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103-501: Caliban ( / ˈ k æ l ɪ b æ n / KAL -i-ban ), the subhuman son of the sea witch Sycorax , is an important character in William Shakespeare 's play The Tempest . His character is one of the few Shakespearean figures to take on a life of its own "outside" Shakespeare's own work: as Russell Hoban put it, "Caliban is one of the hungry ideas, he's always looking for someone to word him into being ... Caliban

206-474: A UNESCO World Heritage Site , the Casbah or citadel, that is a prominent example of Casbah and Medina. This metropolis has hosted many sports events such as the 1975 Mediterranean Games , the 1990 African Cup of Nations alongside Annaba , the 1978 All-Africa Games and 2007 All-Africa Games , the 2018 African Youth Games , the 2022–23 CAF Confederation Cup , the 2023 Arab Games with 4 other cities;

309-586: A vassal state of the Abbasids ) 800 AD–909   Fatimid Caliphate 909–972   Zirid dynasty (As a vassal state of the Fatimid Caliphate ) 972–1014   Hammadid dynasty 1014–1082   Almoravid Empire 1082-1151   Almohad Caliphate 1151–1235 [REDACTED] Thaaliba , ( tributary of the Tlemcen ) 1235-1516 [REDACTED] Regency of Algiers , ( tributary of

412-495: A Hebrew word meaning "deceiver". Another recent idea suggests that, for thematic as well as historical reasons, the name is the reverberant combination of syllables in the name Corax of Syracuse , the often acknowledged founder of rhetoric, and the worthy, fictionalised rival of Prospero. An especially odd and early guess at a meaning by one critic was sic or rex , a Latin homophone alluding to Queen Elizabeth's pride. The general idea for Sycorax's character may have come from

515-506: A bald, naked woman covered in peacock feathers; Steven Dillon suggests that Greenaway's vision of Sycorax was inspired by Jarman's. In Ernest Renan 's play Caliban the anti-hero states that Sycorax went to "all the devils" but left him as rightful ruler of the island. Marina Warner reimagined the witch in her 1992 book Indigo , in which Sycorax is a healer and dyer of indigo who uses her magic to help slaves. Her attempts to give up sorcery fail, because "she cannot abjure, give up, control

618-531: A decade. On December 11, 2007, two car bombs exploded in Algiers . One bomb targeted two United Nations office buildings and the other targeted a government building housing the Supreme Court of Algeria . The death toll was at least 62, with over two hundred injured in the attacks. However, only 26 remained hospitalized the following day. As of 2008 , it is speculated that the attack was carried out by

721-509: A heated moment later referred to as "fly-whisk incident", the Dey struck the French consul in the face with the handle of a fly-whisk . In an attempt by Charles X of France to increase his popularity amongst the French, he sought to bolster patriotic sentiment , and turn eyes away from his domestic policies, by treating the incident as a public insult and demanded an apology. Failure to respond

824-687: A levy intended to suppress the Barbary pirates . In 1516, the amir of Algiers, Selim b. Teumi, invited the corsair brothers Oruç Reis and Hayreddin Barbarossa to expel the Spaniards . Oruç Reis came to Algiers, ordered the assassination of Selim, and seized the town and ousted the Spanish in the Capture of Algiers (1516) . Hayreddin, succeeding Oruç after the latter was killed in battle against

927-600: A minority of " Pieds-noirs ", Jews and European settlers due to laws and regulations put by the French government that granted French citizenship to them under the Crémieux Decree while releasing Code de l'indigénat giving inferiority to the "Arabs" and "Muslims" which were getting forcibly removed from their land in favor of building settlements. Many parts of the city were only accessible by settlers in an attempt to separate "Alger" by race , religion and language . Many Europeans settled in Algiers, and by

1030-461: A paradigm for all women of the Third World, who have not yet, despite all the effort, reached that trigger of visibility which is necessary for a whole society” - Kamau Braithwaite. Sycorax's silent role plays an important part in postcolonial interpretations of The Tempest . Because she is native to Algiers and her story is only heard through others (Prospero, Ariel, and Caliban), she

1133-697: A pivotal role in the Algerian War (1954–1962), a bloody independence struggle in which hundreds of thousands (estimates range between 350,000 and 1,500,000) died (mostly Algerians but also French and Pieds-Noirs ). In particular, it saw the Battle of Algiers when the 10th Parachute Division of the French Army, starting on January 7, 1957, and on the orders of the French Minister of Justice François Mitterrand (who authorized any means "to eliminate

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1236-725: A political entity dominated by religious conservatives called the Islamic Salvation Front engaged in a political test of wills with the authorities. In the 1992 elections for the Algerian National Assembly, the Islamists garnered a large amount of support in the first round. Fearing an eventual win by the Islamists, the army canceled the election process, setting off the civil war between the State and armed religious conservatives which would last for

1339-621: A speech which has strong parallels to one given by the dark witch Medea in the Metamorphoses . In comparing himself to Medea, Prospero is implicitly comparing himself to Sycorax. Emphasizing the relationship between Prospero and Sycorax demonstrates the ambiguity of Prospero's supposedly benevolent character. Sycorax has been described as the matriarchal figure of The Tempest . Modernist authors such as Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes have alluded to Sycorax in their writing to illustrate destructive feminine power. As Hughes writes, "...

