- Type
- Castle
- Origins
- 1007 · 11th century per Wikidata: founding, first mention or construction
- Location
- M'Sila, Algeria
- Heritage
- UNESCO World Heritage List
- Coordinates
- 35.8139°, 4.7933°
History
The fortified city was founded in 1007 by Hammad ibn Buluggin of the Zirid family, who soon broke with his relatives and established the independent Hammadid dynasty. On a slope of the Hodna Mountains, at about 1,000 metres, a capital grew up with palaces, a great mosque and residential quarters, enclosed by walls several kilometres long. In the 11th century it was renowned for trade, crafts and scholarship, but under pressure from the nomadic Banu Hilal tribes the rulers moved their court to coastal Béjaïa, finally doing so in 1090. The Almohads destroyed the abandoned city in 1152. The ruins were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1980 as an exceptionally well-preserved example of early Islamic architecture in the Maghreb.
What to see
The almost complete minaret of the great mosque, about 25 metres tall and decorated with shallow niches, dominates the hillside. Around it lie the ruins of the prayer hall with rows of column bases, the Palace of the Lake with its huge pool, and the remains of the Lighthouse Palace (Al-Manar) and the defensive walls. The bare slopes of the Hodna Mountains form a dramatic backdrop.
Wikipedia article Wikidata Q500367
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