Chlef

The Roman citadel, Castellum Tingitanum, was a city of the Roman province of Mauretania Caesariensis.

The site became known as Al-Asnam (Arabic for "sculptures") during the Umayyad Caliphate period. It covered an area of {{convert|600|x|300|m|ft|abbr=off}} and contained many statues.

A Christian basilica dating back to the reign of the Emperor Constantine was discovered here, with an elaborate mosaic. This is the oldest church to be found in Africa.Francois Decret, Early Christianity in North Africa (James Clarke & Co, 2011) p84

The Bishop Felix (Italian: Felice), was among the Catholic prelates summoned to the Council of Carthage (484) by the Arian Vandal king Huneric before he was exiled.

No other details are known about the ancient bishopric.

It was revived nominally as a Roman Catholic titular see in 1965, and was filled regularly since.

• Agustín Rodríguez (1965.12.07 – 1968.12.25)
• Antonino Nepomuceno, Oblate O.M.I. (1969.07.11 – 1997.02.14)
• Ireneusz Józef Pękalski, Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Łódź (Poland) (1999.12.11 – present)

{{Unreferenced section|date=February 2013}}

File:Breira (mines de fer) - wilaya de Chlef - panoramio.jpg

File:Mosqué a chLef boukadir.jpg

Chellif Valley was from the 15th century the territory of the Bedouin Ouled Kosseir, who settled there under the leadership of Hamou El Kosseir (H'ammü'l-Quççayri) having displaced the indigenous Berber tribes. This tribe is a tribal Djouadi (military nobility). If they even call themselves descendants of the Beni Makhzum (Either Khaled Ibn El Walid).{{Clarify|date=February 2013}} Some historians believe that it belongs to the Confederation of Ibn Suwayd Zoghba of Beni Hillal and therefore cousins of Mehal, other military nobility.

Documents of the French army and other historians speak of "most powerful and wealthy tribes' in the Chellif Valley in 1830,{{Citation needed|date=February 2013}} with more than 500,000 hectares of very fertile land and more than 19,000 soldiers. The Ouled Kosseir participated in the moubayâa{{Clarify|reason=what does this mean?|date=February 2013}} of the Emir Abdelkader, and their territory was granted under the Treaty of Tafna.

After the defeat of the Emir and his allies, their lands were in large part confiscated and distributed among settlers and other indigenous people, including Medjadja, marabouts who supported the French army on arrival.

The French Administration of Napoleon III, under the "Arab kingdom", tried to honour the leaders of the Ouled Kosseir with Djouadi{{clarify|reason=what does this mean?|date=February 2013}}. As such, some were decorated with the Legion of Honour (or Med Foudad Kharoubi Ben Ben Bia{{clarify|reason=what does this mean?|date=February 2013}}).

The last Kaid (tribal leader) after the arrival of the French army was Foudad Ben Adda, who served during 1867 on the city council of the municipality of Orleansville. He was also a member of the General Council of Algiers until his death in 1869.

{{Unreferenced section|date=February 2013}}

In 1843 Maréchal Bugeaud founded the city of Orléansville at the modern site of Chlef.

The town was located at the confluence of the Chlef River and the Tsighaout River. The town developed due to the harsh climate, one of the hottest in northern Algeria.

The 6.7 {{M|w}} Chlef earthquake shook northern Algeria on 9 September 1954 with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). At least 1,243 people were killed and 5,000 were injured.

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At that time the town had a population of 44,400 inhabitants.{{Citation needed|date=February 2013}} It was the home of the Algerian Division of the artistic group Lettrist International (LI), some of whom died in the earthquake. Mohamed Dahou survived and went on to become involved in the Situationist International. The LI described the town as "the most lettrist city in the world".{{Citation needed|date=February 2013}}

In the 2018 census the province of Chlef had just over 1 million inhabitants, of which 178,616 were living in the provincial capital Chlef. {{Cite web|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/algeria/admin/02__chlef/|access-date=31 August 2022 |title=Chlef (Province, Algeria) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location }}

Chlef lies in a valley at an elevation of {{convert|114|m|ft}} between two ranges of hills to the north and west. The city is surrounded by farmland; there are scattered trees both in the valley and on the hills.

Chlef has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh) bordering a Mediterranean climate (Csa), with very hot, dry summers and mild, moist winters.

