I.

Introduction

Algiers (Arabic Al Jazair; French Alger), city, the principal Mediterranean port of northwestern Africa. It is located in northern Algeria, on the Bay of Algiers, and is the capital and largest city of Algeria and Algiers Province.

II.

The Contemporary City

The city is divided into two sections. The lower part is the modern city, built by the French, with wide boulevards, theaters, cathedrals, museums, an opera house, and many educational institutions, including the University of Algiers and several Muslim schools. The upper part is the old city, with narrow, twisting streets dominated by the Casbah, a 16th-century fortress built by the Ottomans, which lends its name to the entire quarter. With the post-World War II population increase, and the crowding in the native quarter, suburbs have burgeoned. Algiers has a major international airport and is the hub of a network of railways and roads. Its strategic position and fine harbor combine to make Algiers a major shipping center and a principal Mediterranean refueling station.

III.

History

By 1200 bc the Phoenicians had colonized the site and set up a coastal trading post. Following the Punic Wars, Algiers, then called Icosium, became (146 bc) part of the Roman Empire and remained Roman until the middle of the 5th century, when it was overrun by the Vandals. Next, it was ruled by the Byzantines, who, in turn, were ousted in 650 by Arabs. The present city was founded about 950 by Berbers. During the next five centuries control of the city was gained and lost by various European, Arabian, and Berber warlords. In 1510 Spain captured and fortified the islet in front of the harbor, known as the Peñón. In 1518 Algiers proclaimed itself part of the Ottoman Empire, and the Spanish were driven out. While ruled by the Ottomans, it became the capital of the infamous Barbary Coast. For 300 years Barbary pirates preyed upon European, and later United States, shipping. In 1815 the American naval captain Stephen Decatur led an expedition against Algiers, forcing its governor to sign a peace treaty promising to end attacks on U.S. ships. The piracy continued, however, and in 1816 the combined Dutch and British navies almost completely destroyed the Algerian fleet. Algiers remained a pirate port until 1830, when France, retaliating against attacks on its vessels, captured the city and, in time, the entire country. They retained control until 1962, when Algeria won independence. During World War II, Algiers served (1942-44) as the headquarters of Allied forces in North Africa and of the Free French government of General Charles de Gaulle. Population (2003 estimate) 3,060,000.