Constantine, Algeria

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Constantine, Algeria

Constantine (Arabic

Arabic language

Arabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages languages such as Hebrew language and Aramaic language....
:) is the capital of Constantine Province

Constantine Province

Constantine is one of the 48 provinces of Algeria of Algeria, whose capital is Constantine, Algeria....
in north-eastern Algeria

Algeria

Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country located in North Africa. It is the largest country of the Mediterranean sea, second largest in the Arab World, and the second largest on the African continent and the eleventh-largest country in the world in terms of land area....
. Slightly inland, it is about 80 kilometers from the Mediterranean

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea or Ocean off the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia....
coast.

Regarded as the capital of eastern Algeria and the centre of its region, Constantine has a population of over 500,000 (750,000 with the agglomeration), making it the third largest city in the country after Algiers

Algiers

Oran

Oran is a city on the Mediterranean Sea coast in northwestern Algeria. Oran marked the largest westernmost metropolitan area of the then Ottoman Empire....
.

Constantine is situated on a plateau

Plateau

In geology and earth science, a plateau, also called a high plateau or tableland, is an area of highland , usually consisting of relatively flat terrain....
at 640 metres above sea level.

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Encyclopedia

Constantine (Arabic

Arabic language

Constantine Province

Constantine is one of the 48 provinces of Algeria of Algeria, whose capital is Constantine, Algeria....
in north-eastern Algeria

Algeria

Mediterranean Sea

Algiers

Oran

Oran is a city on the Mediterranean Sea coast in northwestern Algeria. Oran marked the largest westernmost metropolitan area of the then Ottoman Empire....
.

Constantine is situated on a plateau

Plateau

In geology and earth science, a plateau, also called a high plateau or tableland, is an area of highland , usually consisting of relatively flat terrain....
at 640 metres above sea level. The city is framed by a deep ravine and has a dramatic appearance. The city is very picturesque with a number of bridges and a viaduct

Viaduct

A viaduct is a bridge composed of several small spans. The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via for road and ducere to lead something....
crossing the ravine. The ravine is crossed by four bridges, including Pont Sidi M'Cid.

Constantine has one university, the University of Constantine, which was founded in 1969. There are museums and important historical sites around the city.

Constantine is the railhead of a prosperous and diverse agricultural area. It also a center of the grain trade and has flour mills, a tractor factory, and industries producing textiles, wool

Wool

Wool is the fiber derived from the specialized skin cells, called follicles, of animals in the Caprinae family, principally domestic sheep, but the hair of certain species of other Mammalia such as cashmere goat, llamas, rabbits and keeshonds may also be called wool....
, linen

Linen

Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....
, and leather

Leather

Leather is a material created through the tanning of rawhides and skins of animals, primarily cattlehide. The tanning process converts the putrescible skin into a durable, long-lasting and versatile natural material for various uses....
goods . Algeria

Algeria

Tunisia

Tunisia , officially the Tunisian Republic , is a country located in North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and Libya to the southeast....
serve as its markets.

History

The city was originally settled by Numidian people, and was known as Sarim Batim. Later its name was Cirta

Cirta

Cirta was the capital city of the Kingdom of Numidia in northern Africa in modern Algeria. Although Numidia was a key ally of the ancient Roman Republic during the Punic Wars, Cirta was subject to Roman invasions during the first and second centuries B.C., eventually falling under Roman domain during the rule of Julius Caesar....
, thought to be from the Phoenician word for "city", but originates in fact from "Thacirth" which is an Imazighen (Berber) word for a traditional wheat grinder made of stones (due to the stony look of the city). Constantine was capital city of the Numidia

Numidia

Numidia was an ancient Berber people kingdom in present-day Algeria and part of Tunisia that later alternated between being a Roman province and being a Roman client state, and is no longer in existence today....
, a berber

Berber people

Berbers are the indigenous ethnic groups of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are discontinuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River....
empire that emerged in the 3rd century BC. The city was founded in 203 BC by king Micipsa

Micipsa

Micipsa was the eldest legitimate son of Masinissa, king of Numidia....
, with the help of Greek colonists. She distinguished for the splendour of the public buildings and its population overcame that of all other towns of northern Africa. It had an army of 10,000 cavalry and 20,000 infantry. In 113 BC the town was conquered by Jugurtha

