10 km (6 or 7 miles) west of the present-day Tiaret. It was first founded by Abd al-Rahman Rustamid, an Ibadi theologian from Greater Iran. Tiaret was said to be relatively free-thinking and democratic, being a centre for scholarship that permitted a wide range of sects and movements, notably the Mu'tazila. There were many Jews living in the area until at least the 10th century, including the scholar and doctor Judah ibn Kuraish who became the doctor to the Emir of Fes. Tiaret was captured by the Fatimids in 909. Tiaret occupies a strategic mountain pass at , and was thus a key to dominating the central Maghreb. Later, from the start of the 8th century, it was the key northern terminus of the West African branch of the slave trade. As such, it offered a lucrative income from taxes on the trade, and was a desirable prize. The Rustamid empire, which during the reign of Abdurrahman (766–784) and his son Abdul Wahab (784–823) extended over the greater part of the modern Algeria, was known as the Ibadite Empire from Abdallah ibn Ibad, the founder of the sect to which Abdurrahman belonged. Seven princes of the Rustamite house succeeded Abdul Wahab until they were overthrown by the Fatimite general Abu Abdallah al-Shi'i in 909. From the year 911 Tiaret was fought over by a number of tribes, being first captured by Massala ibn Habbus of the Miknasas in the year 911, in alliance with the Fatimid Caliphate. Finally, in 933, it was in the hands of the Fatimids. After 933 Tiaret ceased to be the capital of a separate state. Most of the population was banished to Ouargla and then escaped to the inhospitable M'zab. From 933 Tiaret attracted many Khawarij Muslim settlers from Iraq. From 933 it was administered as part of the Kingdom of Tlemcen, and in the 16th century fell to the Ottoman Empire. In 1843 it fell to the French after they defeated Emir Abdelkader El Djezairi. The modern town of Tiaret is built around a French redoubt of 1845. The new town attracted many settlers from France and the area flourished. A narrow gauge railway arrived in 1889, connecting the town to Mostaganem - today, this rail line is defunct. Archeological attractions Thirty kilometres (18 miles) S.S.W. of Tiaret are the sepulchral monuments known as the Jedars. The name is given to a number of