Abd-El-Kader
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
was the third son of a marabout of the Arab tribe of Hashem. Born in Oran in 1807, the early days of Abd-el-Kader are lost in obscurity, but by 1828 he had not only acquired the reputation of a scholar, but that of a saint, from his having twice made a pilgrimage to Mecca. Accompanied by his father, he preached a holy war against the French occupation of Algiers, and called upon the faithful to rise and expel the infidels. In 1832, he found himself at the head of 10,000 warriors with whom he attacked Oran, but was several times repulsed with great slaughter. For a period of 15 years he contrived to defend his country, and fight against the encroachments of France; but in 1847 he was compelled to surrender. In 1852 Louis Napoleon restored him to freedom on condition that he would not return to Algiers, or conspire against the French. He died in Damascus, May 26, 1883. ABD-ER-RAHMAN I., a Caliph of Cordova, born in Damascus in 731. He founded a Moorish dynasty in Spain, made Cordova his capital and became an independent sovereign. Notwithstanding many rebellions and an expedition sent against him by Charlemagne he maintained his power. The mosque at Cordova (now used as a cathedral), ornamented with rows of cupolas, supported by 850 pillars of jasper, was built by him. He died in 787. ABD-ER-RAHMAN III., a Caliph of Cordova, born in 891. From his earliest youth his ambition was to aggrandize the Saracen power in Spain, a purpose he carried out with a success so brilliant as to win for him the title of "the Great." He ascended the throne in 912 and set himself the task of reviving learning, fostering trade and beautifying his capital. His long reign of 49 years is pronounced the glorious epoch of Moorish sway in Spain. He died in 961.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
When Collier's wrote this in 1921 Algeria was still French, and Abd-el-Kader was presented mainly as the beaten leader of a fifteen-year resistance who "was compelled to surrender" in 1847. Algeria won independence in 1962 after the war of 1954-62, and the emir was promptly recast as the founding national hero of the Algerian state; his body was brought back from Damascus, where he died in 1883, and reburied in Algiers in the mid-1960s. Modern accounts also stress two things Collier's omits: his standing as a Sufi scholar and writer, and his intervention to shelter thousands of Christians during the Damascus massacres of 1860, for which he was honoured across Europe and America - the Iowa town of Elkader is named after him.
Written for this edition, 2026.