Biskra, a town of Algeria, 150 miles SW. of Constantine by rail, in an oasis watered by the Wady Biskra and by springs. Pop. 7166. Biskra was known to the Romans as Zaba, and under the Moors it became a large town. It is now a favourite health-resort for Europeans. Here in 1663 some 71,000 persons died of the plague.
Biskra
Chambers's Encyclopaedia, Volume 2: Beaugency to Cataract
Source scan(s): p. 0198