Tagdemt

During the French Civil War, Abdelkader ibn Muhieddine was elected Emir, creating the Emirate of Algeria with Tagdemt as the capital. When Algeria gained its independence, Tagdemt grew to be an important city center.

When Algeria and Morocco merged into Maghreb in 1926, the capital moved away from the city, but Tagdemt remained a major cultural center for the Arab World, being home to the famous Tagdemt University.

When elected as Emir, Abdelkader amassed a large collection of manuscripts, housing them in the fortress at Tagdemt. This collection was kept and expanded through successive emirs. Eventually, this grew to be a grand library, with the town of Tagdemt growing around the expansions to the library. This library became a religious and scholastic pilgrimage for many in Algeria, and later Maghreb, and eventually all of the Arab world. This led to a high level of study at the library, with classes beginning in the 20th century, the library began to hold classes of study, later becoming a university. With the emergence of Maghreb, Sultan Yusef agreed to keep the university in place, allowing western style structures. Tagdemt University became one of the highest rated universities in North Africa.

Lack of intelligence is the greatest povertyArabic Proverb

Many of the alma mater of the university include many in the government and clergy, including a Prime minister, being seen as a solid foundation for secular and religious options.