Algiers

Algiers is the capital city of Algeria, located on the Mediterranean Sea in the north-central portion of the country. In 2025, an estimated 4.325 million people resided within the urban area. Algiers is the largest city in Algeria, the third-largest city on the Mediterranean, the sixth-largest city in the Arab world, and the 29th-largest city in Africa by population. Algiers is the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many communes without having its own separate governing body. It extends along the Bay of Algiers surrounded by the Mitidja Plain and major mountain ranges. Its favorable location made it the center of Ottoman and French influences for the region, shaping it to be a diverse metropolis.

Algiers was formally founded in 972 AD by Buluggin ibn Ziri, though its history goes back to between 1200 and 250 BC as a Phoenician trading settlement. Over time, it came under the control of several powers, including Numidia, the Roman Empire, and various Islamic caliphates. In 1516, it became the capital of the Ottoman Regency of Algiers, a status it held until the French invasion in 1830, after which it served as the capital of French Algeria. During World War II, it briefly functioned as the administrative center of Free France from 1942 to 1944 before returning to French colonial rule. It has remained the capital of the modern Algerian state since the Algerian Revolution in 1962.

Algiers is the main tourist destination in Algeria, known for its numerous museums, art galleries, and cultural institutions. Most notable is the historic Casbah, a UNESCO World Heritage Site featuring traditional Algerian, Ottoman, and Andalusian architecture. The city also contains a larger French-built section that showcases diverse architectural styles and trends. Commonly referred to as al bidha ("the white") for its whitewashed buildings, Algiers blends colonial and indigenous urban influences. It hosted the 1975 Mediterranean Games and various major international sporting events, and it serves as the seat of the Consultative Council of the Arab Maghreb Union. Numerous Algerian multinational companies and institutions are based in the city, such as Sonatrach Petroleum Corporation, Air Algérie, and Bank of Algeria.

The present name of the city is the Arabic name al-Jazāʾir (الجزائر), meaning "The Islands", this name's origin is related to the 4 main islands off the western cape where people settled, looking on a map we can notice that the islands were eventually connected to the mainland in 1525 AD via a pier now named Kheireddine pier. This name is a truncated form of the name that was used first by Buluggin ibn Ziri when he established the modern city in 972 AD which was Jazaʾir Banī Mazghanna (جزائر بني مزغانة), meaning "islands of Banu Mazghanna", this term was used by the Hammadid dynasty as well as early medieval geographers such as Muhammad al-Idrisi and Yaqut al-Hamawi. Before that, from French and Catalan Alger from the Arabic name . Al-Jazāʾir is , used by . The name was given by Buluggin ibn Ziri after he established the city on the ruins of the Phoenician city of Icosium in 950. During Ottoman rule, the name of the capital, al-Jazā'ir, was extended over the entire country, giving it the English name Algeria derived from the French name Algérie.

In classical antiquity, the ancient Greeks knew the town as Ikósion (Ancient Greek: Ἰκόσιον), which was Latinized as Icosium under Roman rule. The Greeks explained the name as coming from their word for "twenty" (εἴκοσι, eíkosi), supposedly because it had been founded by 20 companions of Hercules when he visited the Atlas Mountains during his labors.

Algiers is also known as el-Behdja (البهجة, "The Joyous") El Mahrussa ("the good-guarded"), or "Algiers the White" (French: Alger la Blanche) for its whitewashed buildings.

 Phoenicia and Punicia pre 202 BC
 Numidia 202 BC–104 BC
 Mauretania 104 BC-42 AD
 Roman Empire 42-435
 Vandal Kingdom 435–534
 Byzantine Empire 534-700s
 Umayyad Caliphate 700s–750
 Abbasid Caliphate 750 AD-800
 Aghlabids (As a vassal state of the Abbasids) 800 AD–909
 Fatimid Caliphate 909–972
 Zirid dynasty (As a vassal state of the Fatimid Caliphate) 972–1014
 Hammadid dynasty 1014–1082
 Almoravid Empire 1082–1151
 Almohad Caliphate 1151–1235
Thaaliba, (tributary of the Tlemcen) 1235–1516
Regency of Algiers, (tributary of the Ottoman Empire) 1516–1830
France, (French Algeria) 1830–1962
Algeria 1962–present

The city's history is believed to date back to 1200 BC, but it was a small settlement without any significance until around the 3rd century BC when "Ikosim" became a small port town in Carthage where Phoenicians were trading with other Mediterranean ports. After the Battle of Cirta, Numidia got a hold of the town along with its neighboring regions at around 202 BC, after which the Punic Wars started weakening the Berber nation. On 104 BC, following the capturing of Jughurta and executing him in Rome, the western half of his nation was given to Mauretania under the rule of Bocchus I. At around 42 AD, Claudius divided Mauretania into two provinces, Mauretania Caesariensis that included Icosium as one of its towns; the second province was Mauretania Tingitana and were deemed as Roman Municipiums, additionally they were given Latin rights by the emperor Vespasian. In 371-373 AD, Mauretania revolted with the help of Firmus, in hopes of establishing an independent state. Icosium was raided and damaged. Some clues show the presence of bishops in the region at this time.