View source for Kabylia

{{Short description|Region of northern Algeria inhabited by Kabyle people}}
{{Expand French|date=July 2018|topic=geo}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Kabylia
| native_name        = {{lang|ar|منطقة القبائل}}
| other_name         = 
| image_skyline      = DJURDJURA6.jpg
| caption            = View of the [[Djurdjura National Park]]
| image_map          = Location Kabylie.svg
| map_caption        = Location of Kabylia in central Algeria (northwestern Africa)
| coordinates        = {{coord|36.8|N|4.3|E|region:DZ-KAB_type:adm1st|display=title,inline}}
| subdivision_type   = [[Region]]
| subdivision_name   = {{flagcountry|Algeria}}
| parts_type         = [[Provinces of Algeria|Provinces – Wilayas]]
| parts_style        = 
| p1                 = [[Tizi Ouzou Province|Tizi Ouzou]]
| area_total_km2     = 25,000
| area_land_km2      = 
| area_water_km2     = 
| area_water_percent = 
| population_total   = 3,450,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.centrederechercheberbere.fr/kabyle.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806080156/http://www.centrederechercheberbere.fr/kabyle.html|archive-date=6 August 2017|title=Centre de Recherche Berbère – Kabyle}}</ref>
| population_as_of   = 2012
| population_footnotes = 
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_blank1_title = 
| population_blank1  = 
| population_demonym = [[Kabyle people|Kabyles]]
| population_note    = 
| timezone1_DST      = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset1_DST    = +1
| area_code_type     = [[Telephone numbers in Algeria|Area code]]
| blank_name_sec1    = [[Language]]s
| blank_info_sec1    = [[Kabyle language|Kabyle]]<br/>[[Arabic]]<br>French
| p2                 = [[Béjaïa Province|Béjaïa]]
| p6                 = 
| p7                 = 
| timezone           = 
| utc_offset         = +1
| blank3_info_sec2   = 16 senators (of 264)
| official_name      = 
}}
 
'''Kabylia''' or '''Kabylie'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kabylie {{!}} Algeria Region, History & Culture {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Kabylie |access-date=2024-01-27 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> ({{IPAc-en|k|ə|ˈ|b|ɪ|l|i|ə}}; {{Langx|ar|منطقة القبائل||Area of the Tribes}}) is a mountainous coastal region in northern [[Algeria]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kabylie {{!}} region, Algeria {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Kabylie |access-date=2023-04-18 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> and the homeland of the [[Kabyle people]]. It is part of the [[Tell Atlas]] mountain range and is located at the edge of the Mediterranean.

Kabylia covers two [[provinces of Algeria]]: [[Tizi Ouzou Province|Tizi Ouzou]] and [[Béjaïa Province|Béjaïa]]. [[Gouraya National Park]] and [[Djurdjura National Park]] are also located in Kabylia.

== Name ==
During the [[French Algeria|French colonization of Algeria]], the French invented the term 'Kabylia', a term never used by the [[Arabs|Arab]] and [[Berbers|Berber]] populations of Algeria prior to the French invasion. The word 'Kabyle' is a distortion of the [[Arabic]] word ''qaba'il'' (قبائل) which has two meanings, the first one is tribes that live among sedentary populations and the second is 'to accept', which Arabs after the [[Muslim conquest of the Maghreb]] used for local populations that accepted [[Islam]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Benrabah |first=Mohamed |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q8j-jWxC7Y0C&pg=PA27 |title=Language Conflict in Algeria: From Colonialism to Post-Independence |date=2013-05-16 |publisher=Multilingual Matters |isbn=978-1-84769-965-7 |pages=27 |language=en}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Kabylie topographic map-fr.svg|thumb|400px|Topographic map of Kabylia.]]

===Antiquity===
{{Further|North Africa during Antiquity}}The area of modern-day Kabylia was a part of the Kingdom of [[Numidia]] (202 BC – 46 BC).<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Froude |first1=James Anthony |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0NVLAQAAMAAJ&dq=numidia+kabylia&pg=PA449 |title=Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country |last2=Tulloch |first2=John |date=1862 |publisher=J. Fraser |language=en}}</ref>

===Middle Ages===
The history of the area encompassing Kabylia started to appear in the classical books during the fourth century AD with the revolt of the commander [[Firmus]] and his brother Guildon against the empire.

