The present-day city of Algiers had been…

The present-day city of Algiers had been founded in 944 by Buluggin ibn Ziri, the founder of the Berber Zirid-Senhaja dynasty, which had been overthrown by Roger II of Sicily in 1148, although the Zirids had already lost control of Algiers before the final fall of the dynasty.

The city had been occupied by the Almohades in 1159, and in the thirteenth century had come under the dominion of the Abd-el-Wadid sultans of Tlemcen.

Nominally part of the sultanate of Tlemcen, Algiers has had a large measure of independence under amirs of its own due to Oran being the chief seaport and center of power of the Abd-el-Wahid.

The islet of Penon in front of Algiers harbor is occupied in 1302 by Spaniards under the flag of Castile.

From this point forward, a considerable amount of trade will begin to flow between Algiers and Spain.