Jugurtha

Jugurtha or Jugurthen was a Berber Ancient Libya King of Numidia, born in Cirta. The name Jugurthen pronounced in Berber Yugur tn or Yugr tn is actually a Berber name and phrase meaning: is greater than them....
. Later it served as base of the Roman generals Caecilius Metellus Numidicus and Caius Marius. In 107 BC the latter gained a victory over Jugurtha in the nearby of Cirta. With the suppression of king Juba I

Juba I of Numidia

File:Juba denarius in support of Pompey against Cesar 60 46 BCE.jpgJuba I of Numidia or Juba I , was a King of Numidia. He was the son and successor to King of Numidia Hiempsal II....
and the rest of the supporters of Pompey

Pompey

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, commonly known as Pompey /'p?mpi/, Pompey the Great or Pompey the Triumvir , was a distinguished military and political leader of the late Roman Republic....
in Africa (46 BC), Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

'Gaius Julius Caesar' , July 13, 100 BC ? March 15, 44 BC,) was a Roman Republic military and political leader. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
gave special civil rights to a part of Cirta, under the name of Sittlanorum Colonia. It became the head of a confederation of four similar settlements in North Africa.

In 311, during the civil war between emperor Maxentius

Maxentius

Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius was Western Roman Emperor from 306 to 312. He was the son of former emperor Maximian, and the son-in-law of Galerius, also an emperor....
and usurper Domitius Alexander

Domitius Alexander

Lucius Domitius Alexander , probably born in Phrygia, was vicarius of Africa Province when Roman Emperor Maxentius ordered him to send his son as hostage to Rome....
(former governor of Africa), the city was destroyed. Rebuilt in 313, it was subsequently named after emperor Constantine the Great, who had defeated Maxentius. Conquered by the Vandals

Vandals

The Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century. The Goths Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths and regent of the Visigoths, was allied by marriage with the Vandals as well as with the Burgundians and the Franks under Clovis I....
in 432, Constantine returned to the Byzantine exarchate

Exarchate of Africa

The Exarchate of Africa or of Carthage, after its capital, was the name of an administrative division of the Eastern Roman Empire encompassing its possessions on the Western Mediterranean, ruled by an exarch, or viceroy....
of North Africa from 534 to 697. It was conquered by the Arabs in the 7th century, receiving the name of Qusantina.

The city recovered and in 12th century was again a prosperous market, with connection to Pisa

Pisa

Pisa is a city in Tuscany, central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the Arno River on the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa....
, Genoa

Genoa

Genoa is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria. The city has a population of about 610,000 and the urban area has a population of about 900,000....
and Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy, the capital city of the Italian regions Veneto, a population of 271,251 . Together with Padua, Italy, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area ....
. Since 1529 it was intermittently part of Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299?1923. It was Treaty of Lausanne by the Republic of Turkey, which was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923....
, ruled by a Turkish bey

Bey

Bey is a Turkish language title for "chieftain," traditionally applied to the leaders of small tribal groups. In historical accounts, many Turkey, other Turkic peoples and Iran leaders are titled Baig....
(governor) subordinate to the dey

Dey

Dey was the title given to the rulers of the Regency of Algiers and Tunis under the Ottoman Empire from 1671 onwards. Twenty-nine deys held office from the establishment of the deylicate until the French conquest in 1830....
of Algiers

Algiers

Algiers Nicknamed El-Bahdja or Alger la Blanche for the glistening white of its buildings as seen rising up from the sea, Algiers is situated on the west side of a bay of the Mediterranean Sea....
. Salah Bey, who ruled the city in 1770-1792, greatly embellished it and built much of the Muslim architecture still visible today.

In 1826 ,the last Bey

Bey

Ahmed Bey ben Mohamed Chérif

Ahmed Bey ben Mohamed Ch?rif was the last Bey of Constantine, Algeria from 1826 to 1848. He was the successor of Mohamed Menamenni Bey ben Khan....
became the new head of state and led a fierce resistance against French occupation forces. By 13 October 1837 the territory was reconquered by France, and in 1848 it was incorporated into the colony of Algiers (Algeria).

In World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
, during campaign in North Africa (1942-43), Constantine and the nearby city of Sétif

Sétif

S?tif is a town in northeastern Algeria. It is the Capital of S?tif Province and it has a population of 239,195 inhabitants as of the 1998 census....
were used by the Allied forces as operational bases.

People

Constantine is native city of the Islamic reformator Ben Badis. It is also the hometown of Key people in Algeria

Algeria

France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
.