The [[Vandals]], a [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] people, established a [[Vandal Kingdom|kingdom]] in North Africa in 435. Their rule lasted for 99 years until they were conquered by the [[Byzantine Empire]] in 534.<ref>{{Cite web|title=North Africa – The Vandal conquest|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/North-Africa|access-date=2020-12-23|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Day|first=Alan|date=July 2001|title=The Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. XIV:2001400Averil Cameron, Brian Ward-Perkins, Michael Whitby, editors. The Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. XIV: Late Antiquity: Empire and Successors, AD 425-600. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2001. xx+1,166pp, {{text|ISBN}}: 0 521 32591 9|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/rr.2001.15.7.43.400|journal=Reference Reviews|volume=15|issue=7|pages=43–44|doi=10.1108/rr.2001.15.7.43.400|issn=0950-4125|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The surviving Vandals then assimilated into the native Berber population.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vandals, Romans and Berbers: new perspectives on late antique North Africa|url=https://esploro.libs.uga.edu/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma9913904915702931&context=L&vid=01GALI_UGA:UGA&search_scope=MyInstitution&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=LibraryCatalog&query=sub,exact,Africa,%20North%20--%20History&offset=25&lang=en |access-date=2024-08-11 |website=esploro.libs.uga.edu |language=en}} {{page needed|date=March 2025}}</ref> During the rule of the Romans, Vandals and Byzantines, the Kabyle people were some of the few [[Amazighs|Imazighen]] in North Africa who remained independent.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=4CfBKvsiWeQC&pg=PA156 The Middle East and North Africa: Pg 156]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=83koAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA118 Sketches of Algeria During the Kabyle War By Hugh Mulleneux: Pg 118]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=wqF8CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT167 The Kabyle People By Glora M. Wysner]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=pv80AQAAMAAJ The Encyclopedia Americana, Volume 1: Pg 568]</ref> {{Better source needed|date=August 2024}} During the [[Arab conquest of North Africa]], the Kabyles were able to temporarily control and possess their mountains,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=GI5CAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA45 The art journal London, Volume 4: Pg 45]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=JU5CAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA93 The Barbary Coast By Henry Martyn Field: Pg 93]</ref> It was not until 1857 that Kabylia as a whole was fully and entirely conquered and subdued by France.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=tYtIAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA186 Scottish Geographical Magazine, Volume 10; Volume 1894]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=5XVPAQAAMAAJ The Twentieth Century, Volume 71]</ref><ref>
[https://books.google.com/books?id=f1pBAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA165 Walks in Algiers and Its Surrounding]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=RgEcAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA513 The United Service Magazine]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=GI5CAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA45 The art journal London, Volume 4]</ref>{{Excessive citations inline|date=August 2024}}

[[File:Fatimid Caliphate.jpg|thumb|Origin and conquests of the Fatimids]]

