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Constantine, Algeria
The Jewish community of Constantine, which referred to this region as Qesumtayna (piece of rock), dates back to the Roman and Byzantine periods [1]. As it grew considerably, Constantine saw itself produce an enormous grain and milling flour market [2], all of which was propelled by its geographic location near popular crossroads. The city of Constantine is located on the coastal ridge of the Atlas Mountains in northeastern Algeria. A natural fortress, the city occupies a rocky diamond-shaped plateau that is surrounded, except at the southwest, by the Rhumel River on the eastern side. In its panoramic view, we see a densely constructed plateau with buildings clinging to the very edge of the cliffs and bridges serving as the veins to the highly commercialized center where Constantine's distinctive agricultural character was once sustained.
Description
Muslim Invasion: In its success, Constantine was subjected to invasion by Muslim Arabs in 710, following a long pursuit against the Berbers and Byzantines, who then had occupied the land [3]. These Arabs became a minority among the Berber population, allowing Berber tribal leaders to rebel frequently against the Arabs and become appointed as governors throughout the various dynasties of Algeria. As a result, the Jewish community had not yet been completely affected by their occupation. It was the conquest by the Almohads in 1152, however, that truly devastated the Jewish community in Algeria [4].
Ottoman Conquest: After their decline in the thirteenth century, Berber tribes once again dominated eastern Algeria, specifically Constantine, until the Ottoman conquest in 1516 [5]. The Ottoman conquest was essential for the Jewish population to regenerate itself, as its current population stood at only three thousand. Under the Ottoman’s control, the population almost doubled to around five thousand Jews [6]. This would prepare the population for the next conquest by the French in 1837, which surprisingly benefited the Jewish population in this region.
French Occupation: Amounting to nearly twenty-thousand members, the Jewish community in Constantine expanded substantially, making it Algeria’s third-largest Jewish community [7]. Jews in Constantine experienced a definite modernization, as trading systems that had been ignored by the colonial government, were improved with the assistance of Algerian Jews being granted French citizenship [8]. The irony, however, is that while the land in Constantine had become more modernized, the Jews in this region began their struggle for Algerian independence between 1954-1962 [9]. As the Vichy French government persecuted the Jewish community through the 1940s and tensions between Muslims and Jews rose due to poor economic circumstances through the 1950s, Constantine's Jews began to flee Algeria. At the end of the French colonial regime, in 1962, the majority of Constantine's Jewish community of fifteen-twenty thousand emigrated to France and Israel, leaving an estimated one thousand Jews in Constantine to defend the region [10]. It is here that the Jewish community in Constantine came to an end, leaving behind a strong history of triumphs and losses, that expresses the versatility of this community.
Constantine, Algeria
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Sources
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Yossef Charvit, “Constantine”, in: Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, Executive Editor Norman A. Stillman. Accessed 1 August 2017.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ehrlich, M. Avrum. Encyclopedia of the Jewish diaspora. origins, experiences, and culture: Themes and phenomena of the Jewish diaspora. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2009. Pg. 455
[5] "History, Ottoman Rule." Ottoman Rule - History - Algeria - Africa. Accessed August 01, 2017. http://www.countriesquest.com/africa/algeria/history/ottoman_rule.htm.
[6] David Corcos, "Constantine," Encyclopedia Judaica, The American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, 2013, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0005_0_04589.html.
[7] Yossef Charvit, “Constantine”
[8] Ibid.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Ibid.
PICTURES:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/fchmksfkcb/8507481691/
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Yossef Charvit, “Constantine”, in: Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, Executive Editor Norman A. Stillman. Accessed 1 August 2017.
Ehrlich, M. Avrum. Encyclopedia of the Jewish diaspora. origins, experiences, and culture: Themes and phenomena of the Jewish diaspora. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2009. Pg. 455
"History, Ottoman Rule." Ottoman Rule - History - Algeria - Africa. Accessed August 01, 2017. http://www.countriesquest.com/africa/algeria/history/ottoman_rule.htm.
David Corcos, "Constantine," Encyclopedia Judaica, The American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, 2013, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0005_0_04589.html.
Cellania, Miss, and Dennis 4. "Constantine: Algeria’s City of Bridges." Neatorama. Accessed August 01, 2017. http://www.neatorama.com/2014/04/12/Constantine-Algerias-City-of-Bridges/.
Fordham, Alice. "Constantine, the most beautiful city you've never heard of." The National. May 19, 2013. Accessed August 01, 2017. https://www.thenational.ae/world/africa/constantine-the-most-beautiful-city-you-ve-never-heard-of-1.271786.