The present-day city is situated on the site of an ancient Roman military post and has a history dating back to the 10th century.

The town is French in character, with a rectangular city plan, red tile-roofed buildings, and beautiful public gardens.

The hills surrounding Médéa are covered with vineyards, orchards, and farms that yield abundant grain.

Medea is a Roman city named ad Medix or Media ("halfway" in Latin), so called because it was equidistant from Tirinadi (Berrouaghia) and Sufnsar (Amourah) rest house of Mauretania caesarean on the road linking the capital Caesarea (Cherchell) to the colony Auzia (Aumale).

Lamdia[3] was the seat of an ancient Christian bishopric of the Roman province of Mauretania Caesariensis.