Laghouat

Laghouat is an oasis on the southern side of the Saharan Atlas, where palm gardens surround a fortified settlement. Ibn Khaldun described a local branch of the Maghrawa whose name became that of the town. Several small ksour once stood among the palms; as the settlement grew, the Ouled Serghin and Ouled Ahlaf occupied its principal quarters.

In 1708 a Moroccan expedition camped west of Laghouat and sought tribute from the town. The eighteenth century also brought pressure from the rulers of Algiers, whose beys intervened in the affairs of the oasis. Its inhabitants faced these outside demands amid their own divisions. By then Laghouat had become a substantial town, its gardens and walls standing at the meeting of the Atlas country and the routes leading south into the Sahara.