Algeria (lang: Arabic الجزائر, Al Jaza'ir IPA2: ælʤæˈzæːʔir, Amazigh: ⴷⵥⴰⵢⴻⵔ, Dzayer 1), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country located in North Africa. It is the largest country of the Mediterranean sea, the second largest on the African continent and the eleventh-largest country in the world in terms of land area. It is bordered by Tunisia in the northeast, Libya in the east, Niger in the southeast, Mali and Mauritania in the southwest, a few kilometers of the Western Sahara in the west, Morocco in the northwest, and the Mediterranean Sea in the north.

Algeria is a member of the Arab League, United Nations, African Union and OPEC. It also contributed towards the creation of the Arab Maghreb Union.

Etymology

History

main: History of Algeria

Ancient history

Algeria has been inhabited by Berbers since at least 10,000 BC, after 1000 BC, the Carthaginians began establishing settlements along the coast. The Berbers seized the opportunity offered by the Punic Wars to become independent of Carthage, and Berber kingdoms began to emerge, most notably Numidia. In 200 BC, however, they were once again taken over, this time by the Roman Republic. When the Western Roman Empire collapsed, Berbers became independent again in many areas, while the Vandals took control over other parts, where they remained until expelled by the generals of the Byzantine Emperor, Justinian I. The Byzantine Empire then retained a precarious grip on the east of the country until the coming of the Arabs in the eighth century.

Middle Ages

According to historians of the Middle Ages, the Berbers were divided into two branches, from their ancestor Mazigh. The two branches, Botr and Barnès, were also divided into tribes, with each Maghreb region made up of several tribes. Several Berber dynasties emerged during the Middle Ages.

The Almohads were able to unify the Maghreb. The Berbers of the Middle Ages also contributed to the Arabization of the Maghreb.

Arab Migration and the Arrival of Islam

image:Grande mosquée d'Alger.jpg After the waves of Muslim Arab armies that conquered Algeria from it's former Berber rulers and the rule of the Umayyid Arab Dynasty fell, numerous Dynasties emerged thereafter. Amongst those dynasties are the Fatimids of Egypt. Having converted the Kutama of Kabylie to its cause, the Shia Fatimids overthrew the Rustamids, and conquered Egypt, leaving Algeria and Tunisia to their Zirid vassals. When the latter rebelled and adopted Sunnism, the Shia Fatimids sent in the Banu Hilal, a populous Arab tribe, to weaken them. This continued the Arabization of the region since numerous other tribes then migrated with the Banu Hilal such as Banu Sulaym, Banu Muqal, Banu Jashm, and Banu Khalt .