autonomous janissary unit, known in Algeria as the
Ojaq who were led by an
agha. Discontent among the ojaq rose in the mid-1600s because they were not paid regularly, and they repeatedly revolted against the pasha. As a result, the agha charged the pasha with corruption and incompetence and seized power in 1659. The
Barbary pirates preyed on Christian and other non-Islamic shipping in the western Mediterranean Sea. They also did a brisk business in ransoming some of the captives. According to Robert Davis, from the 16th to 19th century, pirates captured 1 million to 1.25 million Europeans as slaves. They often made raids on European coastal towns to capture Christian slaves to sell at
slave markets in North Africa and other parts of the
Ottoman Empire. In 1544, for example,
Hayreddin Barbarossa captured the island of
Ischia, taking 4,000 prisoners, and enslaved some 9,000 inhabitants of
Lipari, almost the entire population. In 1551, the Ottoman governor of Algiers,
Turgut Reis, enslaved the entire population of the Maltese island of
Gozo. Barbary pirates often attacked the
Balearic Islands. The threat was so severe that residents abandoned the island of
Formentera. The introduction of broad-sail ships from the beginning of the 17th century allowed them to branch out into the Atlantic. In July 1627 two pirate ships from Algiers under the command of
Dutch pirate
Jan Janszoon sailed as far as
Iceland,
raiding and capturing slaves. Two weeks earlier another pirate ship from
Salé in
Morocco had also raided in Iceland. Some of the slaves brought to Algiers were later ransomed back to Iceland, but some chose to stay in Algeria. In 1629, pirate ships from Algeria raided the
Faroe Islands. , Dey of Algiers In 1659, the Janissaries stationed in Algiers, known as the
Odjak of Algiers, joined a company of corsair captains called the Reis in overthrowing the Ottoman
viceroy. A new local leader was installed known as the "Agha"; the position became the "
Dey" in 1671, who would be selected by the
divan, a council of some sixty military senior officers. Thus, Algiers became a sovereign military republic. The odjak initially dominated the system, but by the 18th century were the dey's instrument. Although Algiers remained nominally part of the Ottoman Empire, and often had wars with other Ottoman subjects and territories such as the
Beylik of Tunis. The
dey was in effect a constitutional autocrat. Though elected for a life term, over the next 159 years (1671–1830), fourteen of the twenty-nine deys were assassinated. Despite usurpation, military coups and occasional mob rule, the day-to-day operation of the Deylikal government was remarkably orderly. Although the regency patronised the tribal chieftains, it never had the unanimous allegiance of the countryside, where heavy taxation frequently provoked unrest. Autonomous tribal states were tolerated, and the regency's authority was seldom applied in the
Kabylia, although in 1730 the Regency was able to take control of the
Kingdom of Kuku in western Kabylia. Many cities in the northern Algerian desert paid taxes to Algiers or one of its Beys. Barbary raids in the Mediterranean continued to attack Spanish merchant shipping, resulting in the
Spanish Empire attempting to
invade Algiers in 1775. The
Spanish Navy bombarded the city in
1783 but failed to
pacify it; a subsequent bombing campaign in
1784 was joined by the naval forces of other traditional enemies of Algiers, including
Naples,
Portugal and the
Knights of Malta. Over 20,000 cannonballs were fired, but the effort ultimately failed; Spain sued for peace in 1786 and paid 1 million pesos to the Dey. In 1792, Algiers recaptured the two remaining Spanish strongholds at Oran and Mers el Kébir. In the same year, they conquered the Moroccan
Rif and
Oujda, which they then abandoned in 1795. In the 19th century, Algerian pirates remained a formidable force in the Mediterranean, even forging affiliations with Caribbean powers, paying a "license tax" in exchange for safe harbor of their vessels. Attacks on American merchantmen resulted in the
First and
Second Barbary Wars, which ended the targeting of U.S. ships in 1815. A year later, a combined
Anglo-
Dutch fleet, under the command of
Lord Exmouth,
bombarded Algiers to stop similar attacks on European fishermen. These efforts proved successful, although Algerian piracy would continue until the
French conquest in 1830. by the Anglo-Dutch fleet, to support the ultimatum to release European slaves, August 1816
French colonisation (1830–1962) Under the pretext of a slight to their consul, the
French invaded and
captured Algiers in 1830. According to several historians, the methods used by the French to establish control over Algeria reached
genocidal proportions. Historian
Ben Kiernan wrote on the French conquest of Algeria: "By 1875, the French conquest was complete. The war had killed approximately 825,000 indigenous Algerians since 1830". French losses from 1831 to 1851 were 92,329 dead in the hospital and only 3,336 killed in action. In 1872, The Algerian population stood at about 2.9 million. French policy was predicated on "civilising" the country. The slave trade and piracy in Algeria ceased following the French conquest. On 17 September 1860,
Napoleon III declared "Our first duty is to take care of the happiness of the three million Arabs, whom the fate of arms has brought under our domination." During this time, only Kabylia resisted, the Kabylians were not colonised until after the
Mokrani Revolt in 1871.
