CONSTANTINE, a city of Algeria, capital of the depart ment of the same name, 54 m. by railway S. by W. of the port of Philippeville, in 36° 22' N., 6° 36' E. Constantine is the residence of a general commanding a division, of a prefect and other high officials, is the seat of a bishop, and had a population in 1931 of 99,595
Europeans;
natives). The city occupies a romantic position on a rocky plateau, cut off on all sides save the west from the surrounding country by a beautiful ravine, through which the river Rummel flows. The plateau is 2,13o ft. above sea level, and from 500 to nearly I,o0o ft. above the river bed. The ravine, formed by the Rummel, through erosion of the limestone, varies greatly in width—at its narrowest part the cliffs are only 15 ft. apart, at its broadest the valley is 40o yd. wide. At the N.E. angle of the city the gorge is spanned by an iron bridge built in 1863, N. and S. by a bridge and a viaduct built in 1912. Along the north-eastern side of the city the Rummel is spanned in all four times by natural stone arches or tunnels.
Constantine is walled, the extant mediaeval wall having been largely constructed out of Roman ma terial. Through the centre from north to south runs a street (the rue de France) roughly dividing Constantine into two parts. The place du Palais, in which are the palace of the governor and the cathedral, and the kasbah (citadel) are west of the rue de France, as is likewise the place Negrier, containing the law courts. The native town lies chiefly in the south-east part of the city. A strik ing contrast exists between the Moorish quarter, with its tortuous lanes and Oriental architecture, and the modern quarter, with its rectangular streets and wide open squares, frequently bordered with trees and adorned with fountains. Of the squares the place de Nemours is the centre of the commercial and social life of the city. New quarters have arisen to the S.W. of the town. The palace, built by Ahmed Pasha, the last bey of Constantine, be tween 183o and 1836, is a specimen of Moorish architecture of the 19th century. The kasbah, which occupies the northern corner of the city, dates from Roman times, and preserves in its more modern portions numerous remains of other Roman edifices. It is now turned into barracks and a hospital. The fine mosque of Sidi-el-Kattani (or Salah Bey) dates from the close of the i8th century.
The native industry of Constantine is chiefly confined to leather goods and woollen fabrics. A considerable trade is carried on over a large area by means of railway connection with Algiers, Bona, Tunis and Biskra, as well as with Philippeville.
Constantine, or, as it was originally called, Cirta or Kirtha, from the Phoenician word for a city, was in ancient times one of the most important towns of Numidia, and the resi dence of the kings of the Massyli. Under Micipsa (2nd century B.e.) it reached the height of its prosperity, and was able to fur nish an army of io,000 cavalry and 20,00o infantry. Though it afterwards declined, it still continued an important military post, and is frequently mentioned during successive wars. Caesar having bestowed a part of its territory on his supporter Sittius, the latter introduced a Roman settlement. In the war of Maxen tius against Alexander, the Numidian usurper, it was laid in ruins; and on its restoration in A.D. 313 by Constantine it received the name which it still retains. It was not captured during the Vandal invasion of Africa, but on the conquest by the Arabians (7th cen tury) it shared the same fate as the surrounding country. Succes sive Arab dynasties looted it. During the 12th century it was still a place of considerable prosperity; and its commerce was extensive enough to attract the merchants of Pisa, Genoa and Venice. Fre quently taken and retaken by the Turks, Constantine finally be came under their dominion the seat of a bey, subordinate to the dey of Algiers. To Salah Bey, who ruled from 177o to 1792, we owe most of the existing Moslem buildings. In 1826 Constantine asserted its independence of the dey of Algiers, and was gov erned by Haji Ahmed, the choice of the Kabyles. In 1836 the French under Marshal Clausel made an unsuccessful attempt to storm the city, which they attacked by night by way of El Kantara. The French suffered heavy loss. In 1837 Marshal Valee approached the town by the connecting western isthmus, and succeeded in taking it by assault, though again the French lost heavily. See E. Mercier, Histoire de Constantine (Constan tine, 1905) .
