(Aurès; Αύράοɩον ὄρος in Procopius, De bello vand., i, 8, ii, 12-13. 19-20) mountain massif of Algeria, forming part of the Eastern Saharan Atlas. So far it has not been possible to discover the meaning of the word Awrās. The Awrās is a compact massif 8,000 sq. km. in area, which extends from the depression leading from Batna to Biskra as far, Khenchela and the valley of the Wādi ’l-ʿArab, between the high plains of southern Constantino. (Sbāk̲h̲) and the Saharan depression of the Zibān. Its summits (Ḏj̲ibāl Chélia, 2,327 m., and Kef…

(Aurès; in the sixth century Αὐράσιον ὄροΣ in Procopius, De bell. Vandal., i. 8, ii. 12— 13, 19—20) a mountainmass in Algeria in the Sahara Atlas [see Algeria, Atlas]. The meaning of the word Awrās has not yet been ascertained. It is probably a word of Berber origin that appears in several mountainnames. Possibly the Ḏj̲ebel Awrās to the South of Ḵh̲ens̲h̲ela hats given its name to the whole system. The Awrās forms a quadrangle which from ¶ North to South and from East to West measures about 65 miles and in the south of the province of Constantine covers an area of about…

(Aurès; Aύράσιον ὅροΣ dans Procope, De bello vand., I, 8, II, 12-13, 19-20) massif montagneux de l’Algérie, faisant partie de l’Atlas saharien oriental. La signification du mot Awrās n’a pas encore pu être déterminée. L’Aurès est un massif compact de 8000 km2 qui s’étend de la dépression qui mène de Batna à Biskra jusqu’à Khenchela et à la vallée de l’oued al-ʿArab, entre les Hautes plaines constantinoises méridionales (Sbāk̲h̲) et la dépression saharienne des Zībān. Ses sommets (d̲j̲abal Chélia, 2327 m., et Kef Mahmel, 2321, les plus …

[See awrās.]

[see awrās ].

[Voir Awrās ].

, a Roman town in Algeria, 25 miles E. of Batna (department of Constantine). Timgad during the first century B. C. was only a little military station intended to watch the northern slopes of the Awrās. In 100 a. d. Trajan decided to build a town there. This was built for the most part by soldiers of the Third Legion, who were stationed at Lambessa, and peopled by colonists, veterans and natives from the country round. It prospered rapidly and was raised to the rank of a colony. The walls which surrounded it had even to be taken away …

, one of the names of a fortified enclosure among the Berbers, where chambers are allotted to the various families of the tribe for storage of grain, and where the tribe takes refuge in times of danger. The following are the areas where this ancient Berber institution survives: Ḏj̲abal Nafūsa (under the name of gasr = ḳaṣr , or temidelt ); Southern Tunisia ( g̲h̲urfa ); the Awrās ( gelāa = ḳalʿa ); and in Morocco the Rīf and more especially the Great, Middle and Anti-Atlas and the Sirwa ( agadir among the S̲h̲luḥs and ig̲h̲erm among the Berbers of the Middle Atlas). The word agadir probably goes ba…

(plur. of s̲h̲āwī, “sheep-breeder”) a name, originally applied in contempt, which has become the general designation of several groups in the Mag̲h̲rib, of which the most important are in Morocco, the S̲h̲āwiya of Tāmasnā ¶ and in Algeria, the S̲h̲āwiya of the Awrās. E. Doutté ( Marrâkech, p. 4—5) mentions several other groups of less importance. An endeavour has also been made to connect Choa, the name of a district in Abyssinia, with S̲h̲āwiya. Wherever it is found, the term is applied to Berbers of the Zanāta and Hawwāra, more or less arabicised, mixed with purely …

, the prophetess, the seer. Even her name (Damya, Dihya).— for Kāhina is simply an epithet — is doubtful. According to Ibn Ḵh̲aldūn, she belonged to the Ḏj̲arwa, a Jewish (?) tribe in the Awrās [q. v.], which gave chiefs to the Berbers descended from al-Abtar. When Ḥassān b. al-Nuʿmān [q. v.], had conquered the Byzantines, he advanced against the Awrās where the Kāhina reigned. The latter inflicted a heavy defeat on him at Miskiyāna (between ʿAin Baiḍāʾ and Tebessa in the modern department of Co…

The Arab historians of the middle ages give this name to one of the two great groups into which the population of Barbary falls. According to the genealogical fiction which formed the frame-work of their ethnical classification, the Zenāta, who are descended from Maddg̲h̲is al-Abtar, are distinguished from the Ṣanhād̲j̲a who are descended from Bernes; Bernes and Madg̲h̲is were the sons of one father, Berr. Other theories connect the Zenāta with a certain S̲h̲ana or Ḏj̲ana, who was said to be ei…

b. Kaidād, a Ḵh̲ārid̲j̲ite, who imperiled the Fāṭimide dynasty at its very beginning. His real name was Muk̲h̲lad b. Kaidād, he belonged to the Banū Warkū, a subdivision of the Zanāta tribe, and was born at Kawkaw, in the Sudan, where his father was engaged in business. He embraced very early the Ḵh̲ārid̲j̲ite doctrines of the Nekkārites and propagated them at Taḳyūs, where he lived practicing the profession of schoolmaster. Having become suspected on different occasions, he departed to the East;…

