Guelma
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Guelma ⴳⴰⵍⵎⴰ,ڨالمة |
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| City | ||
| City of Guelma | ||
From top left to bottom right clockwise: Souidani Boudjemmâa Boulevard, province administration, municipal theater, St. Augustine Place, Oued Maïz Road, the Roman theater, and Lake Bouhemdane
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| Nickname(s): La ville assiette (The Basin City) | ||
 Location of Guelma in the Guelma Province |
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 Guelma
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| Coordinates: 36°27′N 7°26′E / 36.450°N 7.433°ECoordinates: 36°27′N 7°26′E / 36.450°N 7.433°E | ||
| Country |
 Algeria
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| Province | Guelma (seat) | |
| District | Guelma (seat) | |
| Government | ||
| • PMA Seats | 23 | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 44.74 km2 (17.27 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 256 m (840 ft) | |
| Population (2008) | ||
| • Total | 120,004 | |
| • Density | 2,700/km2 (6,900/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+01) | |
| Postal code | 24000 | |
| ONS code | 2401 | |
| Website | www |
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Guelma (Algerian Arabic: ڨالمة; Berber: ⴳⴰⵍⵎⴰ; 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.
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.
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Wikipedia