Ben Badis, (Islamic reformer and philosopher)
Malek Bennabi
Malek Bennabi

Malek Bennabi was a prominent Algerian thinker . He wrote about human society, particularly Muslim society with a focus on the reasons behind the fall of muslim society....
, (philosopher)
Masinissa
Masinissa

Masinissa or Massinissa was the first King of Numidia, an ancient North African nation of Berber tribes, which he united, and is most famous for his role as a Roman Republic ally in the Battle of Zama....
The first King of Numidia.
Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois
Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois

Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois, Countess of Polignac , styled HSH The Princess Charlotte, was the daughter of Louis II, Prince of Monaco, Prince of Monaco, and the mother of Prince Rainier III, Prince of Monaco....
, the daughter of Louis II
Louis II, Prince of Monaco

Louis II, Prince of Monaco was the eleventh Sovereign Prince of Monaco and the eleventh Duke of Valentinois from 26 June 1922 until 9 May 1949....
, Prince of Monaco
Monaco

Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a small sovereign city-state located in South Western Europe . The territory lies on the northern coast of the Mediterranean Sea....
, and the mother of Prince Rainier III
Rainier III, Prince of Monaco

Rainier III, Prince of Monaco , styled His Serene Highness The Sovereign Prince of Monaco, ruled the Principality of Monaco for more than 50 years, making him one of the List of longest reigning monarchs of the 20th century....
Claude Cohen-Tannoudji
Claude Cohen-Tannoudji

Claude Cohen-Tannoudji is a France physicist working at the ?cole Normale Sup?rieure in Paris....
, Nobel Prize in Physics
Hassiba Boulmerka
Hassiba Boulmerka

Hassiba Boulmerka in Constantine, Algeria in the north east of Algeria is a former Algerian Middle distance track event. In 1992, she became the first Algerian to win an Olympic Games title....
, Athlete World and Olympic Champion she is the first Algerian to win an Olympic
Olympic Games

The Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event established for both summer and winter sports. There have been two generations of the Olympic Games; the first were the Ancient Olympic Games held at Olympia, Greece, Greece....
title.
Ahlam Mosteghanemi
Ahlam Mosteghanemi

Ahlam Mosteghanemi , the daughter of Algerian revolutionary leader Mohammed Ch?rif, is a notable Algerian writer. She is the first female Algerian author of Arabic-language works to be translated into English ....
(writer)
Ahmed Bey
Ahmed Bey

Ahmed Bey or Hadj Ahmed Bey was the last Bey of Constantine, Algeria. He led the Algerian resistance to the France occupation in the eastern part of Algeria from 1836 to 1848....
(the Last Bey
Bey

Bey is a Turkish language title for "chieftain," traditionally applied to the leaders of small tribal groups. In historical accounts, many Turkey, other Turkic peoples and Iran leaders are titled Baig....
of Constantine).
Rabah Bitat
Rabah Bitat

Rabah Bitat was the acting President of Algeria of Algeria from 27 December 1978 to 9 February 1979. He became president after the death of Houari Boum?di?nne and was replaced by Chadli Bendjedid....
(the 3rd President of Algeria)
Sidi Nemdil, Algerian Turk, Islamic and nationalist from nemdil family.
Enrico Macias
Enrico Macias

Enrico Macias is a Jewish-France singer....
, (singer)
Cheb i Sabbah
Cheb i Sabbah

Cheb i Sabbah , born Haim S?rge El Baaz in Constantine, Algeria, Algeria, is a club DJ. He is a Jew of Berber people descent.He moved to Paris in the 1960s, and, more or less by accident, became a club DJ....
, (DJ, musician and composer)
Jean-Michel Atlan
Jean-Michel Atlan

Jean-Michel Atlan , was a French artist.He was born in Constantine, Algeria, Algeria, and moved to Paris in 1930. He studied philosophy at the University of Paris....
(artist)
Alphonse Halimi
Alphonse Halimi

Alphonse Halimi was a France boxing. He was nicknamed "la Petite Terreur."Time Magazine wrote of him: "Alphonse went to work with a street fighter's will....
(boxer World champion),
Kateb Yacine
Kateb Yacine

Kateb Yacine was an Algerian writer notable for his novels and Play , both in French language and Algerian Arabic language, and his advocacy of the Algerian national cause....
(writer).
Abdelaziz Nemdil (webmaster).
Maurice Boitel
Maurice Boitel

