See also:

• ORAN (Arabic Wahran, i.e. ravine)

ORAN (Arabic Wahran, i.e. See also:

• RAVINE

ravine)  , a See also:

• CITY (through Fr. cite, from Lat. civitas)

city of See also:

• ALGERIA
• ALGERIA (Algerie)

Algeria, See also:

• CAPITAL (i.e. capital stock or fund)
• CAPITAL (Lat. caput, head)

capital of the See also:

• DEPARTMENT (Fr. departement, from departir, to separate into parts)

department and military See also:

• DIVISION (from Lat. dividere, to break up into parts, separate)

division of the same name . It stands at the See also:

• HEAD (in 0. Eng. heafad; the word is common to Teutonic languages; cf. Dutch hoofd, Ger. Haupt, generally taken to be in origin connected with Lat. caput, Gr. KerbOvi7)
• HEAD, SIR EDMUND WALKER, BART
• HEAD, SIR FRANCIS BOND, BART

head.of the Gulf of See also:

• ORAN (Arabic Wahran, i.e. ravine)

Oran, on the Mediterranean in 35° 44' N., o° 41' W . The city is 261 m. by See also:

• RAIL

rail W.S.W. of See also:

• ALGIERS (Fr. Alger, Arab. Jezair, i.e. The Islands)

Algiers, 220 M . E. of See also:

• GIBRALTAR

Gibraltar and 13o m . S. of See also:

• CARTAGENA, or CARTHAGENA

Cartagena, See also:

• SPAIN
• SPAIN (Espana)

Spain . It is built on the steep slopes of the See also:

• JEBEL (plur. jibed)

Jebel Murjajo, which rises to a height of 1900 ft . The city was originally cut in two by the See also:

• RAVINE

ravine of See also:

• WAD

Wad Rekhi, now for the most See also:

• PART

part covered by boulevards and buildings . See also:

• WEST
• WEST, BENJAMIN (1738-1820)
• WEST, NICHOLAS (1461-1533)

West of the ravine lies the old See also:

• PORT

port, and above this rises what was the See also:

• SPANISH

Spanish See also:

• TOWN

town with the See also:

• ANCIENT
• ANCIENT (also spelt ANTIENT; derived, through the Fr. ancien, old, from the late Lat. antianum, from ante, before)

ancient citadel looking down on it; but few traces of Spanish occupation remain . The See also:

• MODERN

modern See also:

• QUARTER (through Fr. from Lat. quartarius, fourth part)

quarter rises, like an See also:

• AMPHITHEATRE (Gr. 441, around, and O&arpov, a place for spectators)

amphitheatre, to the See also:

• EAST
• EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

east of the ravine . The See also:

• PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place d'Armes, built on the See also:

• PLATEAU (a French term, older platel, for a flat piece of wood, metal, &c., from plat, flat)
• PLATEAU, JOSEPH ANTOINE FERDINAND (1801-1883)

plateau above the ravine, is the centre of the modern quarter . It contains a See also:

• FINE

fine See also:

• COLUMN (Lat. columna)

column commemorative of the See also:

• BATTLE

battle of Sidi Brahim (1845), between the See also:

• FRENCH
• FRENCH, DANIEL CHESTER (1850– )
• FRENCH, NICHOLAS (1604-1678)

French and Abd-el-Kader . The See also:

• CHATEAU (from Lat. castellum, fortress, through O. Fr. chastel, chasteau)

Chateau Neuf, built in 1563 by the Spaniards, overlooks the old port .

Formerly the seat of the beys of Oran, it is occupied by the See also:

• GENERAL
• GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relating to a genus, kind or class)

general in command of the military division and also serves as See also:

• BARRACKS (derived through the French from the Late Lat. barra, a bar)
• BARRACKS, CAMP

barracks . The kasbah (citadel) or Chateau Vieux, used for military purposes, lies S.W. of the Chateau Neuf . It was partly destroyed by the See also:

• EARTHQUAKE

earthquake of the 8th and 9th of See also:

• OCTOBER

October 1790 . On the hills behind the kasbah are Fort St See also:

• GREGOIRE, HENRI (1750—1831)

Gregoire, a votive See also:

• CHAPEL

chapel commemorative of the See also:

• CHOLERA (from the Gr. Xo)du, tile, and Map, to flow)

cholera of 1849, and Fort See also:

• SANTA

Santa Cruz, crowning at a height of 1312 ft. the See also:

• SUMMIT

summit of the Aidur . Fort de la Moune (so called from the monkeys said to have haunted the neighbourhood) is at the western end of the See also:

• HARBOUR (from M.E. hereberge, here, an army; cf. Ger. Heer and -beorg, protection or shelter. Other early forms in English were herberwe and haiborow, as seen in various place names, such as Market Harborough.. The French auberge, an inn, derived through

harbour, and commands the road from Oran to Mers-el-Kebir (see below) . Fort St Philippe, See also:

• SOUTH
• SOUTH, ROBERT (1634–1716)

south of the kasbah, replaces the old See also:

• CASTLE
• CASTLE (Lat. castellum, a fort, diminutive of castra, a camp; Fr. chateau and chdtel)

Castle of the See also:

• SAINTS, BATTLE OF THE

Saints of the Spaniards . There is subterranean communication between all the ancient forts . The See also:

• CATHEDRAL

cathedral, dedicated to St See also:

• LOUIS
• LOUIS (804–876)
• LOUIS (893–911)
• LOUIS, JOSEPH DOMINIQUE, BARON (1755-1837)
• LOUIS, or LEWIS (from the Frankish Chlodowich, Chlodwig, Latinized as Chlodowius, Lodhuwicus, Lodhuvicus, whence-in the Strassburg oath of 842-0. Fr. Lodhuwigs, then Chlovis, Loys and later Louis, whence Span. Luiz and—through the Angevin kings—Hungarian

Louis, and built in 1839, occupies the site of a chapel belonging in the days of Spanish dominion to a See also:

• CONVENT (Lat. conventus, from convenire, to come together)

convent of monks of St See also:

• BERNARD, CHARLES DE
• BERNARD, CLAUDE (1813-1878)
• BERNARD, JACQUES (1658--1718)
• BERNARD, MOUNTAGUE (1S2o—1882)
• BERNARD, SAINT
• BERNARD, SAINT (Iogo-1153)
• BERNARD, SIMON (1779—1839)
• BERNARD, SIR THOMAS, BART

Bernard . The See also:

• GRAND

Grand See also:

• MOSQUE (through Fr. mosquie; Span. mezquila, from Arab. masjid, sajada, to adore)

Mosque (in See also:

• RUE (Fr. rue, Lat. ruta, from Gr. pur)

rue Philippe) was erected at the end of the 18th See also:

• CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century to commemorate the See also:

• EXPULSION (Lat. expulsio, from expellere)

expulsion of the Spaniards, and with See also:

• MONEY

money paid as See also:

• RANSOM (from Lat. redemptio, through Fr. rancon)

ransom for See also:

• CHRISTIAN
• CHRISTIAN, WILLIAM (1608-1663)

Christian slaves . Other mosques have been turned into churches or utilized for military purposes . The military See also:

• HOSPITAL (Lat. haspitalis, the adjective of hospes, host or guest)

hospital, a large See also:

• BUILDING

building adjoining the cathedral, contains 1400 beds . A See also:

• HOUSE
• HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in Gothic it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

house in the place de 1'h6pital, now used by the military, was once the See also:

• HOME
• HOME, DANIEL DUNGLAS (1833-1886)
• HOME, EARLS OF

home of the See also:

• INQUISITION, THE (Lat. inquisitio, an inquiry)

Inquisition; it was built at the expense of Spain in 1772 .

The museum formed by the Oran Society of See also:

• GEOGRAPHY (Gr. yil, earth, and ypiickty, to write)

Geography and See also:

• ARCHAEOLOGY (from Gr. &pxa1a, ancient things, and Xoyos, theory or science)

Archaeology (founded in 1878) has a fine collection of antiquities, Oran is the seat of a large See also:

• TRADE (O. Eng. trod, footstep, from tredan, to tread; in M. Eng. the forms teed, trod and trade appear, the last in the sense of a beaten track)
• TRADE, BOARD OF

trade . There is See also:

• REGULAR

regular communication with See also:

• MARSEILLES

Marseilles, See also:

• CETTE

Cette, See also:

• BARCELONA

Barcelona, See also:

• VALENCIA
• VALENCIA, or VALENTIA

Valencia., Cartagena, See also:

