Constantine - History

The city of Constantine is situated on a rock, about 2,000 feet high, cut off from the surrounding area on three sides by a ravine. The ancient city, founded by the Phoenicians (who called it "Carta"), was rebuilt on the site of a Roman colony by Constantine the Great, in 313 A.D, after its destruction in war. After the conquest of Constantine, the city, which was called by the Romans "Cirta," was renamed in honour of the conquering emperor.

An ideal natural fortress, legend has it that Constantine has survived eighty sieges. Its apparent impregnability has, in fact, been an invitation to attacks. The city has been an important stronghold almost continuously for some 2,500 years, in the successive possession of Phoenicians, Numidians, Romans, Jews, Arabs, Almohades, Merinides, Hafsids of Tunis, Turks, and the French.

Constantine, then known as Carta (and Cirta by the Romans, meaning "the town"), was originally the capital of Numidia, where the ancient kings, Syphax, Masinissa, Micipsa, Adherbal and others, lived and built many fine buildings of mud brick. Syphax ruled over the eastern part of Numidia from Cirta, and Masinissa ruled over the western part, Sitifiensis, from Caesarea (Cherchel). As the story goes, both of these kings fell in love with the beautiful Sophonisba, daughter of Hasdrubal, brother-in-law of the famous military leader, Hannibal. She became engaged to Masinissa, but as he sided with the Romans at the siege of Carthage, she left him and married Syphax. The Romans defeated Hannibal, and Syphax was taken prisoner. Masinissa meanwhile abducted Sophonisba and made her his slave. Knowing he still wanted her, she made love to him, and he married her. But eventually (202 B.C.), the Roman leader Scipio demanded her as his slave, and she, to save her honour, drank a cup of poison presented to her by Masinissa.

Around 48 B.C, with the defeat of Pompey, Cirta became the capital of the Roman province of Numidia, formed by the eastern part of what is today Algeria. It was first ruled by Caesar's appointee, an Italian adventurer named Sittius.

From 49 B.C. until 313 A.D, Cirta was ruled by governors as part of the Roman empire. After the city was destroyed in the religious (Christian) war against the Roman leader, Maxentius, who was defeated in 312 at the battle of Milvian Bridge by Constantine the Great, it was rebuilt by the latter, and the city's name was changed. Roman rule continued over Constantine until around 429 B.C, when the Vandal kings arrived. These ruled the eastern part of what is today Algeria, as well as Tunisia, until 534 A.D. In 710, it was conquered by the Ummayads, a Muslim dynasty whose headquarters was Damascus. Several others followed, including the Aghlabids (9^th century), the Beni Hammads (11^th - 12^th centuries), the Almohads (12^th - 13^th centuries), and the Hafsids (13^th - 16^th centuries). In the 16^th century, Constantine was conquered by the Ottomans, and remained under their rule until the French arrived. However, the city witnessed frequent insurrections, battles, and assassinations between opposing rulers. In 1836, the French attacked Constantine, but were defeated.

At the time of French arrival to Algeria, Constantine was an entrepot and redistribution center between caravans coming from the Sahara and the coastal cities of Tunis, La Calle, and Annaba. In 1830, urban elite composed 15-20 percent of the population, based on a combination of wealth (commercial middle class, well-off artisans), birth (rural landholders living in the city), and office (beylical officials). The city, at that time, was governed by Ahmed Bey. Due to Constantine's inaccessibility, it took the French five years and two attempts to conquer the city, which fell seven years after the conquest of Algiers. In 1837, an army of 10,000, including very fine artillery, which helped breach the city. They were successful this time, but only after a fierce battle, which forced the French to fight for possession of the city, house by house. The Bey escaped to the Aures mountains, from which he continued his campaign against the French until his surrender in June, 1848, two years before his death.