The architecture of Algeria encompasses a diverse history influenced by a number of internal and external forces, including the Roman Empire, Muslim conquest of the Maghreb, French colonization, and movements for Algerian independence.
Ancient Carthage Ancient Carthage gained control of coastal Algeria by the 5th century BC. The empire's influence on Algerian architecture is visible in the adoption of hybridized styles that integrated Punic, Hellenistic, and Roman architecture into pre existing architectural traditions.
Royal Numidian architecture
Under the ancient Berber kingdoms of Numidia and Mauretania, Algeria saw increased urban development. "Numidian Royal Architecture" is the term coined for the monuments constructed by the Numidian kings, which comprise tombs, tumuli and sanctuaries. Urbanization is especially associated with the reigns of kings Masinissa (202 BC–148 BC) and Juba II (30 BC – 25 AD). Evidence of urban planning during the kingdom of Mauretania has been found in neighboring Morocco and Tunisia. Juba II and his wife, Cleopatra Selene, were clients of Rome and promoters of late Hellenistic culture. They used Iol (modern Cherchell) as their royal capital, renaming it Caesarea and developing it into a city with a regular grid plan and the kind of architecture associated with the Roman Augustan period. Some structures in Caesarea have been dated or tentatively dated to Juba's time, including the theater, the amphitheater, and the harbor.
A number of large scale funerary monuments and tombs built during the era are the most well documented examples of Berber kingdom architecture. The monuments combine a number of different architectural styles introduced by the Carthaginians, frequently referencing Hellenistic and Punic motifs. The oldest of these is Medracen in present-day Algeria. Possibly influenced by Greek architecture further east, or built with the help of Greek craftsmen, the tomb consists of a large tumulus constructed in well-cut ashlar masonry and featuring sixty Doric columns and an Egyptian-style cornice. The mausoleum has been dated to fourth century BC or to the time of Masinissa at the end of the third century BC and the first half of the second century BC. Another famous example is the Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania in western Algeria, which may date from the time of Juba II. This structure consists of a stone tumulus, decorative columns, and spiral pathways that lead to a single interior chamber. A number of "tower tombs" from the Numidian period can also be found in sites from Algeria to Libya. Despite their wide geographic range, they often share a similar style: usually a three-story structure topped by a convex pyramid. They may have initially been inspired by Greek monuments but they constitute an original type of structure associated with Numidian culture. Examples of these have been found at Siga and Soumaa d'el Khroub, as well as at Dougga (in present-day Tunisia) and Sabratha (in Libya).
Roman era The Romans annexed eastern Numidia in 46 BC. After the death of Arabio, six years later, Western Numidia was annexed as well. The two provinces were later combined with Tripolitania to form the Roman province of Africa Proconsularis.
The Romans built more than 500 towns and cities in what is now Algeria. When developing plans for their new cities, Roman engineers most frequently utilized an orthogonal, rectilinear grid plan characterized by a decumanus (east-west oriented street) and cardo (north-south oriented street). The two streets were capped with gates as each of their terminals and a forum stood at their intersection.
The city of Timgad, established by Trajan around 100 AD, is a well preserved example of Roman urban planning in Algeria. The city is laid out in an exact square, measuring 1,200 Roman feet on all four sides. The city was further subdivided into square city blocks, each with an area of 100 square Roman feet.
Early Islamic era
Islam reached Algeria in the 7th century via the Muslim conquest of Northern Africa. Islamic conquest brought many of the hallmark features of Muslim cities to Algeria, including the souq as a commercial center, the hammam as a social center, and the mosque and accompanying madrasa as a religious center. The city of Algiers, whose old district is known as the Casbah, developed during this era.
With the introduction of Islam to Algeria, the Algerian city experienced a reconstruction. In accordance with the Quran, cities were separated into public space (halal) and a private space reserved for women and families (harīm). Residential areas of cities additionally became increasingly segregated into religious quarters. As opposed to the exclusionary European ghetto, these quarters provided insular cultural centers for Jewish and Islamic life within the Algerian city.
After the initial Muslim conquest, the region was controlled by multiple successive dynasties including the Rustamids, the Aghlabids, the Fatimids, and the Zirids. The Mosque of Sidi Uqba, in the village of Sidi Okba (near Biskra), is reputedly the oldest Islamic monument in Algeria, as it contains the tomb of Uqba ibn Nafi, dated to 686. The mosque itself, a simple hypostyle structure similar to early mosques in Medina, was probably modified and renovated in later periods, including by the Zirids in the 11th century. In 790, Idris I, the founder of the Idrisid dynasty, founded the Mosque of Agadir on the site of Roman settlement of Pomeria (later to become Tlemcen), whose remains have been excavated by modern archaeologists. The Rustamids established a new capital for themselves at Tahart (near present-day Tiaret), which was occupied seasonally by its semi-nomadic inhabitants. It was destroyed by the Fatimids in 909 but its remains were excavated in the 20th century. The city was surrounded by a fortified wall interspersed with square towers. It contained a hypostyle mosque, a fortified citadel on higher ground, and a palace structure with a large courtyard similar to the design of traditional houses.
