Dellys

History

The Dellys area has been inhabited since prehistoric times; archeological finds in the area include Iberomaurusian remains, a Neolithic polished axe, and (at Takdempt) some dolmens and covered alleys. Dellys first entered written history as the Phoenician colony of Rusucurru or Rusuccuru, known to the Greeks as Rhousoukkórrou (). (A few authorities instead identify the ancient Rusucurru with Tigzirt.) Rusuccuru became part of the Roman Empire about 42 CE with Claudius' annexation of the Kingdom of Mauretania, and was subsequently promoted to the rank of municipium after the suppression of Aedemon's revolt. The town's regional importance in the Roman province of Mauretania Caesariensis was sufficient that inscriptions in the nearest towns, Iomnium to the east (modern Tigzirt) and Cissi to the west (modern Djinet), were dedicated to Rusucurru's genius loci. With the advent of Christianity, Rusucurru became a suffragan bishopric, variously known as Rusucurium, * Fortunatus (mentioned in 411) * Optatus (a Donatist mentioned in 411) * Ninellus (mentioned in 419) * Metcum (mentioned in 484, exiled by Huneric) However, it disappears from written sources during later centuries. Under the name of Tedelles, the town reappears in the 12th century as the final refuge of the last Banu Sumadih emir of Almería in Spain, Mu'izz ud-Dawla ibn Sumadih, who was granted land there by the Hammadid dynasty after fleeing the advance of the Almoravids. After a period of prosperity, it was hard hit by the wars of the 14th century between the Hafsid, Merinid, and Zayyanid kingdoms, changing hands no less than 12 times between 1285 and 1373. The town (then in Zayyanid hands) was also sacked by a Valencian and Majorcan fleet in 1398, following a raid on Torreblanca. After 1438, Dellys came…

Geography

The Dellys area presents a natural harbour in the form of a small bay sheltered on the west and northwest by the peninsula of Sidi Abdelkader (largely occupied by the town cemetery, along with a small lighthouse). This peninsula is the seaward extension of the mountain of Assouaf, looming over the town. Around this harbour grew the Casbah of Dellys. During the colonial period the town grew southwards, as the port was expanded; a technical school, the École des arts et métiers, was also built to the north, near the cemetery. Expansion further up the mountain was prevented by the preservation of the Bou-Arbi forest; instead, the town's growth after independence in 1962 was mainly concentrated in two "wings" on each side of it. To the south, former agricultural areas on the mountain slopes were built up with apartment buildings to form the new suburb Nouvelle-Ville, still surrounded by farmland on both sides. To the west, the relatively level Ladjenna (or "Les Jardins") area, with rocky coasts, consisted mainly of family gardens and small farms until the mid-twentieth century, but is now largely built up. It includes the tiny fishing port of El-Kouss; Cape Bengut, the northernmost land in the region, marked by a larger lighthouse; and the rock promontory of Sid El-Medjni. Further west, the village of Takdempt, at the mouth of the Sebaou river, remains marginally separated from Dellys proper. The municipality has a total of 678 hectares of forest, most of it accounted for by Bou-Arbi above the old town (74 hectares, Aleppo pine), Assouaf above the Ladjenna suburb (50 hectares, thuya and degraded maquis), Achtoub (290 hectares, brush), and an area around Takdempt (250 hectares, brush).

Most-observed species

• Ophrys fusca Link

  Ophrys fusca Link · Liliopsida
  42
• Sawfly Orchid

  Ophrys tenthredinifera Willd. · Liliopsida
  12
• Decollate Snail

  Rumina decollata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Gastropoda
  11
• Ophrys lutea Cav.

  Ophrys lutea Cav. · Liliopsida
  11
• Yellow-legged Gull

  Larus michahellis J.F.Naumann, 1840 · Aves
  11
• Squirting Cucumber

  Ecballium elaterium (L.) A.Rich. · Magnoliopsida
  10
• Bug Orchid

  Anacamptis coriophora (L.) R.M.Bateman, Pridgeon & M.W.Chase · Liliopsida
  9
• Naked-man Orchid

  Orchis italica Poir. · Liliopsida
  9