Kalâa of Ait Abbas

The Kalâa of the Aït Abbas or Kalâa of the Beni Abbes (Berber: ⵇⴰⵍⵄⴰ ⵍⴰⵉⵜ ⵄⴰⴱⴰⵙ [Qalεa nāt εabbas]; Arabic: قلعة بني عباس), sometimes spelled Qal'a or Guelaa, was a citadel and the capital of the kingdom of Ait Abbas, which was founded in the sixteenth century in the Bibans and almost totally destroyed during the revolt of Cheikh Mokrani in 1871.

[1] The Kalâa, following the heart-shaped relief, is built on a rocky plateau with an area of 400 ha (990 acres)[2] in the Biban range, at nearly 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above sea level.

[2] It was built in the same manner as the Beni Hammad Fort: strategic position, difficult access, guarded gates and surrounding wall.

[4] The site of the Kalâa was a Hammadid fort housing a military contingent to control the strategic Iron Gate pass through the Bibans as well as the valley of the Soummam River and a stretch of the ‘’triq sultan’’.

Charles Féraud (translator officer) wrote in the ‘’Revue Africaine [fr]’’ of the power of these cannons, given their volume and weight.