In 934, while in the service of the Fatimid caliph al-Qa'im, the Zirid leader Ziri ibn Manad built a palace at 'Ashir (near the present town of Kef Lakhdar in Algeria). It is one of the oldest palaces in the Maghreb to have been discovered and excavated by archeologists today. It was built in stone and has a carefully-designed symmetrical plan which included a large central courtyard and two smaller courtyards in each of the side wings of the palace. Some scholars believe this design imitated the now-lost Fatimid palaces of Mahdia. The Hammadids, an offshoot of the Zirids, based themselves in Algeria and in 1007 they founded an entirely new fortified capital known as Qala'at Bani Hammad, northeast of present-day M'Sila. Although abandoned and destroyed in the 12th century, the city has been excavated by modern archeologists and the site is one of the best-preserved medieval Islamic capitals in the world, with multiple palaces and a monumental mosque.
From the late 11th to early 13th centuries varying extents of Algerian territory were controlled by the Almoravids and Almohads, Berber empires that ruled in North Africa and Al-Andalus (Muslim-controlled Iberian Peninsula). The Great Mosque of Tlemcen (1082), the Great Mosque of Algiers (1096–1097), and the Great Mosque of Nedroma (1145) are all important foundations from the Almoravid period. The Almoravid period, along with the subsequent Almohad period, is considered one of the most formative stages of "Moorish" (western Islamic) architecture, establishing many of the forms and motifs that defined architectural styles in the region during the subsequent centuries.
Zayyanid period
After the Almohads, the Zayyanid or Abd al-Wadid dynasty ruled from their main capital at Tlemcen. Yaghmorasan (r. 1236–1283), the founder of the dynasty, added minarets to the earlier Mosque of Agadir and the Great Mosque of Tlemcen. His successor, Abu Sa'id 'Uthman (r. 1283–1304), founded the Mosque of Sidi Bel Hasan in 1296, also in Tlemcen. The Zayyanids built other religious foundations in and around the city, but many have not survived to the present day or have preserved little of their original appearance. Madrasas, such as the Madrasa Tashfiniya (founded by Abu Tashfin I, r. 1318–1337), were new institutions which were introduced to the Maghreb in the 13th century and proliferated under the Zayyanids and their contemporaries. The Marinid dynasty, based in Fez, intermittently occupied Tlemcen and also left their mark on the area. During his siege of the city at the beginning of the 14th century, the Marinid ruler Abu Ya'qub built a nearby fortified settlement named al-Mansurah, which includes the monumental Mansurah Mosque (begun in 1303, only partly preserved today). Further east, Abu al-Hasan founded the Mosque of Sidi Bu Madyan in 1338–39.
Ottoman period In 1518 the Ottoman Empire gained control of Algeria. Under Ottoman rule, a hybrid style developed influenced by traditional Turkish styles, including central-plan mosques and glazed tile panels. The influence of Ottoman architecture was largely limited to the Algerian coast and, in particular, the regional capital of Algiers. Algiers developed into a major town and witnessed regular architectural patronage, and as such most of the major monuments from this period are found there. By contrast, the city of Tlemcen, formerly a major capital, went into relative decline and saw far less architectural activity.
Algiers was protected by a wall about 3.1 kilometres long, reinforced with bastions, and pierced by five gates. A citadel-fortress, the qasba (the origin of the current name "Casbah"), occupied the highest point of the town. By the end of the 18th century the city had over 120 mosques, including over a dozen congregational mosques. Most of the city's inhabitants were provided with water through a system of five major aqueducts and thousands of cisterns, with most houses having their own private cistern. The lower part of the city, near the shore, was the center of the Ottoman and Regency administration, containing the most important markets, mosques, wealthy residences, janissary barracks, government buildings (like the mint), and palaces.
Religious architecture Mosque architecture in Algiers during this period demonstrates the convergence of multiple influences as well as peculiarities that may be attributed to the innovations of local architects. Domes of Ottoman influence were introduced into the design of mosques, but minarets generally continued to be built with square shafts instead of round or octagonal ones, thus retaining local tradition, unlike contemporary architecture in Ottoman Tunisia and other Ottoman provinces, where the "pencil"-shaped minaret was a symbol of Ottoman sovereignty.