1442-401: A story about Emperor Charles V 's invasion of Algiers in 1541 , relating that a witch (not named in the source text) had advised the commander of the city not to surrender, predicting the destruction of the besieging fleet, which was accomplished nine days later by a "dreadful tempest". The principal version given claims that she was "richly remunerated" but the alternative version, "to palliate

1545-528: A vocal role in the play, but maintained her image as a malevolent antagonist to Prospero. In The Tempest , Prospero describes Sycorax as an ancient and foul witch native to Algiers, and banished to the island for practising sorcery "so strong / That [she] could control the Moon". Prospero further relates that many years earlier, sailors had brought her to the island, while she was pregnant with her son, Caliban, and abandoned her there, as, due to her pregnancy, she

1648-623: A wild man, or a deformed man, or a beast man, or sometimes a mix of fish and man, a dwarf or even a tortoise. Banished from Algiers , Sycorax was left on the isle, pregnant with Caliban, and died before Prospero's arrival. Caliban, despite his inhuman nature, clearly loved and worshipped his mother, referring to Setebos as his mother's god, and appealing to her powers against Prospero. Prospero explains his harsh treatment of Caliban by claiming that after initially befriending him, Caliban attempted to rape Miranda. Caliban confirms this gleefully, saying that if he had not been stopped, he would have peopled

1751-483: Is a long history of enthusiastic speculation on the name's origin or derivation. One of the most prominent suggestions concerns Caliban being an anagram of the Spanish word caníbal ( Carib people ), the source of cannibal in English. The character may be seen as a satire on "Noble cannibal" from Montaigne's Essays (A.30, "Of Cannibals"). Also popular has been comparison to kaliban or cauliban in

1854-399: Is a necessary idea". Caliban is half human, half monster. After his island becomes occupied by Prospero and his daughter Miranda , Caliban is forced into slavery. While he is referred to as a calvaluna or mooncalf , a freckled monster, he is the only human inhabitant of the island that is otherwise "not honour'd with a human shape" (Prospero, I.2.283). In some traditions, he is depicted as

1957-457: Is championed by some scholars as a representation of the silenced African woman. Postcolonial authors have also claimed her; for example, Kamau Brathwaite , in his 1994 work Barabajan Poems , includes "Sycorax's book" as a counterpart to "Prospero's book" (mentioned in Act 5 of Shakespeare's play). In an attempt to give voice to unspoken indigenous cultures, Brathwaite's poems outline the history of

2060-531: Is divided into aisles by columns joined by Moorish arches. The New Mosque ( Jamaa-el-Jedid الجامع الجديد), dating from the 17th century, is in the form of a Greek cross , surmounted by a large white cupola, with four small cupolas at the corners. The minaret is 27 metres (89 ft) high. The interior resembles that of the Grand Mosque. The church of the Holy Trinity (built in 1870) stands at

2163-474: Is itself a truncated form of the city's older name Jazaʾir Banī Mazghanna ( جزائر بني مزغانة ), "islands of Banu Mazghanna", used by early medieval geographers such as Muhammad al-Idrisi and Yaqut al-Hamawi . The name was given by Buluggin ibn Ziri after he established the city on the ruins of the Phoenician city of Icosium in 950. During Ottoman rule, the name of the capital, al-Jazā'ir,

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2266-549: Is sheltered from all winds. There are two harbours, both artificial—the old or northern harbour and the southern or Agha harbour. The northern harbour covers an area of 95 hectares (235 acres). An opening in the south jetty affords an entrance into Agha harbour, constructed in Agha Bay. Agha harbour has also an independent entrance on its southern side. The inner harbour was begun in 1518 by Khair-ad-Din Barbarossa (see History, below), who, to accommodated his pirate vessels, caused

2369-445: Is still alive... She is still defiant, still fierce, but she is old and knows that death is no longer so far away that it need not be thought of... I wanted to follow Sycorax, keep her company, as it were, up to the final moment". Sycorax is also revived in the "Baroque pastiche" opera The Enchanted Island , devised by Jeremy Sams , in the first production of which she was played by Joyce DiDonato . A witch named Sycorax appears in

2472-467: Is survived by two children, Caliban and a daughter also named Sycorax. This second Sycorax makes sexual advances toward Trinculo, the drunken sailor, and (according to Trinculo) also has incestuous relations with her brother Caliban. Die Geisterinsel , a 1778 version of the play in German, includes a living Sycorax, a witch who has full power during the night, while Prospero rules the day. In this play, she

2575-480: Is the one who causes the tempest and shipwreck, not Prospero; Prospero is extremely wary of her actions as each night approaches, as she has power over those who sleep. Several times he struggles to keep Miranda awake to protect her from Sycorax's power. In Eugène Scribe 's French 1846 version, Sycorax is alive but imprisoned behind some rocks out of sight. She spends most of the play trying to convince her son, Caliban, to free her. Peter Brook 's 1968 British version of

2678-465: The 2022 African Nations Championship with 3 other cities. Sonatrach Petroleum Corporation and Air Algérie are headquartered in the city. The city's name is derived via French and Catalan Alger from the Arabic name al-Jazāʾir ( الجزائر ), "The Islands". This name refers to the four former islands which lay off the city's coast before becoming part of the mainland in 1525. Al-Jazāʾir

