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Caesarea in Mauretania

Cherchell
شرشال
Cherchell's fountain place
Cherchell's fountain place
Location of Cherchell in the Tipaza Province
Location of Cherchell in the Tipaza Province
Cherchell is located in Algeria
Cherchell
Cherchell
Location of Cherchell in the Tipaza Province
Coordinates: 36°36′36″N 2°11′48″E / 36.61000°N 2.19667°E / 36.61000; 2.19667Coordinates: 36°36′36″N 2°11′48″E / 36.61000°N 2.19667°E / 36.61000; 2.19667
Country Algeria
Province Tipaza
District Cherchell
Fort Joinville Lighthouse
Cherchell
Cherchell 7 شرشال - panoramio.jpg
Fort Joinville Lighthouse
Cherchell is located in Algeria
Cherchell
Algeria
Location Fort Joinville
Cherchell
Algeria
Coordinates 36°36′41.78″N 2°11′17.15″E / 36.6116056°N 2.1880972°E / 36.6116056; 2.1880972
Year first constructed 1881
Foundation stone base
Construction stone tower
Tower shape cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern
Markings / pattern unpainted tower, black lantern
Height 28.60 metres (93.8 ft)
Focal height 40.10 metres (131.6 ft)
Light source main power
Intensity 1,000 W
Range 25 nautical miles (46 km; 29 mi)
Characteristic Fl (2+1) W 15s.
Admiralty number E6636
NGA number 22468
ARLHS number ALG-019
Managing agent Office Nationale de Signalisation Maritime

Cherchell (older Cherchel, Arabic: شرشال‎‎) is a seaport town in the Province of Tipaza, Algeria, 55 miles west of Algiers. It is the district seat of Cherchell District. In 1998 it had a population of 24,400.

Phoenicians from Carthage founded a town at Cherchell around 400 BC, in an area on the northern Maghreb littoral 100 km west of Algiers. Established as a trading station, the city was originally known as Iol or Jol.

Cherchell became a part of the kingdom of Numidia under Jugurtha, who died in 104 BC. It served as a key city for the polity's Berber monarchy and generals. The Berber Kings Bocchus I and Bocchus II lived there, as occasionally did other Kings of Numidia. Iol was situated in an area called Mauretania, which was then a part of the Numidian kingdom.

During the 1st century BC, due to the city's strategic location, new defences were built.

The last Numidian king was Juba II; his wife was the Greek Ptolemaic princess Cleopatra Selene II, daughter of Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra of Egypt. In 29 BC, Roman emperor Augustus reorganized the area, appointing Juba king of the client kingdom Mauretania, which included western Numidia. The capital was established at Iol, renamed Caesarea or Caesarea Mauretaniae, in honor of the emperor.


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