Between 902 and 909 AD, after being converted to [[Isma'ilism]] and won over by [[Abu Abdallah al-Shi'i|Abu Abdallah]]'s [[dawah]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Africa |first=Unesco International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History of |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qDFcD0BuekQC&pg=PA164 |title=Africa from the Seventh to the Eleventh Century |date=1992 |publisher=J. Currey |isbn=978-0-85255-093-9 |pages=164 |language=en}}</ref> the [[Kutama]] Berbers from present-day Little Kabylie helped contribute to the founding of the [[Fatimid Caliphate]], whose support in the overthrowing of [[Aghlabids|the Aghlabids of Ifriqiya]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Daftary |first=Farhad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FdLeEkAUoGIC&pg=PA3 |title=Historical Dictionary of the Ismailis |date=2012 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-6164-0 |pages=3 |language=en}}</ref> resulted in the creation of the Caliphate,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=zaOmDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT103 The Shi'i World: Pathways in Tradition and Modernity]</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Nanjira|first=Daniel Don|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LZuxGsXVPoMC&pg=PA92|title=African Foreign Policy and Diplomacy from Antiquity to the 21st Century|date=2010|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-37982-6|pages=92|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Fage|first=J. D.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MN4EAQAAIAAJ|title=An Atlas of African History| date=1958| publisher=E. Arnold |pages=11|language=en}}</ref><ref name="books.google.co.uk">[https://books.google.com/books?id=654rAAAAIAAJ&q=Kabylie+intitle:International+intitle:Journal+intitle:of+intitle:Economic+intitle:and+intitle:Social+intitle:History International Journal of Economic and Social History, Volume 8]</ref><ref name="Chroniques des années algériennes">[https://books.google.com/books?id=cm-6wAEACAAJ&q=-+Chroniques+des+années+algériennes Chroniques des années algériennes]</ref> although the ruling [[Fatimid dynasty]] was [[Arabs|Arab]]. After taking control of Ifriqiya, the Fatimids conquered the realm of the [[Rustamid dynasty|Rustamids]] on the way to [[Sijilmasa]] which they also briefly conquered. There the imprisoned [[Abdallah al-Mahdi Billah|Abdullāh al-Mahdī Billah]] was freed, accepted as the Imam of the movement, and installed as the first Caliph and founder of the ruling dynasty.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Gall|first1=Timothy L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=07dZAAAAYAAJ|title=Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life: Africa|last2=Hobby|first2=Jeneen|date=2009|publisher=Gale|isbn=978-1-4144-4883-1|pages=329|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Studies|first=American University (Washington, D. C. ) Foreign Area|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ALHjoSJm-PsC&pg=PA15|title=Algeria, a Country Study|date=1979|publisher=[Department of Defense], Department of the Army|pages=15|language=en}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=YDlZAAAAMAAJ Orientalia, Volumes 54-55]</ref> The historian [[Heinz Halm]] describes the early Fatimid state as being "a hegemony of the Kutama and Sanhaja Berbers over the eastern and central Maghrib" and Loimeier states that rebellions against the Fatimids were also expressed through protest and opposition to Kutama rule.<ref>Halm, Heinz (2014). "Fāṭimids". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). [https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-3/*-COM_27045 Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE]. Brill Online. {{ISSN|1873-9830}}.</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">[https://books.google.com/books?id=dR5yCmUejWEC&pg=PA45 Muslim Societies in Africa: A Historical Anthropology] – Roman Loimeier
Indiana University Press,</ref> The weakening of the Abbasids allowed Fatimid-Kutama power to quickly expand and in 959 [[Ziri ibn Manad]], [[Jawhar (general)|Jawhar]] the Sicilian and a Kutama army conquered [[Fez, Morocco|Fez]] and [[Sijilmassa]] in Morocco.<ref name="Halm1996">{{cite book|author=Heinz Halm|title=Der Nahe und Mittlere Osten|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=usUjj9OV9l0C&pg=PA399|year=1996|publisher=BRILL|isbn=90-04-10056-3|page=399}}</ref> 
<ref name="ReferenceA"/> During the reign of [[al-Aziz Billah]], the role of the Kutama in the Fatimid army was greatly weakened as he significantly reduced their size in the army and included new socio-military groups.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lev |first=Ya'acov |url= |title=War and Society in the Eastern Mediterranean, 7th-15th Centuries |date=2022-02-22 |isbn=978-90-04-47447-5 |pages=145 |publisher=BRILL |language=en}}</ref> In 969 under the command of Jawhar, the Fatimid troops conquered Egypt from the Ikhsidids, the general [[Ja'far ibn Fallah]] was instrumental in this success: he led the troops that crossed the river Nile and according to al-Maqrizi, captured the boats used to do this from a fleet sent by Ikhshidid loyalists from Lower Egypt.<ref>Lev, Yaacov (1979). [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/85151798 "The Fāṭimid Conquest of Egypt — Military Political and Social Aspects"]. Israel Oriental Studies. 9: 315–328. {{ISSN|0334-4401}}.</ref> The general Ja’far then invaded Palestine and conquered [[Ramla]], the capital, he then conquered [[Damascus]] and made himself the master of the city and then he moved north and conquered [[Tripoli, Lebanon|Tripoli]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=HVdoAAAAMAAJ First Crusader: Byzantium's Holy Wars]</ref><ref>
[https://books.google.com/books?id=RDo9AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA294 The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British India and Its Dependencies, Volume 24]