• MALAGA

Malaga, Gibraltar, and the various ports on the See also:

• BARBARY

Barbary See also:

• COAST (from Lat. costa, a rib, side)

coast . The railway to Algiers is joined at Perregaux (47 M . E. of Oran) by the See also:

• LINE

line from Arzeu to Saida and See also:

• AIN

Ain Sefra which serves the high plateau whence See also:

• ESPARTO, or SPANISH GRASS

esparto is obtained . There is also a railway to Sidi-See also:

• BEL

Bel-Abbes and See also:

• TLEMCEN

Tlemcen . The export trade is chiefly in esparto grass, cereals, wines, See also:

• OLIVE (Olea europaea)

olive oil, See also:

• MARBLES

marbles, See also:

• CATTLE (Norman Fr. catel, from Late Lat. capitale, wealth or property, a word applied in the feudal system to movable property and particularly to live stock, and surviving in its wider meaning as " chattel " or " chattle ")

cattle and hides . The imports include manufactured goods, See also:

• COAL

coal and other commodities . The inner harbour, or old port, contains two basins, one of to acres and another of 6o acres, formed by the construction of a See also:

• PIER (older forms per or Pere, from Med. Lat. pera; the word for piers out of water. For river piers, where a firm, watertight is of obscure origin, and the connexion with Fr. Pierre, Lat. stratum is found at a moderate depth below the river-bed, the pctr

pier eastward from Fort de la Moune, with two See also:

• CROSS

cross piers . In consequence of the growing importance of the port and the decision of the French See also:

• GOVERNMENT
• GOVERNMENT (0. Fr. governement, mod. gouvernement, O. Fr. governer, mod. gouverner, from Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, guide, rule; cf. Gr. xv(3epvav)

government to make Oran the See also:

• CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief See also:

• NAVAL

naval station in Algeria, it was decided to build an eastern harbour . This See also:

• OUTER

outer harbour, on which See also:

• WORK

work wasbegun in 1905, lies east of the old port and is about See also:

• DOUBLE
• DOUBLE (from the Mid. Eng. duble, the form which gives the present pronunciation, through the Old Er. duble, from Lat. duplus, twice as much)

double its See also:

• SIZE

size . The least See also:

• DEPTH

depth of See also:

• WATER

water in the old harbour is 18 ft., the See also:

• AVERAGE

average depth in the new harbour is 30 ft., the depth at the entrance being 40 ft . The See also:

• POPULATION (Lat. populus, people; populare, to populate)

population of the city in 1906 was 100,499, of whom 21,906 were French, and 23,071 Spanish .

There were also 27,570 naturalized Frenchmen, mostly of Spanish origin . There is a See also:

• NEGRO (from Lat. eager, black)

negro See also:

• COLONY (Lat. colonia, from colonus, a cultivator)

colony in the city, numbering about 3000, included in the See also:

• CENSUS (from Lat. censere, to estimate or assess; connected by some with centum, i.e. a count by hundreds)

census in the native population of 16,296 . Including the See also:

• GARRISON
• GARRISON, WILLIAM LLOYD (1805-1879)

garrison and naval forces the See also:

• TOTAL

total population of the See also:

• COMMUNE (Med. Lat. communia, Lat. communis, common)
• COMMUNE, MEDIEVAL

commune was 106,517 . Four See also:

• MILES, NELSON APPLETON (1839— )

miles west of Oran a small promontory forms the harbour of Mers-el-Kebir, formerly a stronghold of the Barbary pirates . The promontory is strongly fortified and crosses See also:

• FIRE (in O. Eng. f j'r; the word is common to West German languages, cf. Dutch vuur, Ger. Feuer; the pre-Teutonic form is seen in Sanskrit pu, pavaka, and Gr. irup; the ultimate origin is usually taken to be a root meaning to purify, cf. Lat. purus)

fire with a See also:

• BATTERY (Fr. batterie, from battles, to beat)

battery erected to the east of Oran . A road along the east coast, cut for the most part out of the solid See also:

• ROCK
• ROCK (O.Fr. rake, Sp. rota, Ital. rocca; possibly from a Lat. form rupica, from rupes, rock)
• ROCK, DANIEL (1799–187t)

rock, connects Oran and Mers-el-Kebir . Attempts have been made to identify Oran with the Quiza, and Mers-el-Kebir with the See also:

• PORTUS

Portus See also:

• MAGNUS, HEINRICH GUSTAV (1802-1870)

Magnus, of the See also:

• ROMANS
• ROMANS, EPISTLE TO THE

Romans . There are, however, no See also:

• ROMAN

Roman ruins at Oran or at Mers-el-Kebir . The See also:

• FOUNDATION (Lat. fundatio, from fundare, to found)

foundation of Oran is more properly ascribed to Andalusian See also:

• ARABS

Arabs, who settled there in the beginning of the loth century, and gave it its name . Rapidly rising into importance as a See also:

• SEA (in O. Eng. sae, a common Teutonic word; cf. Ger. See, Dutch Zee, &c.; the ultimate source is uncertain)
• SEA, COMMAND OF THE

sea-port, Oran was taken and retaken, pillaged and rebuilt, by the various conquerors of See also:

• NORTHERN

northern See also:

• AFRICA
• AFRICA, ROMAN

Africa . See also:

• ALMORAVIDES (properly Murabtis, the name being corrupted through the Spanish)

Almoravides, See also:

• ALMOHADES (properly Muwahhadis, i.e. " Unitarians," the name being corrupted through the Spanish)

Almohades and Marinides succeeded each other, and in the space of See also:

• HALF

half a century the city changed hands nine times . In the latter half of the 15th century it became subject to the sultans of Tlemcen, and reached the height of its prosperity .

Active See also:

• COMMERCE
• COMMERCE (Lat. commercium, from, cum, together, and rnerx, merchandise)

commerce was maintained with the Venetians, the Pisans, the Genoese, the Marseillais and the Catalans, who imported the produce of their looms, See also:

• GLASS
• GLASS (O.E. glees, cf. Ger. Glas, perhaps derived from an old Teutonic root gla-, a variant of glo-, having the general sense of shining, cf. " glare," " glow ")
• GLASS, STAINED

glass-wares, See also:

• TIN (Lat.- stannum, whence the chemical symbol " Sn "; atomic weight =117.6, 0=16)

tin-wares, and See also:

• IRON [symbol Fe, atomic weight 55.85 (0=16)]

iron, and received in return See also:

• IVORY (Fr. ivoire, Lat. ebur)
• IVORY, SIR JAMES (1765-1842)

ivory, See also:

• OSTRICH

ostrich feathers, See also:

• GOLD
• GOLD [symbol Au, atomic weight 195.7(H = 1),197.2(0 =16)]

gold-dust, tanned hides, See also:

• GRAIN (derived through the French from Lat. granum, seed, from an Aryan root meaning " to wear down," which also appears in the common Teutonic word " corn ")

grain and negro slaves . Admirable woollen See also:

• CLOTH

cloth and splendid arms were manufactured . The magnificence of its mosques and other public buildings, the number of its See also:

• SCHOOLS

schools, and the extent of its warehouses See also:

• SHED

shed lustre on the city; but See also:

• WEALTH

wealth and luxury began to undermine its prosperity, and its ruin was hastened by the conduct of the Moslem refugees from Spain . Under the See also:

• INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence of these refugees the legitimate trade of the town gave place to piracy, Mers-el-Kebir becoming the stronghold of the pirates . Animated by the patriotic See also:

• ENTHUSIASM

enthusiasm of See also:

• CARDINAL (Lat. cardinalis)

Cardinal Ximenes, the Spaniards determined to put a stop to these expeditions which were carrying off their countrymen, destroying their commerce, and even ravaging their See also:

• COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country . Mers-el-Kebir See also:

• FELL
• FELL, JOHN (1625-1686)

fell into their hands on the 23rd of October 1505, and Oran in May 1509 . The latter victory, obtained with but trifling loss, was stained by the See also:

• MASSACRE

massacre of a third of the See also:

• MAHOMMEDAN

Mahommedan population . From 6000 to 8000 prisoners, 6o See also:

• CANNON (a word common to Romance languages, from the Lat. canna, a reed, tube, with the addition of the augmentative termination -on, -one)

cannon, engines of See also:

• WAR
• WAR (O. Eng. werre, Fr. guerre, of Teutonic origin; cf. O.H.G. werran, to confound)

war and a considerable See also:

• BOOTY (apparently influenced by " boot," O. Eng. bot, ad-vantage or profit, through an adaptation from an earlier form cognate with Ger. Beute and Fr. butin)

booty from the wealth accumulated by piracy fell into the hands of the conquerors . Cardinal Ximenes introduced the Inquisition, &c., and also restored and extended the fortifications . Oran became the penal See also:

• SETTLEMENT
• SETTLEMENT, ACT OF

settlement of Spain, but neither the convicts nor the noblemen in disgrace who were also banished thither seem to have been under rigorous surveillance; contemporary accounts speak of See also:

• CONSTANT, BENJAMIN (1845-1902)

constant fetes, See also:

• GAMES, CLASSICAL

games and See also:

• BULL
• BULL, GEORGE (1634–1710)
• BULL, JOHN (c. 1562–1628)
• BULL, OLE BORNEMANN (18ro-188o)

bull-fights . Meanwhile the See also:

• TURKS

Turks had become masters of Algeria, and expelled the Spaniards from all their possessions except Oran . The See also:

• BEY (a modern Turk. word, the older form being beg, cf. Pers. baig)

bey of See also:

• MASCARA

Mascara watched his opportunity, and at length, in 1708, the weakness of Spain and the See also:

• TREASON (Fr. trahison, Lat. traditio)

treason of the See also:

• COUNT (Lat. comes, gen. comitis, Fr. comte, Ital. conte, Span. conde)

count of See also:

• VERA, AUGUSTO (1813-1885)

Vera Cruz obliged the city to capitulate .

The Spaniards recovered See also:

• POSSESSION
• POSSESSION (Lat. possessio, possidere, to possess)

possession in 1732, but found the See also:

• MAINTENANCE (Fr. maintenance, from maintenir, to maintain, support, Lat. manu tenere, to hold in the hand)

maintenance of the place a See also:

• BURDEN, or BURTHEN

burden rather than a benefit, the neighbouring tribes having ceased to See also:

• DEAL

deal with the Christians . The earthquake of 1790 furnished an excuse for withdrawing their forces . Commencing by twenty-two See also:

• SEPARATE

separate shocks at brief intervals, the oscillations continued from the 8th of October to the 22nd of See also:

• NOVEMBER (Lat. novem, nine)

November . Houses and fortifications were over-thrown and a third of the garrison and a See also:

• GREAT

great number of the inhabitants perished . See also:

• FAMINE (Lat. fames, hunger)

Famine and aickness had begun to aggravate the situation when the bey of Mascara appeared before the town with 30,000 men . By prodigies of See also:

• ENERGY (from the Gr. ivipyela; iv, in, ipyov, work)

energy the Spanish See also:

• COMMANDER

commander held out till See also:

• AUGUST (originally Sextilis)

August 1791, when the Spanish government having made terms with the bey of Algiers, he was allowed to set See also:

• SAIL

sail for Spain with his guns and See also:

• AMMUNITION

ammunition . The bey Mahommed took possession of Oran in See also:

• MARCH
• MARCH (1) (from Fr. marcher, to walk; the earliest sense in French appears to be " to trample," and the origin has usually been found in the Lat. marcus, hammer; Low Lat. marcare, to hammer; hence to beat the road with the regular tread of a soldier: cf.
• MARCH, AUZIAS (c. "1395-1458)
• MARCH, EARLS OF
• MARCH, FRANCIS ANDREW (1825– )

March 1792, and made it his See also:

• RESIDENCE (Latin residere, to remain behind, to dwell, reside)

residence instead of Mascara . On the fall of Algiers the bey (See also:

• HASSAN

Hassan) placed himself under the See also:

• PROTECTION

protection of the conquerors, and shortly afterwards removed to the See also:

• LEVANT

Levant . The French See also:

• ARMY
• ARMY (from Fr. armee, Lat. armata)

army entered the city on the 4th of See also:

• JANUARY

January 1831, and took formal possession on the 17th of August . In 1832 a census of the town showed that it had but 3800 inhabitants, of whom more than two-thirds were See also:

• JEWS
• JEWS (Heb. Y8hudi, man of Judah; Gr. 'Iovbaiot; Lat. Judaei)

Jews . Under French See also:

• RULE

rule Oran has regained its ancient commercial activity and has become the second city in Algeria .