Bani Hammad in Algeria.. a castle that summarizes 10 centuries of Islamic civilization
Historians consider it the first capital of the Hammadids
Algeria abounds with historical monuments that have been for decades archaeological evidence in the countries of the Maghreb. The Bani Hammad Castle in M'sila, in southern Algeria, is one of the Islamic monuments that expressed the consolidation of the Algerian nation and the highness of its civilization, due to its urban pattern, which reserved a place for it in the list of human heritage.
20 km north of the city of Messila, in the midst of a mountain range in the northern borders of the plains of "Al-Huda" at the foot of Jabal Al-Maadid, the Bani Hammad Castle was built between the years 398 AH / 399 AH / 1007 and 1008, whose foundation is credited to Hamad bin Belkin bin Ziri Al-Sunhaji Al-Barbari, according to the agreement that He concluded it with “Badis bin Al-Mansur bin Belkin bin Munad Al-Senhaji” in the year 395 AH / 1004 AD, as historians consider it the first capital of the Hammadids (a Berber-Sunhaji dynasty that ruled Algeria between the years 1014-1152 AD), and the second central state to be established in the central Maghreb.
Bani Hammad Castle – Algeria
Unique teacher
Bani Hammad Castle recorded its name as one of the unique monuments of its kind, as UNESCO classified it as a world heritage in the year 1980, due to its unique architectural character taken from the Fatimid style, and some Norman, Andalusian and Levantine influences, as the Hammadians, during their bright passage through the city of M’sila, marked the unique architecture of Its kind enchanted the cities of Sicily and Spain, forcing many sculptors to try to reproduce it in the Alhambra Palace in Granada.
Bani Hammad Castle simulates the fragrant history, as it is a fortified city protected from the north by Mount Taqurist, which is 1418 meters high, and from the west by Mount Qurain (1190 meters), and is surrounded from the east by a valley, whose straits form a natural wall for the city. The only road leading to the castle is a crooked bend that follows the "Wadi Faraj", and therefore Ibn Al-Atheer was accurate when he described it as: "One of the most fortified and highest castles, there is no tram on top of a tall mountain, the party can hardly reach it for its height." The castle was famous for agriculture, livestock breeding, industry, and commercial activity. Ibn Khaldun summed up what the castle was famous for in brief words, saying: “I sailed in architecture, expanded with urbanization, and traveled to it from the distant frontiers and the far country, students of science, and craftsmen, due to the hypocrisy of the markets of knowledge, crafts, and crafts in it.” ".
Re-consideration
Bani Hammad Castle stores ten centuries of Islamic civilization and mirrors of history in Algeria, and the Ministry of Tourism is trying to exploit this landmark to attract foreign tourists. , by allocating two tourist buses that tour all the tourist paths of the state, especially the tourist and cultural landmark, Bani Hammad Castle, which has been included in all local and national tourism paths and programs to promote it on a large scale.
Source : websites