Muhadarat fi Tarikh al-Jazair al-Hadith
- Author died
- 1435 AH
- Editions
- al-Sharikah al-Waṭanīyah lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʻ
Muhadarat fi Tarikh al-Jazair al-Hadith (Lectures on Modern Algerian History) is a historical study by the Algerian historian Abu al-Qasim Saad Allah (d. 1435 AH / 2013 CE), examining the transitional period in Algeria from the late Ottoman era to the onset of French colonial occupation .
Background and Publication History
The book originated from a series of lectures Saad Allah delivered to students in the Department of Historical and Geographical Studies at the Institute of Arab Research and Studies in Cairo, following an invitation by its director, Muhammad Khalaf Allah, and its secretary, Muhammad Rifqi Khatir . It was first published in 1970 under the title Tarikh al-Jazair al-Hadith: Bidayat al-Ihtilal (Modern Algerian History: The Beginning of the Occupation) .
Saad Allah later altered the title to Muhadarat fi Tarikh al-Jazair al-Hadith: Bidayat al-Ihtilal, judging the original title too broad for a work centered specifically on the transition between the Ottoman and French administrations . Although he considered extending its chronological scope to around 1848 or incorporating it as the opening volume of his multi-volume history of the Algerian national movement, he chose to keep it as an independent study . A revised second edition with expanded citations appeared in 1976 while the author was affiliated with the Social Sciences Institute at the University of Algiers, followed by a third edition in 1982 published in Algiers by the Société Nationale d'Édition et de Diffusion (al-Sharika al-Wataniyya li-l-Nashr wa-al-Tawzi') .
Historiographical Framework
In his preface, Saad Allah critically interrogates the standard convention of dating the beginning of modern Arab and Algerian history to the Ottoman conquest in the sixteenth century . He argues that Ottoman governance in Algeria (the odjak) remained bound to medieval structures, intellectual isolation, and administrative rigidity rather than ushering in modern socio-economic transformations or scientific advancement . Consequently, he interprets the French invasion of 1830 as a violent collision between modern European developments and a medieval social order, which ultimately spurred modern Algerian national consciousness, political organization, and resistance .
The author notes that research on this era was hindered by the relative scarcity of contemporary Arabic documentation and Algerian perspectives, alongside the transfer of major archival records to France after Algerian independence, which compelled him to consult collections in Algeria, Egypt, Syria, and France .
Contents and Structure
The book is structured into an introduction and ten thematic chapters:
- The French expedition against Algeria (al-Hamlah al-Faransiyyah 'ala al-Jaza'ir), examining long-term French-Algerian relations, commercial concessions, and political developments leading to the 1830 campaign .
- Algerian preparations to confront the expedition (Isti'dadat al-Jaza'ir li-Muwajahat al-Hamlah) .
- From Ottoman administration to French administration (Min al-Idarah al-'Uthmaniyyah ila al-Idarah al-Faransiyyah) .
- The role of the urban population of Algiers (Dawr Hadar Madinat al-Jaza'ir) .
- Marabouts and rebels (Murabitun wa-Thuwwar) .
- The Africa Commission (al-Lajnah al-Afriqiyyah) .
- Algerians before the Africa Commission (al-Jaza'iriyyun amam al-Lajnah al-Afriqiyyah) .
- Hajj Ahmad, Bey of Constantine (al-Hajj Ahmad, Bay Qusantinah) .
- Economic conditions (al-Halah al-Iqtisadiyyah) .
- Cultural life (al-Hayah al-Thaqafiyyah) .
The work concludes with a bibliography of Arabic and foreign sources, as well as indexes of personal names and geographical locations .
Answer updated