Editing Algeria (section)

=== Prehistory and ancient history ===
{{main|Prehistoric North Africa|North Africa during Antiquity}}
[[File:Djemila7.jpg|left|thumb|Roman ruins at [[Djémila]]]]
Around ~1.8-million-year-old stone artifacts from Ain Hanech (Algeria) were considered to represent the oldest archaeological materials in North Africa.<ref name="science.org">{{cite journal |display-authors=etal |last1=Sahnouni |title=1.9-million- and 2.4-million-year-old artifacts and stone tool–cutmarked bones from Ain Boucherit, Algeria |journal=Science |date=14 December 2018 |volume=362 |issue=6420 |pages=1297–1301 |doi=10.1126/science.aau0008 |pmid=30498166 |bibcode=2018Sci...362.1297S |hdl=10072/383164 |s2cid=54166305 |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aau0008 |access-date=22 November 2021 |hdl-access=free |archive-date=22 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122211753/https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aau0008 |url-status=live | issn = 0036-8075 }}</ref> Stone artifacts and cut-marked bones that were excavated from two nearby deposits at Ain Boucherit are estimated to be ~1.9&nbsp;million years old, and even older stone artifacts to be as old as ~2.4&nbsp;million years.<ref name="science.org"/> Hence, the Ain Boucherit evidence shows that ancestral hominins inhabited the Mediterranean fringe in northern Africa much earlier than previously thought. The evidence strongly argues for early dispersal of stone tool manufacture and use from East Africa, or a possible multiple-origin scenario of stone technology in both East and North Africa.

Neanderthal tool makers produced hand axes in the [[Levallois technique|Levalloisian]] and [[Mousterian]] styles (43,000 BC) similar to those in the [[Levant]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gi.ulpgc.es/tarha/Ain_Hanech.pdf |title=The Site of Ain Hanech Revisited: New Investigations at this Lower Pleistocene Site in Northern Algeria |publisher=Journal of Archaeological Science |author1=Sahnouni, Mohamed |author2=de Heinzelin, Jean |access-date=14 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510140017/http://www.gi.ulpgc.es/tarha/Ain_Hanech.pdf |archive-date=10 May 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stoneageinstitute.org/ain-hanech.html |title=Research at Ain Hanech, Algeria |publisher=Stoneageinstitute.org |access-date=14 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712045121/http://www.stoneageinstitute.org/ain-hanech.html |archive-date=12 July 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> Algeria was the site of the highest state of development of [[Middle Paleolithic]] [[Flake tool]] techniques.<ref name="DelsonTattersall2004">{{cite book|author1=Eric Delson|author2=Ian Tattersall|author3=John Van Couvering|author4=Alison S. Brooks|title=Encyclopedia of Human Evolution and Prehistory: Second Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6GFGsswTIO8C&pg=PA32|year=2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-58228-9|page=32}}</ref> Tools of this era, starting about 30,000 BC, are called [[Aterian]] (after the archaeological site of [[Bir el Ater]], south of [[Tébessa|Tebessa]]).

The earliest blade industries in North Africa are called [[Iberomaurusian]] (located mainly in the [[Oran]] region). This industry appears to have spread throughout the coastal regions of the [[Maghreb]] between 15,000 and 10,000 BC. [[neolithic|Neolithic civilisation]] (animal domestication and agriculture) developed in the Saharan and Mediterranean Maghreb perhaps as early as 11,000 BC<ref>{{cite journal |title=Genomic Ancestry of North Africans Supports Back-to-Africa Migrations |journal=PLOS Genetics |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=e1002397 |date=12 January 2012 |doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1002397 |pmid=22253600 |pmc=3257290 |last1=Henn |first1=Brenna M. |last2=Botigué |first2=Laura R. |last3=Gravel |first3=Simon |last4=Wang |first4=Wei |last5=Brisbin |first5=Abra |last6=Byrnes |first6=Jake K. |last7=Fadhlaoui-Zid |first7=Karima |last8=Zalloua |first8=Pierre A. |last9=Moreno-Estrada |first9=Andres |last10=Bertranpetit |first10=Jaume |last11=Bustamante |first11=Carlos D. |last12=Comas |first12=David |doi-access=free }}</ref> or as late as between 6000 and 2000 BC. This life, richly depicted in the [[Tassili n'Ajjer]] paintings, predominated in Algeria until the classical period. The mixture of peoples of North Africa coalesced eventually into a distinct native population that came to be called [[Berber people|Berbers]], who are the indigenous peoples of northern Africa.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Berbers|publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell]]|year=1997|chapter=Berbers in Antiquity|isbn=978-0-631-20767-2|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Zcz91t29ukC|author1=Brett, Michael|author2=Fentress, Elizabeth|access-date=22 August 2020|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328154212/https://books.google.com/books?id=8Zcz91t29ukC|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Timgad, Algeria - panoramio (20).jpg|thumb|Ancient [[Roman Empire|Roman]] ruins of [[Timgad]] on the street leading to the local [[Arch of Trajan (Timgad)|Arch of Trajan]]]]
From their principal center of power at [[Carthage]], the [[Carthaginians]] expanded and established small settlements along the North African coast; by 600 BC, a [[Phoenicia]]n presence existed at [[Tipasa]], east of [[Cherchell]], [[Hippo Regius]] (modern [[Annaba]]) and [[Rusicade]] (modern [[Skikda]]). These settlements served as market towns as well as anchorages.

