Touat (Berb./Ar. Tuwāt) is a vast oasis region in southwestern Algeria. It is dotted by a dozen agglomerations of fortified hamlets (Ar. qṣūr), 248 of which are still inhabited. Although the original residents were Zenata Berbers, most of the present population is Arabic-speaking. Medieval Arab historians such as Ibn Khaldūn make occasional mention of the Touat, but seem to know very little about it. The fourteenth-century Moroccan traveler Ibn Baṭṭūṭa passed through in 1353, but gives few details. According to traditions mentioned by later Arab historians, Jew…
Touat(778 words)
Cite this page
Jacob Oliel, “Touat”, in: Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, Executive Editor Norman A. Stillman. Consulted online on 21 April 2018
First published online: 2010
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