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(a.), in English the Sahara, the name given to the desert in the northern part of Africa. Ṣaḥrāʾ is the feminine of the adjective aṣḥar “fawn, tawny coloured”. It is applied by certain authors to an ensemble of stony terrain, steppelands and sands (cf. al-Idrīsī, éd. de Goeje, 37 n.), whilst the term mud̲j̲diba designates more particularly terrain covered with moving sands and totally waterless (see Abu ’l-Fidāʾ, 137, tr. Reinaud, ii/2, 190). Leo Africanus uses it as a synonym for “desert” in general, see Schefer’s ed., i/1, 5. ¶ 1. History of the term. The Arabic authors provide only fra…

, Tedellēs , the town now known as Dellys on the Algerian coast in the wilāya of Tizi-Ouzou (lat. 36° 57’ N., long. 3° 55’ E.). It is 110 km/70 miles east of Algiers and 5 km/3 miles to the east of the mouth of the Sebaou (Wādī Sabāw), the main river of Kabylia, from which it is separated by a mountain massif. 1. Geographical situation. The urban centre has developed on a slope towards the sea. It falls into three parts. In the north, the Arab-Kabyle town is the most densely populated and the only ancient quarter existing in Lower Kabylia; then, bordering on t…

(a.), en français, le Sahara, désert africain. Ṣaḥrāʾ est le féminin de l’ad̲j̲ectif aṣḥar «de couleur fauve». Ce mot est appliqué par beaucoup d’auteurs à un ensemble de terrains rocailleux, de steppes et de sables (Cf. al-Idrīsī, éd. de Goeje, 37, note), tandis que le mot mud̲j̲diba désigne plus spécialement des régions couvertes de sables vifs et totalement dépourvues d’eau (Cf. Abū l-Fidāʾ, Taḳwīm al-buldān, 137; trad. Reinaud, Il/ii, 190). Léon l’Africain — entre autres — l’emploie comme synonyme de désert en général; voir éd. Schefer, I/i, 5. 1. Histoire du terme. Les auteurs ara…