Guelma District

Guelma District is an Algerian district in Guelma Province, in northeastern Algeria.

The District was named after its capital city, Guelma, which is also the capital of the Province.

The district has several Ancient Roman archaeological sites.

Municipalities

The District is further divided into 2 municipalities, which is the lowest number per district subdivision in the Province:

References

External links

Coordinates: 36°27′N 7°25′E / 36.450°N 7.417°E / 36.450; 7.417

Guelma

Guelma (Algerian Arabic: ڨالمة  Algerian pronunciation: [ɡelmæ]) is the capital of Guelma Province and Guelma District, located in north-eastern Algeria, about 65 kilometers from the Mediterranean coast. Its location corresponds to that of ancient Calama.

History

Antiquity

Though Guelma was settled from early prehistory, it was first established as a town under the Phoenicians, who called it Malaca, probably a Phoenician word meaning "salt" (sharing a common etymology with Málaga in Spain). Later, the Romans settled the area and renamed it Calama, part of the Roman province of Numidia. Calama prospered during the rise of Christianity; Saint Possidius was bishop of Guelma during the 5th century. Later, the Vandal invasion devastated the area until the coming of the Byzantines, who settled the area and built city walls to protect it from further invasions. It was located in the Byzantine Exarchate of Africa. However, after the successful Islamic conquest of Algeria, the area was abandoned as a formal settlement, even later, during Ottoman rule.