Maurice Boitel , was a France Painting....
, (artist)
Samir Nasri
Samir Nasri

Samir Nasri in Marseille, France is a France France national football team Association football of Algerian descent who currently plays his club football for the English Premier League side Arsenal F.C.....
(football star in France.(plays in England)
Ali Saidi-Sief
Ali Saidi-Sief

Ali Saidi-Sief is an Algerian Olympic Games Running. His speciality is the 1500 m race, but he took a silver medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics for the 5000 m, losing the gold to Ethiopian athlete Millon Wolde....
(Olympic
Olympic Games

The Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event established for both summer and winter sports. There have been two generations of the Olympic Games; the first were the Ancient Olympic Games held at Olympia, Greece, Greece....
runner
Running

Running is a means for an Terrestrial locomotion in animals on foot. It is defined in sporting terms as a gait in which at some point all feet are off the ground at the same time....
sub Champion in 2000 Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics

The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 13 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
for the 5000 m)
Sandra Laoura
Sandra Laoura

Sandra Laoura is a France freestyle skier of Algerian origin who competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Laoura won bronze in the women's moguls event....
,Olympic
Olympic Games

The Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event established for both summer and winter sports. There have been two generations of the Olympic Games; the first were the Ancient Olympic Games held at Olympia, Greece, Greece....
winner

Main sights

The city is framed by a deep ravine and has a dramatic appearance. The city is very picturesque with a number of bridges and a viaduct crossing the ravine.

Gustave Mercier Museum (displays of ancient and modern art).
Abd al Hamid Ben Badis Mosque.
The Constantine Casbah.
Emir Abd al-Qadir University & Mosque.
Soumma Mausoleum
Massinissa's Mausoleum
The Palace of Ahmed Bey.
Ruins of the Antonian Roman aqueduct
Roman aqueduct

Romans constructed numerous aqueducts to supply water to cities and industrial sites. These aqueducts were amongst the greatest engineering feats of the ancient world, and set a standard not equaled for over a thousand years after the fall of Rome....
.
Ben Abdelmalek Stadium
Ben Abdelmalek Stadium

Ben Abdelmalek Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Constantine, Algeria, Algeria. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 20,000 people. It serves as a home ground for MO Constantine and CS Constantine....

Nearby is the Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
city of Tiddis and the megalithic monuments and burial grounds at Djebel Mazala Salluste.

Miscellaneous

Constantine is also known for its universities: Mentouri, designed by the Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the List of countries by population country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world....
ian architect Oscar Niemeyer

Oscar Niemeyer

Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho is a Brazilian architect who is considered one of the most important names in international modern architecture....
., Zerzara, and The Islamic University of El amir Abdelkader, Constantine will have another huge University town under construction in the (nouvelle ville) Constantine's current zip code

ZIP Code

File:UseZipCode.JPGThe ZIP code is the system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service . The letters ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, are properly written in capital letters and were chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the code....
is 25000.

Constantine was also one of the focal points of the novel Memory in the Flesh by Ahlam Mosteghanemi

Ahlam Mosteghanemi

Ahlam Mosteghanemi , the daughter of Algerian revolutionary leader Mohammed Ch?rif, is a notable Algerian writer. She is the first female Algerian author of Arabic-language works to be translated into English ....
.

Town twinning

Constantine has several twin towns

Town twinning

Town twinning, also known as sister cities, is a concept whereby towns or city in geographically and politically distinct areas are paired, with the goal of fostering human contact and cultural links between their inhabitants....
:

Grenoble
Grenoble

Grenoble is a city in southeastern France situated at the foot of the Alps where the Drac River joins the Is?re River.Located in the Rh?ne-Alpes regions of France, Grenoble is the capital of the Departments of France of Is?re....
, France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
Sousse
Sousse

Sousse , is a city of Tunisia. Located 140 km south of Tunis, the city has 173, 047 inhabitants . It is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf of Hammamet, which is a part of the Mediterranean Sea....
, Tunisia
Tunisia

Tunisia , officially the Tunisian Republic , is a country located in North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and Libya to the southeast....
Istanbul
Istanbul

Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey, List of metropolitan areas in Europe by population, and List of cities proper by population in the world with a population of 12.6 million....
, Turkey
Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in southwest Asia and Thrace in the Balkans region of Southern Europe....