Black, Parbury, & Allen,</ref> It was around this time period that the Fatimid Caliphate reached its territorial peak of 4,100,000 km2.<ref>Turchin, Peter; Adams, Jonathan M.; Hall, Thomas D (December 2006). [http://jwsr.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/jwsr/article/view/369/381 "East-West Orientation of Historical Empires"]. Journal of World-Systems Research. 12 (2): 222. {{ISSN|1076-156X}} 
</ref>

A Berber family emerged as formidable leaders in the unique Berber form of elected delegates form of government (through financial contribution and thus influence), the [[Zirid dynasty]]s. Beyond their immediate Zirid territory (''aarch''/Congregation), another ''aarch'' and family [[Hammadid]] and its associates emerged in present-day Kabylia with influence covering most of today's Algeria, whereas the Zirid's territory extended eastward to cover the area of modern Tunisia. Both the [[Hammadid]] and [Zirid dynasty empires as well as the [[Fatimids]] established their rule in the Maghreb countries. The Zirids ruled land in what is now Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, Spain, Malta and Italy. The Hammadids captured and held important regions such as Ouargla, Constantine, Sfax, Susa, Algiers, Tripoli and Fez establishing their rule in every country in the Maghreb region.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=BvTjCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA42 Saladin, the Almohads and the Banū Ghāniya: The Contest for North Africa: Pg 42]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.co.uk/books/content?id=huOBwihhwyQC&pg=PA614 Islam: Art and Architecture: Pg 614]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=0E8qp_k515oC&pg=PA55 Historical Dictionary of the Berbers (Imazighen): Pg 55 & 56]</ref> The Fatimids conquered all of North Africa as well as Sicily and parts of the Middle East.

===French colonisation and resistance===
[[File:Premiere messe en kabylie horace vernet.jpg|thumb|190px|First mass in Kabylia during the [[French conquest of Algeria]], 1837]]
{{main|French conquest of Algeria}}
{{See also|Raid on Reghaïa (1837)|Expedition of the Col des Beni Aïcha|First Battle of Boudouaou|First Battle of the Issers|Battle of the Col des Beni Aïcha (1846)|Battle of the Col des Beni Aïcha (1871)|Battle of Boudouaou (1871)}}
Though the region was the last stronghold against French colonization,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e1226 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150113091623/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e1226 |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 January 2015 |title=Kabylia – Oxford Islamic Studies Online |publisher=Oxfordislamicstudies.com |date=2008-05-06 |access-date=2015-03-06}}</ref> the area was gradually taken over by the French after [[French conquest of Algeria|1830]], despite vigorous local resistance by the local population led by leaders such as [[Lalla Fatma N'Soumer|Faḍma n Sumer]] and [[Cheikh Mokrani]], until the [[Battle of Icheriden]] in 1857 marked a decisive French victory, with sporadic outbursts of violence continuing as late as [[Mokrani]]'s rebellion in 1871. Much land was confiscated in this period from the more recalcitrant tribes and given to French ''[[pied-Noir|pieds-noirs]]''. Many arrests and deportations were carried out by the French in response to uprisings, mainly to [[New Caledonia]] (hence the origins of the [[Algerians of the Pacific]].) Colonization also resulted in an acceleration of the emigration into other areas of the country and outside of it.

Algerian migrant workers in France organized the first party promoting independence in the 1920s. [[Messali Hadj]], [[Imache Amar]], [[Si Djilani]], and [[Belkacem Radjef]] rapidly built a strong following throughout France and Algeria in the 1930s and actively trained militants who became key players during the struggle for independence and in building an independent Algerian state.