2781-706: The Al Qaeda cell within the city. Indigenous terrorist groups have been actively operating in Algeria since around 2002 . Algiers is located in the north-central part of Algeria , extending along the Bay of Algiers and into the Mitidja plain and on top of and around the "Sahel of Algiers" and the Bouzaréah massif . It sits at roughly 2 m above sea level, while the highest point is at 407 m. The Oued El Harrach meets

2884-632: The Atlas Mountains during his labors . Algiers is also known as el-Behdja ( البهجة , "The Joyous") or "Algiers the White" (French: Alger la Blanche ) for its whitewashed buildings.   Phoenicia and Punicia pre 202 BC   Numidia 202 BC–104 BC   Mauretania 104 BC-42 AD   Roman Empire 42-435   Vandal Kingdom 435–534   Byzantine Empire 534-700s   Umayyad Caliphate 700s–750   Abbasid Caliphate 750 AD-800   Aghlabids (As

2987-635: The Battle of Cirta , Numidia got a hold of the town along with its neighboring regions at around 202 BC, after which the Punic wars started weakening the Berber nation. On 104 BC, following the capturing of Jughurta and executing him in Rome , the western half of his nation was given to Mauretania under the rule of Bocchus I . At around 42 AD, Claudius divided Mauretania into two provinces, Mauretania Caesariensis that included Icosium as one of its towns;

3090-758: The Eastern Roman Empire , making Icosium a part of the empire. In the early 7th century, "Beni Mezghenna" who are a Berber tribe belonging to the Sanhaja as cited by Ibn Khaldoun , settled on the plains of Icosium and the surrounding areas. Shortly after, in the late 7th century, the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb brought the Umayyad Caliphate into the region, but were faced with resistance from Berber forces led by Kahina and Kusaila in

3193-602: The French Republic " according to a formal annexation declared on June 22, 1834. France focused their interest into areas inhabited by locals, this in turn was the French conquest of Algeria that shared goals with its pacification efforts; Establishing a European cultural , economic and political presence in Africa without considering the indigenous population 's lifestyle or connection to their land. The city had

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3296-783: The Kingdom of Tlemcen in 1235 AD. The town once again came under the dominion of the Ziyanid sultans of the Kingdom but experienced a large measure of independence under Thaaliba amirs who settled the Mitidja plain at around 1200 AD. The Kingdom of Tlemcen was the target of the Spanish Empire 's and the Portuguese Empire 's campaigns and conquests against its coasts, beginning in 1501 AD. However, Algiers continued to be of comparatively little importance until after

3399-770: The Kingdom of the Netherlands , destroying the corsair fleet harboured in Algiers. France and the Regency of Algiers had a commercial–political conflict called the Bakri-Busnach affair which has been bothering both nations in the 19th century. On April 29, 1827, foreign consuls and diplomatic agents gathered in the Palace of the Dey for a conference with the Regency of Algiers ruler Hussein Dey . Tensions were high because of France 's failure to pay outstanding debts. In

3502-653: The Maghrawa forces there and their leader; He pressed on and by 1082 AD he had captured "Jazaʾir Banī Mazghanna". In 1151 AD, Abd al-Mu'min launched an expedition to the east, conquering Bejaia in August 1152, the capital of the Hammadids; on their way, Beni Mezghanna did not succumb and was now under the Almohad Caliphate 's control. The caliphate suffered from states breaking out of its rule, most notably,

3605-682: The Maghreb resulted in the breaking of two nations, the Idrisid dynasty and the Aghlabid Emirate but acted as agents of the Abbasids in Baghdad . Icosium fell into the hands of Aghlabids and abandoned the town. They were then overthrown by the Fatimids in 909 AD, who went on to control all of Ifriqiya by 969 AD. The present city was re-founded in 972 AD by Buluggin ibn Ziri , who

3708-528: The Mediterranean Sea aids in moderating the city's temperatures. As a result, Algiers usually does not see the extreme temperatures that are experienced in the adjacent interior. Algiers on average receives roughly 600 millimetres (24 in) of rain per year, the bulk of which is seen between October and April. The precipitation is higher than in most of coastal Mediterranean Spain , and similar to most of coastal Mediterranean France , as opposed to

3811-523: The Ottoman Empire ) 1516–1830 [REDACTED] France , ( French Algeria ) 1830–1962 [REDACTED]   Algeria 1962–present The city's history is believed to date back to 1200 BC, but it was a small settlement without any significance until around the 3rd century BC when "Ikosim" became a small port town in Carthage where Phoenicians were trading with other Mediterranean ports. After

3914-633: The Romani language , which mean black or with blackness. The first Romanichal had arrived in England a century before Shakespeare's time. Since 1889, it has been suggested that Shakespeare may have named Caliban after the Tunisian city Calibia (now called Kelibia ) that is seen on maps of the Mediterranean dating to 1529. Many other, though less notable, suggestions have been made, primarily in

