C. Rames explains in his book Beni-Abbes (Oran Sahara): Historical, geographical and medical study (1941) that the origin of the name comes from the name of the tribe of the city's first occupant : "Forty years after the death of Sidi Othman, in the distant Saguia el-Hamra (Western Sahara), El Mahdi Ben Youssef from the tribe of Beni Abbes".

Rodents found in the area include sand rat (Psammomys obesus), greater Egyptian gerbil (Gerbillus pyramidum) and the Libyan jird (Meriones libycus).

[26] In the recent decades or hundreds of years, the local extinction of many animal species has been reported due to drought and lack of prey, for example, al-naàme (ostrich)[27][28] and the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus).

[31] At Algerian independence, Béni Abbès was a district of Saoura Department with Béchar, Adrar, El Abiodh Sidi Cheikh, Timimoun and Tindouf.

This arrangement remained until 1974, when the administrative division divided the department into two Provinces: Adrar containing Timimoun District, and Béchar containing El Abiodh Sidi Cheikh, Béni Abbès and Tindouf.

Some clues may come from evidence dating from this period, including: The first Arab settlers in the area were from the Beni Hassan tribe, who built two ksars: Ghar el-Diba and Haresse Lil (translated "night watchman").

[37] The history of the founding of the current Béni Abbès begins with the legend of Sidi Othman called "El Gherib" and his companion Sid Enoun.

According to the legend, by the blessing of Sidi Othmane, water gushed and flowed from a spring near Béni Abbès; as a result, the country became no longer a desert, the vegetation developed and the valley became full of reeds, trees and pastures.

[38] Forty years after these first migrations, Seguia el-Hamra Mehdi Ben Youssef (descendant of Beniabbes of the Beni Hassan tribe) came to Béni Abbès.

El Ayachi in his handwritten Arrihla al ayachia 1662 say :"... personage who was placed in a state of open rebellion, sedition which began in this town.

With the help of the soldiers present in the town he built a "Khaoua" (fraternity),[A 1] composed of a room, a chapel and three acres of garden,[A 2] purchased by the help of Marie de Bondy.

[A 3][B 2] He described to Gabriel Tourdes: living work of my hands, and unknown to all the poor and enjoy the deep darkness, silence, poverty, in imitation of Jesus.

[F 2] On June 18, 1903, Charles asked Bishop Guerin for permission to accompany Laperrine, but the rebellion of the tribes against the colonial presence made this approach impossible.

[A 10] Intrigued by Charles de Foucauld, General Hubert Lyautey, appointed in Algeria, decided to visit him at Béni Abbès on January 28, 1905.

On 25 Juin, 1905, they met amenokal (chef of the tribe) Moussa Ag Amastan, who decided to make an alliance with the French authority.

In 1921, Saadoune (born in Béni Abbès) emigrated to France where he militates to[clarification needed] Étoile Nord-Africaine (ENA) and was then designated as a member committee central of the part in 02/07/1926[ambiguous].

The Bureau consisted of four people, Touhami Tayeb, Trabelsi Boufeldja, Abdellah Ben-cheikh and Benali Abderrahman, and remained in service until 1954, when the majority of activists transferred to the FLN.

[46] On November 11, 1955, the French discovered the names of those involved in the struggle, and transferred the members imprisoned at Béni Abbès to Béchar, or Serkadji prison if they had been tried.

[48] After 1960, Béni Abbès witnessed several visits of Mohamed Chérif Messaadia, wherein he and other officers under the command of Abdelaziz Bouteflika, a group referred to as Si Abdelkader El Mali, discussed opening the front in Mali, organizing military operations against French interests, and fighting against the French strategy of secession of the Sahara from the rest of Algeria.

Geological research began in 1948, in association with CFP (French Petroleum Company) in the region of Béni Abbès, Timimoun and In Salah, but without any positive results.

[53] The political management of the city was Algerian and the first mayor appointed was Ben Said Mokhtar, who remained in place until 1967, the date of the first elections of the Communal People's Assemblies.

The district seat and Citroen home[clarification needed] overlooking the cliff are the representative type of French architecture of the colonial era.

The oldest religious building is the Old Ksar's mosque, which dates back to the beginning of the seventeenth century (1605), followed the chapel of Father Charles de Foucauld (1901).

This is an opportunity for the presentation of those born in the past year, and a grand parade with music and old rifles, commemorating peace between the tribes and the creation of the ksar of the palm grove.

[84] Béni Abbès has a hospital named Mohammed Yaakoub (one of only four in the province), one polyclinic, one room care facility, a maternity ward, 4 private pharmacies, and a medical operating theater.

[99] It is not large enough to ensure food self-sufficiency for the population of around 11,000 inhabitants, considering that most fields have been abandoned due to inheritance issues, lack of water, and movement of labor to other sectors that have higher profitability.

[14][99] In 1908, The Béni Abbès palm grove was affected for first time by the fungal pathogen Fusarium,[102] after the disease appeared in 1870 in south Morocco.

A satellite photo of these mountains shows important mining areas containing mineral deposits of gold, silver, copper, iron, manganese, barium, arsenic, tungsten, strontium and lead, which is mixed with zinc.

The opening of the new road between Béni Abbès and El Ouata was going out the ksars between these two cities of anonymity[clarification needed], this project has cost 30,033,900 dinars.

The best-known athletes who trace their origins to Béni Abbès: The first mayor is Ben Said Mokhtar, named immediately after independence in July 1962.