Expeditions de Constantine en 1836 et 1837.

Title

Expeditions de Constantine en 1836 et 1837.

Description

Map shows the surroundings of the city of Constantine with an extra plan of the Algerian city. Steel engraving from France Militaire.

ca. 1838

Artist

Anonymus

Historical Description

Constantine is the third largest city in Algeria after Algiers and Oran. As the richest and most prosperous city in Numidia, it already played an important role in antiquity. The splendor of its public buildings and the size of its population put it ahead of all other cities in northern Africa. After the city was destroyed, Constantine I restored it in 312 AD and gave it the name Constantina. From 534 to 697 it was part of the Byzantine Empire, and from the 8th to 15th centuries it was ruled by Berber and Arab dynasties. Traders from Genoa arrived in the 15th century. During the rule of the Ottoman Empire from 1529, the city was the seat of a Turkish governor. In 1837, Constantine was conquered by troops of the French July Monarchy after two failed attacks in 1836, which were repelled by the inhabitants under the leadership of Haj Ahmed Bey. In the Second French Republic from 1848, the northern part of what is now the state of Algeria was divided into the departments of Algiers, Oran and Constantine. Napoleon III visited Constantine in 1865.