From the Roman city of Saldae to the hammadid foundation of al-Nāṣiriyya (3rd/9th-5th/11th centuries): History of Bejaia, a city in transition.

Abstract

The city of Saldae was mentioned for the last time in the 5th century AD of our era. Before that, Béjaia hardly appeared in the Arab sources until its refoundation by the Hammadites  power in the end of the 5th / 11th century AD Thus ,very little was known on the history of  Béjaia, the newly named city ,even if some fragments allowed to make clear this hiatus. It appeared that the occupation of the site was uninterrupted despite the ruptures caused by the end of the Roman order and the Islamic conquest, which were revealed by toponymy. After that, Béjaia became dynamized owing to the presence of an Andalusian community and, therefore, acquired maritime functions which were growing progressively.

Key words: Béjaia, urban history, Central Maghreb, Al Andalus, network exchanges.