Bethioua

Bethioua is located on the ruins of the ancient Roman settlement of Arsenaria or Portus Magnus.

The region itself belonged to the Battiwa (Ibeṭṭiwen), a group of Berber clans which arrived from the Rif mountains, mainly Ait Said and Temsaman tribe.

They were composed of clans from Zegzawa (Izegzawen), the Ait Mait and their Maraboutic leader Sidi Amar Ben Ahmed whose mausoleum lies facing the sea.

[1] Originally settled in Mazagran near the city of Mostaganem, the Ibeṭṭiwen and Battiwa the bey of Mascara gave them coastal territory a little further west[clarification needed] in 1784.

[clarification needed][3] When the Anglo-Americans invaded Algeria in November 1941 (Operation Torch), the American troops who captured Oran landed at Beach Z,[4] which was the strip of coastline between Arzew and Bethioua.