Kalâa of Ait Abbas

The Kalâa of the Aït Abbas or Kalâa of the Beni Abbes (Berber: ⵇⴰⵍⵄⴰ ⵍⴰⵉⵜ ⵄⴰⴱⴰⵙ [Qalεa nāt εabbas]; Arabic: قلعة بني عباس‎), sometimes spelled Qal'a or Guelaa, was a citadel and the capital of the kingdom of Ait Abbas, which was founded in the sixteenth century in the Bibans and almost totally destroyed during the revolt of Cheikh Mokrani in 1871.

Situation
Site of the Kalâa des Beni Abbès

The Kalâa of Aït Abbas is an important village of Kabylie in Algeria. As evidenced by the many ruins, it was an ancient fortress and capital of the local kingdom from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. It is attached to the current Algerian commune of Ighil Ali (wilaya of Béjaïa). The site is located 11 km (6.8 mi) southeast of Ighil Ali, 7 km (4.3 mi) north of Teniet En Nasr, about 30 km (19 mi) northwest of Bordj Bou Arreridj and about 60 km (37 mi) southwest of Bejaia.

The Kalâa, following the heart-shaped relief, is built on a rocky plateau with an area of 400 ha (990 acres) in the Biban range, at nearly 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above sea level.

History

The Kalâa des Beni Abbès is the cradle and the heart of the powerful Berber Kingdom of Ait Abbas, which had several emirs during the reign of the Ottoman Empire.[1]

As the name ‘’Kalâa’’ indicates, it is a citadel, protected by the cliffs that almost completely surround it, and also by its ramparts. The only automobile access ends at the entrance to the village, where remains a rampart that protected the ancient city, which according to the Islamic encyclopedia had a population of 80000 in ancient times.

It was built in the same manner as the Beni Hammad Fort: strategic position, difficult access, guarded gates and surrounding wall.[2]

The site of the Kalâa was a Hammadid fort housing a military contingent to control the strategic Iron Gate pass through the Bibans as well as of the valley of the Soummam and a stretch of the ‘’ triq sultan’’.[2]

Only ruins remain of the Hammadid fort, at a place named Akhriv Ouziri (ruins of Ziri). The Hammadid parade ground is located in front of the mosque and is now known as Loudha Lhali. The foundry (1366-1871): French explorers and army officers noted large-caliber artillery pieces found at Kalâa between 1848 and 1865. Charles Féraud (translator officer) wrote in the ‘’Revue Africaine’’ of the power of these cannons given their volume and weight.

Bibliography
  • Youssef Benoudjit, La Kalaa des Béni Abbès : au xvie siècle, Alger, Dahlab, 1997, 350 p. (ISBN 9961611322)
  • Mahfoud Kaddache, Et l'Algérie se libéra, Alger, Paris-Méditerranée, 2003, 235 p. (ISBN 2842721799)
  • Jean Morizot, Les Kabyles : Propos d'un témoin, Paris, CHEAM, 1985, 279 p. (ISBN 2903182124)

Sources
  • Charles Farine, À travers la Kabylie, Paris, Ducrocq, 1865, 419 p.
  • كتاب النسب للإمام العشماوي
  • كتاب سلسلة الأصول لعبدالله بن حشلاف
  • نبذة عن تاريخ قلعة بني عباس -الجمعية الثقافية-نادي المقراني
  • Présentation de la Kalâa des Beni Abbès (Algérie [archive]), sur la Bibliothèque nationale de France.
  • a, b et c Djamel Alilat, Commémoration de la mort de El Mokrani [archive], Liberté du 30 avril 2006.
  • Le Temps d'Algérie, édition du 11 mai 2009, p. 17
  • a, b et c Djamel Alilat, Découverte d'un canon du xvie siècle : Béjaïa, Qalaâ des Beni Abbès
  • article du journal El Watan, publié le 21 avril 2006. a et b Morizot 1985, p. 57

  1. Les espagnols et les ottomans y ont été tenus en échec : Le royaume indépendant de la Qalaâ n'Ath Abbès fête son 500e anniversaire (Here the Spanish and the Ottomans were held in check: the independent kingdom of n’Ath Abbès celebrates its 500th anniversary) El Watan 08/05/2010.
  2. Triq Essoltane, mille ans après… : Carnet de route, de la qalaâ des Beni Hammad à Béjaïa (Tariq Essoltane, a thousand years later. Road notebook: from the qalaâ of Beni Hammad to Béjaïa), El Watan, 02/09/2007.
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