Souk Ahras

The town of Souk Ahras, as its region, experienced Aterian culture from the end of the Middle Palaeolithic to the early upper Palaeolithic Ages. After the Aterian, Souk Ahras was inhabited by people of the Capsian culture. Many stone tools dating to this period have been discovered. Stemmed arrows were found on the site of present-day Souk Ahras, but also in Tiffech and Taoura, not far from it.

It was the birthplace of Augustine of Hippo (born 13 November 354 CE) to Monica of Hippo (Saint Monica), he later the Bishop of Hippo and Saint Augustine.[4] Souk Ahras (Thagaste) has played an important role in the political and cultural history of the region because of its strategic position at the crossroads of Numide, Ancient Roman, and Berber civilizations. It was the location of military fortifications (Madaure, Tiffech, Khemissa...) and urban centers.

Tagaste was a town of Numidia in Roman North Africa, on the banks of the Oued Hamise river. Augustine of Hippo was born here. The Roman city is identified with ruins of Tajilt near Souk Ahras, Algeria.

The Numidian city of Thagaste or Tagaste, on whose ruins Souk Ahras was built, was situated in the north-eastern highlands of Numidia. It was about 100 km (60 miles) from Hippo Regius, (present day Annaba), 32 km (20 miles) southwest of Thubursicum (present day Khamissa), and about 240 km (150 miles) from Carthage (on the coast of present-day Tunisia).

Thagaste became a Roman municipium.[5] The city was mentioned by Pliny the Elder. As a municipium, Thagaste was not settled by Roman Italian immigrants, but was inhabited by Romanized native Berbers.[6]

In 1830 Souk Ahras became a colonial settlement of French Algeria (1830–1962). Late 19th century connection via the Algerian Railway, and 20th century iron ore and phosphate mining, brought some modern significance and prosperity to the town.

During the Algerian War of Independence (1954–1962), Souk Ahras housed the Ouled Bechiah Mounts as an autonomous military base of the Army of National Liberation (ALN), called "Basis of the East".

The town of Souk Ahras is located in a basin surrounded by wooded mountains as the Djebel Beni Salah or Djebel Ouled Moumen.

Souk Ahras is crossed by a major North African river, the Medjerda.

Three dams exist in the region of Souk Ahras, that of Ain-Edalia supplies the town of Souk Ahras and its region with 76 million cubic metres (2.7 billion cubic feet). Dams of Oued Charef and Djedra, provide a capacity of 153 and 35 million cubic metres (5.4 and 1.2 billion cubic feet), respectively. Dam Djedra is intended to supply the town of Souk Ahras with a quantity of 12 and 35 million cubic metres (420 and 1,240 million cubic feet) of potable water, while 2 million cubic metres (71 million cubic feet) will be pumped for irrigation.

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  Souk Ahras topographic map
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  the Medjerda river
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  the Ain-dalia dam

Former city hall of Souk Ahras, now used as a municipal theatre

• Souk Ahras
• An-Nasser
• Diar Ezzarga
• 1er Novembre 1954
• 5 Juillet
• 17 Octobre
• 20 Août
• 26 Avril 1958
• El-Allaouia
• Ibn Rochd
• Kouicem Abdelhak
• Sidi Messaoud
• Sidi Okba
• Et-Tagtaguia

Algiers has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa) with warm summers and mild winters. Its proximity to the Mediterranean Sea aids in moderating the city's temperatures. As a result, Souk Ahras usually does not see the extreme temperatures that are experienced in the adjacent interior deserts. The climate of Algiers, like that of other Atlas cities, features wet winters and dry summers. Souk Ahras on average receives roughly 840.74 mm (33.10 inches) of precipitation per year, the bulk of which is seen between October and April.