ORAN, a city of Algeria, capital of the department and mili tary division of the same name. It stands at the head of the Gulf of Oran, on the Mediterranean, in 44' N., 41' W. The city is 261 m. by rail W.S.W. of Algiers, 220 m. E. of Gibraltar and 13o m. S. of Cartagena, Spain. It is built on the steep slopes of the Jebel Murjajo, which rises to a height of 1,900 feet. The city was originally cut in two by the ravine of Wad Rehhi, now for the most part covered by boulevards and buildings. West of the ravine lies the old port, and above this rises what was the Spanish town, with the ancient citadel looking down on it ; but few traces of Spanish occupation remain. The modern quarter rises, like an amphitheatre, to the east of the ravine, and is extending more and more to the north-east and to the south-east upon the plateau of Karquenta, where the centre of the town now lies; a ring of populous suburbs, Montplaisant, Gambetta, Saint Eugene, Eckmiihl, encircle it from north-east to south-west. The Place d'Armes, built on the plateau above the ravine, is the centre of the modern quarter. It contains a fine column commemorative of the battle of Sidi Brahim (1845), between the French and Abd el-Kader. The Château Neuf, built in 1563 by the Spaniards, is surrounded by the beautiful Promenade de L'etang, which over looks the port. Formerly the seat of the beys of Oran, it is occupied by the general in command of the military division, and also serves as barracks. The kasbali (citadel), or Château Vieux used for military purposes, lies south-west of the Château Neuf. It was partly destroyed by the earthquake of Oct. 8 and 9, 1790. On the hills behind the kasbah are Fort St. Gregoire and Fort Santa Cruz, crowning, at a height of 1,312 ft., the summit of the Aidur. The Grand Mosque (in rue Philippe) was erected at the end of the 18th century to commemorate the expulsion of the Spaniards, and with money paid as ransom for Christian slaves.
Oran is the seat of a large trade. There is regular communica tion with Marseille, Cette, Barcelona, Valencia, Cartagena, Malaga, Gibraltar and the various ports on the Barbary coast. The harbour is sheltered by a large jetty stretching from west to east, parallel to the shore and more than 1,200 metres long. The different basins which it protects include the old harbour (1868), the Aucour basin (1876), the Morocco basin (1914), and the Poincare basin (1928). The surface of water is 4o hectares, the length of the quays 2,097 metres, the extent of the platforms 160,00o sq. metres; a dock railway station has-been built on the south quay. Oran is the terminus of the wide gauge railway lines from Algiers and from Ujda via Tlemcen and Sidi-bel Abbes, and of the narrow gauge line from Colomb-Bechar Kenadsa, which penetrates 771 km. towards the south. The con struction of the broad gauge railway from Ujda to Fez, that of the lines penetrating eastern Morocco, eventually that of the Trans-Saharan railway, is destined to increase still more the importance of the port, the growth of which has been extremely rapid. Gross tonnage reaches 16 million tons, the tonnage of goods 2,462,00o tons (imports 1,382,000, exports 1,080,000).
The total population of Oran is the municipal popula tion 157,981, of whom 30,104 are natives and 123,799 Europeans (92,012 French).
See Augustin Bernard, "Oran, port du Maroc et du Sahara" (Bull. Soc. Geogr. Oran, 1928).
Arabs settled here in the beginning of the loth century and gave Oran its name. Rapidly rising into importance as a seaport, Oran was taken and retaken, pillaged and rebuilt, by the various conquerors of northern Africa. In the latter half of the 15th century it became subject to the sultans of Tlemcen, and reached the height of its prosperity. Active com merce was maintained with the Venetians, the Pisans, the Geno ese, the Marseillais and the Catalans, who imported the produce of their looms, glass-wares, tin-wares, and iron, and received in return ivory, ostrich feathers, gold-dust, tanned hides, grain, and negro slaves. Admirable woollen cloth and splendid arms were manufactured. The magnificence of its mosques and other pub lic buildings, the number of its schools, and the extent of its warehouses shed lustre on the city; but luxury began to under mine its prosperity and its ruin was hastened by the conduct of the Muslim refugees from Spain, under whose influence the legitimate trade of the town gave place to piracy, Mers-el-Kebir becoming the stronghold of the pirates.
Animated by the enthusiasm of Cardinal Ximenes, the Span iards determined to put a stop to these expeditions. Mers-el Kebir fell into their hands on Oct. 23, 1505, and Oran in May 1509. The latter victory, obtained with but trifling loss, was stained by the massacre of a third of the Mohammedan popula tion. From 6,000 to 8,000 prisoners, 6o cannon, engines of war and a considerable booty fell into the hands of the conquerors. Cardinal Ximenes introduced the Inquisition, etc., and also re stored and extended the fortifications. Oran became the penal settlement of Spain, but neither the convicts nor the noblemen in disgrace who were also banished thither seem to have been under rigorous surveillance. The bey of Mascara seized Oran in 1708. The Spaniards recovered it in 1732, but found the main tenance of the place a burden rather than a benefit, the neigh bouring tribes having ceased to deal with the Christians. The earthquake of 1790 furnished an excuse for withdrawing their forces. Commencing by 22 separate shocks at brief intervals, the oscillations continued from Oct. 8 to Nov. 22. Houses and fortifications were overthrown and a third of the garrison and a great number of the inhabitants perished. Famine and sickness had begun to aggravate the situation when the bey of Mascara appeared before the town with 30,00o men. By prodigies of energy the Spanish commander held out till Aug. 1791, when, the Spanish Government having made terms with the bey of Algiers, he was allowed to set sail for Spain with his guns and ammunition. The bey Mohammed took possession of Oran in March 1792 and made it his residence instead of Mascara. On the fall of Algiers the bey (Hassan) placed himself under the protection of the conquerors and shortly afterwards removed to the Levant. The French army entered the city on Jan. 4, 1831, and took formal possession on Aug. 17.
See M. D. Stott, The Real Algeria (1914).