French colonists invented the [[Kabyle myth]] in the 19th century which asserted that the Kabyle people were more predisposed than Arabs to assimilate into "French civilization." Lacoste explained that "turning the Arabs into invaders was one way of legitimizing the French presence".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Davis |first=Diana K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hwu3S5i-2QQC&dq=arab+conquest+of+kabyles&pg=PA57 |title=Resurrecting the Granary of Rome: Environmental History and French Colonial Expansion in North Africa |date=2007-09-11 |publisher=Ohio University Press |isbn=978-0-8214-1751-5 |language=en}}</ref> Prior to the creation of the term in the 1840s, Kabyles throughout the centuries were actively and fully assimilated into the [[Arab culture]] of Algeria.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ferdinand |first=Klaus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u26IvjJjGHkC&pg=PA185 |title=Islam: State And Society |date=2013-01-11 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-09986-1 |pages=185 |language=en}}</ref>

=== In the Algerian War ===
During the [[Algerian War|War of Independence]] (1954–1962), the [[National Liberation Front (Algeria)|FLN]] and [[National Liberation Army (Algeria)|ALN]]'s reorganisation of the country created, for the first time, a unified Kabyle administrative territory, [[Provinces of Algeria#1954–1962|wilaya III]], being as it was at the centre of the anti-colonial struggle.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/a-la-une/article/2004/07/05/veillee-d-armes-en-kabylie_371616_3208.html|title=Veillée d'armes en Kabylie|last=Stora|first=Benjamin|date=2004-07-05|work=Le Monde.fr|access-date=2017-03-22|language=fr|issn=1950-6244}}</ref> As such, along with the [[Aurès Mountains|Aurès]], it was one of the most affected areas because of the importance of the maquis (aided by the [[Rajaouna|mountainous terrain]]) and the high levels of support and collaboration of its inhabitants for the nationalist cause. Several historic leaders of the [[National Liberation Front (Algeria)|FLN]] came from this region, including [[Hocine Aït Ahmed]], [[Abane Ramdane]], and [[Krim Belkacem]]. It was also in Kabylia that the [[Soummam conference]] took place in 1956, the first of the FLN. The flipside of being such a critical region for the independence movement was being one of the major target of French counter-insurgency operations, not least the devastation of agricultural lands, looting, destruction of villages, population displacement, the creation of forbidden zones, etc.<ref>{{Cite book|title=La Guerre d'Algérie|last1=Harbi|first1=Mohammed|last2=Stora|first2=Benjamin|publisher=Hachette|year=2005|isbn=978-2-01-279279-1|pages=324}}</ref>

=== After independence ===
{{Further|Berber Spring|Black Spring (Algeria)}}
From the moment of independence, tensions had already developed between Kabyle leaders and the central government, with the [[Socialist Forces Front]] (FFS) party of [[Hocine Aït Ahmed]], strong in [[Provinces of Algeria#1954–1962|wilayas III and IV]] (Kabylie and Algiers), opposing the FLN's Political Bureau centred around the person of [[Ahmed Ben Bella]], who in turn relied upon the forces of the border army group within the [[National Liberation Army (Algeria)|ALN]] commanded by [[Houari Boumediene]]. The [[Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic]] (based in [[Tizi Ouzou]]) was defeated by the [[Oujda Group]] led by [[Ahmed Ben Bella]] in the 1962 Algerian crisis. As early as 1963 the FFS called into question the authority of the [[One-party state|single-party]] system, which resulted in two years of armed confrontation in the region. The rebellion was defeated, leaving more than four hundred dead, and most of the FLN leaders from Kabylia and the eastern provinces either executed or forced into exile.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Émeutes et Mouvements sociaux au Maghreb|last1=Le Saout|first1=Didier|last2=Rollinde|first2=Marguerite|publisher=Karthala|year=1999|isbn=978-2-86537-998-9|pages=46}}</ref>