Alexis de Tocqueville wrote and never completed an unpublished essay outlining his ideas for how to transform Algeria from an occupied tributary state to a colonial regime, wherein he advocated for a mixed system of "total domination and total colonisation" whereby French military would wage total war against civilian populations while a colonial administration would provide rule of law and property rights to settlers within French occupied cities. , Algerian leader insurgent against French colonial rule, 1865 From 1848 until independence, France administered the whole Mediterranean region of Algeria as an integral part and
département of the nation. One of France's longest-held overseas territories, Algeria became a destination for hundreds of thousands of
European immigrants, who became known as
colons and later, as
Pied-Noirs. Between 1825 and 1847, 50,000 French people emigrated to Algeria. These settlers benefited from the French government's confiscation of communal land from tribal peoples, and the application of modern agricultural techniques that increased the amount of arable land. Many Europeans settled in
Oran and
Algiers, and by the early 20th century they formed a majority of the population in both cities. ,
Mostefa Ben Boulaïd,
Mourad Didouche,
Mohammed Boudiaf,
Krim Belkacem and
Larbi Ben M'Hidi. During the late 19th and early 20th century, the
European share was almost a fifth of the population. The French government aimed at making Algeria an assimilated part of France, and this included substantial educational investments especially after 1900. The indigenous cultural and religious resistance heavily opposed this tendency, but in contrast to the other colonised countries' path in central Asia and
Caucasus, Algeria kept its individual skills and a relatively human-capital intensive agriculture. During the
Second World War, Algeria came under
Vichy control before being liberated by the
Allies in
Operation Torch, which saw the first large-scale deployment of
American troops in the
North African campaign. Gradually, dissatisfaction among the Muslim population, which lacked political and economic status under the colonial system, gave rise to demands for greater political autonomy and eventually independence from
France. In May 1945, the uprising against the occupying French forces was suppressed through what is now known as the
Sétif and Guelma massacre. Tensions between the two population groups came to a head in 1954, when the first violent events of what was later called the
Algerian War began after the publication of the
Declaration of 1 November 1954. Historians have estimated that between 30,000 and 150,000
Harkis and their dependents were killed by the
National Liberation Front (FLN) or by
lynch mobs in Algeria. The
FLN used hit and run attacks in Algeria and France as part of its war, and the French conducted
severe reprisals. In addition, the French destroyed over 8,000 villages and relocated over 2 million Algerians to
concentration camps. The war led to the death of hundreds of thousands of Algerians and hundreds of thousands of injuries. Historians, like
Alistair Horne and
Raymond Aron, state that the actual number of Algerian Muslim war dead was far greater than the original FLN and official French estimates but was less than the 1 million deaths claimed by the Algerian government after independence. Horne estimated Algerian casualties during the span of eight years to be around 700,000. The war uprooted more than 2 million Algerians. The war against French rule concluded in 1962, when Algeria gained complete independence following the March 1962
Evian agreements and the July 1962
self-determination referendum.
The first three decades of independence (1962–1991) The number of European
Pied-Noirs who fled Algeria totalled more than 900,000 between 1962 and 1964. The exodus to mainland France accelerated after the
Oran massacre of 1962, in which hundreds of militants entered European sections of the city and began attacking civilians. Algeria's first president was the Front de Libération Nationale (
FLN) leader
Ahmed Ben Bella. Morocco's claim to
portions of western Algeria led to the
Sand War in 1963. Ben Bella was
overthrown in 1965 by
Houari Boumédiène, his former ally and defence minister. Under Ben Bella, the government had become increasingly
socialist and authoritarian; Boumédienne continued this trend. However, he relied much more on the army for his support, and reduced the sole legal party to a symbolic role. He
collectivised agriculture and launched a massive industrialisation drive.
Oil extraction facilities were nationalised. This was especially beneficial to the leadership after the international
1973 oil crisis. Boumédienne's successor,
Chadli Bendjedid, introduced some liberal economic reforms. He promoted a policy of
Arabisation in Algerian society and public life. Teachers of Arabic, brought in from other Muslim countries, spread conventional Islamic thought in schools and sowed the seeds of a return to Orthodox Islam. Economic recession caused by the crash in world oil prices resulted in Algerian social unrest during the 1980s; by the end of the decade, Bendjedid introduced a multi-party system. Political parties developed, such as the
Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), a broad coalition of Muslim groups. At several points in the conflict, the situation in Algeria became a point of international concern, most notably during the crisis surrounding
Air France Flight 8969, a hijacking perpetrated by the Armed Islamic Group. The Armed Islamic Group declared a ceasefire in October 1997. which were won by President
Abdelaziz Bouteflika. He worked to restore political stability to the country and announced a "Civil Concord" initiative, approved in a
referendum, under which many political prisoners were pardoned, and several thousand members of armed groups were granted exemption from prosecution under a limited amnesty, in force until 13 January 2000. The AIS disbanded and levels of insurgent violence fell rapidly. The
Groupe Salafiste pour la Prédication et le Combat (GSPC), a splinter group of the Armed Islamic Group, continued a terrorist campaign against the Government. The government enacted legislation dealing with political parties, the electoral code, and the representation of women in elected bodies. In April 2011, Bouteflika promised further constitutional and political reform. However, elections are routinely criticised by opposition groups as unfair and international human rights groups say that media censorship and harassment of political opponents continue. On 2 April 2019, Bouteflika resigned from the presidency after
mass protests against his candidacy for a fifth term in office. In December 2019,
Abdelmadjid Tebboune became Algeria's president, after winning the first round of the
presidential election with a record abstention rate – the highest of all presidential elections since Algeria's democracy in 1989. Tebboune is accused of being close to the military and being loyal to the deposed president. Tebboune rejects these accusations, claiming to be the victim of a witch hunt. He also reminds his detractors that he was expelled from the Government in August 2017 at the instigation of oligarchs languishing in prison. In
September 2024, President Tebboune won a second term with a landslide 84.3 percent of the vote, although his opponents called the results fraud. == Geography ==