4017-463: The expulsion of the Moors from Spain, many of whom sought asylum in the city, after which the Spanish led by Pedro Navarro established a fortified base and garrison on one of the islets off the coast of Algiers, and named it "Peñón de Argel" or Peñón of Algiers, . By that time, Algiers had an emir , Salim al-Thumi who had to "swear obedience and loyalty" to Ferdinand II of Aragon who also imposed

4120-777: The "National Museum of Miniatures, Illumination and Calligraphy" located inside of Dar Mustapha Pacha ; " Palais des Rais "; Algerian Admiralty Museum; the Central Military Museum adjacent to Maqam Echahid (Martyrs Memorial), a breathtaking monument that sits above the Martyrs National Museum. Other landmarks include Djamaa el Djazaïr , the 3rd biggest mosque in the world; Botanical Garden Hamma ; Culture Palace Moufdi Zakaria; Grande Poste d'Alger , located adjacent to Kilometre zero ; Ketchaoua Mosque ; Notre-Dame d'Afrique ; Emir Abdelkader Square as well as Martyr's Square. The city also contains

4223-473: The 16th century Algiers turned to piracy and ransoming. Due to its location on the periphery of both the Ottoman and European economic spheres, and depending for its existence on a Mediterranean that was increasingly controlled by European shipping, backed by European navies, piracy became the primary economic activity. Repeated attempts were made by various nations to subdue the pirates that disturbed shipping in

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4326-608: The 1998 and 2008 Censuses: There are many public buildings of interest, including the whole Kasbah quarter, Martyrs Square ( Sahat ech-Chouhada ساحة الشهداء), the government offices (formerly the British consulate), the " Grand ", " New ", and Ketchaoua Mosques, the Roman Catholic cathedral of Notre Dame d'Afrique , the Bardo Museum , the old Bibliothèque Nationale d'Alger —a moorish palace built in 1799–1800 and

4429-478: The 19th century, including an Arabic word for "vile dog", a Hindu Kalee-ban "satyr of Kalee , the Hindu Proserpine", German Kabeljau ("codfish"), etc. Sycorax Sycorax / ˈ s ɪ k ər æ k s / is an unseen character in William Shakespeare 's play The Tempest (1611). She is a vicious and powerful witch and the mother of Caliban , one of the few native inhabitants of

4532-432: The 2022 IPCC Sixth Assessment Report , Algiers is one of 12 major African cities ( Abidjan , Alexandria , Algiers, Cape Town , Casablanca , Dakar , Dar es Salaam , Durban , Lagos , Lomé , Luanda and Maputo ) which would be the most severely affected by the future sea level rise . It estimates that they would collectively sustain cumulative damages of U$ 65 billion under RCP 4.5 and US$ 86.5 billion for

4635-485: The 680s, who opposed the advancing Islamic armies. However, Hassan ibn al-Nu'man and Musa ibn Nusayr later defeated both Berber leaders, killing Kusaila at the Battle of Mamma (688) and killing Dihya at the Battle of Tabarka (702), leading to the subjugation of the Berber tribes, bringing Islamic rule into North Africa. The Abbasid Caliphate succeeded Umayyad Caliphate at around 750 AD. Independence movements across

4738-603: The Caribbean through Sycorax's eyes. Sycorax is presented as Brathwaite's muse, possessing him and his computer to give full voice to the history of the silenced, who in Brathwaite's philosophy are not only Caribbean natives, but any culture under-represented during the colonial period. Other postcolonial scholars have argued that Shakespeare's audiences would have connected Sycorax with the threat of Islamic expansionism . Islam had successfully conquered and colonised much of

4841-654: The European and African residents of the city, describing a situation in which "the 'civilised' live like rats in holes" whereas "the 'barbarians' live in solitude, in well-being". However, these plans were ultimately ignored by the French administration. During World War II , Algiers was the first city to be seized from the Axis by the Allies in Operation Terminal , a part of Operation Torch . Algiers also played

4944-524: The Middle East and some of southern Europe during the Middle Ages . The Algerian Sycorax may represent Christian Europe's fear of Islam and its growing political power. This interpretation inverts the traditional postcolonial interpretations of The Tempest , however. If Sycorax is viewed as an Islamic expansionist, then she herself is the coloniser, not Prospero (who becomes merely a re-colonizer of

5047-594: The Spaniards in the 1518 fall of Tlemcen , was the founder of the pashaluk , which subsequently became the beylik , of Algeria. Barbarossa lost Algiers in 1524 but regained it with the 1529 Capture of Peñón of Algiers , and then formally invited the Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent to accept sovereignty over the territory and to annex Algiers to the Ottoman Empire . Algiers from this time became

5150-537: The area. Led by Mazdali ibn Tilankan , the army defeated the Banu Ya'la in battle near the valley of the Moulouya River and executed their commander, the son of Tlemcen's ruler. However, Mazdali ibn Tilankan did not push to Tlemcen right away as the city of Oujda was too strong to capture. Instead, Ibn Tashfin himself returned with an army in 1081 AD that captured Oujda and then conquered Tlemcen, massacring

5253-461: The authorities (more than 300 dead), but the movement constituted a turning point in the political history of modern Algeria. The 1989 Algerian constitutional referendum took place and a new constitution was adopted that put an end to the one-party rule and saw the creation of more than fifty political parties, as well as official freedom of the press. The city became the theatre of many political demonstrations of all descriptions until 1993. In 1991,