[[File:Marche du MAK le 27 avril 2014.jpg|thumb|Demonstration by Kabyles in 2014]]
In April 1980, following the banning of a conference by writer [[Mouloud Mammeri]] on traditional Kabyle poetry, riots and strikes broke out in [[Tizi Ouzou]], followed by several months of demonstrations on university campuses in Kabylia and Algiers, known as the [[Berber Spring]], demanding the officialisation and recognition of the [[Berber languages|Tamazight language.]] These resulted in the extrajudicial imprisonment of thousands of Kabyle intellectuals, along with other clashes in Tizi-Ouzou and Algiers in 1984 and 1985.<ref>Mourre, Michel (ed.), 'Kabyles', ''Dictionnaire encyclopédique d'Histoire'', Paris, Bordas, Vol. 3, (1996 [1978]), p. 3082.</ref> With the opening up and establishment of the multi-party system in 1989, the [[Rally for Culture and Democracy|RCD]] (Rally for Culture and Democracy) party was created by [[Saïd Sadi]], at the same time as identity politics and the cultural awakening of the Kabyles were intensifying in reaction to the increasingly hard-line [[Arabization#Arabization in Algeria|Arabization]].<ref>[[:fr:Jacques Leclerc (linguiste)|Jacques Leclerc]], [http://www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca/afrique/algerie-2Histoire.htm "Algérie: Données historiques et conséquences linguistiques"] sur ''L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde'', [[Université Laval]], 14 January 2012.</ref> In the midst of the civil war, there was an act of massive civil disobedience beginning in September 1994 and lasting the entire school year until mid 1995 where the ten-million strong population of Kabylia conducted a total school boycott, known as the "schoolbag strike".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.babelmed.net/cultura-e-societa/98-algeria/1936-petite-histoire-de-la-question-berb-re-en-alg-rie.html|title=Petite histoire de la question berbère en Algérie|last=Temlali|first=Yassin|date=1 May 2006|website=Babel Med|language=fr-FR|access-date=2017-03-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Chaker|first=Salem|year=2001|title=Berber Challenge in Algeria: The State of the Question|jstor=41674987|journal=Race, Gender & Class|volume=8|issue=3|pages=135–156}}</ref> In June and July 1998 the region flared up again after the assassination of protest singer and political activist [[Lounès Matoub]] at the same time that a law requiring the use of [[Arabic]] in all fields of education entered into force, further worsening tensions.<ref>[[:fr:Jacques Leclerc (linguiste)|Jacques Leclerc]], [http://www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca/afrique/algerie_loi-91.htm "Algérie: Loi no 91-05 du 16 janvier 1991 portant généralisation de l'utilisation de la langue arabe"] sur ''L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde'', [[Université Laval]]</ref><ref>[[:fr:Jacques Leclerc (linguiste)|Jacques Leclerc]], [http://www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca/afrique/algerie-4Berberes_ling.htm "Algérie: Les droits linguistiques des berbérophones"], in ''L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde'', [[Université Laval]], 20 April 2010</ref>

Following the death in April 2001 of Massinissa Guermah, a young high school student, in police custody, major riots took place, known as the [[Black Spring (Algeria)|Black Spring]], in which 123 people died and some two thousand were wounded as a result of the authorities' violent crackdown.<ref>{{cite web | work=Algeria: Unrest and Impasse in Kabylia | publisher=[[International Crisis Group]] | title=Report No. 15 | date=10 June 2003 | url=https://d2071andvip0wj.cloudfront.net/15-algeria-unrest-and-impasse-in-kabylia.pdf | access-date=24 March 2017 | page=9 | archive-date=22 December 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222143911/https://d2071andvip0wj.cloudfront.net/15-algeria-unrest-and-impasse-in-kabylia.pdf | url-status=dead }}</ref> Eventually, the government was compelled to negotiate with the [[Arouch]], a confederation of ancestral local councils over the situation, alongside wider issues such as social justice and the economy, which was deemed by the government as 'regionalist' and dangerous for national unity and cohesion.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Algérie: Chroniques d'une expérience postcoloniale de modernisation|last=Addi|first=Lahouari|publisher=Barzakh|year=2012|isbn=978-9947-851-99-9|url=http://www.algeria-watch.org/farticle/analyse/addi_plateforme_elkseur.htm}}</ref> Nevertheless, [[Berber languages|Tamazight]] was recognised in 2002 as a [[Berber languages#Status|national language]] of Algeria, and as of 7 February 2016, an official language of the State alongside Arabic.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2016-02-01|title=ALGERIA: Tamazight Recognised|journal=Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series|language=en|volume=53|issue=1|pages=20850B–20850C|doi=10.1111/j.1467-825X.2016.06822.x|issn=1467-825X}}</ref>

