A district in northwestern Algeria, essentially the region from Tlemcen through Oran and on to Tiaret. Mascara itself is a city some 50 miles (80 km.) southeast of Oran. There had been an Ottoman garrison hereabouts since the beginning of the 18th century, but the district only came into prominence in the early 19th century, when it constituted an Emirate (based initially at Tiaret) set in defiance of encroaching French authority.