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5356-451: The belief that all witches have blue eyes. The character may even be a reference to a specific historical personage. According to Romantic literary critic Charles Lamb , a witch, whose name has been lost to history, had been banished from North Africa about half a century before the time Shakespeare was writing the play; her similarity to Sycorax has struck a few scholars as notable. Lamb's claims, however, remain unverified. “[Sycorax is]

5459-430: The chief seat of the Barbary pirates . In October 1541 in the Algiers expedition , the King of Spain and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor sought to capture the city, but a storm destroyed a great number of his ships, and his army of some 30,000, chiefly made up of Spaniards, was defeated by the Algerians under their pasha , Hassan. Formally part of the Ottoman Empire but essentially free from Ottoman control, starting in

5562-477: The classical literature familiar to many in Shakespeare's day. Sycorax is similar to Medea, a witch in Ovid 's Metamorphoses , in that both are powerful, magical female figures. Scholars have also pointed out that Sycorax resembles the magical Circe from Greek mythology as well as perhaps a version of Circe found in the mythology of the Coraxi tribe in modern-day Georgia . Sycorax also draws on contemporary beliefs regarding witches. For example, she may embody

5665-412: The coasts of today's Tunisia and Algeria . The Western Roman Empire that was ruling the area allowed the Vandals to settle when it became clear that they could not be defeated by Roman military forces. Though the city was damaged again due to the fighting between the two armies, the town was still slowly growing in population. In 534 AD, the Vandal kingdom was subjugated by the general Belisarius of

5768-499: The conclusion of the play, however, and Caliban agrees to obey Prospero again. Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments Will hum about mine ears; and sometime voices That, if I then had waked after long sleep, Will make me sleep again; and then in dreaming, The clouds me thought would open, and show riches Ready to drop upon me, that when I waked I cried to dream again. There

5871-425: The difference in elevation , in addition to many bus lines connecting the suburbs and major population centers. Algiers houses many museums, art galleries and cultural centers, the most notable of which are Algiers Opera House , the Algerian National Theater Mahieddine Bachtarzi , Bardo National Museum (Algiers) , the National Museum of Fine Arts of Algiers , The National Museum of Antiquities and Islamic Art ;

5974-664: The difficult task of any poet in English [is] to locate the force which Shakespeare called Venus in his first poems and Sycorax in his last." By emphasising the female power found in characters such as Sycorax, Plath and Hughes hoped to counteract what they saw as the patriarchal nature of canonical Western literature. Feminist critics , however, have maintained that matriarchal readings of Sycorax are shallow, as they often find importance only in Sycorax's motherhood rather than in her thoughts, feelings, and past life. Some critics have seen both Caliban and Sycorax as instances of indeterminate racial or ethnic identity. Leah Marcus argues that

6077-433: The early 20th century they formed a majority of the city's population. During the 1930s, the architect Le Corbusier drew up plans for a complete redesign of the colonial city. Le Corbusier was highly critical of the urban style of Algiers, describing the European district as "nothing but crumbling walls and devastated nature, the whole a sullied blot". He also criticised the difference in living standards he perceived between

6180-429: The foot of the Casbah, was before independence in 1962 the cathedral of St Philippe, itself made in 1845 from a mosque dating from 1612. The principal entrance, reached by a flight of 23 steps, is ornamented with a portico supported by four black-veined marble columns. The roof of the nave is of Moorish plaster work. It rests on a series of arcades supported by white marble columns. Several of these columns belonged to

6283-462: The force by which she is possessed". In Tad Williams ' novel Caliban's Hour (1994), Caliban tells how, although Sycorax was a powerful witch, people in Algiers (especially the mayor) had needed her powers for their own needs and purposes, but eventually they had turned on her; after she was denounced and arrested, Caliban further states that although mute, Sycorax was able to communicate with him by putting pictures into his mind, and that her death

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6386-539: The grounds that this was the most common meaning of the term at the time. However both Marcus and Diane Purkiss suggest that a reference to race might be implied, suggesting that Sycorax's ethnicity cannot be clearly defined, as although she was born in Algiers, her parentage is not known. Kelsey Ridge, who argued that the Algiers-born Sycorax was a colonizer who stole the island from Ariel and his people, suggested that Sycorax's blue eyes "do not disprove her North African lineage, and indeed they may serve to call attention to

6489-457: The high-emission scenario RCP 8.5 by the year 2050. Additionally, RCP 8.5 combined with the hypothetical impact from marine ice sheet instability at high levels of warming would involve up to US$ 137.5 billion in damages, while the additional accounting for the "low-probability, high-damage events" may increase aggregate risks to $ 187 billion for the "moderate" RCP 4.5, $ 206 billion for RCP 8.5 and $ 397 billion under

6592-484: The high-end ice sheet instability scenario. Since sea level rise would continue for about 10,000 years under every scenario of climate change, future costs of sea level rise would only increase, especially without adaptation measures. The Casbah is on a list of 10 African World Heritage Site most threatened by sea level rise. The city (and province) of Algiers is composed of 13 administrative districts, sub-divided into 57 communes listed below with their populations at