The [[Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylie|Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylie (MAK)]], founded in June 2001, has called for self-government for the region since 2011. The MAK was renamed as "Mouvement pour l'Autodétermination de la Kabylie" seeking independence from Algeria.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Histoire de Kabylie: Le point de vue kabyle|last=Zirem|first=Youcef|publisher=Yoran Embanner|year=2013|isbn=978-2-914855-98-3|pages=179}}</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:Iazzuggen.JPG|thumb|Landscape near [[Azazga]]]]
Main features:
* Greater Kabylia, which runs from [[Thénia]] (west) to [[Béjaïa]] (east), and from the Mediterranean Sea (north) to the [[Soummam]] Valley (south), that is to say, 200&nbsp;km by 100&nbsp;km, beginning 50&nbsp;km from [[Algiers]], the capital of Algeria.
* Lesser Kabylia, comprising Kabylia of Bibans and Kabylia of [[Babor District|Babors]].

Three large chains of mountains occupy most of the area:
* In the north, the mountain range of maritime Kabylia, culminating with [[Tifrit n'Ait El Hadj]] (Tamgout 1278 m)
* In the south, the [[Djurdjura]], dominating the valley of Soummam, culminating with [[Lalla Khedidja]] (2308 m)
* Between the two lies the mountain range of Agawa, which is the most populous and is 800 m high on average. The largest town of Great Kabylia, [[Tizi Ouzou]], lies in that mountain range. [[At Iraten]] (formerly "Fort-National" in French occupation), which numbered 28,000 inhabitants in 2001, is the highest urban centre of the area.

==Ecology==
[[File:Kabylere.jpg|thumb|Kabyles]]
There are a number of flora and fauna associated with this region. Notable is a population of the [[endangered]] [[primate]], [[Barbary macaque]], ''Macaca sylvanus'', whose prehistoric range encompassed a much wider span than the present limited populations in Algeria, Morocco and [[Gibraltar]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://globaltwitcher.auderis.se/artspec_information.asp?thingid=31757&lang=us |title=Barbary Macaque (Macaca sylvanus) – iGoTerra.com |publisher=Globaltwitcher.auderis.se |access-date=2015-03-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419033431/http://globaltwitcher.auderis.se/artspec_information.asp?thingid=31757&lang=us |archive-date=2012-04-19 }}</ref>

==Population==
{{Main|Kabyle people|tajmâat}}

The area is populated by Kabyles, a Berber ethnic group. They speak the [[Kabyle language]], the largest [[Berber languages|Berber language]] in Algeria.<ref name="Goodman2005">{{cite book|author=Jane E. Goodman|title=Berber Culture on the World Stage: From Village to Video|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=of6q6v5Lv7cC&pg=PA7|date=3 November 2005|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=0-253-11145-5|page=7}}</ref> It is spoken by 3 million people<ref name="leclerc">{{cite web |author=Leclerc, Jacques |date=5 April 2009 |title=Algérie: Situation géographique et démolinguistique |url=http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/AXL/AFRIQUE/algerie-1demo.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100124150058/http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/algerie-1demo.htm |archive-date=24 January 2010 |access-date=8 January 2010 |work=L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde |publisher=[[Université Laval]] |language=fr}}</ref> and has significant [[Arabic]], French, [[Latin]], [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Phoenician language|Phoenician]] and [[Punic language|Punic]] substratum,<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Baldauf |first1=Richard B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sabe8l9hox0C&pg=PA50 |title=Language Planning and Policy in Africa |last2=Kaplan |first2=Robert B. |date=2007-01-01 |publisher=Multilingual Matters |isbn=978-1-84769-011-1 |pages=50 |language=en}}</ref> with Arabic loanwords representing 35%<ref name=":0" /> to 46%<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kossmann |first=Maarten |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Se-BAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA98 |title=The Arabic Influence on Northern Berber |date=2013-07-18 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-25309-4 |pages=98 |language=en}}</ref> of the total Kabyle vocabulary.

