of the several rulers, each of whom defends his own clients. Thus they enjoy very secure social standing. Trade is in their hands, and many of them are to be trusted with the greatest confidence." The Sultan of the Ziyyanid dynasty of Tlemcen , Abu Hammu II (1359-1389) took refuge in the Gourara region where he was well received. The sultan stayed there a while before reconquering Tlemcen from the Merinids in a ksar near a sebkha in Timimoun (dubbed «Capital of the Gourara»), the ksar in question still bears the sultan's name, Tal n Hammu. Through tribal alliances, the Ziyyanids had a certain influence over the Touat. From the start of the 15th century, political relations between the region were established with the Kingdom of Tlemcen. According to a Touati source, quoted by Alfred Georges Paul Martin, a French officer of the Legion of Honour, a text written by a certain al-Amuri recites a conflict in 1435 opposing a group of nomades (Ouled Ali Ibn Hariz) and the Jews of Tamantit. The nomades bought some dates on credit and refused to pay for them, the Jews of Tamantit called upon the sultan of Tlemcen, Abū l-‘Abbās Aḥmad al-‘Akil (1430-1466), the sultan sent a small expedition in order to end the conflict. Around 1490, encouraged by Muhammad al-Maghili, a Maliki scholar from Tlemcen, the Moslem population of Tamentit destroyed the Jewish synagogue and forced the Jews to move elsewhere. Sometime between 1583 and 1588 the forces of the Moroccan sultan Ahmad al-Mansur took control of the Tuat and the Gourara oases. The area remained politically dependent upon Morocco but the sovereignty of the Alaouite sultans became almost nominal. Following the expeditions of the tribes of Taflilelt in the Touat region, the dignitaries of the oasis implored the intervention of the Dey of Algiers. The Dey wrote letters threatening the nomades and sent an expedition that arrived a year later in 1579, the troops sent by the Dey of Algiers established themselves in the ruins of Tiberchrine, sending reconnaissance unites to other oases. Then it returned north. The Touat-Gourara called upon the bey of Algiers since Tlemcen had been annexed by the regency of Algiers, the dignitaries of the oases knew to which authority they should address. Prior to 1830, Touat paid tribute to the Dey of Algiers. In the 1890s, the French administration and military called for the annexation of