6695-400: The insurrectionists" ), led attacks against the Algerian fighters for independence. Algiers remains marked by this battle, which was characterized by merciless fighting between FLN forces which carried out a guerrilla campaign against the French military and police and pro-French Algerian soldiers, and the French Army which responded with a bloody repression, torture and blanket terrorism against

6798-421: The interior North African semi-arid or arid climate. Snow is very rare; in 2012, the city received 100 millimetres (4 in) of snowfall, its first snowfall in eight years. A 2019 paper published in PLOS One estimated that under Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 , a "moderate" scenario of climate change where global warming reaches ~2.5–3 °C (4.5–5.4 °F) by 2100, the climate of Algiers in

6901-447: The island on which Prospero , the hero of the play, is stranded. According to the history provided by the play, Sycorax, while pregnant with Caliban, was banished from her home in Algiers to the island on which the play takes place. Memories of Sycorax, who dies several years before the main action of the play begins, define several of the relationships in the play. Relying on his filial connection to Sycorax, Caliban claims ownership of

7004-427: The island on which was Fort Penon to be connected with the mainland by a mole . The lighthouse which occupies the site of Fort Penon was built in 1544. Algiers was a walled city from the time of the deys until the close of the 19th century. The French, after their occupation of the city (1830), built a rampart , parapet and ditch , with two terminal forts, Bab Azoun باب عزون to the south and Bab-el-Oued اد to

7107-403: The island with a race of Calibans – "Thou didst prevent me, I had peopled else this isle with Calibans" (Act I:ii). Prospero then entraps Caliban and torments him with harmful magic if Caliban does not obey his orders. Resentful of Prospero, Caliban takes Stephano , one of the shipwrecked servants, as a god and as his new master. Caliban learns that Stephano is neither a god nor Prospero's equal in

7210-569: The island). However, Sycorax's portrayal as an absent, silent woman still allows the play to solidify the idea of European over Islamic power. Interpretations of Sycorax as silenced focus not only on her race but her gender as well. Most of what is said about her in the play is said by Prospero. However, as scholars point out, Prospero has never met Sycorax—all he learned about her he learned from Ariel—and his suspicion of women makes him an unreliable source of information. Skeptical of female virtue in general, he refuses to accept Caliban's prior claim to

7313-426: The island, accusing him of being a bastard "got by the devil himself / Upon thy wicked dam." In The Tempest , Shakespeare presents two powerful sorcerers, Prospero and Sycorax, who have both controlled the island. Initially it appears that the two characters are a contrasting pair: the benevolent Prospero and the rapacious Sycorax. However, upon closer analysis, the differences between the two characters disappear and

7416-555: The island. Prospero constantly reminds Ariel of Sycorax's cruel treatment to maintain the sprite's service. Scholars generally agree that Sycorax, a foil for Prospero, is closely related to the Medea of Ovid 's Metamorphoses . Postcolonialist writers and critics see Sycorax as giving voice to peoples, particularly women, recovering from the effects of colonisation. Later versions of The Tempest , beginning with William Davenant 's seventeenth-century adaptation, have given Sycorax

7519-632: The largest infrastructure facilities in the country; railway and highway connections with neighbouring cities and international links via the Houari Boumediene Airport and Algiers Ferry Terminal. Algiers possesses notable mass transit options, that includes the Algiers Metro , the city's subway system that recorded about 46 million passengers in 2023, alongside the Algiers tramway and several Gondola lift lines helping with

7622-471: The lower city (al-Wata, or 'the plains') which was the administrative, military and commercial centre of the city, mostly inhabited by Ottoman Turkish dignitaries and other upper-class families. On August 27, 1816, the Bombardment of Algiers took place city by a British squadron under Lord Exmouth (a descendant of Thomas Pellew, taken in an Algerian slave raid in 1715 ), assisted by men-of-war from

7725-595: The native population. The demonstrations of May 13 during the crisis of 1958 provoked the fall of the Fourth Republic in France, as well as the return of General de Gaulle to power. Algeria achieved independence on July 5, 1962, with Algiers as its capital. Since then, despite losing its entire pied-noir population, the city has expanded massively. It now has about five million inhabitants, or 10 percent of Algeria's population—and its suburbs now cover most of

7828-575: The new National Library , built in a style reminiscent of the British Library . The main building in the Kasbah was begun in 1516 on the site of an older building, and served as the palace of the deys until the French conquest. A road has been cut through the centre of the building, the mosque turned into barracks , and the hall of audience allowed to fall into ruin. There still remain a minaret and some marble arches and columns. Traces exist of

7931-576: The new name of Icosium was absorbed into the Hammadid dynasty who in 1067 AD relocated to Bejaia and carried on a lively trade while most of North Africa was under a state of anarchy . In 1079 AD, Ibn Tashfin , a Sanhaja leader of the Almoravid Empire sent an army of 20,000 men from Marrakesh to push towards what is now Tlemcen to attack the "Banu Ya'la", the Zenata tribe occupying

8034-452: The north. The forts and part of the ramparts were demolished at the beginning of the 20th century, when a line of forts occupying the heights of Bouzareah بوزريعة (at an elevation of 396 metres (1,299 ft) above the sea) took their place. Notre Dame d'Afrique , a church built (1858–1872) in a mixture of the Roman and Byzantine styles, is conspicuously situated overlooking the sea, on