, name of one of the two groups of tribes which together constitute the Berber nation [ q.v.], that of the other being the Butr. It represents the plural of the name of their common eponynxous ancestor: Burnus; for a possible origin of this name see butr. According to Ibn Ḵh̲aldūn, the Barānis comprised five great peoples: Awraba, ʿAd̲j̲īsa, Azdād̲j̲a, Maṣmūda-G̲h̲umāra. Kutāma-Zawāwa, Ṣanhād̲j̲a, Hawwāra. Whether, however, the last three belong to this group is a matter of controversy; they are considered by some to be descendants of Ḥimyar…

, a region of Algeria. The name Zāb (plur. Zibān) is given to the area around Biskra measuring about 125 miles from W. to E. and 30 to 40 from N. to S. It is a rather flat plain shading in the south into the Sahara and bordered on the north by the southern slopes of the Saharan Atlas, but having easy communication with the depression of the Hodna and the plateaus of Constantine through a wide gap which opens up between the hills of Zāb and the Awrās. Being subject to desert influences Zāb has only rare a…

, un des noms de l’enceinte fortifiée chez les Berbères, à l’intérieur de laquelle des pièces sont attribuées aux différentes familles de la tribu comme grenier à grains, et dans laquelle la tribu se réfugie dans les moments d’insécurité. Cette antique institution berbère survit encore dans les régions suivantes: le Ḏj̲abal Nafūsa (sous le nom de gaṣr = ḳaṣr ou temidelt); la Tunisie méridionale ( g̲h̲urfa); l’Awrās ( gelʿa = ḳalʿa); et au Maroc, le Rif, et surtout le Haut, le Moyen et l’Anti-Atlas ainsi que le Sirwa ( agadir chez les S̲h̲luḥs et ig̲h̲erm chez les Berbères du̇ Moyen-Atlas…

, nom de l’un des deux groupes de peuplades qui constituent l’ensemble des Berbères [ q.v.], l’autre étant celui des Butr. Il représente le pluriel du nom de leur ancêtre éponyme commun: Burnus; pour une origine possible de cette appellation, voir Butr. Selon Ibn Ḵh̲aldūn, les Barānis auraient compris sept grands peuples: Awraba, ʿAd̲j̲īsa, Azdād̲j̲a, Maṣmūda-G̲h̲umāra, Kutāma-Zawāwa, Ṣanhād̲j̲a, Hawwāra. Cependant, l’appartenance des trois derniers à ce groupe est controversée; certains en font des descendants de Ḥimyar, donc des non-b…

, an ancestor of the kings of Central Mag̲h̲rib (Tlemcen) [see ʿabdalwādides]. The following is the genealogy of ʿAbd al-Wād as given by Yaḥyā b. Ḵh̲aldūn: „The origin of this name goes back to ʿAbd al-Wādī, so called from the ascetic life led by the ancestor of the ʿAbdalwādides. — He was a son of S̲h̲ad̲j̲īh…b. Muḍar b. Nizār b. Maʿadd b. ʿAdnān, according to the opinion given to us by Ibn Abi’l-Faiyāḍ and other authors“. Notwithstanding the slight value of this genealogy, it still shows that ʿAbd al-Wād …

(or Kotāma), one of the great Berber families; when Islām was introduced into North Africa, they occupied all the northern part of the modern department of Constantine, between the Awrās [q. v.] and the sea, that is the region containing the towns of Īkd̲j̲ān, Seṭīf, ¶ Bāg̲h̲āya, Ngaus (Niḳāwus), Tiguist (Tikist), Mīla, Constantine, Skīkda (Philippe-ville), al-Ḳoll (Collo), Ḏj̲id̲j̲ellī [q. v.], Bellezma, and the part of Kabylia in the department of Algiers, i. e. the region between Wed Sahel and the Seban. One legend flattering the nation…

or Ketama , one of the great Berber families; when Islam was introduced into North Africa, they occupied all the northern part of the region of the Constantincis, between the Awrās [ q.v.] and the sea, that is the region containing the towns of Īkd̲j̲ān, Seṭīf, Bāg̲h̲āya, Ngaus (Niḳāwus), Tiguist (Tikist), Mīla, Constantine, Skīkda, D̲j̲id̲j̲ellī, Bellezma, and also Lesser Kabylia. One legend ¶ flattering the national pride makes them to have been descended from the Ḥimyarites brought there by Ifrīḳus. Katām, the eponymous ancestor of their race, was said …

History. The Berbers have been settled in North Africa since remote antiquity. The ancient historians and geographers mention them under various names; the Nasamones and Psylli in Cyrenaïca and Tripolitania; the Garamantes leading a nomadic life in the Sahara; the Makyles and Maxices in the Tunisian Ṣāḥel, the Musulani and the Numidians in the eastern Mag̲h̲rib, the Gaetuli on the borders of the desert and the high tablelands and lastly the Mauri occupying central and western Mag̲h̲rib. The estab…