Setif

Setif is the capital of Setif Province in Algeria and the country's fifth most populous city, with an estimated population of 1,866,845 in 2017. Located in eastern Algeria at an altitude of about 1,100 meters, 270 kilometers east of Algiers and 131 kilometers west of Constantine, it is considered the trade capital of the country and an industrial center with three industrial zones. The city's history stretches from the Phoenician era through the Berber kingdom of Numidia to Roman rule, when it served as capital of Mauretania Sitifensis; it was destroyed during the Arab invasion of North Africa, and when France occupied the site in 1839 only Roman and Byzantine ruins remained, with reconstruction beginning around a newly built Catholic church. Setif was the starting point of the 8 May 1945 protests and subsequent massacre, an event that became a crucial factor leading to the Algerian War of independence.