8137-622: The opera Faust by Louis Spohr . The Decemberists ' 2006 album The Crane Wife features the song "The Island/Come and See" which references Sycorax in the line "its contents watched by Sycorax / and Patagon in parallax". The name Sycorax is the name given to one of the satellites of Uranus . The Sycorax are a villainous race of piratical scavengers in Doctor Who . They make their first appearance in The Christmas Invasion . Algiers The city contains

8240-443: The original mosque. In one of the chapels was a tomb containing the bones of Geronimo . The building seems a curious blend of Moorish and Byzantine styles. Algiers possesses a college with schools of law, medicine, science and letters. The college buildings are large and handsome. The Bardo Museum holds some of the ancient sculptures and mosaics discovered in Algeria, together with medals and Algerian money. The port of Algiers

8343-493: The period. The primary source for knowledge of Algiers of this period, since there are no contemporary local sources, is the Topografía e historia general de Argel (1612, but written earlier), published by Diego de Haedo, but whose authorship is disputed. This work describes in detail the city, the behavior of its inhabitants, and its military defenses, with the unsuccessful hope of facilitating an attack by Spain so as to end

8446-439: The phrase "blue-eyed hag", suggests racial uncertainty because "as a blue-eyed Algerian Sycorax would have failed to fit our racial stereotypes in a number of interesting ways [w]e tend not to think of Africans as blue eyed, even though North Africans of 'Argier' and elsewhere sometimes are." Most critics have interpreted the phrase "blue eyed" to be a reference to blueish rings around the eyes, indicating tiredness or pregnancy, on

8549-588: The phrase "the Scythian raven", an etymological description of Medea ( Batman upon Bartholome , a work which Shakespeare is likely to have used for reference, gives the name Corax for a raven ) Also, psychorrhax ("heartbreaker"), may be a play on the Greek word psychoraggia ("death struggle"). One critic searched for a connection to Sycorax's North African heritage, and found a parallel in Shokereth שוקרת,

8652-419: The piracy. A significant number of renegades lived in Algiers at the time, Christians converted voluntarily to Islam , many fleeing the law or other problems at home. Once converted to Islam, they were safe in Algiers. Many occupied positions of authority, such as Samson Rowlie , an Englishman who became Treasurer of Algiers. The city under Ottoman control was enclosed by a wall on all sides, including along

8755-407: The play portrayed Sycorax as an ugly witch, including her in a birth scene in which the equally ugly Caliban is born. Film versions of The Tempest have portrayed Sycorax in flashbacks of the island's history. In Derek Jarman 's 1979 version , Sycorax is shown leading Ariel around by a chain and breast feeding an adult Caliban. Peter Greenaway 's Prospero's Books (1991) depicts Sycorax as

8858-524: The sea while crossing near El Harrach , a neighbourhood of the city hence the name, while Mazafran River ends near the far western suburbs dividing Algiers Province and Tipaza Province ; Both of these are called "Widan" which help in supplying agricultural needs in "Mitidja" which borders the Tell Atlas mountain range which could be spotted from the city. Algiers has a Mediterranean climate ( Köppen climate classification Csa ). Its proximity to

8961-537: The seafront. In this wall, five gates allowed access to the city, with five roads from each gate dividing the city and meeting in front of the Ketchaoua Mosque. In 1556, a citadel, Palace of the Dey was constructed at the highest point in the wall. A major road running north to south divided the city in two: The upper city (al-Gabal, or 'the mountain') which consisted of about fifty small quarters of Andalusian , Jewish , Moorish and Kabyle communities, and

9064-509: The second province was Mauretania Tingitana and were deemed as Roman Municipiums , additionally they were given Latin rights by the emperor Vespasian . In 371-373 AD, Mauretania revolted with the help of Firmus in hopes of installing an independent State and Icosium was raided and damaged. Some clues show the presence of bishops in the region at this time. In 435 AD, the Vandal Kingdom took control of northern Africa along

9167-600: The shame and the reproaches that are thrown upon them for making use of a witch," attributes the storm to the prayers of a holy man named Cidy Utica. Later scholars, however, have argued that Sycorax was saved from execution because she was pregnant. This was not uncommon, as many female criminals in Shakespeare's day got pregnant to avoid execution . Sycorax has been conceptualised in a variety ways by adapters and directors of The Tempest . In John Dryden and William Davenant 's version of The Tempest (1670), Sycorax

9270-514: The similarities grow. For example, Prospero, like Sycorax, coerces Ariel into doing his bidding, using the sprite to regain his inheritance as a duke, and tortures Caliban with magic the way Sycorax tortured Ariel. Also, both Prospero and Sycorax were exiled from their respective homelands and both have children, which was possibly the reason why they were both spared being executed. The fine line between Sycorax's black magic and Prospero's white blurs even further during his renunciation of magic in Act V,

9373-560: The similarity of her to the other colonizers." Scholars have wondered what it was that Sycorax did to avoid execution, as described in act one, scene two by Prospero: "for one thing she did / They [the Algerians] would not take her life." Charles Lamb , a Romantic writer fascinated by Shakespeare and his works, and particularly intrigued by this question, found in John Ogilby's "Accurate Description of Africa" (1670) two versions of