As Carthaginian power grew, its impact on the indigenous population increased dramatically. Berber civilisation was already at a stage in which agriculture, manufacturing, trade, and political organisation supported several states. Trade links between Carthage and the Berbers in the interior grew, but territorial expansion also resulted in the enslavement or military recruitment of some Berbers and in the extraction of tribute from others.

[[File:GM Massinissa.png|thumb|left|[[Masinissa]] ({{Circa}}&nbsp;238–148&nbsp;BC), first king of Numidia]]
By the early 4th century BC, The north is divided into two [[Masaesyli|Masaesyli kingdom]] in west led by [[Syphax]] and [[Massylii|Massylii kingdom]] in east. Berbers formed the single largest element of the Carthaginian army. In the [[Mercenary War|Revolt of the Mercenaries]], Berber soldiers rebelled from 241 to 238 BC after being unpaid following the defeat of Carthage in the [[First Punic War]].<ref name="Fischer-Bovet2014">{{cite book|author=Christelle Fischer-Bovet|title=Army and Society in Ptolemaic Egypt|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z0sHAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA91|date=2014|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-00775-8|page=91|access-date=6 January 2019|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328154212/https://books.google.com/books?id=z0sHAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA91#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> They succeeded in obtaining control of much of Carthage's North African territory, and they minted coins bearing the name Libyan, used in Greek to describe natives of North Africa. The Carthaginian state declined because of successive defeats by the Romans in the [[Punic Wars]].<ref name="Spielvogel2014">{{cite book|author=Jackson J. Spielvogel|title=Western Civilization: Volume A: To 1500|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZBFvCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT156|year=2014|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-1-285-98299-1|page=156|access-date=6 January 2019|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328154213/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZBFvCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT156|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 146 BC the city of [[Carthage]] was destroyed. As Carthaginian power waned, the influence of Berber leaders in the hinterland grew. By the 2nd century BC, several large but loosely administered Berber kingdoms had emerged. Two of them were established in [[Numidia]], behind the coastal areas controlled by Carthage. West of Numidia lay [[Mauretania]], which extended across the [[Moulouya River]] in modern-day [[Morocco]] to the Atlantic Ocean. The high point of Berber civilisation, unequalled until the coming of the [[Almohads]] and [[Almoravids]] more than a millennium later, was reached during the reign of [[Masinissa]] in the 2nd century BC.
[[File:Justinian555AD.png|thumb|right| The lands which make up modern-day Algeria were part of [[Byzantine North Africa]] (The empire in 555 under [[Justinian the Great]], at its greatest extent since the fall of the [[Western Roman Empire]] ([[vassal state|vassals]] in pink))]]
After Masinissa's death in 148 BC, the Berber kingdoms were divided and reunited several times. Masinissa's line survived until 24 AD, when the remaining Berber territory was annexed to the [[Roman Empire]].