{{Weather box

|width = auto

|location = Chlef (1991-2020)

|metric first = yes

|single line = yes

|Jan record high C = 25.3

|Feb record high C = 30.4

|Mar record high C = 36.0

|Apr record high C = 41.5

|May record high C = 43.8

|Jun record high C = 45.7

|Jul record high C = 48.3

|Aug record high C = 46.9

|Sep record high C = 44.0

|Oct record high C = 40.5

|Nov record high C = 32.2

|Dec record high C = 26.0

|year record high C =

|Jan record low C = -1.5

|Feb record low C = -1.5

|Mar record low C = 0.0

|Apr record low C = 1.4

|May record low C = 3.6

|Jun record low C = 10.3

|Jul record low C = 15.0

|Aug record low C = 13.4

|Sep record low C = 11.5

|Oct record low C = 6.0

|Nov record low C = 2.0

|Dec record low C = 0.0

|year record low C =

|Jan high C = 15.6

|Feb high C = 17.3

|Mar high C = 19.5

|Apr high C = 22.2

|May high C = 26.9

|Jun high C = 32.3

|Jul high C = 37.3

|Aug high C = 37.1

|Sep high C = 32.9

|Oct high C = 26.5

|Nov high C = 20.2

|Dec high C = 16.0

|Jan mean C = 10.6

|Feb mean C = 11.8

|Mar mean C = 13.3

|Apr mean C = 15.9

|May mean C = 20.1

|Jun mean C = 24.8

|Jul mean C = 29.0

|Aug mean C = 29.0

|Sep mean C = 25.5

|Oct mean C = 20.3

|Nov mean C = 14.8

|Dec mean C = 11.2

|Jan low C = 5.5

|Feb low C = 6.2

|Mar low C = 7.1

|Apr low C = 9.5

|May low C = 13.1

|Jun low C = 17.3

|Jul low C = 20.6

|Aug low C = 20.8

|Sep low C = 18.1

|Oct low C = 14.0

|Nov low C = 9.3

|Dec low C = 6.3

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 52.5

|Feb precipitation mm = 53.5

|Mar precipitation mm = 42.0

|Apr precipitation mm = 45.5

|May precipitation mm = 27.8

|Jun precipitation mm = 6.7

|Jul precipitation mm = 1.7

|Aug precipitation mm = 4.1

|Sep precipitation mm = 20.8

|Oct precipitation mm = 31.2

|Nov precipitation mm = 58.1

|Dec precipitation mm = 44.9

|unit precipitation days = 1 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 7.5

|Feb precipitation days = 7.2

|Mar precipitation days = 6.2

|Apr precipitation days = 5.8

|May precipitation days = 3.7

|Jun precipitation days = 1.1

|Jul precipitation days = 0.4

|Aug precipitation days = 0.9

|Sep precipitation days = 2.6

|Oct precipitation days = 4.2

|Nov precipitation days = 7.6

|Dec precipitation days = 6.3

|year precipitation days = 53.5

|source 1 = NOAA{{cite web

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230826215631/https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/4.4/data/0-data/Region-1-WMO-Normals-9120/Algeria/CSV/Chlef_60425.csv

| archive-date = 26 August 2023

| url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/4.4/data/0-data/Region-1-WMO-Normals-9120/Algeria/CSV/Chlef_60425.csv

| title = Chlef Climate Normals 1991–2020

| work = World Meteorological Organization Climatological Standard Normals (1991–2020)

| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| access-date = 26 August 2023}}

|source 2 = NOAA (mean temperatures 1961-1990){{Cite FTP |url=ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/RA-I/AL/60425.TXT

|server=ftp.atdd.noaa.gov

|title=Climate Normals for Chlef

|access-date=11 February 2013}}}}

Chlef has a station on the Algiers-Oran railway line. The city is served by Chlef International Airport.

{{Portal|Algeria}}

{{Reflist|35em}}

{{Commons category|Chlef }}

• {{in lang|fr}} [http://orleansville.free.fr/accueil.html A website about colonial Chlef]
• [http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/former/t0429.htm GigaCatholic - the Catholic titular episcopal see]

{{Province seats of Algeria}}

{{Chlef Province}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Communes of Chlef Province

Category:Cities in Algeria

Category:Province seats of Algeria

Category:Populated places established in 1843

Category:Chlef Province