Medal - Emir Abdelkader

Reverse

18-lines French inscription

Script: Latin

Lettering:
GET HOMME CELLEBRE
EST NE VERS 1806, PRES
DE MASCARA. PROCLAME EMIR
APRES 1830 IL PRESCHE LA GIERRE
SAINTE CONTRE LES FRANCAIS. 1833
TRAITE QUE DE CONSTITUE SOEVERAHN
DE LA PROVINCE D'ORAN. 1834 REPRISE
DE LA GTERRE SAINTE, VECTOIRE QUIL
REMPORTE A LA MACTA. 1836 IL EST
BATTJ A LA SICKAK. TRAITE DE LA TAFNA
1839 NOUVELLE RUPTURE SANS DECLARATION.
1842 IL PERD SA SMALAH. 1845 APRES
LE COMBAT D'OUED-MALAH IL FUIT
DANS LE MAROC DONT IL SOULEVE
LES POPULATIONS CONTRE LA
FRANCE. 1845 IL REPORTE
LA GUERRE DANS
L'ALGERIE

Edge

Plain

Comment

Abdelkader ibn Muhieddine (6 September 1808 – 26 May 1883), (Arabic: عبد القادر ابن محيي الدين), known as the Emir Abdelkader or Abdelkader El Djezairi, was an Algerian "Sharif" religious and military leader who led a struggle against the French colonial invasion in the mid-19th century. An Islamic scholar and Sufi who unexpectedly found himself leading a military campaign, he built up a collection of Algerian tribesmen that for many years successfully held out against one of the most advanced armies in Europe. His consistent regard for what would now be called human rights, especially as regards his Christian opponents, drew widespread admiration, and a crucial intervention to save the Christian community of Damascus from a massacre in 1860 brought honours and awards from around the world. Within Algeria, his efforts to unite the country against foreign invaders saw him hailed as the "modern Jugurtha," and his ability to combine religious and political authority has led to his being acclaimed as the "Saint among the Princes, the Prince among the Saints".