Annaba
[key], formerly Bône (bōn), city, capital of Annaba prov.,
extreme NE Algeria, a port on the Mediterranean Sea. One of the country's leading ports, the
city is also an important administrative, commercial, and industrial center. The large El
Hadjar steelworks, built with French and Soviet financial and technical aid, constitutes the
chief industry; others include chemical (superphosphate) manufacturing, food canning, cork
production, and railway construction. Founded by the Phoenicians, the city became a favorite
residence of the Numidian kings. Under the Romans, it was called Hippo Regius and was a center
of early Christianity, the episcopal see of St. Augustine. The city was captured by the Vandals in 431. After the Arab conquest
of Algeria in the 7th cent., Annaba became an important Muslim city and port. Spanish forces
occupied it in the 16th cent. During the 17th and 18th cent., Annaba was a busy center for
European trade. The French took the city in 1832. Landmarks include the Great Mosque and the
Cathedral of St. Augustine.
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