Biskra

Sister cities

• Makhachkala
• Maubeuge

History

The Gaetuli first appeared in North Africa during the 3rd millennium BC. They settled in a large territory south of the Roman provinces of Africa and Mauritania. According to the Greek historian Strabo, they were the most numerous people of North Africa yet the least known. Among the oldest references to the Gaetuli are those of the Carthaginians, who indicated that the Prince of the Gaetuli proposed to marry Élyssa (or Dido for the Romans), the founding queen of Carthage (present-day Tunisia) around 815 BC. However, references in ancient Egypt of certain tribes go back to 1350 BC, during the reign of Akhenaten of the eighteenth dynasty, speak of cattle trade with this people. The Gaetuli are probably the origin of the Berber calendar, which begins around 943–949 BC, which would be after the victory of a coalition of Gétules over the Egyptians. This coalition, formed by the North African tribes, left southwestern Algeria, increasing its force as it passed through North Africa. The coalition led by Shoshenq (Berber name: Sheshnaq) defeated Pharaoh Psusennes II. Following this victory, Sheshnaq married the pharaoh's daughter, settled on the throne of Egypt under the name of Sheshonq in 952 BC, and founded the 22nd Dynasty. This biblical event is mentioned in the Old Testament, which speaks of the pillaging of this leader of the Machaouach tribe. While traversing the desert, the Gaetuli arrived with the Taureg at Tassili, where they stayed for an extended time and subsequently mixed with the Tuareg and learned the Tamazight language for cultural and commercial exchanges. However, the Gaetuli eventually began to feel out of place and decided to continue north. In Algeria, they settled at the edge of the Aures, where they posed problems to Roman infiltration in the 3rd…

Geography

Biskra is located in the north-east of Algeria, in the district of Biskra. The city lies about from Algiers, southwest of Batna and north of Touggourt. She is nicknamed "The Queen of the Zibans", "The door of the desert" or "The Saharan Nice" because of its location which is the beginning of the desert. It is located at an altitude of in the northern part of the Sahara Desert. Apart from the mountains that surround it, the topography of Biskra is generally very flat. Part of the city is surrounded by the Sfa Pass and the Ziban Mountains. In the outskirts of Biskra, the landscape is very arid with all the same vegetation that vary depending on the location. Small water points can be found in the outskirts of Biskra, especially in the oases and canyons of the mountains around El Kantara. The prefecture of Biskra is crossed by Oued Labiod waterways, Oued El Arab, Djedi, Oued Meziraâ, Oued El and Oued el Gantara. The city covers an area of . It has a population of 307,987 and is the 10th most populous city. It has a population density of 1,612.0 inhabitants per square meter. The population of Biskra are called Biskri. As in the rest of the country, Biskra does not observe summer time and stays in the same time zone all year round. Whether winter or summer, the time is always the same in Biskra. The sunrise is around 7:41 am to 21 December and 5:24 am on 21 June. The sunset is around 5:30 pm on 21 December and at 7:54 pm on 21 June. The city of Biskra has gone through three phases before getting to where it is today. Started by the pre-colonial phase which testifies, that the city was pending this period under Roman rule over country of the Berbers, and having taken the role of the capital of southern Numidia, and the A very prosperous city,…

Most-observed species

• Sooty Falcon

  Falco concolor Temminck, 1825 · Aves
  5
• creeping thorn-rose

  Neurada procumbens L. · Magnoliopsida
  4
• Brocchia cinerea (Delile) Vis.

  Brocchia cinerea (Delile) Vis. · Magnoliopsida
  3
• Oleander

  Nerium oleander L. · Magnoliopsida
  2
• Tetraena cornuta (Coss.) Beier & Thulin

  Tetraena cornuta (Coss.) Beier & Thulin · Magnoliopsida
  2
• White-crowned Wheatear

  Oenanthe leucopyga (C.L.Brehm, 1855) · Aves
  2
• Nettle-leaved Goosefoot

  Chenopodiastrum murale (L.) S.Fuentes, Uotila & Borsch · Magnoliopsida
  2
• Adonis' Ladybird

  Hippodamia variegata (Goeze, 1777) · Insecta
  1

Most recent

• M 4.5 — 2025-10-19
  22 km ESE of Tazoult-Lambese, Algeria
• M 4.2 — 2022-04-13
  23 km WNW of Zeribet el Oued, Algeria
• M 4.6 — 2021-03-15
  9 km WNW of Arris, Algeria
• M 4.7 — 2017-08-15
  10 km WNW of Merouana, Algeria
• M 4.3 — 2017-05-30
  28 km WNW of Zeribet el Oued, Algeria
• M 4.9 — 2016-11-18
  20 km WNW of Zeribet el Oued, Algeria