Since the [[Berber Spring]] in 1980, Kabyles have been at the forefront of the fight for recognition of the [[Berber languages|Berber]] as an official language in Algeria (see [[Languages of Algeria]]).

==Zawiyas==
{{Main|Zawiyas in Algeria}}
{{See also|Rahmaniyya|List of Sufi oOrders}}
The ''Kabylia'' region is home to dozens of [[Zawiya (institution)|zawiyas]] affiliated with the [[Rahmaniyya]] [[Sufi brotherhood]], including the following:
* ''[[Zawiya Thaalibia (Issers)|Zawiya Thaalibia]]'' in the [[Issers]].
* ''[[Zawiyet Sidi Boumerdassi]]'' in [[Tidjelabine]].
* ''[[Zawiyet Sidi Boushaki]]'' in [[Thénia]].
* ''[[Zawiyet Sidi Amar Cherif]]'' in [[Sidi Daoud]].
* ''{{interlanguage link|Zawiyet Sidi M'Hamed Saadi|ar|زاوية سيدي أمحمد السعدي}}'' in [[Aafir]].
* ''{{interlanguage link|Zawiyet Sidi Ali Debbaghi|ar|زاوية سيدي علي الدباغي}}'' in [[Beni Amrane]].
* ''{{interlanguage link|Zawiyet Sidi Ghobrini|ar|زاوية الغبارنة}}'' in [[Khemis El-Khechna]].
* ''{{interlanguage link|Zawiyet Sidi Salem|ar|زاوية سيدي سالم}}'' in [[Boudouaou]].

==Economy==
The traditional economy of the area is based on arboriculture (orchards, [[olive tree]]s) and on the craft industry ([[tapestry]] or [[pottery]]). The [[Isaak Mountain|mountain]] and hill farming is gradually giving way to local industry (textile and agro-alimentary).

Today Kabylia is one of the most industrialised parts of Algeria.<ref>"Tmurt Iqvayliyen ass-agi", Maxime Ait Kaki</ref> Kabylia produces less than 15% of Algerian GDP (excluding oil and gas).<ref name="Tadamsa taqbaylit, Saεid Duman">"Tadamsa taqbaylit", Saεid Duman</ref> Industries include: pharmaceutical industry in Bgayet [[Béjaïa]], agro-alimentary in [[Ifri]] and [[Akbou]], mechanical industry in [[Tizi Ouzou]] and other small towns of western Kabylia, and [[petrochemical industry]] and oil refining in Bgayet Béjaïa.<ref name="Tadamsa taqbaylit, Saεid Duman"/>

Bgayet (Béjaïa)'s port is the second biggest in Algeria after [[Algiers]], and the 6th largest on the Mediterranean Sea.

==See also==
* [[JS Kabylie]]
* [[Kabylia football team]]
* [[Corso Valley]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Kabylia}}
* [http://www.cg.gov.dz/ Cg.gov.dz]
* [http://www.elwatan.com/ Elwatan.com]
* [http://www.tiziouzou-dz.com/ Tiziouzou-dz.com]
* [http://www.wilaya-boumerdes.dz/ Wilaya-boumerdes.dz]
* [http://www.wilayasetif.dz/ Wilayasetif.dz]
* [http://www.jijel-dz.org/ jijel-dz.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223030648/http://www.jijel-dz.org/ |date=23 December 2014 }}
* https://fr-m-wikipedia-org.translate.goog/wiki/Kabylie?_x_tr_sl=fr&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp Translation from French to English when copied and pasted in here delete this and the warning

{{Cultural regions of Algeria}}
{{UNPO}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Kabylia| ]]
[[Category:Cultural regions of Algeria]]
[[Category:Natural regions of Africa]]
[[Category:Geography of Béjaïa Province]]
[[Category:Geography of Boumerdès Province]]
[[Category:Geography of Tizi Ouzou Province]]
[[Category:Berbers in Algeria]]
[[Category:Historical regions in Algeria]]
[[Category:Algeria geography articles needing translation from French Wikipedia]]
[[Category:Algeria articles needing expert attention]]