[[File:Side face (2).jpg|thumb|upright|Roman inscription from Agueneb in the province of [[Laghouat]]]]
For several centuries Algeria was ruled by the Romans, who founded many colonies in the region. Algeria is home to the second-largest number of Roman sites and remains after Italy. Rome, after getting rid of its powerful rival Carthage in the year 146 BC, decided a century later to include Numidia to become the new master of North Africa. They built more than 500 cities.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.penguintravel.com/Offer/RoundtripsandCulturalTours/2062/AlgeriasRomanHeritage.html#:~:text=Algeria%20is%20the%20second%20country,new%20master%20of%20North%20Africa. | title=Algeria's Roman Heritage – Roundtrips and Cultural Tours Penguin Travel | access-date=22 April 2023 | archive-date=22 April 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422142230/https://www.penguintravel.com/Offer/RoundtripsandCulturalTours/2062/AlgeriasRomanHeritage.html#:~:text=Algeria%20is%20the%20second%20country,new%20master%20of%20North%20Africa. | url-status=live }}</ref> Like the rest of North Africa, Algeria was one of the breadbaskets of the empire, exporting cereals and other agricultural products. [[Augustine of Hippo|Saint Augustine]] was the bishop of [[Hippo Regius]] (modern-day Annaba, Algeria), located in the Roman province of [[Africa (Roman province)|Africa]]. The Germanic [[Vandals]] of [[Geiseric]] moved into North Africa in 429, and by 435 controlled coastal Numidia.<ref name="vandaf">{{cite book|last1=Cameron|first1=Averil|last2=Ward-Perkins|first2=Bryan|title=The Cambridge Ancient History|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qf8mrHjfZRoC&pg=RA1-PA124|volume=14|year=2001|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-32591-2|pages=124–126|chapter=Vandal Africa, 429–533}}</ref> They did not make any significant settlement on the land, as they were harassed by local tribes.{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}} In fact, by the time the Byzantines arrived [[Leptis Magna]] was abandoned and the Msellata region was occupied by the indigenous [[Amazigh|Laguatan]] who had been busy facilitating an [[Amazigh]] political, military and cultural revival.<ref name="vandaf"/><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Mattingly|first1=D.J.|title=The Laguatan: A Libyan Tribal Confederation in the late Roman Empire.|journal=Libyan Studies|year=1983|volume=14|pages=96–108|doi=10.1017/S0263718900007810|s2cid=164294564 }}</ref> Furthermore, during the rule of the Romans, Byzantines, Vandals, Carthaginians, and Ottomans the Berber people were the only or one of the few in North Africa who remained independent.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4CfBKvsiWeQC&pg=PA156|title=The Middle East and North Africa 2003|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=9781857431322|via=Google Books|access-date=16 April 2021|archive-date=15 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315191214/https://books.google.com/books?id=4CfBKvsiWeQC&pg=PA156|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Walmsley-1858">{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=83koAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA118|title=Sketches of Algeria During the Kabyle War|first=Hugh Mulleneux|last=Walmsley|date=1 April 1858|publisher=Chapman and Hall|via=Google Books|access-date=16 April 2021|archive-date=15 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315191255/https://books.google.com/books?id=83koAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA118|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wqF8CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT167|title=The Kabyle People|first=Glora M.|last=Wysner|date=30 January 2013|publisher=Read Books Ltd|isbn=9781447483526|via=Google Books|access-date=16 April 2021|archive-date=15 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315191234/https://books.google.com/books?id=wqF8CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT167|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pv80AQAAMAAJ&q=Kabylia|title=The Encyclopedia Americana|date=1 April 1990|publisher=Grolier|isbn=9780717201211|via=Google Books|access-date=16 April 2021|archive-date=15 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315191229/https://books.google.com/books?id=pv80AQAAMAAJ&q=Kabylia|url-status=live}}</ref> The Berber people were so resistant that even during the Muslim conquest of North Africa they still had control and possession over their mountains.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GI5CAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA45|title=The art journal London|date=1 April 1865 |publisher=Virtue|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JU5CAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA93|title=The Barbary Coast|first=Henry Martyn|last=Field|date=1 April 1893|publisher=C. Scribner's Sons|via=Google Books|access-date=16 April 2021|archive-date=15 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315191254/https://books.google.com/books?id=JU5CAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA93|url-status=live}}</ref>

The collapse of the [[Western Roman Empire]] led to the establishment of a native Kingdom based in [[Altava]] (modern-day Algeria) known as the [[Mauro-Roman Kingdom]]. It was succeeded by another Kingdom based in Altava, the [[Kingdom of Altava]]. During the reign of [[Kusaila]] its territory extended from the region of modern-day [[Fez, Morocco|Fez]] in the west to the western [[Aurès]] and later [[Kairouan|Kairaouan]] and the interior of Ifriqiya in the east.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Pk7BS9XC10QC&pg=PT139 The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live InHugh Kennedy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326164801/https://books.google.com/books?id=Pk7BS9XC10QC&pg=PT139 |date=26 March 2023 }}
Hachette UK,</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=yeUjAQAAIAAJ&q=Koceila+,+chef+Fès+aux Gibraltar: Croisée de mondes : d'Hercule à Boabdil] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405045214/https://books.google.com/books?id=yeUjAQAAIAAJ&q=Koceila+,+chef+F%C3%A8s+aux |date=5 April 2023 }}
Zakya Daoud
Séguier</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=7dCcAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA40 The History of Northern Africa] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326164801/https://books.google.com/books?id=7dCcAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA40 |date=26 March 2023 }} Britannica Educational Publishing 
Britannica Educational Publishing</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=oHMBAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA458 Middle East and Africa: International Dictionary of Historic Places] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326164801/https://books.google.com/books?id=oHMBAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA458 |date=26 March 2023 }}
Trudy Ring, Noelle Watson, Paul Schellinger
Routledge</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=AIMRDQAAQBAJ&pg=PR17 Historical Dictionary of Tunisia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326164801/https://books.google.com/books?id=AIMRDQAAQBAJ&pg=PR17 |date=26 March 2023 }}
Kenneth J. Perkins
Rowman & Littlefield</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=1ciOAAAAMAAJ&q=+kairouan+kusaila Islam, 01 AH-250 AH: A Chronology of Events] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230403231359/https://books.google.com/books?id=1ciOAAAAMAAJ&q=+kairouan+kusaila |date=3 April 2023 }}
Abu Tariq Hijazi
Message Publications,</ref>