9476-676: The southern end of the rue d'Isly near the site of the demolished Fort Bab Azoun باب عزون. The interior is richly decorated with various coloured marbles. Many of these marbles contain memorial inscriptions relating to the British residents (voluntary and involuntary) of Algiers from the time of John Tipton, the first English consul, in 1580 (NB Some sources give 1585). One tablet records that in 1631 two Algerine pirate crews landed in Ireland , sacked Baltimore , and enslaved its inhabitants. The Ketchaoua Mosque ( Djamaa Ketchaoua جامع كتشاوة), at

9579-573: The surrounding Mitidja plain. Run by the FLN that had secured independence, Algiers became a member of Non-Aligned Movement during the Cold War . In October 1988, one year before the fall of the Berlin Wall , Algiers was the site of demonstrations demanding the end of the single-party system and the creation of a real democracy baptized the "Spring of Algiers". The demonstrators were repressed by

9682-411: The vaults in which were stored the treasures of the dey. Djamaa el Kebir ( Jamaa-el-Kebir الجامع الكبير) is the oldest mosque in Algiers. It was first built by Yusuf ibn Tashfin , but reconstructed many times. The pulpit ( minbar منبر) bears an inscription showing that the building existed in 1097. The minaret was built by the sultan of Tlemcen , in 1324. The interior of the mosque is square and

9785-523: The western Mediterranean and engaged in slave raids as far north as Iceland. By the 17th century, up to 40% of the city's 100,000 inhabitants were enslaved Europeans. The United States fought two wars (the First and Second Barbary Wars ) over Algiers' attacks on shipping. Among the notable people held for ransom was the future Spanish novelist, Miguel de Cervantes , who was held captive in Algiers for almost five years, and wrote two plays set in Algiers of

9888-502: The western coast of the Regency near what is today Sidi Fredj on June 14, 1830. The Algerian forces met their French opponents in the "Battle of Sidi Fredj" on June 19, 1830, to which the Dey 's forces were defeated, this enabled the colonial army to advance into the city and made Hussein Dey surrender to French General de Bourmont on 5 July 1830. Under French rule, Algiers became the capital of French Algeria , "an integral part of

9991-595: The year 2050 would most closely resemble the current climate of Perth in Australia . The annual temperature would increase by 2.6 °C (4.7 °F), and the temperature of the warmest month by 1.9 °C (3.4 °F), while the temperature of the coldest month would be 3.8 °C (6.8 °F) higher. According to Climate Action Tracker , the current warming trajectory appears consistent with 2.7 °C (4.9 °F), which closely matches Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 4.5. Moreover, according to

10094-706: Was appointed by the Faṭimid caliph al-Muʿizz as governor of al-Qayrawān and any other territory his nation, the Zirid Dynasty might reclaim from its enemies, the Zenata tribesmen. His state accordingly expanded its boundaries westward. In approximately 1014 AD, under the reign of Badis ibn al-Mansur , the dynasty was divided between the Zirids at al-Qayrawan in the east, and the Hammadids at Qal'at Bani Hammad ; "Jazaʾir Banī Mazghanna", commonly known as "Algiers" as

10197-498: Was caused by her choking on a fish bone two years before Prospero and Miranda's arrival. J.B. Aspinall's novel Sycorax (2006) places the origin of the story with a 14th-century peasant woman from Yorkshire. The Indian poet Suniti Namjoshi in Sycorax: New Fables and Poems imagines Sycorax returning to the island after Prospero and the others have left (including Caliban). Namjoshi has stated, "The Sycorax in my poem

10300-458: Was extended over the entire country, giving it the English name Algeria derived from the French name Algérie. In classical antiquity , the ancient Greeks knew the town as Ikósion ( Ancient Greek : Ἰκόσιον ), which was Latinized as Icosium under Roman rule . The Greeks explained the name as coming from their word for "twenty" ( εἴκοσι , eíkosi ), supposedly because it had been founded by 20 companions of Hercules when he visited

10403-517: Was his mother's before Prospero appeared. Scholars have unearthed very few facts about Shakespeare's sources for Sycorax. In fact, other than her connection to the magical sorceresses Medea and Circe of Greek mythology, nothing conclusive has been proposed. Several competing linguistic theories have been put forth. Some scholars argue that her name may be a combination of the Latin sus ("pig") and korax ("crow"). Another rough translation produces

10506-562: Was met by operations against the dey. A naval siege on the port of Algiers by the French Navy began the following days which lasted 3 years and impacted the French and Algerian economies due to their former extensive trade treaties. Tensions only continued rising while the French Armed Forces were preparing for the 1830 invasion of Algiers . The naval fleet departed from Touron on May 25, 1830, and successfully reached

10609-427: Was spared being put to death. She proceeded to enslave the spirits there, chief among them Ariel, whom she eventually imprisoned in a pine tree for disobedience. Sycorax birthed Caliban and taught him to worship the demonic god Setebos. She dies long before the arrival of Prospero and his daughter, Miranda . Caliban grows to hate Prospero's presence and power on the island, claiming that the land belongs to him since it

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