The region of Beni Snous is home to the ruins of many ancient villages, which attest to a much larger population, particularly before the 12th century.
Al-Bakri mentions the village of Tafessra in his Description of North Africa under the name of Tizil. The inhabitants of the region are still called the Azaïls. The Spanish historian Marmol refers to it in the 14th century in his work Africa, Volume II: “Almost all the inhabitants are blacksmiths and have several iron mines in which they work. The surrounding lands abound in wheat and pastures, but the main trade is iron, which is sold in Tlemcen and elsewhere. The town is enclosed by good and high walls.”
Heritage
As in the pre-Saharan mountains, the houses in the villages are made of dry stone, on the sides of the valleys. In Mazzer, a still active village located at 1,200 meters, the terraces of the houses are pierced with chimneys that allow heating.
The villages of Khemis, Beni Achir, and Ouled Moussa, like Taffessera, house old cathedral mosques with brick minarets. Oral tradition holds that the mosques of Beni Snous were founded on the orders of Abdellah Ben Djafar, nephew of Caliph Ali and companion of Okba Ibn Naf. The mosque in Khemis is among dozens of mosques classified in the wilaya of Tlemcen.
Built in the 12th century in the territory of the Beni Snous tribe under the reign of the sultans of the Zianid dynasty, this mosque was erected in honor of Abdellah Ben Djafar, nephew of Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib. The mosque is more precisely located in the village of Taferssa.
The region of Beni Snous is home to the ruins of many ancient villages, which attest to a much larger population, particularly before the 12th century.
Al-Bakri mentions the village of Tafessra in his Description of North Africa under the name of Tizil. The inhabitants of the region are still called the Azaïls. The Spanish historian Marmol refers to it in the 14th century in his work Africa, Volume II: “Almost all the inhabitants are blacksmiths and have several iron mines in which they work. The surrounding lands abound in wheat and pastures, but the main trade is iron, which is sold in Tlemcen and elsewhere. The town is enclosed by good and high walls.”
Heritage
As in the pre-Saharan mountains, the houses in the villages are made of dry stone, on the sides of the valleys. In Mazzer, a still active village located at 1,200 meters, the terraces of the houses are pierced with chimneys that allow heating.
The villages of Khemis, Beni Achir, and Ouled Moussa, like Taffessera, house old cathedral mosques with brick minarets. Oral tradition holds that the mosques of Beni Snous were founded on the orders of Abdellah Ben Djafar, nephew of Caliph Ali and companion of Okba Ibn Naf. The mosque in Khemis is among dozens of mosques classified in the wilaya of Tlemcen.
Built in the 12th century in the territory of the Beni Snous tribe under the reign of the sultans of the Zianid dynasty, this mosque was erected in honor of Abdellah Ben Djafar, nephew of Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib. The mosque is more precisely located in the village of Taferssa.
