Relizane

Sister cities

• Fez

History

The city of Mina is among the most famous cities of Mauretania Caesariensis , whose capital was Cherchell. In 40 AD, the Roman Empire occupied the province after the assassination of Ptolemy by Emperor Caligula. Mina became a military center within the defensive limes line, which kept a close watch on local revolutionaries. According to antiquities discovered in the area, the city enjoyed great economic prosperity between the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. This period of the Zianid kingdom saw the emergence of the name Ighil Izan, when Sultan Abu Hammou Moussa II established a military camp in one of the hills to fight his cousin Bouzian Al-Koubi. After the final fall of the Zianid kingdom to the Ottomans in 1556, they created three provinces called Beyliks, and the Relizane region belonged to the Western Beylik. However, there are no historical sources that adequately address the region, with the exception of the remains of a dam dating from the Ottoman era which the inhabitants used to irrigate their lands, as well as the passage of the Royal Road linking Algiers to Oran. In the nineteenth century, agriculture was very often threatened by frequent droughts. It was not until 1852 that French troops occupied Relizane, and a colonial settlement centre was created by imperial decree on 27 February 1857 and that was elevated to the rank of a full-service commune on 5 February 1871. In 1844, the French engineers repaired the old dam; the old hydraulic works were partially restored in the 18th century). In 1853, the first Europeans settled in the plain and cultivated small areas of wheat and barley plus a few areas of tobacco that were quickly abandoned since malaria killed so many people although the creation of Relizane was not decided until January 1857. Since then,…

Geography

The topography within 2 miles of Relizane is only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 210 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 230 feet. Within 16 kilometers, slight variations in altitude only (533 meters). Within 80 kilometers, very significant variations in altitude (1,268 meters). The region within a 3 kilometer radius of Relizane is covered by cultivated land (47%), artificial surfaces (31%) and sparse vegetation (11%), within a 16 kilometer radius by cultivated land (53%) and sparse vegetation (31%) and within a radius of 80 kilometers by cultivated land (47%) and sparse vegetation (17%). Relizane is classified as having a Mediterranean climate. The summers are short, sweltering, arid, and mostly clear and the winters are long, cool, windy, and partly cloudy. During the year, the temperature generally ranges from 7 °C to 38 °C and is rarely below 3 °C or above 42 °C.