Mostaganem

Mostaganem (Arabic: مستغانم, romanized: Mustaghānim, Berber languages: ⵎⵓⵙⵜⴰⵖⴰⵏⵎ, romanized: Mustaɣanm) is the capital city of Mostaganem province in northwest Algeria, and a major port on the Gulf of Arzew in the Mediterranean Sea. The city is located 72 kilometres (45 mi) east-northeast of Oran and about 280 kilometres (170 mi) southwest of Algiers. Founded in the 11th century as Murustage, the city has origins dating back to Punic and Roman times. In 1516, it was captured by the Ottoman admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa and became a harbor for Mediterranean corsairs, as well as an important commercial port. By 1700, it had come under Ottoman rule. In 1833, the city was taken by France and a garrison established. Algeria became independent in 1962. Mostaganem is the second-largest city in the country's northwest, after Oran, and Algeria's fourth-largest port city, with 406,190 inhabitants as of the 2019 census. Mostaganem is home to the University of Mostaganem, a college and medical provider which was established in 1979. The university is referred to locally as the University of Abdelhamid Ibn Badis (UMAB), after a popular figure of Muslim reform movements in Algeria. The university offers curricula from bachelor's to doctorates in computer science as well as a medical doctorate. The city's major sports teams are the association football clubs ESA Mostaganem and WA Mostaganem, both of whom play their home games in the Mohamed Bensaïd Stadium.